New York Times – Zap or chill? Targeting fat without surgery (Feb. 4, 2010)
Reducing fat around one’s midriff and thighs has become a defining quest of the modern age. It has brought us Zone Diet delivery, the ThighMaster and liposuction. Now a pair of machines that promises to tackle love handles without surgery can be added to this parade of wonders. The Zeltiq device is affixed to the offending jiggle and then cools a patch of midsection during an hourlong session at the doctor’s office. Zerona — a four-armed laser — zaps your belly, flanks and hips with red beams during six 40-minute treatments. Patient selection for any body contouring procedure is crucial, said Dr. Jeffrey M. Kenkel, vice chairman of plastic surgery at UT Southwestern. Read More

Dallas Morning News – Heart health: Is vitamin D the new superhero? (Feb. 2, 2010)
Is vitamin D the next big thing in heart health? "I'm cautiously optimistic," says Dr. Amit Khera, director of the Preventive Cardiology Program at UT Southwestern and chairman of the American Heart Association's State Advocacy Committee. Some studies indicate that people with higher levels of vitamin D have a lower risk of heart disease and stroke, along with fewer risk factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Now that could mean that vitamin D is just "keeping company" with other factors that lead to healthier hearts, Khera notes. But it makes sense biologically to him because the liners to the arteries have vitamin D receptors. Read More

Dallas Morning News – Explaining cholesterol in plain English (Feb. 2, 2010)
Cholesterol is never a problem for hunter-gatherers, according to Dr. Anand Rohatgi, a UT Southwestern cardiologist who specializes in preventive medicine. But our modern, Western diet is all too rich with excess cholesterol as well as the saturated, animal-derived fats that cause our livers to make much more than our cells need. All that extra gets stored in packages called plaques in the walls of the arteries that send blood to the heart and brain, restricting those vessels' ability to provide oxygen and nutrients. Read More