Author Archives: Tony Breu

Why does weight-lifting increase muscle size? If you have ever lifted weights, you are likely to recall that in the hours and days after your workout, your muscles started to grow. Not everyone’s muscles grow to the same extent or degree, but this is a fairly standard response to resistance training. On this episode, weContinue reading “Episode 63 – Getting Swol”

Why do patients with liver injury or dysfunction have conjugated hyperbilirubinemia? On this episode of the podcast, we discuss another paradox: why does the liver’s ability to conjugate remain even in the setting of severe severe inflammation or fibrosis? It might make sense to see a dramatic elevation in unconjugated bilirubin in these situations, butContinue reading “Episode 62 – Connected Bilirubin”

Why can tick bites cause red meat allergy? When you think about tick bites, usually infections like Lyme disease or babesiosis come to mind. But on this episode of the podcast, we explore a surprising association between tick bites, a sugar moiety called alpha-gal, and red meat allergies. The story brings together many different strands, fromContinue reading “Episode 61 – Of ticks, alpha-gal, and red meat allergies”

Why can heparin cause hyperkalemia? Most of us have seen hospitalized patients with mild but persistent hyperkalemia with no obvious cause. You notice a potassium of 5.3-5.5 mmol/L every day, even though the patient had a normal potassium level on admission. These patients are not on spironolactone, and their renal function is normal. There justContinue reading “Episode 59 – Hyperkalemic heparin”

[Why] is furosemide susceptible to malabsorption from “gut edema”? Much of medicine is taught using clinical pearls. These small bits of free-standing, clinically relevant information are often based on experience or observation. Others have a backing in pathophysiology, even if the mechanism isn’t known to the teacher or the learners. On the podcast, we’ve coveredContinue reading “Episode 58 – Gutting a Pearl”