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Some patients taking weight-loss drugs, like Ozempic, are beginning to report slower or no weight loss as their bodies build up a tolerance to the medication. Does this spell trouble for obese people looking to slim down long-term? Dr. Chuck Dinerstein reports his personal experience with the so-called Ozempic plateau.

A standard is needed for all adversarial proceedings against doctors who treat pain, to establish which DEA or State Medical Board witnesses can be considered subject matter experts – and who cannot. The standard must follow the principle of the Supreme Court decision in Ruan vs. United States: Burden of proof must be on the government, not the doctor - who must be presumed innocent until the government proves that the doctor has intentionally engaged in practices that they knew were dangerous to the patient.

Obesity — it's the bad word everyone throws around, but few want to truly understand. The American Academy of Pediatricians thought it had it all figured out with its shiny new treatment guidelines. However, those “evidence-based” recommendations came crashing down faster than a late-night fast food binge. Instead of slapping on BMI labels like outdated fashion trends, we should think about what’s really feeding the obesity epidemic. And no, it’s not just the carbs.

This week's reading - Michael Jordan's court battle with NASCAR because apparently racing isn't just about speed. Big Nanny tries to ruin ice cream with claims of "ultra-processed" doom, yet it's a scientific miracle. In nature news, flowers use static cling better than your laundry. Finally, drones are being sent to clean up Everest because climbers apparently leave more than footprints.

Russia has been aggressively trying clandestinely for years to interfere with American elections and to damage U.S. economic interests, national security, and public health. Examples include election interference, discouraging vaccine uptake, promoting opposition to genetic engineering, and sowing social divisiveness.

Today, the GUARDIAN study is moving newborn screening to genomic sequencing, potentially detecting hundreds of conditions before symptoms even appear. But can this cutting-edge technology replace traditional newborn screening? And what are the implications for the child, parents, and healthcare systems?

If hurricanes weren’t bringing enough misery, Florida’s warm, brackish waters are serving up flesh-eating bacteria. When storm surge meets seawater teeming with bacteria, disaster seems to breed more disaster.

Vaccination remains critically important, a shield not just against the physical ravages of COVID infection but also against the insidious mental health deterioration that can follow in its wake.

A JAMA study suggests that when doctors team up with Artificial Intelligence, they do indeed reach conclusions faster and, in some cases, even more accurately. But there's a catch: AI isn't exactly acing the test when it comes to the critical art of clinical reasoning. So, does adding AI make doctors smarter – or just faster?

Meet “Francis,” a man who had not one, not two, but three ding-dongs. Online dating was somewhat challenging for him and public restrooms were a minefield where Hell's Angel Spike, and Bonecrusher the demonic Bouncer, weren't amused by his "technique." Medicine doesn’t quite know what to do with him either; triphallia is so rare, it’s barely classified. But Francis is happy to be a legend in his own right, living life (now death) with his unique trio.

About 1,500 cooking fires occur every Thanksgiving, mostly from deep frying turkeys. While this practice is fairly new, my family was exposed to a very different Thanksgiving hazard many years ago: Aunt Wilma's turkey. Which is worse? Hard to say.

Mark Hahn and I discuss the critical vulnerabilities in the U.S. drug supply from Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

The announcement that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was chosen to possibly be the next head of HHS raises many questions about his suitability for the job, especially given some of his controversial beliefs. Here are a dozen questions I would ask Mr. Kennedy.

In the U.S., six non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are most commonly used to manage pain and inflammation. While this drug class is widely relied upon, it is also associated with gastrointestinal and cardiovascular risks. However, not all NSAIDs are the same; here’s a look at their key similarities and differences.

America isn't one unified whole but rather a mosaic of lived experiences. Researchers identify Ten Americas, each defined by a complex web of race, geography, and income, where life expectancy, a broad measure of health, is not a melting pot at all. The inequities that shape our health defy simple categorization.

With nearly a third of former NFL players believing they have brain damage and many battling suicidal thoughts, it's clear the game is exacting a deadly toll. Despite helmet improvements, football remains a dangerous collision sport.

A “dirty deed” was done by a Chatbot. The result? A teen killed himself. Regulations banning dangerous AI programs/products/apps are non-existent. And while this product/program might be offensive, ethical guidelines relating to its creation are also absent. So, what is a distraught mother (and society) to do?

The spectrum of information that can be obtained by prenatal testing is wide and rapidly increasing. Many mutations, or "abnormalities," are inconsequential, while others are significant. Genetic counseling combined with noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS) can be helpful.

Vaccination remains one of the most effective tools in protecting public health, and maintaining high immunization rates is essential to preventing the resurgence of preventable diseases. However, rampant anti-vaccine disinformation largely driven by politicians, grifters, and “influencers” on television and social media undermines public confidence in vaccination.

In 2013, the American Heart Association (AHA) thought it had heart disease prevention all figured out with their trusty "risk calculator." Fast forward a decade to the new and improved PREVENT equations, promising to reflect a more diverse and current U.S. population. While the old calculator had us popping statins like candy, the new equations suggest many of us might not need them after all. Welcome to the latest chapter in the never-ending saga of heart health guidelines.

Historians may record that it was the confluence in time and space of two events the unprecedented success of the "Old Joe" Camel ads and the anticipated U.S. Supreme Court ruling against tobacco companies which triggered the beginning of the end for cigarette advertising in America.

That is the concensus of leading physicians, toxicologists and epidemiologists who met in New York on Wednesday to discuss the issue of food safety and pesticide use. In an unusual action, a panel of scientists, joined by 65 of their colleagues, signed a full-page advertisement that appeared Wednesday in major national newspapers, denouncing the recent pesticide scare.

This material has been published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 38, 71-84 (1997), the only definitive repository of the content that has been certified and accepted after peer review.

Proposals for drug legalization are rooted in the belief that drug prohibition does not work. Legalization advocates point out that the prohibition of alcohol failed in the United States two generations ago. They argue that the use of illicit drugs is widespread despite prohibition and that the high costs and negative consequences of that prohibition ranging from costs for police and prisons to the loss of privacy caused by drug testing in many settings, notably the workplace are unreasonably high prices to pay for an ineffective policy.

Scientists from the American Council on Science and Health today urged the nation's physicians and scientists to unite in rejecting any Congressionally sponsored "global deal" that would offer the cigarette industry immunity from current and future litigation. Such a deal which may be the product of negotiations now under way with the Philip Morris Cos. and RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp. was described in detail in a front-page article in the April 16, 1997, Wall Street Journal.