health

Experts predict a virulent and long allergy season this spring. Those who suffer might now have a painless alternative to allergy shots. Also, an implantable lens could help those who suffer from age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of irreversible vision loss. Plus, a look at the Oklahoma dental practice that might have infected thousands of patients with hepatitis or HIV. Our guest: Midday health contributor Dr. John Cmar.

The Baltimore City Council is considering a major overhaul of the city’s zoning code that would reduce the density of liquor stores to promote healthier neighborhoods. The proposal, informed by a Johns Hopkins study, has caused an uproar among liquor store owners who feel they are being unfairly blamed for violence and poor health.

This segment originally aired on January 30, 2012.

For more than a year, Tom Hall talked with the writer and journalist Dudley Clendinen, a former national correspondent and editorial writer for the New York Times and the author of four books. Dudley was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Midday on Health contributor Dr. John Cmar gives an insider’s tour of how a hospital works. He’ll guide us through the admissions process, to the who’s who of medicine, to what you need to know about your hospital bill. 

Marc Agronin, M.D., geriatric psychiatrist in Florida and author of "How We Age: A Doctor's Journey Into the Heart of Growing Old," on how our bodies and brains age, and the way we understand aging.

Should women with especially high levels of testosterone be able to compete at the Olympics with their female counterparts? Or should a double amputee who runs on prosthetic blades be able to compete with able-bodied runners, or does the use of prosthesis give an unfair advantage? We look at the International Olympic Committee’s decisions when it comes to gender testing and the use of prosthesis in sport with Midday’s doctor-in-residence John Cmar. Also, an explanation of the newly approved HIV prevention drug Truvada.

This conversation originally aired on January 8th, 2012.

A new understanding of how certain brain cells work prompts a new direction in the study of the neurodegenerative disease ALS. Tom Hall talks about the new research with Jeff Rothstein.

Then, could 'small' be the next 'big thing?' Architect and industrial designer Daryl Landry discusses his digital magazine, Rohous, which caters to those who live in small spaces.

What if Baltimore's vacant lots were transformed into half-acre farms, producing greens, onions, herbs, berries, honey and other fresh produce for residents and for the city's restaurants and markets? Urban farms are becoming increasingly popular in Baltimore and other cities. What does it take to run one, and could this be an option for revitalizing some abandoned areas and for reducing the number of "food deserts" in the city?