Category: health care

  • CDC Meeting Results in Recommending a 2nd Covid-19 Vaccine Dose for Those 65yr and Older and for the Immunocompromised

    CDC Meeting Results in Recommending a 2nd Covid-19 Vaccine Dose for Those 65yr and Older and for the Immunocompromised

    I missed the October CDC meeting which resulted in a decision to recommend a 2nd dose of the Covid-19 vaccine for those 65 years and older and for the immunocompromised. The Evidence to Recommendations (EtR) slides by Roper indicated Covid-19 circulates year round, peaking in late summer and winter. The recommendation that those in the…

  • University of Iowa Psychiatrists Publish Huntington Disease Study Results

    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:…

  • Reading My Old Book in a New Light

    Reading My Old Book in a New Light

    Sena bought me a wonderful new lamp to read by and it improves on the ceiling fan light I wrote about the other day (And Then a Light Bulb Went Off).” The new lamp even has a nifty remote control with which you can choose the ambient feel. There are several selections, one of which…

  • Pooboo: Our New Exercise Bike

    Pooboo: Our New Exercise Bike

    We just got our new Pooboo exercise bike, model D518M. I don’t know why it’s called “Pooboo.” It replaces our old exercise bike, which I’ve called the Anti-Peloton in a previous post. The Pooboo came in a big box, and it’s worthwhile to figure out how to turn it upside down. That way you can…

  • U.S. News & World Report Ranks Iowa City Hospital in 9 Specialties

    U.S. News & World Report Ranks Iowa City Hospital in 9 Specialties

    The University of Iowa Stead Family Childrens Hospital in Iowa City has ranked in 9 pediatric specialties, including pediatric behavioral health by U.S. News & World Report!

  • Progress on the Single Leg Sit to Stand Exercise

    Progress on the Single Leg Sit to Stand Exercise

    Well, it has been since late July since I first tried the single leg sit to stand exercise. Recall the videos of that effort? I couldn’t really do much except collapse in the chair. I’m doing better lately but it’s hard to figure why. I haven’t really been practicing that much. You’ll notice that I’m…

  • FDA Approves Antipsychotic with New Mechanism of Action for Treatment of Schizophrenia

    FDA Approves Antipsychotic with New Mechanism of Action for Treatment of Schizophrenia

    I just noticed the FDA announcment of the approval of an antipsychotic with a new mechanism of action for the treatment of schizophrenia. The drug is Cobenfy and it interacts with cholinergic rather than dopaminergic receptors. It has a number of side effects which are anticholinergic. This could lead to psychotic symptoms that consultation-liaison psychiatrists…

  • Notes on the Blues and Rivers of Whiskey

    Notes on the Blues and Rivers of Whiskey

    I listened to the Big Mo Blues Show last night on KCCK radio (88.3 on your dial) as I usually do on Friday nights. It runs from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm and you can learn a lot from Big Mo (aka John Heim) about the blues. He also has a podcast called the Big…

  • We Got Our Vaccinations

    We Got Our Vaccinations

    I saw the headlines about how some people are skipping the Covid-19 and flu shots this year. But we decided to get them anyway. Sena got both but they were pretty close together and one bandaid covered them.

  • Can Artificial Intelligence Learn from My Book?

    Can Artificial Intelligence Learn from My Book?

    Recently the publisher of a book co-edited by me and my former psychiatry chair Dr. Robert G. Robinson asked me to sign off on a proposal to involve Artificial Intelligence (AI) in using the work. The book, “Psychosomatic Medicine: An Introduction to Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry,” is 14 years old now, but is still a practical tool…