Newspaper Columns, Editorial
Learning Lessons From Drug Disasters (August 27, 2007)
Americans are justifiably bewildered. On the one hand they are told to “take your medicine—it’s necessary to maintain good health.” On the other, they read that many of their medicines may cause the very problems they are trying to prevent....
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Complications Arise From Cholesterol Drugs (August 20, 2007)
Millions of people swallow a little white oblong pill called Lipitor every day. Others take Zocor, Crestor or some other statin-type cholesterol-lowering drug.These medications work extremely well to lower bad LDL cholesterol. They prevent heart attacks and strokes. For those...
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Saving Money Shouldn't Be Life Threatening (August 12, 2007)
People will do almost anything to save a buck. They clip coupons, drive miles out of their way to get cheaper gasoline and line up at the crack of dawn for special sales.Not surprisingly, most people are more than happy...
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Chocolate is Champion for Good Health (August 6, 2007)
If there were a medicine that could make your blood vessels more flexible, lower your blood pressure, prevent blood clots and improve insulin sensitivity, it would be phenomenally successful. The company that produced this wonder drug would likely charge an...
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Pills Can't Cure Losses in Life (July 30, 2007)
In the 1960s Alka-Seltzer came up with a new reason for people to plop-plop and fizz-fizz. The company invented a new disease called the “blahs.” It wasn’t exactly clear what the blahs were, though. The TV commercial described the blahs...
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Stay Safe in the Hospital (July 23, 2007)
A trip to the emergency room is stressful. The only reason you go is because of a health crisis. These days you almost have to be at death’s doorstep to make a trip to the ER. That’s because the waits...
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Generic Antidepressant Raises Questions (July 16, 2007)
The first email message in February piqued our interest: “I have been taking Budeprion XL 300 mg for 3 months instead of Wellbutrin XL 300 mg. I find that I am easily upset and cry very easily. Sometimes I feel...
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Can Home Remedies Top Prescription Drugs? (July 10, 2007)
Most doctors dismiss home remedies as unscientific at best or harmful at worst. They have a hard time understanding why anyone would choose an unproven folk treatment over an FDA approved prescription drug.Several years ago a furious podiatrist chastised us...
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Cheap Chinese Chemicals Pose Risks (June 17, 2007)
“Follow the money.” This famous line, written by William Goldman for the movie “All the President’s Men,” was the key to unlocking the mysteries behind Watergate.If you follow the money, you can discover the motivation behind skullduggery. Who profits and...
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Is Suppressing Stomach Acid Safe? (June 11, 2007)
The saying goes that when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Doctors may not be carpenters, but when it comes to heartburn, the hammer they wield most frequently is an acid-suppressing drug.Drug companies have been...
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Don't Let Drugs Cause Disability (June 4, 2007)
They say that men are from Mars and women are from Venus. That’s because they have such different approaches to life. If that’s true, then perhaps physicians are from Oz and patients are still in Kansas. They too have difficulty...
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Cancer Patients Thrive Online (May 28, 2007)
Cancer is one of the scariest words in medicine. Decades ago the diagnosis seemed like a death sentence. Many doctors didn’t even tell the patient because they didn’t want to deliver such bad news.Today, cancer is still not good news,...
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Are Doctors Too Cozy with Drug Companies? (May 20, 2007)
Most doctors think they are way too smart to be influenced by drug companies. Physicians believe that they choose the best medicine for their patients based on science, not bribery.Although almost all doctors in America accept free lunches for staff,...
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Sex Drive Differences Divide Couples (May 13, 2007)
Ask a sex therapist about the most common complaint couples have and it is likely to be mismatched sex drives. In other words, one partner desires sex more frequently than the other.In a recent column, a woman complained that she...
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The Secret Behind the Breast Cancer Decline (May 7, 2007)
One of the most controversial drug issues of the last several decades has been the safety of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). For years, many physicians encouraged women to take drugs like Premarin, Provera or Prempro as soon as they began...
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Allergy Relief Is Complicated (April 30, 2007)
Allergy sufferers get very little sympathy. People with migraines or arthritis endure hardship, but at least everyone recognizes the difficulties of living with such chronic conditions.The tens of millions who sniffle and sneeze throughout allergy season are mostly ignored. And...
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Antidepressants Don't Solve Life's Problems (April 23, 2007)
Life is not a bowl of cherries. People get fired or divorced. Investments go sour and savings are lost. Friends and family members die. It’s inevitable.When bad things happen, people frequently feel sad. It’s normal.Over the last couple of decades,...
