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Cataplexy and Catalepsy in the Movie “The Comedy of Terrors”
We watched the Svengoolie TV movie last night, “The Comedy of Terrors.” It was my third time seeing it. I wrote a blog post about it in March 2024 partly because the condition of catalepsy is mentioned. Mr. Black’s butler points out that Mr. Black had periods of catalepsy. Much to my surprise, I didn’t…
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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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Another Congressional Hearing on UAPs and We Still Don’t Know Who Was Driving That Thing
I just sat through the two and a half hour long House Committee Oversight and Accountability hearing dramatically entitled: “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth.” The impression I got is that somebody still thinks we can’t handle the truth. This is the second congressional hearing on UAPs I’ve seen. I have to admit, I thought…
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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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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…
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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:…
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AI Does Your Laundry
Recently we had somebody from the appliance store check our brand-new washing machine. The tech said “the noises are normal”—and then told us that many of the functions of the washer are run by Artificial Intelligence (AI). That was a new one on us. Don’t get me wrong. The washer works. What sticks in the…
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People Remember Hurricane Edna
The hurricane season this year continues to be deadly, and they are not named after women anymore. That stopped in 1979; how and why it stopped is quite a story in itself. The latest one is named Milton, which is a benign sounding name, but the storm is anything but that. I was reminded of…
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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…
Go Retire Psychiatrist 