Author Archives: Tony Breu

This was the second episode in a two-part series called “The Eyes Have It”. In the first episode we talked about the connection between Wilson disease and copper deposition – the Kayser-Fleischer ring. For this episode, we discussed something else that deposits in or around the eye: bilirubin.  Unlike with Kayser-Fleischer rings – a difficultContinue reading “Episode 17: Why does bilirubin deposit in the eyes?”

This is the first episode in a two part series we called “The Eyes Have It”. For this episode, Avi discussed Kayser-Fleischer rings, the well-known – if rarely seen – physical exam finding associated with Wilson disease. Wilson disease is an autosomal recessive inherited dysfunction of the ATP7B copper transporter, whereby copper is unable toContinue reading “Episode 16: Why do Kayser-Fleischer rings form in the cornea in Wilson disease?”

In this episode we examined why cryptococcal meningitis can lead to severe increases in intracranial pressure (ICP, defined as an opening pressure at lumbar puncture of 20 cm H2O), despite often being associated with such little inflammation in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The association between cryptococcal infection and elevations in ICP is well established, especiallyContinue reading “Episode 15: Why does cryptococcal meningitis cause severe elevations in intracranial pressure?”

This episode of the podcast was inspired by a patient Hannah cared for. The patient was found to have septic pulmonary embolism (SPE). On rounds, Hannah’s fellow offered an explanation. Hannah was inspired by this and dug into the topic a bit more. Septic vs Bland Pulmonary Embolism A septic pulmonary embolus is a clotContinue reading “Episode 14: Why do septic pulmonary emboli occur in the periphery and bases of the lungs?”

For this episode of the podcast, we discussed why renal failure leads to platelet dysfunction. More specifically we discussed the so-called “uremic platelet”. Amazingly, the connection between renal failure and bleeding has been observed for a long time. This association was first recognized in 1764 by Giovanni Battista Morgagni. In 1836, Richard Bright observed thatContinue reading “Episode 13: Why does uremia cause platelet dysfunction?”