Longevity Metrics

This episode discusses my OPINIONS regarding Direct Primary Care. It is not intended to provide medical knowledge. Just an interesting discussion!   Summary Direct Primary Care (DPC) is a new movement in primary care designed to improve the provider patient relationship, accessibility of providers to their patients, and transparency of pricing. At its core, it is defined by patients or their emplo...

Background United States healthcare costs the most of any country in the world. Unfortunately, the health of our population and quality of care provided does not support the cost. We offer the worst healthcare value in the entire world (Value = Cost/Quality)! This has to change for the sake of ourselves and our children. The changes needed are simple. But, change is difficult because so many peopl...

Summary Space is a hostile environment. Microgravity, radiation, temperature extremes, vacuums, isolation, and forces related to takeoff and landing are just a few of the hazards faced by astronauts and other space voyagers. Humans have been capable of leaving planet earth for just 60 years. Since that time, we have learned a lot about how to keep humans safe and healthy in space. However, our kno...

Summary Space is a hostile environment. Microgravity, radiation, temperature extremes, vacuums, isolation, and forces related to takeoff and landing are just a few of the hazards faced by astronauts and other space voyagers. Humans have been capable of leaving planet earth for just 60 years. Since that time, we have learned a lot about how to keep humans safe and healthy in space. However, our kno...

Summary Drowning is defined as respiratory impairment caused by submersion in a liquid media. There are 3 outcomes; death, death with long term morbidity, and death without long term morbidity. Children are at particularly high risk. Over half of adult drowning involve alcohol. Most drownings are preventable.   Morbidity and Mortality Drowning victims struggle to stay above water or may just be un...

Summary For thousands of years indigenous Americans have used hallucinogenic mushrooms in religious ceremonies as entheogens. These mushrooms are now known to contain psilocybin, a small molecule with profound mind-altering properties. While many cultures have understood the therapeutic potential of psilocybin for thousands of years, most modern countries are only now accepting psilocybin’s potent...

Summary G Force is a measure of acceleration, or a change in velocity and/or direction. All of us experience 1Gz, while standing on earth. However, military fighter pilots may have to perform under 9Gz. Such large G Forces can lead to loss of consciousness (G LOC) and even death. G Force Tolerance is a measure of how many Gs a person can withstand prior to loosing consciousness.  Many factors can...

Summary Mercury is a heavy metal and the 67th most common element in the earth’s crust. Its unique chemical properties have led to its use in a number of industries including laboratory equipment (thermometers), medical equipment (blood pressure cuffs and preservatives), dental amalgams, fluorescent lights, chlorine production, and gold and silver mining.  Burning coal creates the majority of the...

Summary Lead is a dense elemental metal utilized by humans for possibly over 8,500 years. This toxic material has no known biological function in human physiology. It is particularly harmful to the brain, peripheral nervous system, blood, gastrointestinal tract, reproductive organs, mental health, and essentially every other major organ system.   Morbidity and Mortality At very high exposure level...

Lecture Summary 2020 was a crazy year. I learned so much and hope that every single public official has as well. This episode will be the final post of season 1. Episode 29 represents the authors opinion and will provide no medical knowledge. Join me on this more controversial than normal episode!   Key Points COVID19 Pandemic Lessons -       Society must distinguish between war time and peace tim...

Lecture Summary mRNA, or messenger RNA, tells biological cells how to construct proteins from the code (genes) contained in our DNA.  Using synthetic mRNA, multiple organizations have created vaccines that are very effective against COVID19 infection and very safe. The pace of progress has been extraordinary. Join me in learning about this new incredible technology as well as the results of two pa...

Lecture Summary Vaccines are biological tools used to educate our acquired immune system. They have allowed for the prevention of numerous infectious diseases within populations throughout the world.  Additionally, they have made it possible to eradicate diseases on a global scale. I believe that vaccines are the greatest clinical medicine advancement ever made. We depend on these biological tools...

Lecture Summary The goal of the medical community is the eradication of communicable infectious diseases. Vaccines have given us the tools necessary to create such a disease-free future.  Following complete eradication, vaccinations actually become unnecessary, as with smallpox.  However new human diseases are a constant threat. In fact, this threat has never been greater. More pandemics will come...

