MedEvidence! Truth Behind the Data

Send us Fan Mail Pulmonologist Dr. Mitchell Rothstein shares his expertise on chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, COPD. He explains what the condition is, how it manifests in the body, and the risks of untreated COPD. Dr. Rothstein also reviews available mainstream COPD medications and explains that even with the best medications, a failure in delivery can lower effectiveness. Dr. Rothstein al...

Send us Fan Mail Executive Editor Dr. Koren joins Kevin Geddings live from the MedEvidence! offices. We get insight into how the MedEvidence team sifts through clinical-research-related news. During this call we also learn a little about novel science from across the medical specturm, including evidence that losing too much weight too quicklly may increase inflammation, and news of an AI tool in E...

Send us Fan Mail Cardiologist Dr. Michael Koren sits down with Alisa, a person concerned about her blood pressure and the medications she is on. Alisa explains her history of pregnancy-related hypertension and the challenges she has faced with controlling her blood pressure before Dr. Koren reviews her medication list. The heart doctor explains what each of the medications does in the context of b...

Send us Fan Mail Derrell Thomas joins Dr. Erich Schramm to talk about his experience as a clinical trial participant. The two discuss Derrell's history growing up in a military family, his faith, sport, music background, and the need to keep a healthy weight to support his lifestyle. Dr. Schramm asks about how Derrell, who joined a weight loss study, is liking the process. Derrell talks at le...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Michael Koren joins Kevin Geddings to report from his last week at a major cardiovascular health conference and the focus on innovation. Dr. Koren explains the difference between treating a disease and curing it, and how we have historically had difficulty with true cures. He then talks about the innovations of AI and genetic treatments that may lead to cures for conditions wh...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Michael Koren and Rich Jones, in front of a live audience, present a rundown of cholesterol, what it is, and what the numbers you get on a lab test mean. They discuss why cholesterol matters, what labs measure, what affects your numbers, and why the same lab results can mean different treatments for different people. To exemplify this, Dr. Koren reviews the lab results of thre...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Michael Koren joins Kevin Geddings from New Orleans to share the latest updates from the American College of Cardiology (ACC) conference. The doctor relays new changes to the lipid guidelines that can affect what procedures and tests insurance may cover and goes into the increasing research into genetic treatments for heart issues. Dr. Koren also ties in new studies looking at...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Michael Koren joins Kevin Geddings to discuss how clinical research leaves patients with clarity, support and new care options, including through new gene editing studies for high cholesterol. They then move to talking about studies involving GLP-1 weight loss drugs and investigations into how to improve them. Be a part of advancing science by participating in clinical researc...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Michael Koren sits down with a clinical trial participant named Walt to talk about lipoprotein(a), also called Lp(a). At a community health event, Walt discovered he had hight levels of Lp(a), which puts him at an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Walt asks what Lp(a) is, how it causes damage, and how the investigational clinical trial medications work. The duo then m...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Michael Koren joins Kevin Geddings to discuss a new concept in cholesterol treatment: gene editing. Dr. Koren talks about a new study, just opening in the United States, that is the first of its class. This study explores gene editing to tackle familial hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol caused by genetics) through a once-in-a-lifetime, single-shot treatment. Be a part of...

