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    AFP CLINICAL ANSWERS APRIL, 2026

    This is the second article based on information presented the American Family Physician  journal’s section titled “Clinical Answers.” The April…
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    IVERMECTIN: FOR CANCER?

    Over the past 5 to 10 years, no drug has been more controversial than Ivermectin. All the uproar during the…
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    GLP-1’S AND BREAST CANCER SURVIVAL

    Who isn’t taking a GLP-1 these days? There are so many reasons for doctors to prescribe them that almost everyone…
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    6 days ago

    ADVERSE EFFECTS OF GLP-1’S

    Literally every day I read something about Glucagon Like Peptide-1Receptor Agonists, GLP-RA’s. That’s the million dollar name for the class…
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    7 days ago

    QUICK MEDICAL ADVICE FROM THE AAFP

     American Family Physician is the scientific journal of the American Academy of Family Physicians (the AAFP). The AAFP is the…
    Healthcare Policy
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    SPENDING TO TRAIN FAMILY DOCS DIVERTED

    Increasing the number of practicing primary care physicians has been a serious consideration for the past fifty years. It seemed…
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    In all my 82 years, the thought of getting a tattoo has never crossed my mind! It’s not that I’m…
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    ABNORMAL LAB RESULTS

    Every day, family physicians have patients with abnormal lab test results. Most of the time, the abnormal results can be…
    Drugs & Medications
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    FDA APPROVES ORAL GLP-1

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    WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PATIENT? No: 3

    Case three is a 66 year old male smoker who presents to the ER with 24 hours of chest pain.…
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    NOT ALL ABNORMAL LAB RESULTS MEAN DISEASE

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    CHOLESTEROL GUIDELINES CHANGE AGAIN

    We’re all keenly aware of the role cholesterol plays in the development of arteriosclerosis. It forms the core, or the…
    Infectious Diseases
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    WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PATIENT? No. 2

    This is the second in a series of articles titled “What’s wrong with this patient?” In it, I will present…
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    LOW-DOSE ORAL MINOXIDIL FOR MALE PATTERN BALDNESS

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    WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PATIENT?

    As Jim Nantz, the long-time CBS sports announcer, always begins, “Hello, friends!” DrGOpines.com is approaching the end of its 7th…
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    I’LL PASS ON THIS PROCEDURE

    No thanks! I’m not interested. I’ll figure out another solution for this problem! These are my feelings about a new…
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    CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE AND STENTS

    I just read an article on medscape.com that referred to changes that may be coming in the long-term prevention and…
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    ADDITIVES IN ILLICIT DRUGS

    If you didn’t already know, makers of illicit drugs include “additives and contaminants” in the opioid drugs they produce to…
    Drugs & Medications
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    GLP-1’S AND ALCOHOL

    Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1’s) have been discussed in this blog numerous times. This post is another that focuses on…
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    THE CORNEAL REFLEX

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    ELI LILLY DOESN’T MISS AN OPPORTUNITY

    Eli Lilly and company, the pharmaceutical giant headquartered in Indianapolis, does not miss an opportunity. They have top notch researchers…
    Neurology
    April 27, 2026

    A STROKE OR NOT A STROKE?

    Practicing medicine, every day is filled with solving “puzzles” one after another. These “puzzles” appear in your office in the…
    Heart Disease
    April 24, 2026

    WOMEN AND HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

    Last year, the American Heart Association updated their hypertension guidelines for women. They established four groups of hypertensive patients based…
    Bone & Joint Problems
    April 23, 2026

    HYALURONIC ACID

    Hyaluronic acid is the main ingredient in all those products that rheumatologists and orthopedic surgeons inject into the knees of…

      COVID-19
      October 27, 2025

      MEDICAL “MISINFORMATION”

      I fear I may be “wading into shark-infested waters” when I approach the subject in the title of this article.…
      COVID-19
      September 23, 2025

