Precision Medical Care Newsletter - March 2025
From the office of Dr. Sadiq
A New Way to Practice Medicine
I didn’t leave academic medicine on a whim. I left because I was burnt out. I left because I wanted to give my patients more time, more attention, and more thoughtful care. I left because the system wasn’t built for doctors like me—physicians who wanted to focus on prevention, who wanted to guide patients toward long-term health rather than just managing disease.
For years, I worked within a model that prioritized quick visits, standardized treatment plans, and reactive medicine. It became clear that this approach wasn’t working—for my patients or for me. I wanted to do more than prescribe medications. I wanted to understand why my patients were struggling with metabolic disease, insulin resistance, or unexplained symptoms. I wanted to use data not just to diagnose, but to predict and prevent. During this time, I met Dr. Catherine Johnson through a mutual friend. She had already created the kind of practice I had only imagined—one that was patient-centered, data-driven, and deeply rooted in the science of longevity. We spoke about what medicine could be, about how we could move away from band-aid solutions and toward truly personalized care. But even with this vision in front of me, I hesitated. Leaving the familiar is never easy.
Six months later, I took the leap.
Joining Precision Medical Care was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Over the past year, I have met and helped so many patients, and I’ve grown not only as a physician but as a person. I’ve had the space to think deeply, ask better questions, and truly partner with patients in ways I never could before. More importantly, I’ve seen the impact of this approach—patients who feel heard, who finally get the answers they’ve been searching for, and who are able to take charge of their health in ways they never thought possible.
As an endocrinologist, I have always been drawn to data. I analyze lab results, hormone fluctuations, metabolic markers, and genetic predispositions. But traditional medicine often forces us into rigid protocols that treat diseases, not individuals. Precision medicine changes that. It allows us to take that same data-driven mindset and apply it in a personalized way—targeting root causes, optimizing longevity, and preventing disease before it even begins. It’s medicine that looks ahead, not just reacts.
This journey has reinforced something I’ve always believed: the best healthcare is built on collaboration, curiosity, and continuous learning. Every patient I see brings a new challenge, a new puzzle to solve. It has made me a better doctor, and it has deepened my belief that this is the future of medicine.
So now, I turn the conversation over to you.
What questions do you have for an endocrinologist?
Is there something about your metabolism, thyroid health, or hormones that has never made sense to you? Are you looking for a different approach to managing your health? I’d love to hear from you.
Send us your questions, and let’s start the conversation.Dr. Sobia Sadiq
Precision Medical CareUpdates
Cash pricing programs for Zepbound and Wegovy have expanded access to treatment for overweight/obesity with better pricing for branded FDA approved therapies. Our precisionist physicians can submit your Rx directly to the cash-pay pharmacy and you will receive a text message to confirm payment and shipping details. This is a convenient option for many patients as the medication is shipped promptly, directly (and discreetly) to your home.
Wegovy (Semaglutide/“Ozempic”) is available for $499 monthly in ALL DOSES (0.25 mg, 0.5mg, 1 mg, 1.7 mg and 2.4 mg) for four injectable pens per order.
Zepbound (Tirzepatide/“Mounjaro”) is available in VIALS so you do have to draw up the solution with an insulin syringe and inject yourself with the solution. Vials of Zepbound are shipped as four vials per Rx, with dosing options of 2.5 mg, 5 mg, 7.5 mg and 10 mg of Tirzepatide per vial (0.5 ml or 50 units of solution per vial). The vials are intended to be single use per the manufacturer.
Spotlight: Breast Density
Breast density refers to how much fibrous and glandular tissue you have in your breasts compared to fatty tissue.
Dense breasts are pretty common—about 50% of women have them—but they do two things: they can make it trickier to find cancer on a mammogram, and they’re linked to a slightly higher chance of developing breast cancer. It’s not a huge jump in risk, but it’s something we keep an eye on.
Women with the highest density have about a 4-6% lifetime risk versus 2-3% for the lowest, but screening adjustments lower that gap.If you’ve had a recent mammogram, be sure to note the density of your breasts as scored: A, B, C, D
Should I be concerned about Measles?
No, unless you’re unvaccinated and in an area of an outbreak.
Measles was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 due to a high percentage of people receiving the safe and effective measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. However, vaccination coverage for measles has been steadily declining since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccination rates for measles among kindergarteners in the US has decreased to 92.7%, lower than the required rate of 95% to provide community immunity (herd immunity).1 Measles is also found around the world and can live in the air for 2 hours after a person with the infection leaves the space. For this reason, the CDC recommends assessing the need for measles vaccination before traveling internationally and watching for signs of measles infection 3 weeks post return.