Lecture Summary The basic reproduction number, R0 (R zero or R naught) is a measurement used in epidemiology focused on the infectivity of a given pathogen. It attempts to predict how many people will become infected by one infected person in the absence of any immunity within a given population. It is not a biological constant and can be affected by human behavior, societal infrastructure, geogra...

Lecture Summary Pneumoconioses are fibrotic interstitial lung diseases caused by the inhalation of inorganic mineral dusts. Occupational exposure to asbestos, silica, and coal over many years are the most common causes. Sadly, this preventable disease is on the rise world-wide and no targeted treatments exist.  Key Points -       Lung diseases are very common in the workplace and include occupatio...

Lecture Summary Pneumoconioses are fibrotic interstitial lung diseases caused by the inhalation of inorganic mineral dusts. Occupational exposure to asbestos, silica, and coal over many years are the most common causes. Sadly, this preventable disease is on the rise world-wide and no targeted treatments exist.  Key Points -       Lung diseases are very common in the workplace and include occupatio...

Lecture Summary Ketamine is a small molecule that works mainly through inhibition of the NMDA receptor in brain and nerve tissue.  It has varying effects at different doses and can be used for a number of medical indications including depression, suicidal ideation, acute and chronic pain, sedation, and anesthesia. Ketamine is a very safe drug when used intermittently and appropriately. However, it...

Lecture Summary Ketamine is a small molecule that works mainly through inhibition of the NMDA receptor in brain and nerve tissue.  It has varying effects at different doses and can be used for a number of medical indications including depression, suicidal ideation, acute and chronic pain, sedation, and anesthesia. Ketamine is a very safe drug when used intermittently and appropriately. However, it...

Lecture Summary Ketamine is a small molecule that works mainly through inhibition of the NMDA receptor in brain and nerve tissue.  It has varying effects at different doses and can be used for a number of medical indications including depression, suicidal ideation, acute and chronic pain, sedation, and anesthesia. Ketamine is a very safe drug when used intermittently and appropriately. However, it...

Lecture Summary This podcast talks about disaster preparedness, how to prepare, the initial assessment, and the importance of reflection for constant improvement. Key Points - We are not prepared for disasters and emergencies. COVID19 made this very clear. - Preparing requires thinking through possible emergency scenarios, developing algorithms, training, gathering supplies, and periodically re-tr...

Lecture Summary Keeping your brain healthy pays dividends. It can also help prevent dementia down the road. Join me on an interesting discussion regarding how to keep your brain working optimally for years and years. Key Points - exercise your brain, think and challenge yourself mentally constantly. - exercise your body, this has been well studied and will help prevent dementia - eat good food - g...

Lecture Summary Many new cancer drugs have marginal benefit or do not work at all. Their prices are obscenely high. Sadly, like the idiots we are, we pay for them. This podcast reviews the first chapter of Vinayak Prasad's book Malignant. The first chapter is a must read for any physician and the entire book is fantastic. Key Points - Fojo et al performed an analysis of 71 consecutive drugs f...

Lecture Summary This podcasts reviews all of prenatal care and recommendations for how pregnant woman can stay safe during pregnancy. Much of this episode is based on my own personal practice. So much of pregnancy care is based on the current standard of care, expert opinion, and "what we have always done". More clinical trials are needed to find out what parts of prenatal care are impor...

We hear a lot about why healthcare providers are so burned out. Most of the discussion is centered around the horrible systems we work in, medical insurance frustration, loss of provider autonomy, increasing complexity, and long hours. However, another important factor related to provider burnout is our increasingly unhealthy patients who do not take any responsibility for their own health and sea...

Lecture Summary Listeria is a gram positive rod that can cause rare but devastating infections in humans. The young, old, pregnant, and immunocompromised are at highest risk for listeriosis, the disease caused by this ubiquitous environmental bacteria. This podcast will review the basic bacteriology, epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of listeriosis.   Key Points -       Listeria i...