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Don't End Up Like Anna Nicole Smith (April 15, 2007)
Unless you have been hibernating for the last few weeks, you have probably heard that Anna Nicole Smith died of an accidental overdose. According to the Broward County Medical Examiner, the legal medicines she was taking led to “combined drug...
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Should Doctors Take Money from Drug Companies? (April 9, 2007)
Imagine the outrage of basketball fans if they learned that the referees in the championship game were being paid by one of the teams. People would be equally upset if they discovered that a judge had a financial interest in...
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Cancer Drug Prices Continue to Soar (April 2, 2007)
If you come down with cancer you had better have health insurance. Otherwise, prepare to go bankrupt or die.Cancer treatment has become so expensive that if you are not very rich or poor, well-insured or covered by Medicare, you will...
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Atkins Trumps Ornish in Food Fight (March 28, 2007)
By now you’ve probably heard that the Atkins folks won the big food fight. The high-fat Atkins diet trumped the low-fat Dean Ornish diet in a year-long face off (JAMA, March 7, 2007). Atkins also beat out the Zone diet...
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Popular Pain Relievers Pose Dilemma (March 19, 2007)
People in pain are caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, they have to deal with sore joints or chronic back problems that make it hard to enjoy everyday activities. On the other hand, the...
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Trust But Verify Your Medicine (March 12, 2007)
One of Ronald Reagan’s most memorable quotes was “Trust but Verify.” He used this phrase dozens of times when speaking about U.S. relations with the Soviet Union. In his farewell speech to the nation after two terms in office, President...
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Sex Under Siege In America (March 5, 2007)
Americans are confused about sex. Many of the first colonists were Puritans and a strong puritanical streak still runs through our culture. Although our sitcoms and soap operas rely on sex to keep viewers watching, many of us consider this...
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Cold Remedies Hold Hazards For Kids (February 26, 2007)
When a young child catches a cold—which they do far too frequently—parents want to do something to ease the suffering. Watching a child struggle with a drippy nose or listening to a nagging nighttime cough is torture for parents. Moms...
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No Science Behind Soap Remedy (February 19, 2007)
Sometimes a remedy defies logic. Usually there’s no science to support it either. That’s certainly the case when it comes to putting a bar of soap under the bottom sheet to stop leg cramps or restless legs.One reader (who happens...
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Birth Control Pills' Effectiveness Questioned (February 12, 2007)
Birth control pills were a revolutionary advance in contraception back in the 1960s. They were unquestionably more effective and convenient than any other form of contraception. In theory, only one woman out of 100 who took the Pill for a...
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Hiccup Remedies Show Ingenuity (February 6, 2007)
Hiccups can be embarrassing. They can occur unpredictably, for mysterious reasons. An involuntary spasm of the diaphragm causes a sudden intake of air into the lungs. When this happens, the diaphragm pulls the glottis in the voice box closed and...
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Beware Belated Drug Side Effects (January 29, 2007)
Car buyers used to be advised that it would be prudent to wait at least a year after a new model was introduced before making a purchase. That way, the manufacturer had a chance to detect and correct unexpected flaws....
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FDA Bans Quinine For Leg Cramps (January 22, 2007)
Quinine is one of the oldest drugs in the pharmacy. Even before the Spanish discovered the New World, native healers in Peru were using the bark of the cinchona tree to treat fever, malaria and indigestion. An Augustinian monk wrote...
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Doctors Mum on Prescription Prices (January 15, 2007)
Imagine going out to eat at a nice restaurant, getting an impressive menu, but not finding prices for anything. Most people would find such a situation disorienting. They would hesitate to order a meal at a restaurant that won’t tell...
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Will People Read New Pain Reliever Warnings? (January 8, 2007)
When the FDA switched the prescription pain reliever Motrin (ibuprofen) to over-the-counter status in 1984, a lot of physicians were unhappy. They feared that this powerful NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) might cause serious harm without medical supervision. Many doctors opposed...
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FDA Ponders New Antidepressant Warnings (January 3, 2007)
Can antidepressants really drive some people to commit suicide? That is a question the FDA has had to wrestle with for nearly two decades. For most of that time the agency has insisted that SSRI-type antidepressants such as Prozac or...
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Grapefruit Interactions Can Be Tricky (December 26, 2006)
Until 1989, grapefruit was just another citrus fruit. It had a pronounced taste that some people found refreshing and others rejected as bitter. But then Canadian scientists published a surprising finding: taking the blood pressure pill Plendil (felodipine) with double-strength...
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Better Evidence Needed for Popular Treatments (December 18, 2006)
Physicians frequently look down on home remedies and other alternative therapies because there is rarely scientific evidence to support them. In an age of “evidence-based medicine,” there is no room for folklore. When our readers tell us that Vicks VapoRub...
