Breaking News

Columns

AI companion apps exacerbate teen mental health concerns

Troubling stories about dangerous encounters with chatbots continue to surface in the news, with two recent reports from NPR that focused on teen suicide and mental health worsening due to people seeking “sentient” relationships with artificial intelligence. The teen suicide story ran last September, featuring grieving parents, Matthew and Maria Raine, and Megan Garcia, who shared heartbreaking ordeals of their sons taking their lives after engaging with chatbots. The Raines’ son, Adam, committed suicide in April of last year, and they had no idea of his involvement with ChatGPT. ...

What patients and families should know about kidney transplants

When we think about organ transplants, kidney transplants are often the most common and the most successful. General surgeons frequently encounter questions from patients and families who want to better understand what a kidney transplant involves, who it is for and what life looks like ...

Voter ID shouldn’t be this controversial

President Trump says that “Republicans” should “nationalize the election” or at least take over voting in up to 15 places where he says voting is corrupt. His evidence of fraudulent voting is that he lost in such places in 2020, and since it is axiomatic that he won everywhere, the reported results are proof of the fraud. This is all delusional, narcissistic nonsense. But at this point, if you still claim it’s an open question whether Trump actually lost the 2020 election (he did), you’re immune to the facts or just lying — either about not having made up your mind or ...

Congress may finally touch the ‘third rail.’ Inflation will hold them accountable

Your representatives may finally grab the feared “third rail” of U.S. politics. When the Social Security and Medicare trust funds run out in the early 2030s, the law is clear: Benefits must be slashed. That would mean a roughly 24% cut to Social Security checks and an 11% cut to Medicare benefits. But Congress almost certainly won’t let that happen. The easy, though irresponsible, political path may seem obvious: Change the law, keep benefits whole, and pay by borrowing the money. This way legislators won’t have to cast unpopular votes for spending cuts or tax hikes. This makes ...

Outgrowing an old friend group

Dear Annie: I’ve been friends with the same group of women since our children were in grade school. We’re now in our late 50s and early 60s, and for years this group has been my main social circle. We’ve shared weddings, divorces, illnesses and losses. I will always value them for that. Lately, though, I find myself dreading our get-togethers. The conversation has narrowed to a steady loop of complaints — about spouses, adult children, politics, health problems, you name it. When I try to change the subject or bring up something positive, it’s brushed aside or met with ...

Man experiences delirium that gets him admitted to the hospital

DEAR DR. ROACH: Over a 30-day period, my 84-year-old husband went from being mentally sharp, to going into a fog, to not being able to recognize simple objects or name the president. He was admitted to the hospital as a possible stroke victim. His CT, EEG and MRI were negative. He had been taking gabapentin for four years with a current dosage of 1,800 mg daily. When this was stopped, he immediately began regaining his cognition and was discharged five days later, with the dementia being basically gone. Have you experienced prescription-drug-induced dementia with any of your ...