MedEvidence! Truth Behind the Data

Three Easy New Year's Resolutions

• Dr. Michael Koren, Kevin Geddings • Episode 367

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Dr. Michael Koren joins Kevin Geddings to give some advice on easy-to-accomplish resolutions for the new year. The doctor gives three resolutions:

  1. Get an advanced cholesterol Lp(a) check
  2. Get a fatty liver test
  3. Do an Alzheimer's screening

These are easy resolutions that can help guide health decisions for the year and beyond.

Be a part of advancing science by participating in clinical research.

Have a question for Dr. Koren? Email him at askDrKoren@MedEvidence.com

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Music: Storyblocks - Corporate Inspired

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Announcer:

Welcome to the MedEvidence Monday Minute Radio Show, hosted by Kevin Geddings of WSOS St. Augustine Radio 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 healthcare. This is MedEvidence!

Kevin Geddings:

Dr. Michael Koren is with us live . We're excited on the fifth day of January 2026. Of course, he's a medical doctor, cardiologist, research scientists, and a big part of our family here at WSOS. Right now he wanted to talk about our New Year's resolutions. And a lot of them, Dr. Koren, do have to do with health. You know its usually health, exercise, diet, it's in that realm, right?

Dr. Michael Koren:

Yeah, they do. I think some of the statistics that I read said at least 50% of New Year's resolutions involve health.

Kevin Geddings:

Right. Right. And sadly, even those health-related ones, you know, the data also says we tend to let go of them pretty darn quickly, right? Even way before March, like in the next couple of weeks. Any ideas for how we can maybe keep that going a little bit longer?

Dr. Michael Koren:

Yeah, I you know, it's funny. We had this conversation exactly a year ago, and I think you brought up the statistic that most people fail their New Year's resolutions by around January 18th or 19th. And I thought that was fascinating. But it also tells you something about the nature of the resolution. If it's a resolution that's kind of vague, sure, at some point you're going to fail it. But imagine if we made resolutions that were really easy to fulfill, easy to reach, easy to execute.

Kevin Geddings:

Right.

Dr. Michael Koren:

I think that would make a huge difference. And then we wouldn't have to talk about our failed Failed resolutions. In fact, we would talk about how we were successful at fulfilling our resolution.

Kevin Geddings:

Right. And to that end, we have some in mind, right?

Dr. Michael Koren:

Absolutely. So that's where the research company can be very, very helpful. So for example, if you're worried about your heart disease state or your risk for heart disease or preventing a second heart attack or second stroke, well, we have the ability to test for something called lipoprotein(a), which is not usually tested for in standard medical practice, but it will in the very near future. And the reason for that, Kevin, is because we previously have not had any direct treatments for this problem, but that's rapidly changing. And we think that by the end of 2026, there will be a treatment on the market to specifically treat this problem, which by the way affects about 20% of all people in the United States.

Kevin Geddings:

Wow.

Dr. Michael Koren:

So if you had not had your lipoprotein(a) or your Lp(a) tested, an easy New Year's resolution is to say, hey, let me get it tested. And it's even easier than that because just give us a call and we'll test it for you for free. So you can't get better than that. That's a pretty easy one.

Kevin Geddings:

Yeah, very easy. So you don't have to worry about going to see your doctor and getting labs ordered or just going on your own to lab core request. Now, if one of our listeners becomes part of that 20%, what happens from there?

Dr. Michael Koren:

Well, of course, we evaluate your medical history and want to determine the level of lipoprotein (a), and help you understand whether or not it's high enough to justify getting involved in one of our clinical trials. In many cases, it may be just a little bit elevated, at which point we'll just give you general advice. But for those folks that actually have very significant elevations, we may have a program that can help you. And by the way, this is a genetic condition. So if you have a super high level of lipoprotein little a, your family members are at risk. In fact, 50% of them are at risk because this is called an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern, meaning that 50% of your kids will have this gene, assuming your spouse doesn't have it. So with that in mind, not only are you helping yourself, but you're potentially helping family members.

Kevin Geddings:

Right. Yeah, this is exactly this is a New Year's resolution where you go and agree to get this test, which will just take a few minutes, and you are potentially helping all your other family members, you know, your kids, etc., right?

Dr. Michael Koren:

Absolutely. So easy to do, something that we can help you accomplish. And you know what? The funny thing is that in many cases, you can actually get paid for getting involved in some of the programs that we're running. So it's it's even better than that. So not only do you do something very health, but you may also help your wallet a little bit.

Kevin Geddings:

Yeah. And you'll ultimately get paid for having some of the best health care you'll ever experience because when you participate in these studies, as I have done and Karen and our team have has done, you know, you're monitored, you know, very aggressively. You have somebody that's going to listen to all your concerns. You know, you get to talk to folks by telephone or Zoom or in person. You it's a way to, if you're saying in 2026 you want to take better charge of your health, this would be a great way to do it, right?

