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AJM Editor Calls for Expanded Marijuana Research
Marijuana for Diabetic Control Joseph S. Alpert, MD For centuries, cannabis sativa, more commonly known as marijuana, has been used as a folk remedy to relieve pain, improve mood, and increase...
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Practicing ‘Check the Box’ Medicine
In 1978, the authors of this commentary co-authored the Manual of Coronary Care,1 one of the earliest and most durable (6 editions) clinical guideline books in the spiral-bound manual series founded by...
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Hey, Doc, How Much Longer Am I Going to Live?
Joseph S. Alpert, MD, AJM Editor-in-Chief The question in the title is one that patients commonly express these days. This certainly is a change in outlook compared with attitudes present when I was a...
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My Recent Reading List of Nonmedical Books
Joseph S. Alpert, MD, AJM Editor-in-Chief “But by the neglect of the studies of the humanities, which has been far too general, the profession loses a very precious commodity…There are at least a dozen...
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Are There Circumstances Where I Would Refuse to Participate in Caring for a...
Joseph S. Alpert, MD, AJM Editor-in-Chief Recently, for no obvious reason, I found myself wondering if there could ever occur a situation where I would refuse to participate in care of a specific...
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Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” (Sir Isaac Newton, 1676) Joseph S. Alpert, MD, AJM Editor-in-Chief Occasionally, when I am...
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To Dig or Not to Dig
Joseph S. Alpert, MD, AJM Editor-in-Chief One of my colleagues here in Tucson thinks that digitalis therapy should be relegated to the medical trash heap alongside calomel, bleeding, and purging. I...
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Exercise Is Just as Important as Your Medication
“They who are accustomed to daily labor, although even weak or old, endure it more easily than the robust or young who are unaccustomed to it.” Hippocrates Aphorisms1 I tell all my patients that...
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A Decade of Work and Progress
2015 marks the 10th anniversary of the current editor, editorial board, and our management administration. We have been extraordinarily gratified by the many healthcare workers, physicians, nurses,...
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‘Doctor, I Think That I Might Be Having a Heart Attack’
In this issue of The American Journal of Medicine, Kahn et al report on closely observed and studied patients with eosinophilic esophagitis who presented with exertional chest discomfort that might...
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Anthony Bourdain: From ‘Kitchen Confidential’ to Hospital Hallways
Good Advice from Anthony Bourdain My wife and I are big fans of chef Anthony Bourdain. In his bestselling book, Kitchen Confidential,1 Bourdain lists some sage advice for anyone considering a career as...
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Palm Reading, Observation, and Intuition
At a recent dinner party here in Tucson, an 80-year-old Chinese woman from Nanjing read the palms of each dinner guest. Her readings were surprisingly accurate and included ages at which individuals...
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New Year’s Resolution: Only Exercise on the Days You Eat
How often should I exercise, doc? “Only exercise on the days you eat,” is the advice Dr. Joseph S. Alpert, editor-in-chief of The American Journal of Medicine, gives his cardiology patients. In the...
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‘Thank You, Doctor’ Says It All
Joseph S. Alpert, MD, AJM Editor-in-Chief A beneficial therapeutic effect is the result of some form of medical intervention with desirable and beneficial results, as judged by the patient and the...
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An Amazing Story: The Discovery of Insulin
Joseph S. Alpert, MD Recently, my brother Howard, a distinguished high school teacher of science in Washington, DC, sent me a present. It was a book he said that I had to read, and he was right! The...
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The American Journal of Medicine: Excellence in Publishing 2015
Following last year’s precedent, the American Journal of Medicine selects one or more articles published each year to be designated as examples of excellence in publishing for that year. The...
View ArticleEndocarditis is Alive and Well, Unfortunately (video)
During a recent 2-week tour of duty as the attending physician on one of our busy Internal Medicine services, I saw 3 patients with complicated infective endocarditis. All of these individuals were...
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We Have Come a Long Way
Joseph S. Alpert, MD When one of my principal mentors, Lewis Dexter, retired, he passed on to a number of his closest colleagues, medical texts that he had acquired during his long and illustrious...
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‘If You Are Not a Liberal When You Are Young, You Have No Heart, and If You...
Joseph S. Alpert, MD I have often heard the above headline quoted by politically conservative friends here in the United States. I think of it more and more these days not with respect to any political...
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To Supplement or Not: A Role for Antioxidant Vitamins in the Management of...
There is an epidemic of heart failure occurring in advanced industrial nations. The number one diagnosis for payment by Medicare in the US is heart failure. Because heart failure is increasingly...
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