"This blog was developed to provide medical updates that are important and have my perspective as additional insight."
What are a PPI and an MI??? Who cares….I saw the wordy “sexy” in the title so I decided to click this article and now I find it’s just a misleading come on. Actually, this header for the article is just the point: Provocative and salacious headlines create interest. And among the older set, the …
Read More “SEXY RESEARCH TOPICS GET COVERAGE…PPI’S AND MI’S”
SHINGLES IS CONTAGIOUS FROM PERSON-TO-PERSON. MYTH!!!! Shingles is reactivated Chicken Pox Virus (Herpes Zoster) from your own body—It comes from within (just like enlightenment!) You cannot catch Shingles from someone else. Shingles occurs when a nerve in your own body releases Herpes Zoster Virus down it’s length, creating a small patch of skin …
Read More “MYTH VS. FACT: SHINGLES IS CONTAGIOUS PERSON-TO-PERSON”
I was recently emailing my patient J.R. and the topic of his upcoming 90th birthday was on my mind. We ran into each other in Las Vegas ten summers ago when he was having a party for his 80th, so I thought I’d ask him his secrets for making it to 90. In his response …
Read More “THIS TIME, DR DOUG ASKS THE QUESTIONS AND A PATIENT RESPONDS”
A recent warning to avoid fish oil during chemotherapy for cancer treatments raises the question: Can vitamins and supplements do more harm than good? In the case of cancer patients taking fish oils, this might be the case. In mice, the administration of fish oil, while getting a common chemotherapy agent cisplatin (used in …
I’ve always been interested in the basis for understand how ‘we know’ things that we know. As a result of this, I became a philosophy major at Arizona State, and although I focused most intently on the Platonic Dialogues, and the Philsophy of Science, Epistimology (theories of knowledge) was an area of fascination. How do …
Yes…..I thought I might brag a little…about how amazing the Class of ’87 was at Hopkins, as the first classmate of mine from Hopkins to become a Dean of Medical School just was announced. Dr. James Hildreth, an MD-PhD from my Hopkins class is now taking up the Medical School Deanship of Meharry Medical College, …
PUBLISHED APRIL 1ST, 2015 “Doctor Doug; I have arthritis and cannot seem to move my fingers well. As a result, I am having a tough time texting my grandchildren and would like some medical tips to help me out.” Signed, B.U. Well BU, there is no question that osteoarthritis, the most common form of …
Read More “A PATIENT ASKS ABOUT TEXTING WITH ARTHRITIS….AND I RESPOND”
A recent study used BOTOX injections in the stomach (through a stomach scope) to delay emptying of the stomach, increase fullness, and to thus result in weight loss. The initial study looks promising, with larger trials to come. In the future, rather than doing surgery, we may be doing every 3-6 month injections of BOTOX …
KISS is a famous acronym that I love: Keep It Simple Stupid That, along with “Brevity is the soul of wit.” are two of my favorites. Here is a nice article with simple recommendations for how to eat in a healthy manner. It does not take an entire book to tell you the rules, …
It came as a shock to me today that my old professor, Dr. Levi Watkins, had suddenly died at the age of 70 from a heart attack and stroke. A tall, lanky cardiac surgeon, renowned at Hopkins for his skill and temperament, he was recognized throughout the institution as a ‘great man’ for his pioneering …
As you know, I’m a big fan of TED TALKS. It’s a great website for expanding our vision of the world and gaining new insights. A patient recently sent me this video that I’d not seen. Louie Schwartzberg is an amazing producer of films about the hidden world all around us. Take a look and …
I think it will come as no surprise to those of use raised on the Sony Walkman, that hearing loss is a growing concern. I say this, because I know about loud music blasting from headphones back in the 70’s, and how that has been amped up with the development of the iPod and improved …
Read More “HEARING LOSS IS A WORLDWIDE PROBLEM THAT IS GROWING IN THE YOUNG”
Oliver Sacks is a practicing neurologist and a wonderful writer, who has become a best-selling author with such books as The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, and the movie Awakenings among others. Recently, he found out that he has a fatal illness, and in his essay below, he provides a succinct and moving …
DOCTOR DOUG…..I’m hearing a lot about C diff infection, a type of diarrheal illness. They say it is increasing and I want to know “how do I know if I have it & how can I prevent myself and family from getting it?” –DK I RESPOND: C diff is shorthand for Clostridium Difficile, an …
One of the most impressive medical centers in Phoenix is the Muhamid Ali Parkinson Center at the Barrows Neurologic Institute. They provide a full array of services for patients with Parkinon’s Disease, and one of the best pieces of advice they ever provided me and my patients is a recipe for treating constipation that I …