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Thyroid disorders, diabetes, and high cholesterol dominate AI healthcare visits, reflecting a shift in how Americans manage long-term health.

When patients visit an AI healthcare provider, they’re not typically seeking a diagnosis for mysterious symptoms or treatment for acute emergencies. They’re managing conditions they’ve lived with for years.

Prescription data from Doctronic, an AI telehealth platform, reveals that chronic disease management dominates AI healthcare visits. Medications for thyroid disorders, Type 2 diabetes, and high cholesterol rank among the top five most prescribed, trailing only common pain relievers.

Levothyroxine, the standard treatment for hypothyroidism, ranks as the third most prescribed medication on the platform. Metformin, the first-line treatment for Type 2 diabetes, comes in fourth. Atorvastatin, a widely used cholesterol-lowering statin, rounds out the top five.

The pattern suggests AI healthcare could be a front door for chronic disease management — conditions that require ongoing medication access rather than complex diagnostic workups. For patients living with these conditions, the appeal is straightforward: continued access to medications they’ve taken for years, without the friction of scheduling appointments weeks in advance for visits that may last only minutes.

The Chronic Disease Burden

The medications appearing at the top of the list reflect the conditions affecting the largest share of the American population — and the ones placing the greatest strain on the healthcare system.

An estimated 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease, according to the American Thyroid Association, with hypothyroidism being the most common. Up to 60% of those with thyroid disease are unaware of their condition, making it one of the most underdiagnosed conditions in the country. For those who have been diagnosed, treatment typically means daily levothyroxine for the rest of their lives.

Once a patient’s thyroid levels stabilize — often within the first year of treatment — many go years without needing changes to their medication. The dosage stays the same, the routine stays the same, and the only variable is maintaining prescription access. Yet many refills require a provider visit, taking up appointment slots and physician time for what amounts to a brief confirmation that nothing has changed.

Type 2 diabetes tells a similar story at an even larger scale. The condition affects roughly 38 million Americans, with the CDC noting that 90% to 95% of all diabetes cases are Type 2. Metformin has been the first-line treatment for decades, and for patients whose blo

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When temperatures drop, your skin takes the hit. Harsh winds, hot showers, and indoor heating can leave your face feeling tight, your hands cracked, and your whole body begging for moisture. But winter dryness isn’t something you have to just deal with. With the right routine and products, you can keep your skin strong, hydrated, and comfortable all season long. Dove Men + Care shares a guide on how to prevent dry skin in winter.

Why Does Skin Get Dry in Winter?

Before we tackle solutions, it’s important to understand the root of the problem. During winter, the air becomes drier, both indoors and out. This lack of humidity causes moisture to evaporate from your skin more quickly, leading to dehydration. Additionally, the cold weather can strip away the skin’s natural oils, which act as a barrier to keep moisture in. The result? Skin that feels itchy, tight, and uncomfortable.

Signs and Symptoms of Dry Skin

Recognizing the symptoms of dry skin in winter is the first step in addressing it. Common signs include:

• Flakiness or peeling
• Redness or irritation
• A feeling of tightness, especially after showering
• Itching that seems to worsen as the day goes on
• Cracks or fissures, particularly on the hands and feet

Winter Skincare Routine

Creating a winter skincare routine is essential for combating the harsh effects of the season. Here’s a simple, effective routine to keep your skin hydrated and healthy:

• Switch to a moisturizing cleanser
  A harsh soap can make dryness worse. Choose a cleanser that nourishes while it cleans. It’s gentle on skin and formulated with hydration in mind, so you won’t end up with that tight, post-shower feeling.
• Moisturize right after you shower
  Your skin is most receptive to moisture when it’s slightly damp. Pat (don’t rub) your skin dry, then apply a rich body lotion.
• Avoid super-hot showers

We get it, stepping into a hot shower feels great when it’s freezing outside. But that heat actually strips your skin of its natural oils and leaves it more prone to dryness. Stick to warm water instead, and keep your showers short and sweet.

• Hydrate from the inside out

Don’t forget that hydration starts within. Drink plenty of water, eat foods rich in omega-3s (like salmon, chia seeds, and walnuts), and limit dehydrating drinks like coffee and alcohol.

• Protect your skin outdoors
  Winter air can be brutal, especially on exposed areas like your face and hands. Before heading out, apply a moisturizer to create a protective barrier. And if you’re spending time in the sun (yes, even in winter), use sunscreen. UV rays can still cause dama

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Veterinarians see many dogs in the ER because of stomach problems throughout the year. Summer barbecues, birthday parties, winter holiday dinners — all these food-focused celebrations are prime times for dogs to chow down on something that doesn’t agree with them.

These indulgences can set them up to develop pancreatitis, a disease that can be life-threatening. Pet parenting advice source Kinship shares what you need to know about pancreatitis in dogs, including the signs to look out for and how to seek the best treatment.

What is pancreatitis in dogs?

Put simply, pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas that can be either acute (comes on quickly) or chronic (develops over time). Before getting into how and why that inflammation happens, it’s helpful to understand what the pancreas is and what exactly it does.

