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    May 7, 2026

    LOW-DOSE ORAL MINOXIDIL FOR MALE PATTERN BALDNESS

    Androgenetic alopecia is the scientific name given to male-pattern baldness. Alopecia is the medical term for hair loss of any…
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    May 6, 2026

    WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PATIENT?

    As Jim Nantz, the long-time CBS sports announcer, always begins, “Hello, friends!” DrGOpines.com is approaching the end of its 7th…
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    May 5, 2026

    I’LL PASS ON THIS PROCEDURE

    No thanks! I’m not interested. I’ll figure out another solution for this problem! These are my feelings about a new…

      COVID-19
      October 27, 2025

      MEDICAL “MISINFORMATION”

      I fear I may be “wading into shark-infested waters” when I approach the subject in the title of this article.…
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      September 23, 2025

      LONG COVID STILL AFFECTING DOCTORS, NURSES

      The serious, deadly phase of the COVID-19 pandemic has ended along with the frequency of acute cases. It’s been over…
      COVID-19
      September 3, 2025

      VACCINES PROTECT CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

      COVID-19 and the vaccines developed to combat it did more to erode trust in old, well-established, standard vaccines than any…
      Cancer
      July 27, 2025

      COVID-19, VITAMIN D, CANCER, GLP-1’S, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

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      COVID-19
      September 16, 2023

      CDC RECOMMENDS ALL AMERICANS 6 MONTHS AND OLDER RECEIVE AT LEAST ONE DOSE OF UPDATED COVID-19 VACCINE

      The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved “reformulated” COVID vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. That prompted a CDC Advisory…
      COVID-19
      March 18, 2023

      MOST COVID-19 DEATHS WORLDWIDE WERE AMONG OLDER PEOPLE.

      The high mortality rate from COVID-19 among the elderly was a fact everyone knew, but a lot of people ignored.…
      Preventive Medicine
      January 18, 2023

      STROKE AND PFIZER VACCINE

      Have you heard the latest about the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 booster? There’s always something, you know! This time, there are serious…
      Healthcare Policy
      December 26, 2022

      LIFE EXPECTANCY LOWERED—AGAIN!

      The CDC just announced the life expectancy of Americans recently dropped to a 25-year low. People born in 2021 have…
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      May 27, 2022

      mRNA VACCINE EFFICACY

      Who really knows how effective mRNA vaccines are for COVID-19. All degrees of outrageous claims about them are made back…
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      February 4, 2022

      MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES: What are they? What do they do?

      This is a difficult subject to write about. Difficult because to understand it, you must possess basic knowledge of the…
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      January 23, 2022

      “COVID-19 VACCINE BOOSTERS SAVE LIVES”

      Yes, they really do! And The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) is proud to report that fact. Two…
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      January 5, 2022

      COVID-19 VACCINE-MYOCARDITIS LINK INSIGNIFICANT

      Last summer, there was a lot of fuss about a link between mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 and the occurrence of…
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      October 11, 2021

      NATURAL IMMUNITY TO COVID-19: IS IT A REALITY?

      Why can’t today’s viruses play fair? Why can’t viruses like SARS-CoV-2 behave like the viruses of old—the varicella-zoster virus or…
      COVID-19
      September 28, 2021

      PFIZER COVID-19 VACCINE AND MYOCARDITIS

      In July, I wrote a blog about the incidence of myocarditis in young males after vaccination with Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine.…
      COVID-19
      September 17, 2021

      COVID-19 VACCINATION AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

      I’m having a bit of trouble with the current attitude of a lot of people. I’m referring to the 80…
      COVID-19
      August 15, 2021

      VACCINE HESITANCY: WHY PEOPLE REFUSE COVID-19 VACCINE

      I’m old enough to remember what life was like before vaccines. As a child I had measles, mumps, and chicken…
      COVID-19
      July 12, 2021

      MYOCARDITIS AFTER COVID-19 VACCINE

      Much ado has been made on cable news programs about the adverse effects attributed to COVID-19 vaccines. In particular, there…
      COVID-19
      March 6, 2021

      SIX COVID-19 VACCINES IN PHASE III TRIALS

      We’ve heard repeatedly about the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for COVID-19. Those are the two vaccines in use locally; if…
      COVID-19
      March 5, 2021

