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<p>On &#8216;Sound Medicine&#8217;: Preventive care, changes to the DSM, and supercharged cells</p>

On ‘Sound Medicine’: Preventive care, changes to the DSM, and supercharged cells

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The award-winning “Sound Medicine” announces its program for Jan. 20, featuring several segments on the benefits of preventive care, the Indiana Blood Center’s regenerative medicine program, and why your primary care provider may not wear a white coat.

“Sound Medicine” covers controversial ethics topics, breakthrough research studies 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.

Are preventive care benefits available? Mary Reed, Dr.PH., staff scientist at Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research, recently conducted a study that found many people may not be getting the low-cost preventive medical care that’s available to them. In fact, less than 20 percent of the participants knew preventive office visits, screenings and tests are either free or available at a low cost. In response to her findings Dr. Reed believes consumer education is needed.

Can bad cholesterol be banished? Laurence Sperling, M.D., director of the Center for Heart Disease Prevention and professor of medicine at Emory University, speaks about LDL apheresis, a procedure that helps people get rid of harmful cholesterol. Dr. Sperling uses LDL apheresis on patients who can’t control their cholesterol through medicine or diet. Eligible patients must have been on maximum medication and diet therapy for at least six months, have a high LDL level and have documented coronary heart disease.

Could supercharged cells cure cancer? Dan Waxman, M.D., executive vice president and chief medical officer for Indiana Blood Center, discusses a new treatment for prostate cancer, Provenge. The regenerative medical treatment involves supercharging white blood cells to enhance their ability to fight prostate cancer. The Indiana Blood Center currently has 100 patients participating in the procedure. The center has previously been known as a blood bank, but Dr. Waxman hopes cell-based therapies will become a larger part of its business.

Are psychiatric diagnoses dependent on the Diagnostic Statisticians Manual? Hugh Hendrie, MB, Ch.B., D.Sc., a geriatric psychiatrist, Regenstrief Institute investigator and IU Center for Aging research scientist, discusses changes to the Diagnostic Statisticians Manual, which provides standard criteria for the classification of mental disorders. Disorders such as binge eating and hoarding have been included for the first time, while Asperger’s syndrome and hypersexual disorder have been excluded.

Where’s the white coat? Cancer specialist Larry Cripe, M.D., medical director of palliative care at Indiana University Hospital, discusses why he doesn’t wear a white coat and why he urges beginning medical students to forgo wearing one as well.

“Sound Medicine,” 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, is aired 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).