Facts: “It’s more contagious than Covid, more contagious than the flu, more contagious than Ebola,” says Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
After someone with measles coughs or sneezes — or even breathes — tiny droplets of the virus hang in the air like ghosts for up to two hours, waiting to infect anyone who wanders by.
Moreover, people with measles — most often children — typically get very sick with a fever, cough and sore throat before the telltale rash sets in. The majority of the cases are unvaccinated children, who are susceptible to pneumonia and, more rarely, brain swelling that can cause permanent damage. Two or three out of every 1,000 children with measles will die.
Measles is a very contagious disease that spreads through infectious droplets, by airborne spread after an infected person coughs or sneezes, or through contact with contaminated surfaces. Upon infection, this virus causes fever, a red rash, a cough, watery eyes and can lead to serious health complications. Receiving 2 doses of the MMR vaccine is 97% effective at preventing measles; one dose is 93% effective. While it is uncommon for a fully vaccinated person to develop measles, vaccinated individuals can get infected with this virus in communities experiencing an outbreak where the levels of circulating measles virus are high.
Spotlight Biomarker: Albumin
Serum albumin is a protein produced by the liver and the most abundant protein in blood plasma. It plays several critical roles in the body, and its levels are a strong indicator of overall health as a marker of nutritional status, liver function, fluid balance, inflammation and stress response.
Albumin has Prognostic Power in Disease: Studies consistently show that low serum albumin is associated with higher mortality and morbidity across a wide range of conditions, including:
• Cancer: Predicts survival and response to treatment.
• Heart Disease: Linked to worse outcomes in heart failure.
• Sepsis: A marker of severity and mortality risk.
• Aging: Declines with frailty and predicts longevity.
Albumin as a biomarker of “leaky gut” (increased intestinal permeability). This occurs when the gut barrier, normally tightly regulated by tight junctions, becomes compromised. This allows bacteria, toxins, and undigested food particles to leak into the bloodstream. In severe cases, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) like Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis, or protein-losing enteropathy, the gut can lose proteins directly into the intestinal lumen. Albumin, being the most abundant plasma protein, is often lost this way, leading to hypoalbuminemia (low serum albumin levels).
Normal vs Optimal: In most labs, the “normal” range for serum albumin is 3.5–5.0 g/dL (35–50 g/L). “Normal” reflects what’s statistically typical for a general population, but it doesn’t always equate to optimal health.To optimize for resilience, recovery, and longevity, albumin levels of 4.5–5.0 g/dL are "OPTIMAL" Here's why:
• Resilience: Higher albumin levels correlate with better ability to handle stress (e.g., surgery, infection). A study in Critical Care Medicine (2010) found that patients with albumin >4.5 g/dL pre-surgery had lower complication rates.
• Anti-inflammatory Buffer: Albumin has antioxidant and toxin-binding properties, which are maximized at higher levels, potentially reducing systemic inflammation—a key factor in chronic disease.
• Aging and Longevity: In older adults, albumin levels closer to 4.5–5.0 g/dL are associated with reduced frailty and mortality risk (Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2015).
• Gut Health Tie-In: Higher levels of albumin may indicate better gut barrier integrity and nutrient absorption, supporting systemic health.
Perimenopause involves erratic estrogen fluctuations—high spikes followed by sharp declines—as ovarian function wanes. the estrogen surges seen in perimenopause shift albumin levels lower which drives fluid retention, vascular changes and mild systemic inflammation... a reason why so many women in perimenopause feel “squishy” and constantly bloated. Perimenopause often coincides with rising low-grade inflammation due to aging and hormonal shifts. Estrogen has anti-inflammatory properties, so its fluctuations might exacerbate cytokine-driven albumin suppression. For example, women with vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes) show higher IL-6 levels, correlating with slightly lower albumin (Menopause, 2010).Podcasts & References
Dr Florence Comite interviews Dr Felice Gersh: This is a great discussion between two experts and I especially love how Dr Gersh outlined that “estrogen” is actually a family of hormones: not all estrogens are the same.
A leading researcher in aging shares his “biggest health and longevity breakthroughs.” I was especially struck by how positively his health was impacted by leaving academic medicine… a tough decision that we have reconciled as your precision physicians, too!
Notable articles:
