Because Good Medicine Deserves Better Explanations
In medical school, they had taught him that numbers don’t lie.
Tonight, the numbers felt like they were whispering through clenched teeth —
speaking in halves, withholding the rest.
He printed the report, folded it twice, and slipped it into his pocket.
A contradiction he wasn’t ready to resolve.
A question he knew he would carry for years.
At first, they were diabetes drugs.
GLP-1 receptor agonists—liraglutide, semaglutide, and later tirzepatide—were developed to help patients with type 2 diabetes regulate blood sugar. They mimicked a gut hormone, GLP-1, that modulates insulin, glucagon, and gastric emptying. They also acted on the brain.
Appetite went down.
Weight came off.
And people noticed.
Not long ago, I saw a 58-year-old man who had done “everything right.” His LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) was well controlled on a statin, his blood pressure stable, and he exercised regularly. But he carried extra weight around his waist, his triglycerides were persistently high, and a CT scan revealed clear signs of atherosclerosis in his … Read more
He knew it was coming. The way a storm announces itself in the bones.The way a man knows the land he’ll die on. Lyndon Baines Johnson had already faced the thing most men spend their lives avoiding: death. It had gripped his chest, dropped him to the bedroom floor of his Texas ranch, and whispered … Read more
It’s called Lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a) for short. And if you haven’t had it measured, you’re not alone—most people haven’t. In fact, most of you may have never heard of it. It’s not part of a standard lipid panel. It doesn’t show up in routine check-ups. And yet, one in five people carry levels so high … Read more