MJ Doctor Speaks

Dr. Eugene Aksenoff, the physician who treated Michael Jackson when he traveled to Japan, told the Japan Times in a recent interview that he refused to prescribe stimulants to the late pop star.

Aksenoff said that Jackson often complained of chronic fatigue, fever, insomnia and other ailments, and took lots of medications.

He reportedly warned Jackson in 2007 that taking stimulants would lead to addiction and subsequent death in as soon as three years.

Though he says he never prescribed any addictive medications himself, the Russian doctor, who is 85 and has lived in Japan since he was 18, believes Jackson took steroids to excess, thus accounting for his generally poor health.

Steroids are used both topically and orally to whiten the skin. Consequently, Jackson’s immune system was weak.

“His face was white, but his back and hip had some dark spots,” he told the newspaper. “His skin had signs of sutures and gluing, and to a doctor’s eye he apparently underwent skin transplants.” He told the Times he believes Jackson’s death was due to an overdose.

Aksenoff first met Jackson in 1996, when the singer toured Japan. He treated Jackson’s children and called the pop star “a really good father.” The doctor also has treated such high-profile clients as former French President Jacques Chirac and Madonna.