Dr. Michael Walter Szpak M.D.

What are gallstones?Gallstones are hard, stone-like crystals found in the gallbladder. The gallbladder is an organ found beneath the liver, particularly on the right side of the abdominal cavity. The pear-shaped organ releases bile into the small intestine to help digest the food we eat. The liver...

The structure of the esophagus:The esophagus is a muscular tube of about 25 cm in length. It is lined by the non-keratinized stratified squamous epithelium, which abruptly changes to gastric epithelium at the gastroesophageal junction. The stomach is a very acidic environment that has special types...

Jean Alys Barker, Baroness Trumpington, has been an important figure in the political landscape of the United Kingdom for decades. Her grandson, Chris, has Crohn’s disease.The 95 year old Baroness has retired from politics, but was a recent guest editor on BBC’s Today show. Her segment about her...

Celiac disease is also known as non-tropical sprue or gluten induced enteropathy. It is an immune mediated enteropathy, triggered by a gluten containing cereal such as wheat, rye, and barley. This results in an inflammation of the upper small bowel, which improves when gluten is withdrawn from the...

Recently Canada dropped the gluten-free designation for Cheerios made by General Mills. However, the boxes produced in the United States still claim the cereal is okay for those who have celiac disease.Is there a different definition of gluten-free from Canada to the US? Well, the US may allow the...

Almost 40 percent of men say their sexual desire has decreased because of their Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD); over 25 percent say IBD prevents them from having sex and about 20 percent of men say it’s caused problems for them during sex. IBD is a chronic condition that affects 1.6 million people,...