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Don’t Shovel Your Heart Out
We’re waiting for the next snowfall. We’ve had a couple of light ones so far and we used shovels to clear our driveway and sidewalk. They didn’t amount to much, but we’ll get a heavy snow here pretty soon. We’ve been using shovels for years. I’m aware of the risks for heart attacks in certain…
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Should We Trust Artificial Intelligence?
I‘ve read a couple of articles recently about Artificial Intelligence (AI) lately and I’m struck by how readily one can get the idea that AI tends to “lie” or “confabulate” and sometimes the word “hallucinate” is used. The term “hallucinate” doesn’t seem to fit as much as “confabulate,” which I’ll mention later. One of the…
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Artificial Intelligence: The University of Iowa Chat From Old Cap
This is just a quick follow-up which will allow me to clarify a few things about Artificial Intelligence (AI) in medicine at the University of Iowa, compared with my take on it based on my impressions of the Rounding@Iowa presentation recently. Also, prior to my writing this post, Sena and I had a spirited conversation…
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Rounding At Iowa Podcast: “The Promises of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine”
I listened to the recent Rounding@Iowa podcast “The Promises of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine.” Those who read my blog already know I’m cautious and probably prejudiced against it, especially if you’ve read any of my posts about AI. I was a little surprised at how enthusiastic Dr. Gerry Clancy sounded about AI. I expected his…
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Amaryllis Progress and Other Notes
I have a few messages to pass on today. This is the last day of November and the Amaryllis plants are doing so well Sena had to brace the tallest one using a Christmas tree stake and a couple of zip ties. It’s over two feet tall! I’m not sure what to make of almost…
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Clozapine REMS Program May Go Away
The Psychiatric Times published an article about the large majority of FDA committee members recently voting to dismiss the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) for clozapine. That reminded me of my short post about Cobenfy, a new drug for schizophrenia. It has side effects but none of which necessitate the need for a REMS…
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Fluoride in Your Precious Bodily Fluids
Yesterday, Sena and I talked about a recent news article indicating that a federal judge ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review the allowed level of fluoride in community water supplies. The acceptable level may not be low enough, in the opinion of the advocacy groups who discussed the issue with the judge, according…
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University of Iowa Psychiatrists Publish Huntington Disease Study Results
I ran across a fascinating story about a study on Huntington’s disease published by members of the University of Iowa Health Care. The study examined how the Huntington’s disease gene might enhance brain development and function early in life prior to the onset of the devastating disease. It was published in The Annals of Neurology:…

