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Looking at therapeutic plasma exchange for MS prevention

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: I was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) at the age of 46. The course of the disease was mild for me with only three identifiable MS attacks (in both my spine and brain). Although I initially resisted treatment, I took Copaxone shots for seven years before my neurologist believed that it was safe to discontinue treatment. Since this time, I haven’t had any new attacks, only some occasional balance issues and lingering weakness in my left leg. My concern is secondary progressive MS (SPMS) and the possible consequences of an occurrence. I’ve ...

The Smithsonian’s patriotism problem

Columns

“Warning: The exhibits in this museum were prepared by people who don’t want you to love your country.” That’s a disclaimer every entrance to the National Museum of American History ought to display, according to a new report by the White House excoriating the Smithsonian Institution and its flagship museum. But it doesn’t take a 160-page report to show what’s wrong with the Smithsonian — just walk into any of its museums. With a bit of time on my hands in the Chinatown area of Washington, D.C., last year, I decided to take a stroll through the National Portrait ...

Dear Annie: When social media likes define self-worth

Columns

Dear Annie: My 14-year-old daughter spends far too much time on social media, and I am beginning to see it affect her mood, confidence and sleep. She checks her phone the moment she wakes up and often stays online long after she is supposed to be asleep. If a friend posts a picture without her, she becomes upset. If one of her own posts does not get enough likes, she worries that people are mad at her or no longer think she is popular. Recently, I took her phone away for the weekend after discovering she had been awake past midnight scrolling through videos. She cried and told me I ...

Why is Trump playing the Communist card?

Columns

Trump has run out of cards to play in the midterm elections, which is why he’s now talking about the “communist menace.” He can’t talk about the economy, because prices continue to rise faster than wages, which means most Americans are getting poorer. He can’t talk about foreign policy, because his war in Iran has been a debacle, his tariffs are an utter failure and he obviously hasn’t settled the war in Ukraine on “Day 1.” He can’t talk about immigration, because his raids and mass deportations have become so unpopular. So, facing the midterm elections, what’s ...

Itchy skin tags appear after switching a medication’s dosage

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: About four months ago, my doctor switched me from a combination of 5 mg of amlodipine and 100 mg of Losartan daily (which I’d been taking for several years) to 10 mg of amlodipine only. Things went just fine until very recently, when I started developing some annoying skin problems. I’ve noticed wart-like growths and itchy, small white things that look like skin tags. They bleed when I scratch them, and my whole torso and neck are itchy. I don’t tolerate antihistamines, so I’m using hydrocortisone cream, which is helpful. Would switching back to my old dosage of ...

Are you chasing false gods?

Columns

My sadly departed friend, Frank, was a unicorn. He lived 89 years in the town he grew up in, a village on the Connecticut shore. A reporter at his local newspaper for over half a century, he had turned down offers to work for more glamorous publications, among them Sports Illustrated and The New York Times. Frank had considered the priesthood in his youth. He stopped going to church and claimed he wasn’t part of it anymore, but the church’s moral teachings clearly stayed put. Frank approached reporting as a kind of ministry, spending much time talking with his “flock.” His ...