On Friday morning, before the first autopsy on Michael Jackson had been completed, I wrote an article in these pages to explain just what an autopsy is, why it’s done, and what we could expect from it  (I’m a former medical examiner and a board-certified forensic pathologist). As I predicted, the initial examination of his [...]

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When any person dies suddenly or unexpectedly it becomes the responsibility of the medical examiner to determine the cause of death. Such is the case in the tragic death of Michael Jackson at the all too young age of 50. When I worked as a medical examiner in Washington, D.C., in the early 1980s, our [...]

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The other day I was listening to an interview on National Public Radio with Dean Oshler who has just written a book called From Square One: A Meditation, with Digressions, on Crosswords. During the interview I was surprised to hear Mr. Oshler challenge the widely held belief that regularly doing crossword puzzles is good for [...]

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Although Nestle has recalled some 300,000 cases of its refrigerated Toll House cookie dough from store shelves, as of June 22, 2009, none of their product had actually tested positive for the E. coli that’s caused illness in at least 70 people in 30 states. And since it’s highly unusual for E. coli, an intestinal [...]

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In an unusual move earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alerted consumers that Zicam Cold Remedy products have been associated with long lasting or even permanent loss of smell. FDA recommends that consumers stop using these products and that they throw away any that might still be in their homes. The affected [...]

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Forty-five years after then U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry declared that smoking causes cancer, we are finally poised to see the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) assume regulatory authority over products containing tobacco. And while any legislation that has taken this long to come to pass will be seen by many as too little, too [...]

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Using someone else’s prescription medicine is a lot like playing Russian roulette – you might get away unscathed, and then again you might not. And it could have devastating consequences. Just because we see prescription medicines advertised on TV doesn’t mean they are safe for everyone. There are good reasons why you can’t buy them [...]

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Recent media activity has called attention to a repetitive use syndrome called ‘cell phone elbow,’ which can cause pain, numbness or tingling in the forearm and hand.  But cubital tunnel syndrome, as it’s known medically, isn’t only caused by excessive cell phone use. In fact, it can be caused by any repetitive activity in which [...]

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