Dr. Terry Simpson - The Unfiltered MD

This week, RFK Jr announced a decrease in enforcement of six peptides. I have a comprehensive list of concerns and side effects in drsimpson.com but here is the breakdown of what it means to have a Wolverine stack - and you won’t get new vibranium claws. You might be worried about tumors, though.

Measles is back, and New York has declared a health emergency while Pennsylvania has recorded more than a thousand cases and five deaths. Meanwhile, a researcher at a Russian plague laboratory has died of unexplained pneumonia, Florida is experiencing one of the largest dengue outbreaks in decades, and a new federal regulation may make prescription medications from Canada more expensive.

But there is some encouraging news. A new obesity drug, petrelintide, targets a different hormone pathway and may offer another option for patients who struggle with GLP-1 side effects.

This week on Dr. Simpson Unfiltered, we look at the science behind these headlines, what we know, what we don’t, and why it matters.

More than a million people in Great Britain are vaping who never smoked a cigarette. In America, millions are vaping nicotine and cannabis, while nicotine pouches are becoming the latest way to get a nicotine fix. But are we reducing harm or simply finding new ways to become addicted? From lung injuries and transplants to THC gummies and nicotine pouches, Dr. Terry Simpson takes an unfiltered look at what the science tells us, what we still don’t know, and how to reduce risk without the usual hysteria. Because vaping may be safer than smoking, but safer doesn’t mean harmless.

A suspicious death at a Russian anti-plague laboratory has raised questions about Yersinia pestis, pneumonic plague, quarantine, and whether this is the start of something bigger. We separate the biology from the headlines, then move through measles, Ebola, AI and physicians, new GLP-1 data, diet, hospital ownership, and the vaccines worth getting this fall.

Measles cases in Pennsylvania have passed 900, the Ebola outbreak in Congo has crossed 8,000 cases, and yet some of this week’s biggest medical news is encouraging. Dr. Terry Simpson looks at falling cancer mortality, declining alcohol use, improving teen health, semaglutide and frailty, wildfire smoke,

Pennsylvania is approaching 500 measles cases and has already seen 87 hospitalizations, yet public officials are arguing over whether two measles-associated deaths should count. At the center is a Lancaster County family whose pregnant mother became seriously ill with measles and whose newborn son died after birth with measles infection in his lungs and a ruptured spleen. This is the same playbook we saw during COVID: minimize the disease, question the vaccine, then explain away the complications. Meanwhile, measles keeps spreading.

A new mRNA flu vaccine is here — and social media is already misreading the data. Meanwhile, childhood vaccine exemptions are rising, measles is spreading, Fauci is back in the headlines, and politics keeps colliding with public health. Dr. Terry Simpson breaks down what the evidence actually shows, plus new studies on COVID, dementia, hepatitis immunity, sugary drinks, and cervical cancer.

Scientists used artificial intelligence to design genetic codes that produced functioning viruses never before found in nature. They infect bacteria, not humans—but the breakthrough raises an obvious question: could we someday design a virus that infects people? Dr. Terry Simpson explains what scientists accomplished, why we could not do this in 2019, and what it does—and does not—tell us about claims that COVID-19 was designed. Plus, measles costs millions, Cyclospora declines, the first mRNA flu vaccine arrives, and new studies examine testosterone, dementia, vitamin D, vegan diets, and tirzepatide.

Anthony Fauci returns to Capitol Hill, measles reaches its highest level in more than 30 years, Cyclospora changes how Americans shop for produce, peptides continue to outpace the evidence, and a personalized cancer vaccine offers hope from the United Kingdom. This week, we separate headlines from science—and ask what the evidence actually tells us.

This week on The Unfiltered MD, Dr. Terry Simpson explains the rapidly growing Cyclospora outbreak, why "explosive diarrhea" has become the biggest infectious disease story of the week, how this microscopic parasite spreads through fresh produce, why yesterday's salad probably wasn't the culprit, and what actually works to prevent infection. He also reviews new research on coffee and liver health, the Mediterranean diet and dementia prevention, obesity treatment, GLP-1 medications, measles, vaccines, and the latest peptide controversy. Evidence-based medicine with a little Norwegian soccer and culinary humor mixed in.