Over the past week, I have received more questions about MRSA than just about any other topic. MRSA has also been called the "superbug". At its most basic level, MRSA is a type of staph bacteria called Staphylococcus aureus. This is a bacteria that is normally found on all of our skin. Yes, if you were to take some skin scrapings right now and look under a microscope, you would probably find some of the staphylococcus bacteria. The problem arises when that bacteria becomes resistant to antibiotics. That's when it becomes "Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus" or MRSA.

Here are a couple things to keep in mind. While the bacterium is resistant to Methicillin, there are other more powerful antibiotics, such as Vancomycin, which can still be effective. The key is to make the diagnosis early and to complete a full course of antibiotic treatment. That can get rid of the bacteria entirely. Some clues that you might have it include wounds that aren't healing - usually more than one at a time. These are obviously wounds that don't seem to get better even with normal antibiotic treatment.

A larger issue may be whether or not we are developing new antibiotics fast enough. There is no question that antibiotic resistance develops as a result of our increased and sometimes inappropriate use of antibiotics. So, there is a real need for new antibiotics. The problem is these new antibiotics are incredibly expensive to develop and take years of clinical testing before they are approved. After that, doctors will only prescribe them in rare cases, when other antibiotics don’t work. That makes drug companies less enthusiastic about developing the new medications.

There in lies a dilemma. Obviously, it would make sense for society to do everything possible to prevent antibiotic resistance. As we learned, however, that ship may have already sailed. There were around 90,000 cases of MRSA in 2005 and almost 19,000 deaths. And, we are already starting to hear of infections resistant to all the antibiotics that exist.

How will we take care of antibiotic resistant infections if there are no new medications in the pipeline? Keep in mind, this is not a theoretical question -- this is starting to happen already.

If women have latched on to anything from the onslaught of TV ads for the cervical cancer vaccine, and now for a special genetic test for human papillomavirus versus (HPV) , it's the idea that the chances of getting the disease depends a lot on the individual.

Consider, HPV causes most cervical cancers.

Of all the women in the U.S. with cervical cancer, 60 percent had never been screened, or hadn't been screened in the last 5 years, according to the American Cancer Society. That's why women should be diligent about getting their Pap tests. It's the gold standard for detecting cell changes in the cervix that could be caused by HPV.

But now, there's fresh interest in a different kind of test - a DNA test for HPV, a swab done during a regular pelvic exam, that its supporters say is better than the Pap, and may even muscle it out as the cervical cancer screening method of choice.

So, many women will ask - "Do I need an HPV test?"

The New England Journal of Medicine features a pair of studies extolling its virtues.

One, a Canadian study looking at more than 10,000 women, found the HPV test correctly found 95 percent of the lesions that could develop into cervical cancers; while the Pap test found only 55 percent.

Most women would take those odds, but it's not that simple.

First, the HPV test is only for women 30 years old and older. Think of it like this - virtually everybody who has sex is exposed to HPV, but the vast majority of HPV infections just flush out of a woman's body. So the test is only used on women 30 and older to reduce the number of transient infections.

And what exactly does it mean if you test positive for HPV? The HPV test has shown to be more sensitive than the Pap, but it's also less specific - so it can have a slightly higher false positive rate.

So a positive result could mean you need a follow-up test 6 to 12 months later. If that test is positive the HPV could have been hanging around awhile, putting you at risk for cancer.
Or it could mean nothing at all. There's concern too many people taking the test would test positive for HPV and get unnecessary treatment as a result.

Another issue - and not a small one - is that the HPV test isn't widely available and it is not always covered by insurance.

For now, the American Cancer Society says women should be screened using the Pap test, or Pap plus the HPV test if she chooses, because the HPV test does offer added benefits over the Pap alone. At this time, women can only get an HPV test along with a Pap test; it's not FDA approved as a primary screening test.

A benefit of double screening if both the HPV and a Pap test are negative is that doctors say you won't need another screen for three years, so it may save you a trip to the OB/GYN.

But, will HPV testing supplant Pap tests? Dr. Brian Slomovitz, Assistant Professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell believes we're in the cusp of a "revolution in cervical cancer screening" as we know it.

The American Cancer Society is quick to point out that questions remain.

The most recent research comparing these screening tests appears in the October 18 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Will you seek out the new HPV test in addition to a Pap test on your next doctor's visit? We'd like to hear from you.

Football player Kevin Everett is on the road to recovery

A lot of people have been following the story of Kevin Everett, the pro football player who suffered a fracture to his neck bones and a spinal cord injury on the playing field. At the time, his doctors immediately stated that he would be unlikely to ever walk again. It was devastating news. They added that they tried a therapy involving super-cooling the spinal cord and lowering the body temperature, in the hopes of a miracle. Well, as of today, it looks like that "miracle" is coming true. We now hear that Kevin Everett is moving his legs and is on the road to recovery.

