Author Archives: Giancarlo Buonomo

Has the mystery of Beethoven’s deafness finally been solved? Just as the music of Ludwig von Beethoven is timeless, theorizing about his deafness apparently is also. On episode 72 (Bringing up Beethoven) of The Curious Clinicians, we discussed various theories for why Beethoven gradually lost his hearing, including syphilis, hemochromatosis and, intriguingly, Cogan syndrome, aContinue reading “Episode 95- Beethoven Redux”

Why do hot flashes occur? What’s something that people going through menopause have in common with people getting treatment for breast or prostate cancer? Hot flashes. But what are they, exactly? And why do they happen? In this episode, we’ll take a tour around the body and deep into the brain to answer both questions.Continue reading “Episode 94 – Flash in the PA”

Why do we use IV PPIs to treat acute upper GI bleeds? Like aspirin for acute coronary syndrome or heparin for pulmonary embolism, IV proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) for upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) are one of those buzzword remedies that everyone learns on their first internal medicine rotation. Bleeding is the most common GI complaintContinue reading “Episode 93- Pumping Protons, Pumping Blood”

Why don’t we use steroids in acute pancreatitis? If there is one process that, day in and day out, we fight against in medicine, it’s inflammation. Everything from asthma to gout to psoriasis involves it. Mild inflammation is often treated with things most people have at home, like ibuprofen, while more severe disease can requireContinue reading “Episode 92 – When the Cause is the Remedy”

Did ancient civilizations discover antibiotics? We can all agree that modern medicine is “advanced,” however a vague term that may be. We can, with relative ease, image the deepest parts of the body, identify and treat innumerable pathogens, and use machines to keep people alive even when their kidneys, hearts, and lungs are failing. It’sContinue reading “Episode 91 – Ancient Antibiotics”