By Sara Malik* Key words: delusional parasitosis, psychodermatology, psychiatry, dermatology, mind, skin, insects, infestation, antipsychotics Delusional parasitosis, also known as Ekbom syndrome, is a delusional disorder of the somatic type in which individuals believe that they are infested by insects. Delusional parasitosis was formally recognized as a psychiatric condition by Karl-Axel Ekbom, for whom the condition was eponymously named. Ekbom was a Swedish neurologist who had previously also described restless leg syndrome.1 Patients with delusional parasitosis are not afraid of the insects but are rather convinced that they are infested.2 Individuals will sometimes present with damage to the skin from attempting to remove the perceived insects.2 The incidence of delusional … Continue reading
The Neurologist
by Richard Macht Light must come from the inside. Sogyal Rinpoche The last time I wanted to settle in Israel was in 1971 when I was 33 years old. I had made up my mind that I would take a sabbatical from Dartmouth College where I had been teaching as a Jew with great difficulty for three years, and go alone to Eretz Israel, the land of Israel. I left my wife and my three children behind. I went to a kibbutz in the north, up near the Lebanese border and worked for three weeks waiting to be called to Jerusalem. There I would study Hebrew in an Ulpan at … Continue reading
Skin, a health reflection
Skin, a health reflectionby Iman Salem, M.D.* Dermatology is like no other medicineHails from papyrus of the Ancient Egyptian Covering all ages from peds to geriatricIn every tone across pages of Fitzpatrick Assessing an art of color, and descriptionTo treat by surgery or surface prescription It reveals more than just a complexionThe derm(is) an inner light, a health reflection All our systems talk to the skinInterdependent, their closest Kin Without the need for incisionDerm docs have beyond-the-skin vision Finding grouped vesicles on the knee?Maybe it’s celiac you should see Or the purple papules of LP?A life-saved connection to hep C And with the plaques of silvery scaleDon’t forget to check … Continue reading
I Am A Nurse
by Caroline Neal, R.N.* In 1983, I was 23 years old, a college graduate, and had worked as a registered nurse for a year. I moved with my new husband from Georgia to Cooperstown, New York where he began a medical internship. I accepted a job as a home health nurse with the Otsego County Public Health Department. Each day, I drove over 100 miles on back roads in central New York’s Appalachian Mountains visiting patients whose diagnoses and ages varied widely. Prior to this year, I had rarely traveled out of the South and had seen snow only a couple of times. Everything was different; everything was the same … Continue reading
Canvas
by Lina Alhanshali* You are standing in front of your mirror again Two minutes turned to five turned to ten You study and memorize the size and location Of each new bald patch Until one day it becomes easier to count the hairsYour scalp like a forest once full of lifeSlowly turned into an empty desert That to you was a landscape with potential You viewed your scalp like a canvas That some days you left blank Other days you adorned itWith wigs, bonnets, even henna tattoos Maybe this is where beauty and self-love meetMaybe the most beautiful parts of ourselves are the onesWe learned to embrace We in our … Continue reading
My Medical AI Encounter
by Brian T. Maurer, PA-C Abstract: After ruminating on recent widespread reports that an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot (ChatGPT) was able to achieve a passing score on the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE), a retired pediatric clinician envisions a primary care medical encounter in the near future. Key words: chatbot, ChatGPT, AI medical knowledge, EHR, EMR, medical AI bot, telemedicine, telehealth, medical humor. ******************* When I log in to my online medical portal to schedule a routine appointment with my PCP, a chat window pops up. “Hello. I see that you are attempting to schedule an appointment with your primary care provider (PCP). May I be of service?” “Can … Continue reading
Protected: KOLs Gone Wild
Quote
Fat Matters and Marketing
On January 1, 2023, the CBS news magazine 60 Minutes aired a segment on Obesity. It featured a promising new weight loss medication that is in short supply and often is not covered by insurance. This was a good piece, but it made me a uneasy. Is weight loss as simple as taking a shot once a week? The medication is semaglutide and it comes as Wegovy and Ozempic. Wegovy is approved for weight loss and Ozempic for Type 2 diabetes; although both are the same drug. The 60 Minute section reminded me of the quote, “There’s a pill for every ill.” Wegovy’s price on GoodRx is ~ $1400 per … Continue reading
In the Skin
Lynette Lamp Draped in paper, you jump like a startled squirrel when I enter the exam room.You always do. I didn’t askabout the tattoos,even though I probedwith questions about everything else. You told me, once you trusted me to know.Spider-man on your left armto give you strength after your father’s suicide.An awkward iris on your backplanted over your ex’s name.On your right thigh, an angel with the date your sister died. The kid in the El Camino was at fault,but no one sued, only grieved. Still grieving. You say each break in your skin helped heal some other broken part.But there’s no place for that ink in your chart. Lynette … Continue reading
After a Stroke
When the peach tastes like an onion, and there is no other fruit, seed the next crop.
