HPV Vaccine May Help Clear Airway Papillomas

Papillomas on the right vocal cord HPV vaccine like gardasil can be used to help prevent not only genital warts, but also oral warts and warts of the airway. Such warts are known as papillomas and can keep recurring after surgical excision leading to lifelong morbidity. Although gardasil and other HPV vaccines are typically used to vaccinate young tweens, it has been found effective even in much older individuals. In this study , the HPV vaccine decreased the incidence of surgeries for re…

1/31/2017 0

Continue Reading

HPV Vaccine May Help Clear Oral Warts / Papillomas

Contrary to popular belief that it may take years for the HPV vaccine to be truly effective, Texas researchers reported they were able to completely clear all oral papillomas due to the HPV virus in an adult within 3 months of vaccination. Specifically, they reported that a man in his 60s who suffered from recurrent oral papillomas in spite of multiple excisions was clear of all lesions within 3 months after receiving the quadrivalent HPV vaccine. Interestingly, this patient had HPV-32 w…

9/05/2015 1

Continue Reading

Aspirin Slows Brain Tumor Growth (Acoustic Neuroma)

Image from Wikipedia There is a type of benign brain tumor called acoustic neuroma or vestibular schwannoma that causes progressive hearing loss on just one side. This non-cancerous tumor which arises off the balance/hearing nerve (cranial nerve 8) typically grows larger in size over time leading to not only hearing loss, but also dizziness, facial paralysis, and even death if large enough. Harvard researchers, however, have recently reported that aspirin may  appear to slow and perhaps…

1/31/2014 0

Continue Reading

Pediatric Sinus Development and Sinusitis

There is a tendency for any type of nasal drainage to be attributed to " sinusitis " in children. Especially in young children, "sinusitis" is a relatively rare cause for nasal drainage and congestion which is actually more commonly due to viruses and enlarged adenoids . The reason why sinuses play a relatively minor role in nasal drainage and congestion is because sinuses are not fully developed in children. It probably is not until around the age of 7 years old th…

11/02/2013 0

Continue Reading

Why Do Humans Have Weak Sense of Smell

Compared to nearly all other animals, humans have the weakest sense of smell. You would think that humans and our closest evolutionary cousins (chimpanzees, apes, etc) would have similar sense of smell, but humans still have a much weaker olfactory sense. Why might that be? Well, research from Karolinska Institutet have discovered that humans are the ONLY mammals whereby no new neurons are formed in the olfactory bulb after birth. Or if there is any, it is VERY little. In all other …

5/27/2012 0

Continue Reading

Major League Baseball Bans Under the Tongue Deer Antler Spray Use

On Aug 6, 2011, ESPN reported that MLB players have been issued a warning regarding use of Deer Antler spray administered under the tongue. Deer-Antler spray contains "potentially contaminated nutritional supplements" along with IGF-1 (Insulin Growth Factor) which players have used in the past as an alternative to steroids, especially given it can't be detected in urine samples (only blood testing). What's with Deer-Antler spray specifically? Scientists discovered IGF…

8/07/2011 0

Continue Reading