Maria Choy, MD

03/27/2026

Some of you know I ride horses. It is one of my “add-on” skills to stay mentally and physically sound. Core muscles are triggered just by sitting balanced on a horse. My reaction time is kept sharp … to prevent unplanned ground contact. My timing is improved as I go over a fence. Lastly, there is nothing better than being in touch with nature. Keeping the body sound, keeps the mind sound.

03/27/2026

Cautiously exploring: Keppra may help cognitive function in Alzheimer's Disease

What is Keppra?

Keppra (levetiracetam) is a medication that has been used for many years to prevent seizures. Recently, researchers have been studying whether it might also help people with Alzheimer's disease.

How might Keppra help in Alzheimer's disease?

Scientists have discovered that Keppra may work in two ways for Alzheimer's disease:

First, it may reduce the buildup of harmful proteins called amyloid plaques in the brain. These plaques are one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. In laboratory studies with mice, Keppra changed how brain cells process proteins, leading to less plaque formation. However, this has not yet been proven in human studies.

Second, Keppra may help with abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Some people with Alzheimer's have unusual brain wave patterns (even without having visible seizures) that can worsen memory and thinking. A clinical trial found that low-dose Keppra improved memory and thinking skills in Alzheimer's patients who had these abnormal brain wave patterns.

Is this a proven treatment?

Keppra is not currently approved by the FDA for treating Alzheimer's disease. The research is still in early stages. While the medication showed promise in some patients, particularly those with abnormal brain electrical activity, more studies are needed to understand if it can slow down Alzheimer's disease or reduce brain plaques in people.


1. . Levetiracetam Prevents Aβ Production Through SV2a-dependent Modulation of APP Processing in Alzheimer's Disease Models. Rao NR, Santiago-Marrero I, DeGulis O, et al. Science Translational Medicine. 2026;18(836):eadp3984. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.adp3984.

2. Levetiracetam Treatment Normalizes Levels of Presynaptic Endocytosis Machinery and Restores Nonamyloidogenic APP Processing in Knock-in Mice. Rao NR, Savas JN. Journal of Proteome Research. 2021;20(7):3580-3589. doi:10.1021/acs.jproteome.1c00180.

3. Effect of Levetiracetam on Cognition in Patients With Alzheimer Disease With and Without Epileptiform Activity: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Vossel K, Ranasinghe KG, Beagle AJ, et al. JAMA Neurology. 2021;78(11):1345-1354. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2021.3310.

03/17/2026

All vaccines are not created equal. The original handful of childhood vaccines have good data to support its use. The same cannot be said of newer vaccines such as Gardasil or vaccines for rapidly mutating viruses. However, I cannot stay silent when half truths are being circulated such as blaming measles outbreak on current attempts to change vaccine mandates. I doubt that MMR vaccine will be affected by policies that are being discussed. THE DROP IN MMR VACCINATION occurred DURING AND BECAUSE OF covid mandates and many are still not caught up (see below, this is from AI for health professionals literature search). The measles outbreak has little to do with current administration and much to do with Covid isolation policies as has much or our medical preventative managements.

03/16/2026

But a 25-year cohort study of 27,000+ adults contradicts decades of low-fat diet advise;

🧀 People who ate ≥50 g/day of high-fat cheese had about a 13% lower risk of dementia.
🥄 Those consuming ≥20 g/day of high-fat cream had about a 16% lower risk.

I have been saying this for years. Low fat diet made no sense to me when we need fat to make the lipid by-layer of new cells, especially in the brain. Combine this with increasing incidence of dementia as restricting fat became a norm, this study becomes a call for further research. Both too little and too much has huge ramifications. Too much fat leads to heart disease; too little fat risked dementia and, in different studies, may also risk higher incidence of cancer.

The association between dairy intake and dementia risk remains uncertain, especially for dairy products with varying fat contents. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between high-fat and low-fat dairy intake and dementia risk. ...

03/16/2026

It has been purported that vaccination lowers the risk of dementia. To analyze this claim, researchers examined health records of 13,383,431 dementia-free adults aged 50+ in the UK (1988–2018) to see whether common vaccinations (influenza, pneumonia, shingles, tetanus, diphtheria, or pertussis) affected dementia risk. They found no evidence vaccines reduced dementia risk. Instead, they found an apparent increased risk of developing dementia that requires further study

Common vaccines were not associated with a decreased risk of dementia. Unmeasured confounding and detection bias likely accounted for the observed increased risk.

