When I heard about the new AvertD genetic test, pronounced like “averted,” I was compelled to contact the CEO of SOLVD Health, the maker of AvertD, and ask him to answer some of my questions. To my surprise, he was willing to do so, and her…
Category: Meds
Venture-backed telemental health care companies are creating a new opioid epidemic
More Americans are seeking mental health care than ever before, but many people receiving treatment have never met their psychiatrist in person—or even at all. Telemedicine has been growing in popularity for years, but the COVID-19 pandemic sent tele-h…
GLP-1 medications like Wegovy are effective metabolic health tools for teens with insulin resistance
Lizzie is a 13-year-old with a great sense of humor. She tells it like it is, especially to her Mom, Jackie, who admits to being a bit of an Almond Mom (the parent who is stuck in a weight-focused diet culture). Jackie leads a very healthy lifestyle an…
Elite access vs. public scrutiny: Medication disparities exposed
A recent New York Times opinion piece detailed a lack of available pain medications. While the DEA claims that it is not purposefully restricting legitimate medication availability, even the names of its own operations belie this statement. On Hallowee…
Too many older adults are taking risky sedative medications
A recent investigation in Quebec uncovered a concerning trend: benzodiazepines — medications commonly used for sleep or anxiety — are being overprescribed. This investigation has prompted the Quebec College of Physicians to closely examine …
Saving lives with naloxone: perspectives from the frontline
According to a recent report by the Stanford-Lancet Commission on the North American Opioid Crisis, “more than 600,000 people in the USA and Canada have died from opioid overdose since 1999, and a staggering 1.2 million more are estimated to die …
How Enhanced Recovery After Surgery solves our opioid problems
In retrospect, we were an addicted nation waiting to happen. Not from a self-indulgent culture, not from an unwillingness to suffer hardship, nor any of the generational criticisms of lack of grit. Our opioid crisis derives from an impatient culture th…
Topoisomerase inhibitors and chronic pain
Topoisomerase inhibitors emerged in the American medical landscape in 1971, thanks to the discovery by Dr. Jim Wang of the E. coli omega protein. Topoisomerase I, an enzyme identified by Dr. Wang, plays a crucial role in DNA unwrapping from supercoilin…
Off-label prescriptions, side effects, and lawsuits: Navigating ethical and legal dilemmas
A recent TV advertisement attempted to recruit clients for a class action suit against a pharmaceutical manufacturer (PM) for a medication side effect (SE). The “cause of action” was unstated: was it the side effect’s existence or tha…
DEA overreach: a threat to doctors’ freedom in American medicine
Today, doctors’ liberty and property are at risk when they choose to treat a patient. Not because of some new law but because of the misapplication of old ones. The current opioid panic has essentially given the DEA free rein to target any physic…