      LONG COVID STILL AFFECTING DOCTORS, NURSES

      The serious, deadly phase of the COVID-19 pandemic has ended along with the frequency of acute cases. It’s been over…
      COVID-19
      September 3, 2025

      VACCINES PROTECT CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

      COVID-19 and the vaccines developed to combat it did more to erode trust in old, well-established, standard vaccines than any…
      Cancer
      July 27, 2025

      COVID-19, VITAMIN D, CANCER, GLP-1’S, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

      MEDICAL NEWS BRIEFS #29 COVID-19 has a greater effect on kidneys than pneumonia: Natural aging causes a gradual decline in…
      COVID-19
      September 16, 2023

      CDC RECOMMENDS ALL AMERICANS 6 MONTHS AND OLDER RECEIVE AT LEAST ONE DOSE OF UPDATED COVID-19 VACCINE

      The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved “reformulated” COVID vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. That prompted a CDC Advisory…
      COVID-19
      March 18, 2023

      MOST COVID-19 DEATHS WORLDWIDE WERE AMONG OLDER PEOPLE.

      The high mortality rate from COVID-19 among the elderly was a fact everyone knew, but a lot of people ignored.…
      Preventive Medicine
      January 18, 2023

      STROKE AND PFIZER VACCINE

      Have you heard the latest about the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 booster? There’s always something, you know! This time, there are serious…
      Healthcare Policy
      December 26, 2022

      LIFE EXPECTANCY LOWERED—AGAIN!

      The CDC just announced the life expectancy of Americans recently dropped to a 25-year low. People born in 2021 have…
      COVID-19
      May 27, 2022

      mRNA VACCINE EFFICACY

      Who really knows how effective mRNA vaccines are for COVID-19. All degrees of outrageous claims about them are made back…
      COVID-19
      February 4, 2022

      MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES: What are they? What do they do?

      This is a difficult subject to write about. Difficult because to understand it, you must possess basic knowledge of the…
      COVID-19
      January 23, 2022

      “COVID-19 VACCINE BOOSTERS SAVE LIVES”

      Yes, they really do! And The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) is proud to report that fact. Two…
      COVID-19
      January 5, 2022

      COVID-19 VACCINE-MYOCARDITIS LINK INSIGNIFICANT

      Last summer, there was a lot of fuss about a link between mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 and the occurrence of…
      COVID-19
      October 11, 2021

      NATURAL IMMUNITY TO COVID-19: IS IT A REALITY?

      Why can’t today’s viruses play fair? Why can’t viruses like SARS-CoV-2 behave like the viruses of old—the varicella-zoster virus or…
      COVID-19
      September 28, 2021

      PFIZER COVID-19 VACCINE AND MYOCARDITIS

      In July, I wrote a blog about the incidence of myocarditis in young males after vaccination with Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine.…
      COVID-19
      September 17, 2021

      COVID-19 VACCINATION AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

      I’m having a bit of trouble with the current attitude of a lot of people. I’m referring to the 80…
      COVID-19
      August 15, 2021

      VACCINE HESITANCY: WHY PEOPLE REFUSE COVID-19 VACCINE

      I’m old enough to remember what life was like before vaccines. As a child I had measles, mumps, and chicken…
      COVID-19
      July 12, 2021

      MYOCARDITIS AFTER COVID-19 VACCINE

      Much ado has been made on cable news programs about the adverse effects attributed to COVID-19 vaccines. In particular, there…
      COVID-19
      March 6, 2021

      SIX COVID-19 VACCINES IN PHASE III TRIALS

      We’ve heard repeatedly about the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for COVID-19. Those are the two vaccines in use locally; if…
      COVID-19
      March 5, 2021

      ALLERGIC REACTIONS TO PFIZER-BIONTECH VACCINE

      Today’s media seems to have difficulty reporting the good news that comes from developments in the COVID-19 pandemic. Such is…
      COVID-19
      January 12, 2021

      COVID-19 VACCINE: MY EXPERIENCE

      The Maricopa County (Arizona) Health Department began administering COVID-19 vaccine in late December. Maricopa County has the bulk of the…
      COVID-19
      December 5, 2020

      AT-HOME COVID-19 TESTING

      These days news travels fast so you may already know the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the…
      COVID-19
      November 21, 2020

      PFIZER COVID-19 VACCINE 90% (95%) EFFECTIVE!

