Tag archives: disease

The statistics on Alzheimer’s Disease are staggering. Someone in the United States develops the devastating disease every 65 seconds. More than one in nine people (11.3%) age 65 and older has Alzheimer’s, and the percentage increases with age, with nearly 35% of those over age 84 suffering from the form of dementia. And Alzheimer’s disease […]

When most of America shut down last year, the Alzheimer’s Association was faced with a dilemma: What to do about its largest annual fundraiser, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s? Mass gatherings were obviously out of the question, but could they somehow restructure the event rather than calling it off? “The word ‘cancel’ never came up,” […]

When I think of my friend Miguel, the word “brave” is what comes to mind. One reason is because Miguel is Native American, a member of the Santa Barbara Chumash Band, and the word “brave” refers to a Native American warrior. Although Miguel has never, as least as far as I know, gone to battle […]

Local pet owners and veterinarians are reporting an increase in a deadly bacterial infection called Leptospirosis. Known as “lepto,” the bacteria that causes the disease is spread through the urine of infected animals, mostly rodents and wild animals such as raccoons and opossums; the bacteria can contaminate water that is then bathed in or drank […]

Dr. Michael Fisher has been co-medical director of acute dialysis at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital since 1984. He is the co-founder of Santa Barbara and Lompoc Artificial Kidney Centers – both dialysis centers – and, until his diagnosis with lung cancer five years ago, was an associate clinical professor of medicine at the USC Keck […]