Ask Doctor Dawn

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 12-18-2025: Dr. Dawn opens by examining how market competition is actually working in the weight loss drug sector. Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy compete against Eli Lilly's Monjaro and ZepBound, with prices dropping nearly 50% as companies launch direct-to-consumer websites. The main barriers remain needles and refrigeration, driving development of oral versi...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 12-11-2025: Dr. Dawn presents colleague Dr. Paul Godin's essay on why US healthcare fails as a market system . She explains that healthcare violates every assumption of functional markets: patients can't compare options during emergencies, information asymmetry prevents informed decisions, demand is inelastic when one has an urgent medical issue, and trust is ess...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 12-04-2025: Dr. Dawn opens with an experimental vaccine that prevents severe allergic reactions by targeting IgE antibodies. The vaccine could eventually replace current monoclonal antibody treatments like omalizumab that require injections every two weeks. She explains how adjuvants work in vaccines as additives that irritate the immune system enough to notice t...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 11-20-2025: Dr. Dawn discusses GLP-1 inhibitors like Zepbound and semaglutide showing unexpected benefits for addiction treatment beyond diabetes and weight loss. Patients in rehab report these drugs mute cravings for alcohol, cocaine, and cigarettes. Multiple studies show reduced substance abuse rates in users, with VA and NIH conducting trials examining brain a...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 11-13-2025: Dr. Dawn discusses a New England Journal of Medicine study examining radiation exposure from medical imaging in over 4 million children showing increased hematological cancer risk. Head and brain CTs deliver highest bone marrow doses, with under-1-year-olds receiving 20 milligrays compared to background radiation of 1 milligray yearly. The study found...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 11-06-2025:>/p> Dr. Dawn interviews Cindy Jackonette and Dr. Michael Alexander about a fundraiser for pancreatic cancer awareness on November 15th at Bargetto Winery from 2-5pm, supporting the Santa Cruz Cancer Benefit Group. Dr. Alexander explains pancreatic cancer has only 10-15% five-year survival rates and is difficult to screen for. Screening involves comple...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 10-30-2025: Dr. Dawn opens with Halloween-themed scary medical stories, beginning with food toxins lurking in refrigerators and pantries. She explains how molds on grains and nuts, particularly Aspergillus species, produce aflatoxins that bind to DNA and cause liver cancer, making peanuts especially risky. Fusarium on wheat produces trichothecenes and fumonisins...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 10-23-2025: Dr. Dawn opens with a passionate plea about E-bike safety after observing riders ignoring stop signs and wearing inadequate helmets in Santa Cruz. She explains the physics of collisions, noting that force equals mass times acceleration, and a car hitting an E-bike rider at 20 mph delivers impact equivalent to falling from a two-story building. She emp...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 10-16-2025: Dr. Dawn explains the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology awarded to Shimon Sakaguchi, Mary Brunkow, and Fred Ramsdell for discovering T regulatory cells. Previously, medical teaching held that the thymus only eliminated self-attacking T cells, but Sakaguchi found that removing the thymus from newborn mice caused autoimmune disease, suggesting protective r...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 10-09-2025: Dr. Dawn opens by addressing an emailer's question about safety of low-dose lithium for dementia prevention. She reports finding a two-year double-blind placebo-controlled trial of 61 patients with mild cognitive impairment that showed no kidney damage from therapeutic lithium doses. While low-dose lithium at 2-3 milligrams daily appears safe compared...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 10-02-2025: Dr. Dawn opens by explaining how blood pressure treatment guidelines have been corrected back to 140/90 after the problematic 2015 SPRINT study temporarily changed recommendations to 120/80. That study used ideal measurement conditions - five minutes of quiet sitting, perfect cuff sizes, compliant patients - creating unrealistic targets that caused el...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 9-25-2025: Dr. Dawn opens with disturbing whistleblower allegations from Patrick Chase about organ transplant corruption. He claims poor patients at Parkland Hospital were systematically denied kidneys that were redirected to wealthier patients at UT Southwestern Medical Center. In 36 documented cases, doctors rejected kidneys as unsuitable for Parkland patients,...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 9-18-2025: Dr. Dawn opens by establishing her psychobiology background and introducing the neurohormonal axis connecting mind and body. She describes revolutionary research published in Nature Neuroscience showing that simply seeing sick people in virtual reality triggers actual immune responses. The study used VR avatars displaying infection symptoms approaching...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 9-11-2025: Dr. Dawn announces COVID-25/26 vaccines are now available at Safeway with same-day appointments, urging listeners to schedule quickly due to potential supply shortages amid uncertain federal vaccine policies. She discusses promising research on metformin for knee osteoarthritis in obese patients. Studies show metformin users lost half as much cartilage...