02/11/2026

REM sleep is important for memory consolidation, emotional regulation, and brain development. Results of a small clinical trial showed that people exposed to continuous pink noise, commonly used in sound machines and apps marketed as sleep aids, reduced REM sleep by nearly 20 minutes. Om the other hand, using earplugs actually restored deep sleep typically disrupted by environmental noise.

These findings suggest that playing pink noise and other types of broadband noise during sleep could be harmful — especially for children whose brains are still developing and who spend much more time in REM sleep than adults.

Pink noise — low-frequency broadband noise often used in sound machines and sleep apps — is associated with a decrease in REM sleep and worse overall sleep recovery.

02/10/2026

A review of 23 clinical trials found that very low‑salt diets often made people’s bodies more resistant to insulin, a key hormone that controls blood sugar. In several studies, lowering sodium raised insulin levels, worsened blood sugar responses, and sometimes even increased cholesterol, especially in people with high blood pressure.

The take‑home message: salt isn’t “all bad” or “all good” – extremes can be harmful. For many people, a moderate, whole‑food diet that doesn’t go to salt extremes may be better for long‑term metabolic health than a very strict low‑salt plan. Above all, we need to rethink our recommendations for initial treatment of hypertension.

This is just another excerpt from my soon-to-go to publisher book!

The Journal of Metabolic Health is a peer-reviewed, clinically oriented open access journal covering advances in metabolic health and related disorders. The journal focuses on pathophysiology, prevention, management, and advancing therapy for different patient populations with metabolic health issue...

02/10/2026

80% of Alzheimer's patients have either diabetes or insulin resistance. This goes beyond coincidental. It is not surprising the we sometimes refer to dementia as "Type 3 Diabetes"

Many people living with obesity say they feel “always hungry,” and this isn’t just about willpower – it’s about how the body’s hunger system gets rewired. This new review explains how hormones from our gut, signals in the brain, stress, emotions, and constant access to ultra-processed, high‑calorie foods all push us to eat more than our bodies actually need.

Over time, this “obesity‑driven hunger” can make weight gain, diabetes, heart disease and other health problems much more likely. The authors highlight that effective treatment has to go beyond “eat less, move more” and combine healthy dietary patterns with medications, psychological support, and changes to our food environment.

The key message: if you struggle with hunger and weight, it’s not a personal failure – it’s a medical and environmental issue, and there are science‑based tools that can help.

My new book, about to be sent to my publisher, will cover this topic in the last chapter. Keep an eye on this page for announcements!

Obesity is a complex metabolic disorder driven by an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure. A critical pathogenetic component of obesity is …

02/10/2026

Thank you everyone for being flexible with schedule!

02/05/2026

The office will only be open only on Fridays for the month of February. Dr. Choy will be out of town playing grandmother! Those who have appointments this Monday will be receiving a call to reschedule soon. Thank you for your understanding.

02/01/2026

I’ve been saying this for decades: acupuncture works at DNA level. Studies found evidence of enhanced stem cell function using points typical of my treatments for dementia! Research is finally catching up with observation.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1BnDNVMRnu/?mibextid=wwXIfr

A groundbreaking discovery from Taiwan is bridging traditional medicine and modern science. Researchers at China Medical University have shown that acupuncture doesn’t just relieve pain—it can trigger stem cells to repair damaged organs naturally. Electroacupuncture at specific points, like ST36 (Zusanli) and GV20 (Baihui), stimulates the bone marrow to release mesenchymal stem cells into the bloodstream. These stem cells then travel to injured tissues, differentiate into organ-specific cells, and release healing factors.
Within 24 hours, stem cell levels in circulation increased by 300%, providing a measurable biological explanation for acupuncture’s therapeutic effects—beyond placebo. Stroke patients treated with electroacupuncture within 48 hours recovered 40% better than those with standard care. Liver cirrhosis patients showed reduced fibrosis markers, while heart attack survivors experienced improved cardiac function.
This discovery is rewriting how Western medicine views acupuncture. For thousands of years, it was considered purely traditional, yet science now shows a sophisticated, measurable mechanism for healing. Ancient practices are finally being validated through modern imaging and cellular tracking, revealing that needle stimulation can activate the body’s own repair systems.
The message is clear: acupuncture is more than sensation—it’s a biological trigger for regeneration, showing how centuries-old practices can integrate with cutting-edge science.