Dr. Michael Koren:

Absolutely, absolutely. And I have two other quick suggestions for New Year's resolutions.

Kevin Geddings:

Yeah.

Dr. Michael Koren:

Some people out there may have heard that they have fatty liver disease or they're worried about fatty liver disease. Fatty liver disease is actually the number one reason people need liver transplants these days. Twenty years ago it used to be hepatitis, but no longer. Now it's actually fatty liver disease. This is something that can be detected with different means, but just recently our company invested in what's called a fibro scan, which will be available to people in Northeast Florida, particularly in St. Augustine. And through this technology, we can do a very simple test, takes about 10-15 minutes, and let you know whether or not you have fatty liver disease or scarring in your liver. So we would encourage people again to have this test done, it's free, there's no charge for it. And this can help us potentially get you involved in a in a study that will reduce the likelihood of having progression of fatty liver disease, or at least test for that hypothesis, and learn much more about other elements of your health, including multiple lab tests, etc. So again, simple thing. If your resolution is to learn more about your liver health, give us a call, and we're happy to set you up for something called the fibro scan.

Kevin Geddings:

Yeah. There's so many other studies that are ongoing too, other ways for you to take charge of your health, you know, to get more involved, to live better in 2026. I thought you had one other issue, Doc?

Dr. Michael Koren:

Yeah, I'll give you one other one. So if you think that you forgot what we started this conversation about, which is very common by the way, for people in their 50s, 60s, and 70s, we would encourage you to give us a call and we can set you up for a free memory test. And through this free memory test, we'll do an evaluation to see whether or not you have some of the early signs for Alzheimer's. And if so, you may be able to get involved in one of our Alzheimer's disease studies. So three different things for you. Number one, lipoprotein little a, a cholesterol problem that is now treatable based on things that we have available in clinical research, and hopefully those treatments will get to the market in the near future. Number two is checking for fatty liver disease. And number three is testing your memory if you're concerned about that. These are all easily attainable things through our research organization, and they can fulfill a New Year's resolution for all of us.

Kevin Geddings:

Perhaps also another New Year's resolution you may be considering or you should consider, yeah, you know, get get better sources for your health information other than Dr. Google, right, Dr. Koren?

Dr. Michael Koren:

Absolutely. Yeah, I think I mentioned this to you, but I'll repeat it because it's so funny. Is that a friend of mine uh looked at my background using artificial intelligence, and AI mentioned the fact that I've been married to somebody named Moselle for 47 years. I I don't think I've ever met someone called Moselle, uh much less be married to someone.

Kevin Geddings:

Yeah, I was gonna say, how are you and Moselle doing? You know?

Dr. Michael Koren:

Yeah, well, I I guess uh I need to meet her because uh it's been a pretty quiet relationship so far.

Kevin Geddings:

Right. It's almost like artificial intelligence can occasionally be wrong, Doc.

Dr. Michael Koren:

There you go. Well, exactly. So we need verifiable information is what it comes down to, and Med Evidence I think accomplishes that. And and we're very honest with our assessments. You know, there's this stuff in healthcare that we know for sure, Kevin, and the stuff we definitely do not know, and then the stuff that we that we're learning about, and that's where research comes in. And we break that down for people. We tell people what's known, the things you should absolutely do to take care of yourself, the things that we really don't know, and don't be fooled by people who suggest that they may know stuff that we just don't know. And then finally, there's a process on how we learn about the stuff we don't know, or a strategy to deal with the stuff that we don't know. So we break that down in MedEvidence. We think it's a very trustworthy way for people to get information. And by the way, any information you get online about your health has to be looked through the lens of your personal circumstances, and websites can't do that. So we try to help people understand it through their own circumstances and and hopefully get people involved in what we're doing here in research in Northeast Florida at the end of the day. But you don't have to do that to enjoy the benefits of this website.

Kevin Geddings:

Yeah. Well, we just strongly recommend it'll be a great New Year's resolution for 2026 to, you know, I I know people are going to look at TikTok and Instagram and look at influencers on health, but please, please take a look at medevidence.com, you know, a resource for you that's available right there on your cell phone, but it's also, you know, something you can trust, right? Something you can trust. Dr. Koren, we appreciate you. Thank you very much for calling in. Happy New Year, by the way.

Dr. Michael Koren:

Happy New Year to you as well, Kevin. And hopefully we'll have a great 2026, including a playoff victory this coming weekend.

Kevin Geddings:

That's right. We will talk to you next Monday after the Jaguars beat Buffalo by at least two touchdowns. Right?

Dr. Michael Koren:

I I like it.

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