"This blog was developed to provide medical updates that are important and have my perspective as additional insight."
Actually….talk up. There is a great new project by MIT students to develop a diagnostic test for Parkinson’s disease using voice pattern recognition. It turns out that the nervous system control of the vocal cords has a strong correlation with nervous system changes, and the students at MIT are in the process of perfecting this …
We have a lot of Podcast information for those who are interested, on Podomatic. Now, I am resuming with new Podcasts and you can hear the latest one I’ve done on the upcoming 2013 flu season RIGHT HERE! Keep looking for updates on a regular basis, to hear the latest from Doctor Doug.
Hi Dr. Lakin– I’m forwarding this message because it speaks to an issue that has concerned me for some time. I have been working out consistently, lifting weights and stretching twice a week, walking or bicycling twice a week and doing yoga twice per week, for several years now, and have felt that I was …
What is CRS? Well…it’s not a scientific term….it stands for “CAN’T REMEMBER SQUAT” …and is shorthand for the memory issues that develop as we get older. Memory issues develop as young as 40 years-old, with the latest research showing that the 40+ brain is in decline as regards memory, and this is 10-20 years earlier …
Patients sometimes say to me….” I like to stay away from the doctor”…in such a way that they don’t want to offend me, but just to let me know. My answer is often….”Yes….we killed George Washington…among other great moves.” In fact, historians do note that blood-letting, common in the age of Washington, was used to …
There is a new focus on the importance of sleep as it relates to our overall health. From concerns that sleep can lead to obesity and diabetes, to questions of medication over-use and safety. This TED TALK, by Russel Foster, explains the importance of sleep and puts the modern view of sleep on trial. He …
Eric Kandel’s article in the New York Times this week, echoes the comments made in by Dr. Jim Schulte in our recent conversation on psychiatry (<<<SEE THE VIDEO HERE>>>) The chemistry of the brain, as complex as it is, is becoming increasingly understandable with the use of fMRI (this stands for functional MRI….a type of …
Read More “BRAIN CHEMISTRY BECOMING INCREASINGLY CLEAR IN DEPRESSION”
Chest pain is among the most common symptoms that brings patients in to the Internist. It’s obvious why this is such a concern….we all know this can be a sign of heart disease and ignoring such symptoms can lead to severe consequences, including sudden death. But….most of the time, chest pains are not related to …
The new E- cigarettes use a vaporization technique with water to deliver nicotine and flavored substances without smoke. It sounds like a good idea in ways: eliminate the over 1000 chemicals in smoke and you will prevent lung cancer and other lung injuries. But it’s not clear just how safe these E-cigarettes are. I actually …
Read More “LISTEN UP….E CIGARETTES…A CURIOSITY AND PROBABLY A HEALTH CONCERN”
Art H has been a patient for a long time and he’s 80. He’s known as ‘the oldest guy playing hockey’ or at least one of the oldest, and he’s a legend to some. Art’s engagement in life is what keeps him young. He recognizes he’s growing older but does not let that stop him …
Larry Q (name changed) is a patient of mine who told me a funny story. A group of his buddies always chided him about being the most healthy one in their tennis group. Well into his 80’s, he required no medication. Larry was not a medical miracle, rather he was just a nice guy who …
Certain Whole Fruits Linked to Lower Diabetes Risk By Amy Orciari Herman (www.jwatch.org website) Adults who frequently consume certain whole fruits, including apples, grapes, and blueberries, have a significantly lower risk for type 2 diabetes than those who eat little fruit, according to a BMJ study. Three cohorts of U.S. healthcare professionals, comprising nearly 190,000 adults without …
Read More “FRESH FRUITS PREVENT DIABETES DESPITE CONTAINING NATURAL SUGARS”
The other day my patient Mr. T, was having his physical and I asked him about his health habits. I asked about his exercise, and he explained to me that he did aerobic exercise three days a week for 30 minutes, doing treadmill and cross-training and bicycling, and he said something to me that was …
OK…that’s an exaggeration. But, his recent passing was the occasion of my reading is obituary in the NYTIMES, and there I discovered that he was another link-in-the-chain in the story of Gleevec, a cancer therapy breakthrough that has cured patients of a form of leukemia that was previously uniformly fatal. Tony Pawson focused his research …