Dr. Alex E. Lechin, MD

Expert Publications

• Candida lusitaniae catheter-related sepsis.
• Severe asthma and plasma serotonin.
• Plasma serotonin, pulmonary hypertension and bronchial asthma.
• Pulmonary hypertension, left ventricular dysfunction and plasma serotonin: commentary on Deuchar et al.
• Tianeptine, plasma serotonin, and pulmonary hypertension.
• Tianeptine: a new exploratory therapy for asthma.
• Circulating neurotransmitters during the different wake-sleep stages in normal subjects.
• Neural sympathetic activity in essential hypertension.
• Autonomic nervous system assessment throughout the wake-sleep cycle and stress.
• Natural killer cells activity and neuroimmunological treatment of cancer.
• Treatment of bronchial asthma with tianeptine.
• Serotonin bronchial hyperresponsiveness and eosinophilic cholangiopathy.
• Pimozide therapy for trigeminal neuralgia.
• Treatment of ulcerative colitis with clonidine.
• Effects of clonidine on blood pressure, noradrenaline, cortisol, growth hormone, and prolactin plasma levels in high and low intestinal tone depressed patients.

Media Releases

Get to know Pulmonologist Dr. Alex Lechin, who serves patients in Houston, Texas.

Fluent in both English and Spanish, Dr. Lechin is a board-certified pulmonologist who serves as the Director of Texas Institute of Chest & Sleep Disorders, P.A. in Houston, Texas.

Texas Institute of Chest & Sleep Disorders, P.A. is a practice specializing in pulmonology. It is dedicated to serving the pulmonary needs of Houston and Pasadena, as well as the surrounding communities. Texas Institute of Chest & Sleep Disorders, P.A. focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of the following pulmonary diseases and conditions: acute respiratory distress syndrome, asbestosis, asthma, bronchitis, chronic cough, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, emphysema, hemoptysis, lung cancer, obstructive sleep apnea, pleural effusion, sarcoidosis, solitary pulmonary nodule, and tuberculosis.

Prior to his current endeavours, Dr. Lechin was a flight physician at Methodist Hospital Aeromedical Service – Baylor College of Medicine from 1993 until 1994; an attending physician at the City of Houston Tuberculosis and Chest Clinic – Ben Taub Hospital from 1992 until 1994; and an emergency room and receiving clinic physician at Mountain Home VA Hospital – East Tennessee State University from 1990 until 1991. 

On the subject of his academic appointments, he served as a Clinical Assistant Professor within the Department of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston from 1995 until 2018, and as a Clinical Assistant Professor within the Department of Clinical Sciences at the University of Houston: College of Pharmacy from 2001 until 2018. He also served as an Associate Professor within the Clinical Pharmacology Section at the Experimental Medicine Institute of the Central University of Venezuela. 

In addition to being a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians (FCCP) and a Fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (FAASM), the doctor is a member of the American Medical Association, the Texas Medical Association, and the American Federation for Clinical Research. 

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Dr. Lechin obtained his Bachelor of Science (BS) degree from Emil Friedman School in 1978. Upon relocating to the United States, he completed his BS degree at Southern Vermont College in Bennington, Vermont in 1979. He then went back to Venezuela and graduated with his medical degree from the Central University of Venezuela in 1986. 

Wanting to further his training, he completed a fellowship in clinical pharmacology at the Experimental Medicine Institute of the Central University of Venezuela in 1988. Following this, he moved back to the United States to complete an internship in internal medicine within the Department of Internal Medicine at North Carolina Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1989. He also completed a residency in internal medicine within the Department of Internal Medicine at J. Quillen College of Medicine in Johnson City, Tennessee in 1991, followed by a clinical fellowship in pulmonary disease, critical care medicine, and sleep medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in 1994. 

Among the doctor’s most notable achievements, he is board-certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, sleep medicine and critical care medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine, a physician-led, non-profit, independent evaluation organization driven by doctors who want to achieve higher standards for better care in a rapidly changing world. He is also board-certified in sleep medicine by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, a United States professional society for the medical subspecialty of sleep medicine which includes disorders of circadian rhythms.

Pulmonology is a medical specialty that deals with diseases involving the respiratory tract. A pulmonologist is an internal medicine physician who specializes in preventing, diagnosing, and treating conditions and diseases that affect the lungs, bronchial tubes, and the respiratory system, including the nose, pharynx, and throat.

Throughout his line of work, Dr. Lechin has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Patients’ Choice Award (2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011), Most Compassionate Doctor (2010), and SANDOZ: “Outstanding Contribution in Clinical Research” (1991). He was also nominated as one of Houston’s Best Pulmonologists by H TEXAS Magazine (September 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011). 

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