      By now you’ve surely heard the good news about the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company in collaboration…
      COVID-19
      July 5, 2020

      HERD IMMUNITY? What’s That?

      Lately, there have been many references to the term HERD IMMUNITY. Public health officials use it in their communications about…

      CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES

        Heart Disease
        February 24, 2021

        HEART ATTACKS IN WOMEN: Are They Really Different?

        For many years, the mantra has been that heart attacks in women are different; they are harder to diagnose, the…
        Heart Disease
        August 8, 2018

        CHOLESTEROL: What is it and how does it cause harm?

        Everyone has heard of cholesterol. Everyone has cholesterol. Everyone should worry about cholesterol. But what is it, why do we…
        Diabetes
        October 8, 2024

        MEDICAL NEWS BRIEFS #20

        Rates of Sudden Death After Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction): After an acute heart attack (myocardial infarction), sudden death rates have…
        Drugs & Medications
        January 21, 2026

        COMBINATION DRUGS FOR HIGH BP

        I have written this many times before, but policies and protocols in medicine are always changing. After several years of…
        Heart Disease
        May 6, 2019

        CHOLESTEROL TREATMENT GUIDELINES: Latest Info

        AHA vs. USPSTF Both the American Heart Association (AHA) and the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issue guidelines…
        Drugs & Medications
        March 7, 2022

        STATIN INTOLERANCE OVERESTIMATED

        The use of statin drugs has been challenged for years by the fear of alleged adverse effects. Patients who need…
        Preventive Medicine
        May 27, 2021

        COMMON SENSE TREATMENT OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

        Hypertension (high blood pressure) is a very common problem. I treated patients with high blood pressure every day, and many…
        Heart Disease
        January 2, 2021

        HYPERTENSION AFFECTS COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE

        An article I read today had some disturbing information about hypertension and the effect it has on memory, verbal expression,…
        Healthcare Policy
        November 19, 2025

        NEW BLOOD PRESSURE GUIDELINES

        In the healthcare realm, policies and guidelines for just about everything are constantly being re-evaluated. One such re-evaluation occurred recently…
        Drugs & Medications
        November 3, 2025

        LYRICA INCREASES RISK OF HEART FAILURE

        This article pertains only to patients who take Lyrica (pregabalin) and are over age 65. If you don’t fall in…
        Heart Disease
        June 26, 2021

        CORONARY CALCIUM SCORING TEST: Should you have one?

        For decades physicians have been searching for the ideal, non-invasive test to diagnose coronary artery disease early enough to prevent…
        Heart Disease
        August 11, 2022

        SWOLLEN LEGS: NO SIMPLE ANSWER!

        It’s fairly common for a person over age 65 to, at some time, experience swelling of one or both legs.…
        Preventive Medicine
        September 9, 2022

        DO STATINS CAUSE MUSCLE PAIN AND WEAKNESS?

        It’s statins again!  This time it has to do with muscle pain and weakness patients attribute to statin therapy. A…
        Drugs & Medications
        December 8, 2024

        NEW APPROACH TO TREATING HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

        For decades, the “step-wise care” approach to treating high blood pressure (HBP) was in vogue. This approach recommended starting with…
        Heart Disease
        August 21, 2020

        ATRIAL FIBRILLATION: Does it affect Length of life?

