Narrator:
0:00
Welcome to the MedEvidence Monday Minute Radio Show hosted by Kevin Gettings of WSOS St. Augustine Radio and powered by ENCORE Research Group. Each Monday morning, Dr. Michael Koren calls in to bring you the latest medical updates with insightful discussions. MedEvidence is where we help you navigate the real truth behind medical research, with both a clinical and research perspective. So sit back, relax and get ready to learn about the truth behind the data in medicine and health care. This is MedEvidence.
Kevin Geddings of WSOS Radio:
0:30
Dr. Michael Koren joins me live on the studio line, of course, every Monday morning around this time, and of course, he's a medical doctor, cardiologist, research scientist, but probably just as importantly, a Beach Boys fan, right.
Dr. Michael Koren:
0:43
I am. That's one of Brian Wilson's finest that you just play there.
Kevin Geddings of WSOS Radio:
0:46
Yeah, beautiful creative genius, wouldn't you say?
Dr. Michael Koren:
0:50
No doubt, no doubt. Even the Beatles were very impressed by him.
Kevin Geddings of WSOS Radio:
0:54
Yeah, absolutely. Dr. Koren is here with us and of course he is also very much involved with ENCORE Research Group and what they do to help lead and direct clinical trials for leading edge medicines that you could participate in right here in St. John's County in St Augustine. Go to ENCOREdocs. com. They are recruiting for clinical trials literally as we are talking this morning and I was talking off the air with Dr. Koren about some of the sometimes ethical fogginess that's out there the University of Michigan Wolverines are now under NCAA investigation for stealing signals from opposing football teams. You ever notice when people on the sidelines will put up cards that kind of indicate what offensive play or defensive play might be put in place. I guess the smarty pants people at Michigan figured out how to steal those signals from other teams, Dr. is that outrageous or not really?
Dr. Michael Koren:
1:50
It's really interesting actually, Kevin, it's where to draw the line between competition and being competitive and doing something that's unethical, but I will say it's not illegal. There's no actual rule in college football saying that you'll get into trouble specifically for stealing the other people's signals and, quite frankly, as we all well know, football players study film intensively to get little signs of what the opponent is going to be doing. So where does that line get drawn? And I find this to be a very interesting case about what the NCAA will decide the line should be. But a lot of people argue is that if you're not pushing the edge, then you're really not being as competitive as you should be. Was that the old Dizzy Dean quote? If you're not cheating, you're not trying. That's right, that's right. So very, very interesting. Obviously, I think we'd all agree that there was a certain extent to any particular activity that crosses the line, but if you're just being clever about it, then it's up to the other team to disguise their signals better.
Kevin Geddings of WSOS Radio:
2:53
Yeah, so in the case of participating in clinical trials or trials for leading edge medicines, how does that come into play? Because a lot of times we don't know even basic things, like we don't know if we're on a placebo or on the real medicine. We don't know. Maybe every bit of information that's kind of swirling around us and swirling around that potential new medicine, right?
Dr. Michael Koren:
3:14
Yeah, it's a good analogy. Actually, every industry has its areas that are either hiding something or being secret and others who are trying to figure out what that secret is, and certainly medicine is no different, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry. When we get involved in clinical research, we sign secrecy agreements and they obviously share a lot of information with us. When I say, us, I'm talking about clinical investigators such as myself, and this information is about everything they know about the drug. The view is that in order for me to be a good steward for using that product in the community, I need to know a lot about it. So I'll attend an investigator meeting, we'll get a very extensive dossier on everything you know about that drug and then my job is to use that information to help my patients without actually disclosing the specifics. So in a way, when a patient is interacting with me, they're trying to steal the signs. They're trying to use the investigator in a way to get the most advantage out of their interaction with the medical system and the biggest advantage with their interaction with that particular product, without giving away any secrets.
Kevin Geddings of WSOS Radio:
4:23
Yeah, which is, I would guess, completely ethical, right, because you're looking out for your own best health.
Dr. Michael Koren:
4:30
Well, it's interesting. The ethics of medicine demands that my first priority is my patient and no one will debate that. So obviously I can't necessarily stand out the chemical structure of a product that I'm considered a trade secret, but I can make a decision on behalf of the patient to say, hey, this structure is something that should be good for you, based on what I know about you and your other medications, or this structure probably is going to conflict with other medications that you're taking and not what you should be on. So, these are the type of sort of behind-the-scenes decisions that we make and, again, if patients are working with really high-level clinical trial personnel, they're going to get that type of advice and that type of information.
Kevin Geddings of WSOS Radio:
5:14
Right.
Dr. Michael Koren:
5:14
Okay, all right, well good stuff.
Kevin Geddings of WSOS Radio:
5:16
Well, obviously, the whole notion of how you participate. You know what goes on in a leading-edge medical trial. You'll learn all about that. There's a big education component to participating in these trials, correct, doctor?
Dr. Michael Koren:
5:28
Yep, exactly. So I'll give you an example of that. That's relevant. Obviously, there's been so much talk about the different COVID vaccines and there's even this notion that it's such a strange notion to be honest with Kevin that somehow the flu vaccine is safe and the COVID vaccine isn't. And I've had a few people even mention that to me. You know, I don't want the COVID vaccine, but I'll take the flu vaccine, and that's purely a remnant of a political discussion because fundamentally the COVID and the flu vaccines are really pretty much the same. In fact, the COVID vaccines are probably going to be a little bit safer because they're using smaller snippets of the material that triggers the immune system. So, literally, the COVID vaccines I'm working with now aren't even giving a full RNA. They're giving a little piece of an RNA, just enough to let the immune system know that this is the bad guy and this is what you target your system against. Whereas in the old school vaccines you're giving either whole viruses or other things that are much, much more complex. And so if you're worried about getting nuclear material into your system. I'd be much, much more worried about A getting the old school vaccines or B getting a virus, because the job of the virus is to get its nuclear material, its DNA or RNA, into your system.
Kevin Geddings of WSOS Radio:
6:48
Well, very interesting stuff, obviously, and getting to participate in leading edge medical and clinical trials is really cool. I mean A. You're helping society, but probably just as importantly, or maybe more importantly, you could be helping yourself dramatically. So we encourage you to learn more by going to ENCOREdoc. com. That's ENCOREdocs. com. Before we let Dr. Michael Koren go. He's also very involved in a great website that's just all about good healthcare information, which is really hard to get from Dr. Google, right, Dr. Koren?
Dr. Michael Koren:
7:19
It's exactly right. Thanks for mentioning Kevin. It's called MedEvidence and it's our platform for sharing medical information in an entertaining format, a format that I think in lightning, especially when we do the programs where two different physicians are giving their perspective. Most importantly, it's the truth behind the data. When you look up on something on Google, somebody is trying to sell you something. When you look up something under MedEvidence, you're looking at what the whole story is. So it's a whole different perspective in getting medical information.
Kevin Geddings of WSOS Radio:
7:50
Yeah, it is really great to check out that website. Easy to absorb information, right? I know sometimes all this healthcare data comes flying at you like a fire hose. This is a great way to get involved and learn more about what could impact your health. Go to MedEvidence. com. That's MedEvidence. com. Dr. Michael Koren, thanks for all the time this morning. We'll talk with you again next week, always a pleasure, Kevin.
Narrator:
8:14
Thanks for joining the MedEvidence podcast. To learn more, head over to MedEvidence. com or subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