I put miracle in quotes for a reason. As we investigated a little deeper, we found that Kevin Everett in fact suffered something known as a central cord syndrome. It's important to distinguish this from the types of spinal cord injury where people never walk again. This is the type of injury in which the central-most fibers of the spinal cord are damaged, but the rest of the spinal cord is intact. From some studies, we know patients under the age of 50 all recovered from central cord injury to the point of being able to walk. For patients between ages 50 and 70, the likelihood of walking was 69 percent (Full Report). So, in fact while Everett's recovery is terrific news for everyone, especially Kevin, it probably should not be considered a miracle or a result of super-cooling the spinal cord. It could be considered an expected part of his recovery.

There is no doubt Everett that still has a long road in front of him. Rehabilitation will be the name of the game. His hands will likely be most affected in the long run, and it is hard to say if he will recover to the point of running or playing football. But, Kevin, you have science on your side, which in this case is even better than a miracle. Please note, we've been in touch with the Buffalo Bills and Everett's doctors but they have declined our repeated requests for interviews.

Just because something is available over the counter doesn't always mean it's safe. Case in point: NSAIDs. Never heard of NSAIDs? Well, you have probably heard of some of the specific brands: Aleve, Motrin, Naprosyn and many others. NSAID is an acronym for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory. About 14 million Americans take them on a regular basis, and get this, an astounding 60 percent experience some sort of side effect.

Many times, these side effects can be minor, but they can also be more serious. Significant gastrointestinal bleeding can result, as can problems with your kidneys or even your heart. Yep, just from taking simple over-the-counter medication. What's also problematic is that many patients never bother to mention that they are taking these medications to their doctors. And, that could result in even bigger problems.

It turns out that many of these medications can increase your likelihood of bleeding. Imagine that your doctor has scheduled you for surgery and thinks you are not taking any medications, but in fact you are on a blood-thinning medication such as aspirin or NSAIDS. You can imagine the type of complications that might arise. I have seen it firsthand.

There is no question that some people absolutely need their medications to ward off the aches and pains associated with arthritis. So, here are a couple of tips. Take the medication at the lowest dose for the shortest amount of time. You could also consider a different class of medications altogether, such as Tylenol. Finally, you could take a medication to coat your stomach, if you are taking anti-inflammatories long term.

Have you ever had any trouble with NSAIDs? What did you experience and what did you do about it? What is your best advice?

Tyler Lazaruk works with a facilitator to communicate

"I just love looking as if I know something. Look at me. Realize how under pressure. I just have hope now." At a keyboard with the aid of a facilitator, 24-year-old autistic Tyler Lazaruk tapped each letter one by one to form these words. His shocked parents looked on and cried with tears of joy and disbelief.

"These are his first words to us ever. This is the first time in his life that he has expressed a thought," said Tyler's father Clarence Lazaruk. "It's in there, but he just can't get it out. This is obviously how he's going to do it."

It's called facilitated communication and it's been used for some people with autism since the early 1990s. The method involves a facilitator who sits with a person with autism and holds his or her hand, wrist, arm or even simply touches a shoulder in order to help them type with a single digit. The theory is that the presence of a facilitator can help the person focus and target his or her neuromuscular abilities to type on the keyboard. It's controversial because critics say that the facilitator can be the one manipulating the typing rather than the autistic person.

I just returned from the "Autism National Committee" annual meeting in Edmonton, Canada. I saw many people using facilitated communication, or FC, effectively in various ways. In some cases, I was a bit more skeptical. For sure, it is amazing to hear the thoughts of people whose outward appearance (including no eye contact, repetitive words and physical movement) can seem vacant or nonsensical to most of society. But FC was just one part of the conference. People who fall into all categories of the autism spectrum disorders arrived from all over North America to listen and learn from other people with autism. I followed up with an autistic woman named Amanda Baggs, whom we profiled earlier this year. Amanda communicates with a keyboard without a facilitator. (Watch Video) She and many other adults with autism came to speak about living on one's own without a guardian. This conference's tag line summed it up, "Autism: Living Life to the Fullest." This event did not focus on treating or curing autism, but rather discussing the best ways to live and understand one's autism.

As for Tyler, he tried FC again the next day with a different facilitator. He had a far more difficult time, but was able to tap out with several typos, "Years of doing silly flaky behaviors are perhaps over." I couldn't help but ask his parents about the controversy. Did they believe these words came from their son? His father said, "Some people thought the facilitators were guiding the answers, and it's popularity has fallen off with the bad press. I'm telling you there is something to it."

Do you or a loved one have any personal experiences with autism? How much emphasis is there on curing or treating autism vs. living with autism? Do you think autism is on the rise?