Thymosin α1 is an immune modulating drug that was recently the subject of a large scale multi-center randomized clinical trial in China. Thymosin α1 modulates T-cell function and improves antigen presentation among other things. It had shown promise in multiple single center trials. The most recent by Wu et al. […]
Right before the pandemic upended our lives, Kevin Lozo MD, now a (almost graduated) resident of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh, came to the University of New Mexico to part in the UNM Evolutionary Medicine elective, one of the few electives of its kind taught in a US medical […]
Iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy is common. Should it be treated? Hemoglobin during pregnancy is lower than in the non-pregnant state. As compared to pre-pregnant levels, hemoglobin is decreased by approximately 1g/dL in the second trimester. Hemoglobin declines by another 1g/dL in the third trimester. As Sifakis and Pharmakides write: […]
In the early 2000s I went on one of many epic fishing expeditions to Baja California with my good buddies Roland and Greg. Although our main target was dorado (mahi-mahi), I spent one afternoon fishing for reef fish with Greg. Our hooks spooled out, and within a few minutes we […]
Should we give aspirin to patients with sepsis and septic shock? After all, sepsis is believed to be a syndrome of dysregulated inflammation and coagulation leading to organ failure and death. Because of aspirin’s anti-inflammatory and anti-platelet properties, it should be helpful in sepsis, right! Right?Turns out that proposition is […]
I explored this topic in a piece I wrote for the Evolution and Medicine Review. How should we treat critically ill patients who come in with shock? How fast should we intervene and at what blood pressure target? What should we use to raise blood pressure and improve flow? Dozens […]
Pop Quiz: Intensive care patients often have very high blood sugars. Do you think doctors should lower their blood sugar back to the normal range with insulin? If you were wondering about this question, I have good news. The New England Journal of Medicine published a study in September 2023 […]
High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is a risk factor for stroke. That is one of the reasons that many of us take a daily medication to reduce blood pressure. Hypertension can be viewed as a disease of modernity. Hypertension is widespread in industrialized countries and is increasingly common as […]
The last post asked whether we should feed sick people less, which would make sense if sickness behaviors are adaptive. This post asks whether we make infection worse when we block pain. Pain is a central feature of several sickness behaviors including myalgias, hyperalgesia, and headache. While technically these are […]
Sickness behaviors are a coordinated suite of behavioral changes that accompany illness. These evolved behaviors include lethargy, decreased sociality, reduced eating, disinterest in sex, and increased sleep. Many of these are evolutionarily conserved, seen across the tree of life. For instance lethargy, social withdrawal, and eating less are seen in […]
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