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Generic Drugs Defy Economic Principle (December 11, 2006)
For generations Americans have been told, “you get what you pay for.” That’s why many people are willing to pay extra for Hershey’s Kisses, Dole pineapple or Hellmann’s mayonnaise. When you buy new tires for your car, you know you...
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Sunshine Vitamin Helps Fight Flu (December 4, 2006)
For decades, the “old wives” have been ridiculed as superstitious know-nothings. Now science seems about to vindicate them. The old wives maintained that a dose of cod liver oil would do a body good. Many children dreaded it because it...
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Loss of Vision Linked to Drug (November 27, 2006)
Millions of people experience serious drug side effects each year. Far too often they don’t realize a medication is causing their distress. A recent study revealed that only about one doctor in three informs patients about possible side effects when...
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How Good Is Your Flu Shot? (November 20, 2006)
The annual flu-season ritual has begun again. First you will be admonished to get your flu shot. Then you will be scared by reports of influenza outbreaks all around the nation. The trouble is that it isn’t clear whether flu...
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How Good Are Generic Drugs? (November 14, 2006)
The high cost of prescription drugs has everyone looking for ways to save. Hospitals, HMOs and insurance plans are as upset about their pharmacy bills as individual patients are. One popular solution is to buy generic drugs . Doctors are...
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Bad Drug Reactions Cause ER Visits (November 6, 2006)
Most people dread a trip to the emergency room. First, there’s the trauma and anxiety of whatever brought them there—chest pain, uncontrolled bleeding or perhaps a broken bone. Then there’s the ordeal of a waiting room full of other sick...
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Celiac Disease May Masquerade as Alzheimer's (October 30, 2006)
For decades many doctors have encouraged patients to skip vitamins and eat a “well balanced diet.? What that means exactly has been hotly debated for a very long time. One key component, though, has always been whole grains like wheat,...
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Good Communication Is Critical to Health Care (October 23, 2006)
Humans have a terrible time communicating. Just ask any teenager how well his parents listen. Or turn the tables and ask the parents whether their adolescent son or daughter pays attention to what they say. We’re told that men are...
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FDA Watchdog Needs Better Bark and Bite (October 16, 2006)
Americans like to think they are Number One in everything. Our politicians frequently tell us that we have the best health care system and the safest drugs in the world. Myths die hard. In truth, we are nowhere near the...
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Beware Brand Name Creep in the Drugstore (October 9, 2006)
There was a time when buying over-the-counter medicines was pretty simple. If you wanted a non-aspirin pain reliever you bought Tylenol, the brand name for acetaminophen. If heartburn was a problem you might choose Maalox. It contained antacids—aluminum and magnesium...
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New Drug Offers Hope for Premature Ejaculation (October 2, 2006)
Before Bob Dole went on television to talk about ED and Viagra, men’s sexual problems were rarely discussed in public. Impotence was a source of shame. Now that ads for Viagra, Cialis and Levitra are commonplace, people no longer seem...
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How Should People in Pain Be Treated? (September 26, 2006)
People in pain are often treated like criminals. Narcotics may be the best treatment for severe pain, but they can also be drugs of abuse. Readers have shared horror stories in which loved ones have suffered because doctors were unwilling...
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FDA Steps Reluctantly Behind the Counter (September 18, 2006)
The Food and Drug Administration is being dragged kicking and screaming toward a whole new category of medications. Until the recent approval of Plan B, the FDA allowed only two kinds of drugs: those that require a physician’s prescription and...
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New Diet Pill on Sale in Europe (September 11, 2006)
Americans are fat. One third of us are obese. And another third are overweight. A new study suggests that carrying around even a few extra pounds may shorten our lives. If you happen to be 5 foot 9 and you...
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Drugs Should Not Displace Diet (September 3, 2006)
A few years ago diet and exercise were considered crucial cornerstones of a heart-healthy lifestyle. Now, drugs seem to have replaced willpower and fitness. We recently received an email from Steve that epitomizes this mindset: “Is it necessary to watch...
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Don't Ignore Scary Warnings (August 28, 2006)
Drug companies spend billions of dollars on TV commercials that are supposed to entice viewers to beg their doctors for the latest and greatest prescription medicine. But you have to wonder why anyone would want to take pills that can...
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Drug Plan for Seniors Profits Companies (August 21, 2006)
Drug companies are eating doughnuts while millions of senior citizens are left with the doughnut hole. Medicare Part D was supposed to benefit older Americans but it has turned out to be a windfall for the pharmaceutical industry. For years...
