"This blog was developed to provide medical updates that are important and have my perspective as additional insight."
Every year Phoenix Magazine publishes a guide featuring over 685 of the Valley’s best physicians. The doctors are selected through a peer-review survey. The theory is that medical professionals are the best qualified to judge medical professionals.The survey asks the doctors to nominate those doctors who, in their judgement, are the best in their fields. …
Read More “Some Good News: Dr. Lakin Named “Top Doc” Again For 2024!”
Taking drugs from the bench to the bedside is the ultimate challenge for pharmaceutical companies. Listen to this English researcher clearly explain how the basic scientific principles he uses in his research have led to the development of an extremely effective new therapy in breast and ovarian cancer. Fascinating and well stated.
Macular Degeneration is the most common cause of vision loss as we age. The conditions runs the gamut of mild findings in the eye on examination by the ophthalmologist (called drusen of the retina), to more severe changes that include new blood vessel development. New treatments, injections into the eyeball that stall the vision …
Back in my days at University of Iowa, I was fortunate to be instructed by two preeminent neurologist who specialized in STROKE and Vascular Neurology: Dr. Harold Adams and Dr. Jose Biller. Dr. Biller is now head of the department of Neurology at Loyola Medicine in Chicago, and his clarity of thought about stroke risk …
I remember vividly the when CT scanners that were first put in The Johns Hopkins Hospital back in the 80’s. There were something like 5 scanners put in all at once. They were revolutionary and they blew our minds. The tests yielded grainy images and took an hour or more to construct via computer. Image …
Keeping up to date on immunizations is a very important part of good health care planning. Here is a list of vaccinations that Dr Lakin recommends for adults and information about each. CLICK HERE! We encourage you to review the list and welcome a discussion with Dr Lakin at your next physical to see what …
As often happens in my practice, I have patients who tell me about the latest technology that helps with their medical condition or with issues of mobility. The latest is the WHILL MOBILITY DEVICE which is the latest in wheelchair mobility. It’s benefits are many, but most importantly is the simplicity of it’s controls, its …
Now that the electronic medical record is on-line and patients share in the information doctor’s kept ‘secret’ in the past, there are a lot of people who wonder about the diagnosis and comments in their chart. Although the ideal chart would be purely a documentation of all the facts related to a patients conditions, it …
The American Cancer Society is now recommended colon cancer screening begin at age 45 for those with routine risk of colon cancer. This is based on recent evidence that colon cancer is increasing among the younger generation and that the routine of screening at age 50 is missing these patients. Options for screening include colonoscopy, …
I had several patients forward me the video on the new BUTTERFLY ULTRASOUND. This device, which attaches to an iphone, is a $2,000 attachment to the iphone that works as an inexpensive ultrasound unit. I have checked it out, having become aware of it from my daughter-in-law who is in her Emergency Medicine Residency training …
Constipation is a topic I am well-acquainted with, and it’s something we talk about a lot with patients. I have a myriad of resources for constipation issues, but when you are really constipated and seriously ‘stopped up’….there is nothing better than Milk of Magnesia to come to the rescue. Yes…it tastes bad….but it works great. …
Yes….George Benson had it right…..with his 80’s hit ….Give Me The Night.….especially when it comes to taking your blood pressure medication A recent large-scale study from Spain shows that taking your blood pressure medication before bed is significantly healthier than taking your medication in the morning. Other studies have hinted at this, but this study …
UTI stands for Urinary Tract Infection….also know as a bladder infection. The are among the most common infections affecting adults in they used to be very easy to treat as the bacteria causing such infections were uniformly sensitive to all the various antibiotics we prescribe. But over the years, we are experiencing more and more …
The internet is a great source for information, but the current method of searching for topics that are both useful and accurate leaves a lot to be desired. Too much of the internet is trying to sell or has an angle. What we need are solid unbiased resources, and that is something that I try …
A patient emailed me: Hi Doc, Should I be concerned and switch my anti-depressant since it’s on the list of medications potentially causing dementia? I tried other medications in the past but they didn’t work as well & I felt awful and went back to Paxil. I’ve been on it for 18 yrs now, so …
Read More “Latest excitement about medications and dementia”