        That question and several others were answered recently by information reported in a study reported in the British Medical Journal…
        Heart Disease
        September 17, 2020

        ATRIAL FIBRILLATION: Benefit of Early Rhythm Control

        In the past, the emphasis for treatment of Atrial Fibrillation focused on control of the heart rate. A rapid heart…
        Heart Disease
        May 5, 2024

        CARDIAC EJECTION FRACTION

        Do you understand what is meant by heart failure? As the name implies, people with heart failure have a heart…
        Preventive Medicine
        June 22, 2022

        CAROTID STENOSIS AND STROKE

        Carotid stenosis is a narrowing of the artery in the neck that sends blood to the brain. When blood flow…
        Heart Disease
        May 25, 2023

        CARDIOVASCULAR MORTALITY STAGNANT, RISK FACTOR PREVALENCE WORSE!

        Most of us are aware of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. We hear about them in public service announcements,…
        Drugs & Medications
        July 24, 2025

        LIPITOR: THIRTY YEARS OF BENEFIT

        Lipitor (atorvastatin) has been in use in the U.S. since 1997 (28.5 years). It has been one of the most…
        Heart Disease
        April 15, 2020

        CHOLESTEROL

        What is it and how does it cause harm? Everyone has heard of cholesterol. Everyone has cholesterol. Everyone should worry…
        Preventive Medicine
        September 5, 2022

        DIABETES, MUSCLE PAIN, ANTIBIOTICS, HEART & INTESTINAL DISEASE

        AMERICAN ACADEMY OF FAMILY PHYSICIANS RESEARCH ARTICLES 2021 Many practicing physicians and family medicine residents in training are interested in…
        Heart Disease
        June 25, 2020

        SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE AND HEART DISEASE

        We’ve known for decades that high blood pressure and heart disease go hand in hand. The higher a patient’s blood…
        Heart Disease
        2 weeks ago

        CHOLESTEROL GUIDELINES CHANGE AGAIN

        We’re all keenly aware of the role cholesterol plays in the development of arteriosclerosis. It forms the core, or the…
        Aging
        January 20, 2020

        THE USE OF STATINS IN THE ELDERLY

        For some people, the use of statins continues to be a concern. Concern, not because they don’t do what they’re…

        DAY-IN-THE-LIFE SCENARIOS

          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          2 weeks ago

          ABNORMAL LAB RESULTS

          Every day, family physicians have patients with abnormal lab test results. Most of the time, the abnormal results can be…
          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          March 27, 2026

          PHYSICIANS ARE NOT “PROVIDERS”

          Finally, someone besides me has taken offense at physicians being called providers. Since today’s world contains all levels of folks…
          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          March 23, 2026

          REST

          REST is not a state physicians find themselves in very often. In fact, the medical profession has a thing for…
          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          March 19, 2026

          OLDER PHYSICIANS: IMPAIRED?

          Many healthcare institutions and medical practices are seeing the age of practicing physicians increase as more continue to practice beyond…
          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          February 11, 2026

          THE QUIRKS OF MEDICAL EDUCATION

          Medical education is phenomenon unto itself. It is filled with nuances that make it distinctive in  character and personality, as…
          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          February 5, 2026

          KNOW YOUR LIMITS

          When I was in medical school, it seemed like my friends and family immediately thought I knew everything every other…

          YOUR WELLNESS MATTERS

            August 8, 2025

            FASTING FOR BLOODWORK IS OUTDATED

            Here’s something that might brighten your day. “It really doesn’t matter if you’re stomach is empty” [when you have blood…
            July 5, 2024

            PRIORITIES IN GERIATRIC CARE

            In spite of statistics that show the average life expectancy of Americans has been declining over the past 5-10 years,…
            January 9, 2024

            WHITE TEETH

            Many people today have a significant focus on personal appearance. You might not think so from the way segments of…
            September 1, 2023

            MEDICAL NEWS BRIEFS NO. 5

            Cancer Among Younger Americans is Increasing    A study published on JAMA Network Open using data from the National Cancer…
            August 25, 2023

            WATER FLUORIDATION, CREST TOOTHPASTE

            There’s little or no disagreement with the statement that fluoridation of community drinking water supplies has been one of public…
            August 5, 2023

            MORE ABOUT SUGAR IN OUR DIET

            Recently, I reported information that certain amounts of sugar in our diet were tied directly to increased risk of a…
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