DEAR DR. GOTT: Why do you write about so many esoteric diseases and medical conditions, many of which must affect only a handful of people? Surely you haven’t covered all of the subjects of interest to a general audience. I only rarely find any subjects of interest in your columns, and I’m an old dude with a number of issues.

DEAR READER: The issues covered in my column aren’t esoteric at all. The purpose of my column is to help by providing interesting information, facts, treatments, etc., regarding common, uncommon and rare disorders.

I often cover conditions such as hypertension, high cholesterol, urinary-tract infections and more, but I also get questions about little talked about, little known or rare conditions that, frankly, I find interesting to research and discuss. [Read more...]