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Authored by Board-certified Allergists and Internists in the Great State of Florida, USA

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Showing posts from October, 2020

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Elevated White Blood Cell Count (WBC) Linked With Cardiovascular Disease

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Latest in lipidology: is lipoprotein(a), Lp(a), "the most dangerous particle you’ve never heard of"?

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Human psychology: Why do we have equivalents of bogeyman in so many countries around the world?

Bogeyman (also spelled bogieman, boogeyman, or boogie man) is a common allusion to a mythical creature in many cultures used by adults to frighten children into good behavior. This monster has no specific appearance, and conceptions about it can vary drastically from household to household within the same community. Parents may tell their children that if they misbehave, the bogeyman will get them. Bogeymen may target a specific mischief—for instance, a bogeyman that punishes children who suck their thumbs—or general misbehavior, depending on what purpose needs serving. Source: Wikipedia. Examples - by country - listed in alphabetical order: Afghanistan – Bala or Newanay Mama, which means "The Monster or Crazy person", is used to scare children when they don't want to sleep or when they don't want to take their medicine. Albania – There are two similar creatures that are used to frighten children. In the South (Vlore area), there is Katallani, that means "t...

The evolutionary advantage of having hair

Apparently, when our ancestors moved from the trees to the ground in the African savanna, they needed to shed their body hair so they can get cool and they needed to develop hair on their head to keep their brain cool. Hair also plays a critical importance in sharing to the other members of the species our age and physical condition. https://www.wsj.com/science/biology/human-hair-evolution-brain-sun-protection-9f109694?st=HQ5gjr&reflink=article_copyURL_share

Dermatologists are at their best at 10 years of experience - and AI is getting closer in competency

A recent study in JAMA Dermatology provides a realistic view of AI versus human performance in diagnosing skin cancer. Key finding: AI surpassed dermatologists with <3 years of experience, matched those with 3–10 years, but remained inferior to experts with >10 years of experience. The Study Researchers tested modern AI models (including foundation models) against 652 physicians on 1,117 realistic dermatology cases with clinical and dermoscopic images. Top AI accuracy: 72% Humans by experience: <3 years: ~68% 3–10 years: ~72% 10 years: 74.2% (highest overall) Why Experience Still Wins Seasoned dermatologists integrate subtle clinical context, patient history, and rare presentations that current AI struggles with. AI excels as a supportive tool - especially helpful for novices, triage, education, and areas with limited specialist access - but does not yet replace expert judgment. Takeaways Patients: Prioritize experienced specialists for concerning skin lesions. AI may improve ...

The two current heavyweight world boxing champions both have PhDs, believe or not

Believe or not, but the two current heavyweight world boxing champions both have PhDs... The two researchers are the Ukrainian heavyweight boxers and brothers Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko. Wladimir Klitschko, called "Dr. Steel Hammer"(born 25 March 1976, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan), currently holds the IBF, WBO, IBO and Ring Magazine world heavyweight titles. His older brother, Vitali Klitschko, is the current WBC world heavyweight champion. In the summer of 1996, Klitschko finished Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky Pedagogical Institute (Ukraine) and was accepted in the postgraduate study program of Kiev University. On 18 January 2001 in a conference hall of Kiev University of physical science and sports, Klitschko presented his doctoral dissertation and was awarded a Ph.D. in Sports Science. Klitschko speaks four languages: Ukrainian, Russian, German and English. Image source: Wikipedia , GNU Free Documentation License. Vitali Klitschko, called "Dr. Ironfist", (born 19 July ...

About Us

British Medical Journal Editorials, How Web 2.0 is changing medicine, Dean Giustini BMJ 2006;333:1283-1284 (23 December) "One of the best blogs in medicine is Ves Dimov's Clinical Cases and Images - Blog. It contains a rich collection of "presurfed" material for busy clinicians and features interactivity and timely discussion. Dimov is also a supporter of medical librarian bloggers. Why waste time fumbling with search engines when you can consult this blog for timely updates? As well as case discussions, Ves provides links to today's medical headlines from Reuters and clinical images via a dynamic, free photo sharing tool called Flickr. One of his slide presentations "Web 2.0 in medicine" is available on Slideshare (itself a fantastic new 2.0 tool). Clinical Cases and Images is a virtual laboratory for doctors and medical librarians interested in Web 2.0." The blog web site was founded by: Ves Dimov, M.D. Dr. Dimov is an Allergist/Immuno...

How Seasonal Allergies May Trigger Anxiety and Depression - A Possible Link

A new study by our team was published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and revealed a striking seasonal connection between allergies and mental health. We analyzed Google search trends in the U.S. from 2020 to 2025 and found that peaks in searches for “allergies” (especially allergic rhinitis) consistently lined up with increased searches for “depression” and “anxiety.” These mental health search spikes occurred during the classic allergy seasons — spring (March–May) and fall (September–November) — often rising at the same time or within a few weeks after allergy symptoms surged. There are at least two likely mechanisms: - Sleep disruption caused by nasal congestion, sneezing, and itchy eyes - Systemic inflammation from allergy-related cytokines that can affect brain function and mood Even in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic added extra stress, the allergy-anxiety pattern was clearly visible. Bottom line for patients and doctors: Allergies aren’t just annoying — they...

Higher fiber intake is associated with lower cancer risk and mortality

If fiber was a pill, you would take it for sure! Higher fiber intake has been associated with better health outcomes in multiple studies. Here is another reminder that fiber has been linked to lower risk of cancer and lower cancer mortality: https://x.com/humanos_me/status/1941128584547950617?s=46

How to give a talk/present a lecture - by MIT/Patrick Winston

Some goods points in the video below. Quality = f (K P t) -- explained at beginning: Patrick Winston's How to Speak talk has been an MIT tradition for over 40 years. Offered every January, the talk is intended to improve your speaking ability in critical situations by teaching you a few heuristic rules. 00:16 - Introduction 03:11 - Rules of Engagement 04:15 - How to Start 05:38 - Four Sample Heuristics 10:17 - The Tools: Time and Place 13:24 - The Tools: Boards, Props, and Slides 36:30 - Informing: Promise, Inspiration, How To Think 41:30 - Persuading: Oral Exams, Job Talks, Getting Famous 53:06 - How to Stop: Final Slide, Final Words 56:35 - Final Words: Joke, Thank You, Examples

Exercise for a minute every 20 minutes every day

Vigorous Intermittent Lifestyle Physical Activity (VILPA) Here is my suggestion for you: Exercise for a minute every 20 minutes every day. Turn on your watch timer to ring every 20 minutes, When the timer goes off, do squats for 1 minute and keep repeating during the day. The first thing you’ll notice is that you may be surprised how much time you spent in inactivity. The second thing you will notice is how much better you will feel 😊

What is Milk Thistle and Does it Affect Patients with Asthma?

A 56-yo male with severe asthma and cirrhosis due to hepatitis C takes milk thistle (Silybum marianum) for his liver disease. He is on maximal asthma therapy including ICS plus LABA, LTRA and prednisone 5 mg po qd. His pulmonologist is wondering if his milk thistle intake has anything do to with his difficult to control asthma. What is milk thistle? Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterized by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins. Prickles often occur all over the plant and are an adaptation to protect the plant against herbivorous animals, discouraging them from feeding on the plant. The national flower of Scotland is Scots Thistle possibly stemming from the story that a Viking attacker stepped on one at night and cried out, so alerting the defenders of a Scottish castle. Milk thistles are thistles of the genus Silybum Adans., flowering plants of the daisy family. They are native to the Mediterranean regions of Europe, North Africa and the Middle Eas...

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