      ALLERGIC REACTIONS TO PFIZER-BIONTECH VACCINE

      Today’s media seems to have difficulty reporting the good news that comes from developments in the COVID-19 pandemic. Such is…
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      January 12, 2021

      COVID-19 VACCINE: MY EXPERIENCE

      The Maricopa County (Arizona) Health Department began administering COVID-19 vaccine in late December. Maricopa County has the bulk of the…
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      December 5, 2020

      AT-HOME COVID-19 TESTING

      These days news travels fast so you may already know the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the…
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      November 21, 2020

      PFIZER COVID-19 VACCINE 90% (95%) EFFECTIVE!

      By now you’ve surely heard the good news about the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company in collaboration…
      COVID-19
      July 5, 2020

      HERD IMMUNITY? What’s That?

      Lately, there have been many references to the term HERD IMMUNITY. Public health officials use it in their communications about…

      CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES

        COVID-19
        January 5, 2022

        COVID-19 VACCINE-MYOCARDITIS LINK INSIGNIFICANT

        Last summer, there was a lot of fuss about a link between mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 and the occurrence of…
        Drugs & Medications
        January 21, 2026

        COMBINATION DRUGS FOR HIGH BP

        I have written this many times before, but policies and protocols in medicine are always changing. After several years of…
        Heart Disease
        August 8, 2021

        DRUG OPTIONS FOR TREATING CHOLESTEROL AND REDUCING CARDIOVASCULAR RISK

        A subject I’ve blogged about several times is cholesterol. The biochemistry of cholesterol, it’s clinical significance, and guidelines for treatment…
        Preventive Medicine
        May 25, 2022

        CLINICAL PEARLS FROM “AMERICAN FAMILY PHYSICIAN” JOURNAL

        JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF FAMILY PHYSICIANS DIABETES: What is the preferred medication in diabetics on dialysis?      …
        Preventive Medicine
        May 27, 2021

        COMMON SENSE TREATMENT OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

        Hypertension (high blood pressure) is a very common problem. I treated patients with high blood pressure every day, and many…
        Preventive Medicine
        May 16, 2022

        ASPIRIN NOW OK FOR PRIMARY PREVENTION!

        Two years ago, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), the agency of record for preventive health care recommendations,…
        Preventive Medicine
        April 30, 2022

        QUICK NOTES FROM DR G OPINES DrGOpines.com

        DrGOpines.com ONYCHOMYCOSIS: Do your grandkids tease you about your ugly toenails? Do you avoid going barefoot because you’re embarrassed by…
        Heart Disease
        August 21, 2020

        ATRIAL FIBRILLATION: Does it affect Length of life?

        That question and several others were answered recently by information reported in a study reported in the British Medical Journal…
        COVID-19
        September 28, 2021

        PFIZER COVID-19 VACCINE AND MYOCARDITIS

        In July, I wrote a blog about the incidence of myocarditis in young males after vaccination with Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine.…
        Drugs & Medications
        August 2, 2025

        BLOOD PRESSURE TARGET LEVELS EASED

        If you have high blood pressure and you’re worried about the effect it is having on your kidneys, you may…
        Cancer
        November 12, 2024

        MEDICAL NEWS BRIEFS #23

        Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: To operate or not to operate? That’s the question: Carpal tunnel syndrome is compression of the median…
        Heart Disease
        4 weeks ago

        CHOLESTEROL GUIDELINES CHANGE AGAIN

        We’re all keenly aware of the role cholesterol plays in the development of arteriosclerosis. It forms the core, or the…
        Drugs & Medications
        May 3, 2020

        MORE ON ASPIRIN AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

        On March 22nd, I published a blog on aspirin for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. The message…
        Heart Disease
        March 20, 2020

        BLOOD THINNERS AND ATRIAL FIBRILLATION: Who Should Take What?

        Since 2014, the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, and the Heart Rhythm Society have recommended a set…
        Heart Disease
        April 3, 2019

        HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE: It’s Still The Silent Killer!

