-
Will A Medicine Work For You? A Simple Test Might Tell – Pharmacogenetics
A simple test using a swab of cells from the inside of your cheek can dramatically improve your medical treatment. The test can predict whether a drug will help, if you need a different dosage, or if you are at risk of severe side effects. This testing is called pharmacogenetics or pharmacogenomics. Read more
-
Trade War With China Threatens To Make Problems With Generic Medicine Worse
Earlier in September, Reps. Eshoo and Adam Schiff had an op-ed in the Washington Post, “Opinion | China’s grip on pharmaceutical drugs is a national security issue.” I couldn’t have agreed more. I wrote a letter to the editor, “How a trade war could turn deadly,” published September 19. Read more
-
It’s Tick Season—Know Your Enemy
This post first appeared in Forbes last year. While we are thinking of fall and that we can relax our guard, this is your friendly reminder that ticks are still quite active–and will be any time there is not a freeze. It’s time to worry and ramp up your protective moves; tick season is getting more active. Read more
-
Swimming Pools, Hot Tubs, and Other Summer Recreational Water Hazards
Is nothing safe anymore? Just in time for summer fun, the CDC announced an increase in infections from swimming pools and hot tubs. In their new Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), the CDC announced that cases of a parasite, cryptosporidium, had increased approximately 13 percent each year between 2009–2017, with 444 outbreaks reported in total. Read more
-
Do You Know Which Mosquito Repellents Really Work? Most People Are Wrong
Being summer–and a wet one at that–it seems appropriate time to repost this favorite from Forbes: Many Americans surveyed in June on how to protect themselves from mosquito-borne diseases like Zika, dengue and Chikungunya are ill-prepared. The June survey by Spectrum Brands Holdings showed that respondents were extremely overconfident about their knowledge. Read more
-
Ticked Off – What We Don’t Know About Lyme Disease
It’s tick season again, so I’m sharing this article that first appeared in Forbes in 2015 as a reminder of what to look for. Unfortunately, little has improved in our ability to diagnose Lyme since then. My best advice is to treat your clothes and shoes with Permethrin regularly and to do tick checks several times per day after being outside. Read more