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<p>The award-winning “Sound Medicine” announces its program for Dec. 16, featuring Marty Makary, M.D., MPH, author of “Unaccountable: What Hospitals Won’t Tell You and How Transparency Can Revolutionize Health Care.” Please check local listings for broadcast dates, times and stations.</p>

On ‘Sound Medicine’: OTC drug risks, diet and skin health, and the quest to help hearts regenerate

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What role does diet play in your skin health? Your secret indulgences and cravings may be more visible than you think. Your diet may be responsible for the appearance of your skin. Frequent spikes in blood sugar throughout the day have been attributed to acne. Valori Treloar, M.D., dermatologist and nutritional specialist in private practice, shares the best foods to eat for skin health, including lean meats, eggs and fish, and why foods high in sugar  cause skin blemishes. She is the co-author of, “The Clear Skin Diet.”

To what extent can the heart regenerate itself? Developmental biologist Eric Olson, Ph.D., has discovered that the hearts of infant mammals are capable of regenerating and repairing themselves. This extraordinary capability is lost once mammals become adults. Olson, a professor of molecular biology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, explains why adult hearts lose this ability and discusses his and others’ research on the possibility of cell regeneration in the adult heart so it can repair itself after an attack.

What do consumers need to know about over-the-counter drugs? A recent study at Johns Hopkins found that when drugs moved from prescription to OTC, their advertisements only mentioned side effects 11 percent of the time, as compared to 70 percent when they were available as a prescription. Amy Peak, Pharm.D., an associate professor of pharmacy at Butler University, discusses how to be a conscious consumer of OTC medications and  the risks associated with common OTC drugs.

How can transparency transform health care? The premise behind  Marty Makary’s new book, “Unaccountable: What Hospitals Won’t Tell You and How Transparency Can Revolutionize Health Care,” is that the inner workings of the health care system are largely unknown to the general public, resulting in uninformed patient decisions on where they seek treatment. Makary describes  what a more transparent and accountable health care system would look like. Makary, M.D., MPH, is the director of the Johns Hopkins Pancreas Islet Transplantation Center.

Why do you become sleepy during meetings? In this week’s check-up, Eric Metcalf explains how the increase in carbon dioxide in the air affects our ability to think and stay focused in crowded rooms.

“Sound Medicine” covers breakthroughs in research and the day-to-day application of recent advancements in medicine. It’s also available via podcast and Stitcher Radio for mobile phones and iPads and posts updates on Facebook and Twitter.

It is co-produced by the IU School of Medicine and WFYI Public Radio (90.1 FM) and underwritten in part by Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. “Sound Medicine” airs on the following Indiana public radio stations: WBSB (Anderson, 89.5 FM), WFIU (Bloomington, 103.7 FM; Columbus, 100.7 FM; Kokomo, 106.1 FM; Terre Haute, 95.1 FM), WNDY (Crawfordsville, 91.3 FM), WVPE (Elkhart/South Bend, 88.1 FM), WNIN (Evansville, 88.3 FM), WBOI (Fort Wayne, 89.1 FM), WFCI (Franklin, 89.5 FM), WBSH (Hagerstown/New Castle, 91.1 FM), WFYI (Indianapolis), WBSW (Marion, 90.9 FM), WBST (Muncie, 92.1 FM), WBSJ (Portland, 91.7 FM), WLPR (Lake County, 89.1 FM) and WBAA (West Lafayette, 101.3 FM).

 “Sound Medicine” is also broadcast on these public radio stations across the country: KSKA (Anchorage, Alaska), KTNA (Talkeetna, Alaska), KUHB (Pribilof Islands, Alaska), KUAF (Fayetteville and Fort Smith, Ark.), KIDE (Hoopa Valley, Calif.), KRCC (Colorado Springs, Colo.), KEDM (Monroe, La.), WCMU (Mount Pleasant, Mich.), WCNY and WRVO-1 (Syracuse, N.Y.), KMHA (Four Bears, N.D.), WYSU (Youngstown, Ohio), KPOV (Bend, Ore.) and KEOS (College Station, Texas).