        HYPERTENSION: High blood pressure (HBP) has for decades been called “the silent killer.” It works insidiously while you’re completely unaware…
        Heart Disease
        June 3, 2019

        AN EPIDEMIC OF A DIFFERENT COLOR: Atrial Fibrillation

        I have at least 8 or 10 personal friends who have had episodes of Atrial Fibrillation. My wife and I…
        Heart Disease
        February 6, 2026

        hsCRP: BETTER THAN CHOLESTEROL

        C-Reactive Protein, or CRP, is a substance produced by the liver in response to the presence of a serious infection…
        Heart Disease
        August 11, 2022

        SWOLLEN LEGS: NO SIMPLE ANSWER!

        It’s fairly common for a person over age 65 to, at some time, experience swelling of one or both legs.…
        Aging
        January 20, 2020

        THE USE OF STATINS IN THE ELDERLY

        For some people, the use of statins continues to be a concern. Concern, not because they don’t do what they’re…
        Drugs & Medications
        August 6, 2025

        POST MI BETA BLOCKERS QUESTIONED

        For many years, doctors have been told that patients who suffered an acute myocardial infarction, a heart attack, were all…
        Preventive Medicine
        March 5, 2022

        IBUPROFEN vs. TYLENOL. EGGS GET GOOD PRESS!

        EGGS DON’T INCREASE CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE Two recent anecdotes from American Family Physician, the scientific journal of The American Academy Of…
        Heart Disease
        August 15, 2023

        SHORTNESS OF BREATH

        Doctors call shortness of breath a single, much shorter name—Dyspnea. The Greek and Latin derivatives of dyspnea are “dys” which…
        Heart Disease
        December 19, 2018

        SUDDEN DEATH: A Very Disturbing Event

        Sudden death is always a tragic and terribly disturbing event. When someone who “appears to be the picture of health”…
        Preventive Medicine
        July 27, 2021

        GUIDELINES FOR DIAGNOSING HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

        Americans are constantly being encouraged to control their blood pressure. Hypertension is a serious health hazard that leads to many…
        Drugs & Medications
        March 7, 2022

        STATIN INTOLERANCE OVERESTIMATED

        The use of statin drugs has been challenged for years by the fear of alleged adverse effects. Patients who need…

        DAY-IN-THE-LIFE SCENARIOS

          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          3 weeks ago

          ABNORMAL LAB RESULTS

          Every day, family physicians have patients with abnormal lab test results. Most of the time, the abnormal results can be…
          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          March 27, 2026

          PHYSICIANS ARE NOT “PROVIDERS”

          Finally, someone besides me has taken offense at physicians being called providers. Since today’s world contains all levels of folks…
          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          March 23, 2026

          REST

          REST is not a state physicians find themselves in very often. In fact, the medical profession has a thing for…
          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          March 19, 2026

          OLDER PHYSICIANS: IMPAIRED?

          Many healthcare institutions and medical practices are seeing the age of practicing physicians increase as more continue to practice beyond…
          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          February 11, 2026

          THE QUIRKS OF MEDICAL EDUCATION

          Medical education is phenomenon unto itself. It is filled with nuances that make it distinctive in  character and personality, as…
          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          February 5, 2026

          KNOW YOUR LIMITS

          When I was in medical school, it seemed like my friends and family immediately thought I knew everything every other…

          YOUR WELLNESS MATTERS

            August 8, 2025

            FASTING FOR BLOODWORK IS OUTDATED

            Here’s something that might brighten your day. “It really doesn’t matter if you’re stomach is empty” [when you have blood…
            July 5, 2024

            PRIORITIES IN GERIATRIC CARE

            In spite of statistics that show the average life expectancy of Americans has been declining over the past 5-10 years,…
            January 9, 2024

            WHITE TEETH

            Many people today have a significant focus on personal appearance. You might not think so from the way segments of…
            September 1, 2023

            MEDICAL NEWS BRIEFS NO. 5

            Cancer Among Younger Americans is Increasing    A study published on JAMA Network Open using data from the National Cancer…
            August 25, 2023

            WATER FLUORIDATION, CREST TOOTHPASTE

            There’s little or no disagreement with the statement that fluoridation of community drinking water supplies has been one of public…
            August 5, 2023

            MORE ABOUT SUGAR IN OUR DIET

            Recently, I reported information that certain amounts of sugar in our diet were tied directly to increased risk of a…
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