Alfie Health ’ s New AI-Powered ObesityRx Platform Helps Determine Sustainable Weight Loss Approach for Patients with Obesity, Using Precision Medicine and Telehealth Support
With $2.1 Million in Funding, Alfie Health Reports a Cohort of 300 Patients Lost an Average of 10-15% of Body Weight over Nine Months of Following its Holistic Approach
The AI Platform Analyzes Patient Data, Recommends Medication (or Combination Meds) Precisely Prescribed, as well as Behavioral Changes, and Provides Ongoing Telehealth Support
With 42 percent of Americans now struggling with obesity, doctors and their patients are looking for a sustainable approach to weight loss. Currently, prescription medications known as the GLP-1 class of anti-obesity medications (such as Ozempic®, Wegovy®, Mounjaro, etc.) are becomi...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - July 21, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Healthcare IT News Tags: Health IT Company Healthcare IT Alexander Singh Alfie Health Cleveland Clinic Cleveland Clinic's Bariatric and Metabolic Institute Dr. W. Scott Butsch GLP-1 Goodwater Capital Health IT Funding Health IT Fundings Health IT Investment Source Type: blogs
The Art of Asking: What Else is Going on?
By HANS DUVEFELT
Walter Brown’s blood sugars were out of control. Ellen Meek had put on 15 lbs. Diane Meserve’s blood pressure was suddenly 30 points higher than ever before.
In Walter’s case, he turned out to have an acute thyroiditis that caused many other symptoms that came to light during our standard Review of Systems.
Ellen, it turned out, was pretty sure her husband was having an affair with one of his coworkers. And, since this wasn’t the first time, she was secretly working on a plan to move out and file for divorce. She admitted she’d always had a tendency to stress eat.
Diane’s daughter h...
Source: The Health Care Blog - March 15, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: Medical Practice Physicians Primary Care Hans Duvefelt health communication Source Type: blogs
Weight-loss drug Belviq recalled
In February, the manufacturer of the weight-loss medication lorcaserin (Belviq, Belviq XR) voluntarily withdrew the drug from the US market at the request of the FDA. This was a result of emerging data showing that people who had taken the drug as part of a large clinical trial had an increased occurrence of cancer five years later.
What were the findings about Belviq, and why did this information come to light now?
Lorcaserin was approved by the FDA in 2012. As part of the approval process, the FDA reviewed a series of clinical trials that looked at its effects on weight and its safety profile, compared to a placebo.
Base...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - April 9, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Florencia Halperin, MD Tags: Diet and Weight Loss Drugs and Supplements Source Type: blogs
Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 303
Dr Joe Rotella Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 303
Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 303 - Just when you thought your brain could unwind The medical trivia FFFF. (Source: Life in the Fast Lane)
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - January 31, 2020 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Dr Joe Rotella Tags: FFFF anaphylaxis Bluebottle Box Jellyfish bufo marinus cane toad diet pills digoxin drug misadventures irukanji Nicotine Opioids Paediatrics pediatrics phentermine sympathomimetics toad eggs Toxicology vape Source Type: blogs
Stuck on plaque in carcinoid heart disease and anorexigen associated valvular heart disease
“Stuck on plaque” is the description given to the lesions on the tricuspid valve in carcinoid heart disease and anorexigen associated valvular heart disease. The lesions appear “stuck on” the leaflets without inflammation or damage to the underlying valve structure [1, 2].
An article in NEJM (free full text) gives the image of a stuck on plaque on an excised mitral valve in fenfluramine associated valvular heart disease [3]. Histopathological section showed that the valve architecture was preserved. The plaque encased the chordae tendinae.
A large surgical pathology series in Mayo Clinic Proceed...
Source: Cardiophile MD - March 30, 2019 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis Tags: General Cardiology Source Type: blogs
Behavioral weight loss programs are effective — but where to find them?
The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is a team of volunteer experts from various primary care medicine and nursing fields. They identify big medical problems, review the research, and translate it into action plans (called practice recommendations) for doctors like me.
Just this fall, they tackled obesity, with the goal of identifying effective ways we in primary care can help people to lose weight.
And it’s not about aesthetics. This is about disease prevention, especially diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease, which are particularly associated with obesity.