Broadcast from KSQD on 9-04-2025: Dr. Dawn opens by criticizing new FDA restrictions on simultaneous COVID and flu vaccinations, calling out vaccine regulator Vinay Prasad for creating artificial shortages. She explains that while no formal studies test multiple vaccines together, decades of safe practice demonstrate effectiveness. The FDA's requirement for separate testing ignores practical evide...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 8-28-2025: Dr. Dawn opens with concerning research about PFAS (forever chemicals) found in feminine hygiene products. Chinese and American studies reveal significant concentrations in paper diapers, sanitary pads, and especially period underwear, with some products containing up to 77,000 parts per million. These compounds can absorb through skin and never break...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 8-21-2025: Dr. Dawn opens with disturbing research linking respiratory infections to breast cancer reactivation. Studies show increased breast cancer deaths during COVID beyond screening delays, suggesting viral infections may awaken dormant cancer cells through inflammatory signals. Mouse models demonstrate that influenza infection can increase metastatic burden...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 8-14-2025: Dr. Dawn shares the story of Tim Fried, a construction worker who deliberately exposed himself to 850 snake venom doses over 18 years to build immunity. An immunologist developed antivenom from Fried's antibodies that neutralizes venom from 19 deadly snake species, potentially saving thousands of lives annually from snakebite deaths. She describes cutt...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 8-07-2025: Dr. Dawn opens with groundbreaking news about the first successful islet cell transplant for type 1 diabetes without immunosuppression. A 42-year-old man received gene-edited donor cells that were modified to avoid immune rejection by removing tissue compatibility markers and adding protective proteins. The transplanted cells in his forearm began produ...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 8-31-2025: Dr. Dawn interviews Katherine Rockwood and Jess Stevens, both registered nurses and breastfeeding advocates, during International Breastfeeding Month. They discuss community events including breastfeeding cupcakes at hospitals, partnerships with WIC (Women, Infants & Children) nutrition programs, and upcoming festivals featuring educational booths from...

Broadcast on KSQD, Santa Cruz on 7-24-2025: An emailer from Israel asks about mouth taping for sleep benefits, prompting Dr. Dawn to review a comprehensive study examining social media claims. She discusses the limited evidence base for most purported benefits like better sleep, oral health, and reduced snoring. The research reveals only mild sleep apnea showed meaningful improvement, while most o...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 7-17-2025: Dr. Dawn interviews Dr. Drew Richard, a first-year resident at Dominican Santa Cruz Family Medicine Residency. Dr. Richard discusses his motivation to bridge socioeconomic health disparities and his experience creating educational cooking episodes featuring cultural dishes from medical students. He explains his philosophy that medicine should help peop...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 7-10-2025: Dr. Dawn responds to an email about lion's mane mushroom blood thinning properties. Lion's mane contains hericenones that inhibit platelet aggregation but promote nerve cell growth. People on blood thinners like Eliquis or those with bleeding disorders should stop these supplements before surgery. She recommends lion's mane for cognitive preservation e...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 7-03-2025: Dr. Dawn responds to an email about vitamin D and statin interactions, explaining how statins may prevent vitamin D's longevity benefits by interfering with CoQ10 production. She references a study showing vitamin D preserved telomeres and prevented aging over 3-4 years, but benefits disappeared in statin users. For borderline high LDL, she recommends...

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 6-26-2025: Dr. Dawn opens with groundbreaking results from Vertex Pharmaceuticals' stem cell treatment for severe type 1 diabetes. The experimental therapy, Zimislecel, converts stem cells into pancreatic islet cells and infuses them into patients. In a 12-person study, 10 patients no longer need insulin after one year. The cells migrated to the liver and began p...