Send us Fan Mail Rheumatologist Dr. Manish Jain joins Cardiologist Dr. Michael Koren to break down what gout is, why it can be one of the most painful forms of arthritis, and why it can affect far more than the big toe. Dr. Jain explains gout's metabolic underpinnings, the role uric acid plays in the disease, and how systemic complications can affect the kidneys and beyond. The doctoral duo t...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Michael Koren and Dr. Ravi Pande present What You Should Know about Strokes, including how high cholesterol and blood pressure can increase your risk. In this episode, recorded in front of a live audience, the two doctors discuss the BE FAST warning signs of a stroke and the importance of getting to an emergency room as fast as possible. Then they talk about treatment options,...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Michael Koren joins Kevin Geddings to discuss the Fatty's Liver's Domino Effect; the concept that a fatty liver can cascade into serious liver problems, including a need for a liver transplant. The duo also discusses the FibroScan, a non-invasive test to assess the level of fatty liver for at-risk individuals. They finish by talking about the importance of early diag...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Robert Pearl joins Dr. Erich Schramm to discuss the burgeoning role AI will play in the American healthcare system and how doctors may be able to leverage the systems to spend more time with patients who need interventions and achieve better patient outcomes for all. They spend time comparing AI outcomes not to an ideal but to the current system, and discuss pilot programs tha...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Michael Koren joins Kevin Geddings to discuss an eventful weekend, focusing on the passing of singer, songwriter, and pianist Neil Sedaka. The doctor talks about how a teacher early in the musician's life changed his trajectory and that teachers in general undersand the importance of bringing students up to their potential. The doctor then relates this to clinical researc...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Gagandeep Singh joins Dr. Michael Koren to discuss his triangle approach, which combines the talents of a medical doctor, a nutritionist, and a trainer to tackle the medications, diets, and exercise changes needed to make a difference in metabolic diseases. Metabolic diseases include diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Dr. Singh, who practice...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Michael Koren joins Kevin Geddings to contrast the fragmented NBC coverage of the Winter Olympics to the more comprehensive level of attention and care granted by clinical research staff. The doctor expresses woe at the lack of a national "moment" that should have been granted by back-to-back men's and women's hockey victories, caused by weak broadcast cove...

Send us Fan Mail Endurance training coach Owen Shott joins cardiologist Michael Koren to discuss electrolytes. The two experts discuss the role of electrolytes in the body and in the commercial marketplace. They review what electrolytes are, the major electrolytes we need, why they may be depleted in some athletes, and how to restore electrolyte balance. They also review major supplement brands in...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Michael Koren joins Kevin Geddings to talk about the heart. They discuss the origins of Valentine's Day and how high cholesterol can affect the cardiovascular system, including the heart. Then Dr. Koren transitions into talking about new investigational cholesterol therapies being researched - including gene editing. The doctor explains what cholesterol is, how gene abnor...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Erich Schramm and Dr. Michael Koren lead a presentation on diabetes and obesity in front of a live audience. The doctors talk about the role willpower plays, how ultra-processed foods hijack our brain, and what a healthy diet looks like. They also discuss the myriad signaling molecules in the body that tell us we're hungry or full and when to digest all that food. The doc...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Michael Koren joins Kevin Geddings to talk about what the Super Bowl can teach us about medicine. The doctor discusses on how players get two weeks off to prepare (and heal) for the Super Bowl. He then relates this to a growing trend in investigational medicine where pharmaceutical companies are searching for longer-term medications for blood pressure and other conditions that...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. H. Jackson Downey sits down with MedEvidence! ™ to give the low-down on keeping your lipoprotein(a) numbers down. Lipoprotein little a, also called Lp(a) , is a really, really, really, really, really bad cholesterol that is genetically determined, meaning exercise and diet don't help lower the numbers. Instead, Dr. Downey explains, clinical trials are looking into investi...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Michael Koren joins Kevin Geddings to relate his latest reading - the biography of the "father of the atomic bomb," J. Robert Oppenheimer - to medicine. He shares the sentiment that science is the practice of making the complex understandable, and explains that this is also the goal of medicine. The doctor explains the process of medicine as an effort to distill comp...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Mitchell Rothstein goes over the FibroScan, a liver scanning technology that produces fast and cheap measurements of liver fat content and fibrosis. Dr. Rothstein reviews what the FibroScan is, how it works, the process of getting a FibroScan, and what the results mean. The doctor explains when you should get a FibroScan, what to expect from the process, and the accuracy compa...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Michael Koren joins Kevin Geddings to offer the solace of taking control of your medical future in these uncertain times. The doctor reminds listeners that when news is stressful and chaotic, doing things that impact you and your life can help reduce anxiety. He suggests that taking advantage of free screening exams at clinical research sites may help people make sense of the...