They were NOT looking at surgeries or oth...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - November 12, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Monique Tello, MD, MPH Tags: Diet and Weight Loss Healthy Eating Source Type: blogs
MKSAP: 49-year-old woman with obesity, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes mellitus
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
A 49-year-old woman is evaluated during a follow-up visit. She is overweight and has hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus, both of which are well controlled. For several years, she has attempted to lose weight through various commercial diets; dietician-monitored, calorie-restricted diets; and physical activity. She has worked with a behavioral therapist, and although she has not achieved weight loss, her weight has remained stable. She exercises 30 minutes daily. Medical history is also remarkable for glau...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - September 1, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/mksap" rel="tag" > mksap < /a > Tags: Conditions Obesity Primary Care Source Type: blogs
Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 208
LITFL • Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog
LITFL • Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog - Emergency medicine and critical care medical education blog
Just when you thought your brain could unwind on a Friday, you realise that it would rather be challenged with some good old fashioned medical trivia FFFF…introducing Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 208. Guest post by Dr Mark Corden – paediatric fellow in Melbourne
Question 1
A 5 year old presents to you after being picked up from a day at Grandma’s house, she has a pruritic, red, blanching, papular rash to both hands. After some questioning she tell...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - October 5, 2017 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Neil Long Tags: Frivolous Friday Five aspirin contact dermatitis diet pills digoxin grevillea oleander phentermine reyes syndrome Source Type: blogs
Promoting Amphetamines for Over-Eating - What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
In this study, about 5% of patients given any dosage of Vyvanse had to discontinue its use because of adverse effects. 3/196 patients initially randomized to Vyvanse had serious adverse effects, and one patient died, apparently of an amphetamine overdose. Oddly, the article declared that the one death, due to methamphetamine overdose, was thought by a study investigator not to be related to treatment with another amphetamine, lisdexamfetamine. That makes little sense, given that in a randomized controlled trial, the presumption is that differences in groups given different treatments were caused by these ...
Source: Health Care Renewal - February 26, 2015 Category: Health Management Tags: clinical trials conflicts of interest deception evidence-based medicine FDA marketing Shire stealth marketing Source Type: blogs
Pills vs. Programs
By Quinn Phillips
It has often been observed that our health-care system is designed, first and foremost, to provide treatment for acute conditions — that is, conditions that can be treated and cured, leaving the patient healthy until the next illness or malady comes along. Chronic conditions such as Type 2 diabetes and obesity often receive less attention than they deserve, given that they account for a large share of health-care costs in the United States and many other industrialized countries. For example, many insurance plans will cover only a few hours of diabetes education, while fully covering amputations due...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - August 6, 2014 Category: Diabetes Authors: Quinn Phillips Source Type: blogs
Starting Again.
Just made my blog public again, so sure there aren't many who find this site or read it, but it has given me some clarity as to writing for myself. This was simply to be a type of diary that I could look back and see where I had become depressed/hypomanic and see if there was any triggers or long it could have been going on. I guess it is what many bipolars would call a type of mood marker, although I guess it has turned into so much joy.I'm sure I mentioned it, but I made it public because my husband asked me to. He had applied for CIO job and didn't want it to be found since he is the only person that I...
Source: bipolar.and.me - June 22, 2014 Category: Mental Illness Source Type: blogs
Weight Confusion
Oh my goodness, I am so horrified that I told my therapist about my obsession about my weight. But I didn't tell her everything, and made clear I didn't want to change. What I left out? It could have been the most alarming part, or maybe not, or maybe none of this is even concerning at all and I made an issue out of so something that it is not. Obviously I did not tell her I am taking Phentermine (but legally! Described by a doctor, I think, kind of confused how this whole thing is going down). And of course I did not tell her about my use of laxatives, but I don't use them all the time. I did go to a drug store yesterday ...
Source: bipolar.and.me - April 28, 2014 Category: Mental Illness Source Type: blogs
Job Prospect Concerns
It's been one day over two weeks since I had my gallbladder removed and either I don't make a follow up appt with the doctor after surgery or like today, called and rescheduled. I don't exactly know why I don't want to go. I feel like I have to wear something with an elastic waistband, so sweats, and have no idea is I would even be able to get anything else to fit around my waist.I'm getting discouraged. It feels like I'm not losing weight even though I am taking Phentermine. I thought I had only lost, best case scenario, 7 pounds when I went to get my monthly refill, but their scale said I had lost 12. From 154 to 142. I ...
Source: bipolar.and.me - April 11, 2014 Category: Mental Illness Source Type: blogs
Top stories in health and medicine, March 19, 2014
From MedPage Today:
Is Belphen the Next Blockbuster Diet Drug? Even though there are scant data, obesity researchers and patients have already put a name to a potential new weight-loss craze: Belphen, a combination of lorcaserin (Belviq) and phentermine.
Does COPD Dull the Mind? Mild cognitive impairment was more likely in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), particularly the longer it went on.
Panel Urges Higher Bar for Cancer Trials. Oncology clinical trials should be designed so that the primary endpoint of overall survival benefit is a more meaningful one, and patients should expect no less.
Se...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - March 19, 2014 Category: Family Physicians Tags: News Cancer Endocrinology Pulmonology Source Type: blogs
All About Weight
I started feeling very frustrated yesterday. I felt like no one really listened to me and it hurt my feelings although now looking back, it's not really true, yet my feelings were so hurt. I don't think I've been as nice to Mark and giving him a hard time for things he doesn't deserve. When I feel so frustrated, I actually do know that what I feel is way overblown and not rational, yet the fact that I do know this does not change the way I feel and the incredible urge to lash out.I'm pretty sure I know what is causing this. I didn't feel this way at all until yesterday, and coincidentally just three days ago I started taki...
Source: bipolar.and.me - March 14, 2014 Category: Mental Illness Source Type: blogs
