Originally from Buffalo, NY, Michele Brannan graduated Magna Cum Laude with her Bachelors in Health Science then proceeded on to graduate With Distinction with her Masters of Physician Assistant Studies each from Gannon University in Erie, PA. She started her career at St. Louis University in Cardiology before joining Alton Internal Medicine where she has practiced for 10 years. Previously also serving as a Certified Diabetic Educator, she particularly enjoys working with diabetes and cardiovascular disease. She is published five times in The Clinical Advisor, a national publication for Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners, on articles involving hepatic encephalopathy, leukemia, diabetes, among others.
Michele, also an accomplished pianist and cellist, lives in Glen Carbon with her husband, Dan, and children.
A wiggly worm or tiny toad are fun to play with, as are mud pies by the swing set at recess. But with these moments of fun come exposure to germs.
Hand hygiene is the single most important measure to reduce the transmission of bacteria and viruses from person to person, or from an object to a person....
Leaves of three, leave them be. This is a great reminder for most varieties of poison ivy and oak. However there are other plants dissimilar to the triad-leaf type that can cause a similar effect as the most common culprits of what we call contact dermatitis.
In the United States, the most infamous...
The chicken pox virus, also known as Varicella, typically infects the young. But nowadays, it is exposed to our children through the Varicella vaccine, protecting them from the itchy viral illness. Like most viruses however, the infection never truly leaves us.
Shingles, or herpes zoster, is a reactivation...
Along with warmer weather, spring and summer also bring on a higher incidence of tick bites.
Ticks are not only a nuisance, but are the main vector for tick-borne illness such as Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF).
Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the United...
With the dog days of summer in front of us, we need to focus on keeping our largest bodily organ, the skin, safe.
Sunlight plays an integral role in Vitamin D synthesis and improves our mood. But it can also cause permanent damage to our skin.
Over the years research has shown that sunscreens...
There is clear and substantial evidence that Pap smears decrease the incidence of cervical cancer as well as the death rate from the disease.
Cervical cancer is common among women worldwide. The incidence of its mortality varies by how high or low the screening rate is. In the U.S. where the pap...
In this country, colon cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, is the second leading cause of cancer death (1). About one in three people who develop the disease die of it. Ninety percent of colon cancer cases are in those over the age of 50, and the risk increases with age.
A simulation model...
There is more scientific evidence about breast cancer screening than any other cancer.
The mainstay of screening, mammograms are backed by several large scale trials proving that they decrease mortality.
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women. In 2010, there were over 1.6...
The human papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted pathogen that causes anogenital cancer and genital warts in both males and females. The HPV vaccines have shown to be effective in preventing cervical cancer and other disease.
Persistent viral infection with certain types of HPV causes virtually...
In the past few decades, Americans have drastically increased their calorie intake, largely from an increased intake of carbohydrates, mostly in the form of added sugars.
Naturally occurring sugars, such as those in fruit and milk, are obviously healthier than the artificially-added sugars...
Did you know Riverbender.com is free for you thanks to our awesome advertisers? We noticed you're using an ad block software. Please give our sponsors some exposure by disabling your ad blocking service for Riverbender.com.
