Overweight and obese patients with failing kidneys should not be excluded from getting a kidney transplant, says Dr. Reza Saidi, part of a team at Upstate Medical University that researched the topic. While weight and body mass index are factors surgeons consider when someone has end-stage renal disease, Saidi says research shows that overweight patients do well with new kidneys, and diseased kidneys are far worse than obesity. Saidi, an associate professor of surgery and the chief of transplant services at Upstate, discusses how weight can affect kidney transplants and notes that he encourages healthy weight and lifestyle practices in his patients in this week's episode of "HealthLink on Air."
Also on the show, swallowing bleach and wrong doses of common pain relievers are among the most common cases dealt with by the Upstate New York Poison Center, notes Michele Caliva, who reviews the overdoses and accidental ingestions the center logged in 2022. Caliva, the center's administrative director, also gives safety tips for parents. The 24-hour-a-day center -- reachable at 1-800-222-1222 -- celebrated 65 years of service in 2022.
And, the impact of treating a certain lung cancer with once-a-day radiotherapy vs. twice-a-day is explained by radiation oncologist Jeffrey Bogart, MD, whose research on the topic was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, so efforts to improve survival can make a huge impact. Bogart, a professor and chair of radiation oncology at the Upstate Cancer Center, compared the two treatment regimens for patients with limited small-cell lung cancer, meaning the cancer had not spread from the lungs.
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