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Michael Jorrin, "Doc Gumshoe"

Author Bio

I have been a medical writer for about 25 years; before that I was a documentary film maker, and some of my films were about medical subjects. I am not a physician, but I have a pretty good scientific background. I wouldn’t dream of recommending any kind of treatment to anyone, and I cannot give medical advice. However, I understand the medical literature and the data and evidence behind it, and I have an inquiring and skeptical turn of mind.I scrutinize and question and, sometimes, challenge the positions of some of the established health-care organizations as well as the marketers of health information. Eternal vigilance is a small price to pay for health. — Michael Jorrin (aka DocGumshoe)Michael Jorrin is a paid contributor to Stock Gumshoe, he has agreed to our trading restrictions but he chooses his own topics and his words and opinions are his own.

Author Archives

Migraines cause a lot of pain and trouble to lots and lots of people, and managing this chronic condition is far from simple and straightforward. Unfortunately, even though there are some fairly effective treatment options for migraineurs (what people who are prone to migraines are called), migraines tend to be undertreated. Migraines are one of […]

Sometimes in the health-care universe, the not-so-good news turns out to have beneficial consequences. It was certainly not good news that excessive sugar in our diets contributed to diabetes, a disease with dire consequences. However, that understanding led to effective options for the treatment of that disease. Diabetes affects many millions of people around the […]

I anticipate objections to the title that I have tagged onto this offering. The science of medicine is about attempting to cure disease, or at least alleviate the symptoms. Thus, treatment is what is central to the science of medicine. Certainly, diagnosis is an important step in that process. First, you try to figure out […]

No sooner had the most recent Doc Gumshoe dispatch posted than a lengthy NY Times article appeared in my daily paper that abundantly illustrated the point of that piece, namely that the practices of the healthcare system sometimes veer away from what’s in the best interests of patients. The Times’ headline was “Lucrative Hernia Surgery, […]

While I was digging around for information about Lyme disease for the Doc Gumshoe epistle a few weeks ago, I kept coming across stuff about other tick-borne diseases, some of which was concerning, to say the least. I knew something about some of them, but one tick-borne illness was totally new to me, and, I […]

I really, truly, did not want to take up the COVID cudgels one more time, but new things keep coming up that deserve some notice – things like new variants, the composition of the COVID vaccine booster that will supposedly become available in late September or early October, and also evidence on the severe and […]

Almost ten years ago, on October 7th, 2013, Doc Gumshoe posted a piece about Lyme disease, with a couple of short bits about babesiosis and Erlichiosis/anaplasmosis. The clinical details about Lyme – the pathogen that carries the disease, the ticks that transmits the pathogen to the patient, the initial symptoms, the usual treatments – were […]

In this follow-up to the previous Doc Gumshoe missive about cancer, entitled “Cancer 2023 – What’s Happening in the Combat Zone,” which posted on July 18, we’ll be discussing several general types of cancer – brain, lung, ovarian, breast, liver, and cancer caused by obesity. In each case, however, there are special conditions associated with […]

Just over 50 years ago, President Richard M. Nixon signed into law the National Cancer Act of 1971, which established the National Cancer Institute. Cancer had become the second leading (after heart disease) cause of death in the US in 1970. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) from its establishment had broad powers, including the creation […]

This morning my wife phoned to tell me that she had stopped in at a little local store where she occasionally shops. She learned that the owner had just come down with COVID. She was concerned, because she had been in the store a couple of days ago, been close to the owner, and purchased […]

I began looking closely at the value of the body-mass index (BMI) as an indicator of a person’s health status after this incident, which took place more than twenty years ago in a large medical practice. The reason I was at that large practice is that my regular primary care physician had retired and merged […]

I was considering starting off this installment of the Doc Gumshoe meanderings with a discussion of an article about why women in particular reject statin therapy. The thought then occurred to me that surely there is a constituency in Gumshoe Nation that would promptly reply that the reason is obvious: women have more sense than […]

My mission as Doc Gumshoe is almost the contrary of what the mainstream media do every day. They give prominence to disasters – a train wreck, an earthquake, an outbreak of a dire disease – which get promoted to the top of the news. Doc Gumshoe deals in an area which is fundamentally not cheerful […]

When I go to the grocery store these days, I see only a few people wearing masks, and in our chorus, my wife and I are among the handful of masked singers. I acknowledge that wearing a mask is a nuisance, and singing through a mask is not much fun. But at the same time […]

Part One of this opus ended with a few paragraphs that approached the question of what we can do to prevent osteoporosis. Prevention is more important in the management of osteoporosis than in most medical conditions. Yes, preventing a disease is always preferable to treating it once the disease takes hold. There are cures, of […]

Osteoporosis has been part of the human condition since there was a human condition. It doesn’t fit into the characteristics of a disease or an illness. It’s not an infection, nor yet a cellular mutation like cancer. It’s not caused by trauma of any kind. It’s a condition that goes along with aging. The essentials […]

Here are some responses to your recent questions and comments. As I’ve said before, I’m very appreciative of your questions and comments – they keep me connected to a real world that is not so focused on theoretical, far-off potential treatments and cures. However, my responses to some of your questions do often rely on […]

Recent Author Comments

On Short Bits for September

Thanks very much, but sorry, I know absolutely nothing about Jimmy Buffet.[...]

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On Cancer 2023: What’s Happening in the Combat Zone?

Can't think why the deaths total should exceed the cases total. Good catch. I'll have to look at other data sources.[...]

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On One More Look at COVID-19

Regarding the evidence about the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine entering the human liver cell line in vitro, I'll do a bit of digging around, but my opinion is far, far from expert. Thanks for the hint.[...]

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On Another Look at Heart Disease

In many previous Doc Gumshoe postings, I have clearly stated that indeed we do make cholesterol from whatever food we eat, and also that we require cholesterol, since it is an essential component of many bodily functions. And, by the way, I have pointed [...]

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On Odd & Ends – October 2022

I've been keeping an eye on TauRX for a couple of years & will not let it out of my sight.[...]

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On Odd & Ends – October 2022

I've discussed Anavex several times & will do so again.[...]

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On Parkinson's Disease Today

Parkinson's disease is not caused by a virus, although it's not impossible that a viral illness such as flu could have some movement disorders as a side effect.[...]

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On Following Up on Your Suggestions – September 2022

Here’s the source of the statement about the increase in metastatic prostate cancer since the USPSTF came out against regular PSA screenings in 2012:“In men 45 to 75 years old, there was no statistically significant change in the incidence rate of [...]

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On Frank Curzio teases "A $150 million market cap company with a real chance to make billions in annual revenue"

No question that MYMD-1 has an interesting mechanism of action - different than Humira or Enbrel, both of which block the TNF. MYMD-1 prevents the formation of TNF by the CD4 cells. But it will be years before they demonstrate efficacy. And I can't [...]

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On Inflammation – What It Does for Us & What It Does to Us

On my agenda - thanks![...]

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On Inflammation – What It Does for Us & What It Does to Us

ALS - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - is an extreme challenge. A friend of a close friend tried to enroll in a clinical trial that was taking place fairly close to where he lived, but unfortunately he died before the trial got started. That trial, w[...]

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On Inflammation – What It Does for Us & What It Does to Us

I know almost nothing about CBD o CBDA, and I have serious doubts about the reliability of the information that's out there about them. Sorry![...]

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On Inflammation – What It Does for Us & What It Does to Us

Thanks for the blush-making compliment! As for cholesterol, it does get deposited in arterial walls, leading to serious problems. Inflammation may partly be what causes that to happen, but cholesterol itself is at least partly a cause, if not THE caus[...]

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On Alzheimer's Drug Development -- July Responses to Questions & Requests

What I wrote about Anavex was based on the best information I could get from outside sources - not Anavex's own releases. If you have any accurate information sources, please let me know.[...]

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On Alzheimer's Drug Development -- July Responses to Questions & Requests

No thoughts as of yet - I'll need to do some sleuthing.[...]

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On Alzheimer's Drug Development -- July Responses to Questions & Requests

No need to apologize!! Doc Gumshoe likes questions![...]

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On Alzheimer's Drug Development -- July Responses to Questions & Requests

Why don't you read what I wrote?[...]

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On Alzheimer's Drug Development -- July Responses to Questions & Requests

Misfolded proteins are real - not a hypothesis, Whether ProMIS has a way to deal with them is hypothetical, for now, at least.[...]

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On Alzheimer’s Disease June 2022 – Possible Signs of Progress

Many recent developments are being touted as "the future of medicine." I don't know of a Nobel committee getting into that. Tell me little more and I may be able to come up with something.[...]

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On Alzheimer’s Disease June 2022 – Possible Signs of Progress

Correct! Thanks very nuch.[...]

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