The pancreas sits just under the stomach, along the first part of the small intestine. It has two primary jobs: secreting digestive enzymes to help break down food in the small intestine and secreting insulin and glucagon hormones to regulate the body’s blood glucose (aka sugar) levels. When a dog develops pancreatitis, the digestive enzymes are the problem. Inflammation occurs when the digestive enzymes are activated within the pancreas itself, before they get to the GI tract, and begin to digest, irritate, and harm this small organ, as well as nearby organs and tissues.

As inflammation and tissue destruction continues, damage spreads to the liver. If not treated quickly, toxins released during this process circulate more broadly, causing a body-wide inflammatory response. If the dog’s pancreas becomes severely compromised, it may not be able to produce insulin as well, which can result in diabetes. The good news is that usually, the inflammation is confined to the liver and pancreas, and with veterinary help, most dogs make a full recovery from acute pancreatitis.

What are the signs of pancreatitis in dogs?

The classic symptoms of pancreatitis are:

• Appetite loss
• Diarrhea
• Fever
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Depression

For dogs with chronic pancreatitis, symptoms may develop slowly over time, which makes it more difficult to diagnose. In addition to the symptoms above, during a sudden, acute pancreatitis attack, a dog may hunch their back or take a “praying” position (rear in the air and head on the floor, similar to a play bow).

Other possible symptoms of acute pancreatitis include difficulty breathing and shock; left untreated, a dog could die. To be clear, pancreatitis is a serious illness and requires immediate veterinary care to pr

Por Casey Gannon, CNN

El Departamento de Justicia de EE.UU. dijo este lunes que arrestó a cuatro personas en el área de Los Ángeles por presuntamente trabajar juntas en un complot con bomba que se llevaría a cabo en la ciudad durante la víspera de Año Nuevo.

Las cuatro personas arrestadas – Audrey Ilene Carroll, Dante Garfield, Zachary Aaron Page y Tina Lai – fueron identificadas como miembros del Frente de Liberación de la Isla Tortuga (TILF, por sus siglas en inglés), que según el Departamento de Justicia y el FBI, tiene una ideología antigubernamental.

Una denuncia ante un tribunal federal alega que tres miembros tenían planeado colocar “mochilas con artefactos explosivos improvisados ​​en diferentes puntos a lo largo de sus edificios asignados”, y agregó que los “artefactos explosivos improvisados” serían “bombas caseras complejas”.

El plan también describía todas las precauciones de seguridad que los miembros debían tomar durante su ejecución, incluyendo el uso de teléfonos prepago, la posibilidad de desnudarse y la posibilidad de ver películas largas en casa como coartada, según el Departamento de Justicia. Los documentos también supuestamente incluían un proceso paso a paso para fabricar una bomba casera.

Los sujetos se identificaron como miembros de una rama radical del TILF, un grupo extremista motivado por una ideología propalestina, antipolicía y antigubernamental. Presuntamente planeaban atentados coordinados con artefactos explosivos improvisados ​ para Nochevieja, dirigidos a cinco lugares distintos de Los Ángeles, indicó el director del FBI, Kash Patel, en un comunicado en X.

Los miembros que planeaban ejecutar el ataque utilizaban la plataforma de mensajería cifrada Signal, según alega el FBI en la denuncia. Carroll, según el documento, “proporcionó una lista que identificaba los componentes, productos químicos y herramientas, junto con los precios, necesarios para fabricar las bombas caseras necesarias para llevar a cabo el ataque planeado”.

El chat grupal de Signal se titulaba “Orden del Loto Negro”, según el Departamento de Justicia.

El 12 de diciembre, el grupo supuestamente fue al desierto de Mojave para construir y probar los dispositivos explosivos.

“Con base en la revisión de los materiales encontrados en el campamento de los co-conspiradores realizada por un técnico en bombas del FBI, el técnico determinó que los componentes probablemente podrían usarse para construir (1) dispositivos explosivos improvisados ​​y (2) dispositivos de cócteles molotov, y que los componentes eran fácilmente ensamblables”, dice la denuncia.

El fiscal adjunto primero de Estados Unidos, Bill Essayli, vinculó los arrestos a un esfuerzo del Gobierno de Trump “para extinguir las amenazas terroristas de extrema izquierda” en Estados Unidos.

“Este caso es otro recordatorio de los peligros que los grupos radicalizados similares a Antifa representan para la seguridad pública y el estado de derecho”, dijo Essayli durante una conferencia de prensa. La denuncia contra el grupo no menciona específicamente a Antifa.

Essayli afirmó que el grupo atacaba con sus bombas a “empresas estadounidenses”, pero no especificó a qué empresas se dirigían. Las bombas estaban programadas para explotar simultáneamente en Nochevieja.

La denuncia también alega que los cuatro implicados en el complot no estaban intentando matar gente y que si veían a alguien en el área de sus bombas, tratarían de advertirle.

Se espera que los cuatro acusados ​​​​hagan su comparecencia inicial ante el tribunal federal este lunes por la tarde en Los Ángeles.

The-CNN-Wire
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