The Curious Case of Dr. Xiulu Ruan
Dr. Ruan holds the world record for the most board certifications of any physician. But today he finds himself before...
When Behavior Becomes a Disease
Obesity is notoriously difficult to treat. We introduce food logs and recommend diet and exercise, with varying results. Instead, we...
The Chronic Disease of Debt
Medical debt in the United States has reached pandemic proportions. It is now the largest source of debt in the...
How Long Does Protective Immunity Against COVID-19 Last After Infection or Vaccination?
Researchers are beginning to better understand how existing immunity protects against reinfection and the prevention of severe COVID-19 that can...
Ninety Percent of Drugs Fail Clinical Trials
It takes 10 to 15 years and around $1 billion to develop a successful drug. Despite these investments in time...
Some Cancers are Preventable with a Vaccine
These viruses don’t cause cancer until long after they infect a person. Rather, the viruses teach the cells how to...
Not Everyone is Male or Female
Although the medical establishment is now recognizing that sex is not binary, society as a whole has been slow to...
In Research Studies and in Real Life, Placebos have a Powerful Healing Effect on the Body and Mind
Could the placebo effect tell us something new about the power of our minds and how our bodies are able...
One in Four Americans are Covered by Medicaid or CHIP
As of July 2021, a total of 83.6 million Americans were insured through either Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance...
The War on Drugs is a War on Right Thinking
The way we think creates the conclusions we make. Unfortunately, faulty logic has led to failed drug policy. It is...
When COVID-19 Policy becomes Biology
COVID-19 challenged our fundamental assumptions on science and values, showing us how often we are wrong without realizing it. The...
A Clinical Touch of Text
Clinical studies have a way of reaching conclusions that do not reflect individual patient experiences. One such study concludes that...
BIIB080 in Mild Alzheimer’s Disease: What a Phase 1b Exploratory Clinical Analysis Can—and Cannot—Tell Us
Can lowering tau biology translate into a clinically meaningful slowing of decline in people with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease? That is the practical question behind BIIB080, an intrathecal antisense therapy designed to reduce production of tau protein by targeting the tau gene transcript. In a phase 1b program originally designed for safety and dosing, investigators later examined cognitive, functional, and global outcomes as exploratory endpoints. The clinical question matters because current disease-modifying options primarily target amyloid, while tau pathology tracks...
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