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Medication Mistakes Harm More Than 1 Million (August 14, 2006)
Physicians are admonished never to let the cure be worse than the disease. And yet far too often the very medicines meant to soothe symptoms or overcome illness cause more harm than good. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) offers objective...
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FDA Warns of Serotonin Syndrome (August 8, 2006)
Two years ago we got a desperate phone call from a friend. He was afraid his wife had suffered a stroke. She was in a coma, unresponsive and he feared he would soon be forced to decide whether to discontinue...
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Pasta and Pizza Are Poison for Celiac Sufferers (July 31, 2006)
Imagine what it would be like to suffer fatigue, anemia, diarrhea, cramps, bloating, reflux, osteoporosis, depression or an unbearable, itchy rash. Now, imagine that your doctor keeps telling you that there’s nothing really wrong with you and that it’s all...
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Don't Let Summer Heat Do You In (July 24, 2006)
It’s too bad our bodies don’t come equipped with “idiot lights.? If they did, more people might avoid heatstroke. When your car overheats, a red light on the dashboard warns you that the engine is getting too hot. If you...
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Spruce Up Your First Aid Kit for Summer (July 17, 2006)
When’s the last time you checked out your first aid kit or rearranged your medicine cabinet? If you’re like most folks you have an odd assortment of old bandages, tape and antibiotic ointments. Admit it, you probably have half-empty boxes...
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Drug Costs Pinch Pocketbooks (July 10, 2006)
They call it the doughnut hole. It’s more like a black hole that Medicare recipients fall into when their prescription drug benefits come to a screeching halt. Millions of Americans signed up for prescription drug plans under the new Medicare...
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Reconsidering Asthma Treatments (July 3, 2006)
Breathe deeply. This simple act sustains life and yet most of the time we don’t even notice it. Not being able to catch your breath can be terrifying. People with asthma may gasp desperately for air. Sometimes they even die...
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Lawsuits Claim Lipitor Harms Muscles and Memory (June 26, 2006)
Can cholesterol-lowering drugs like Lipitor cause memory loss and debilitating muscle pain? That’s the allegation made by two men who have filed lawsuits against Pfizer Inc, the maker of Lipitor. They claim the company did not adequately warn them about...
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Bone Drugs Cause Unexpected Reactions (June 19, 2006)
In 1995 the FDA approved a new drug for treating osteoporosis. Fosamax was heralded as a major breakthrough. Before this pill was introduced, there were no easy ways to combat osteoporosis. This condition weakens bones and can lead to life-threatening...
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Exercise and Supplements to Fight Forgetfulness (June 12, 2006)
Most of us have experienced a moment or two of forgetfulness. We can’t find our keys, even though they are right where we left them. Or we can’t remember precisely where we parked the car at the mall. Perhaps running...
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Airplane Ears Make Flying Painful (June 4, 2006)
Millions of people dread flying. It’s not really the long security lines, the puny snacks or the lack of leg room. It’s not even the frequent delays or the lost luggage. For a lot of fliers the problem is ear...
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FDA Can't Control Off-Label Prescribing (May 29, 2006)
One of the last big secrets of American medicine involves a practice called “off-label? prescribing. Most people assume that the pills their doctors prescribe have been carefully tested and approved by the FDA for their condition. They don’t realize that...
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Generic Drug Juggernaut Rolls On (May 22, 2006)
Just over half of all prescriptions sold in this country are now generic drugs. Before long these copycat medicines will dominate the market. That’s because some very popular brand name medications are losing their patents. Drugs like the sleeping pill...
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Can the FDA Get Its Bite Back? (May 15, 2006)
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is the investigative arm of Congress. It studies how the federal government spends your tax dollars. The GAO recently evaluated the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and concluded the FDA belongs in the doghouse. Not...
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Relief from Allergies Is Confusing (May 7, 2006)
Most people look forward to spring. Warm weather means the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming and the grass is growing…and pollinating. That’s why 36 million Americans may wish it were still freezing cold. In the winter, there’s no...
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Amazing New Uses for Old-Fashioned Remedies (May 2, 2006)
Suffering is the mother of creativity. People will do almost anything to relieve their discomfort. Perhaps that is why some folks have tried rinsing their scalps with Listerine for flaky dandruff. Others have dabbed vodka on their itchy poison ivy....
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Do Sunscreens Create a False Sense of Security? (April 24, 2006)
Do sunscreens create a false illusion of safety? A new lawsuit charges that many sunscreen manufacturers are misleading Americans into thinking that their products can protect people from sun damage. Decades ago there were few effective sunscreens. If you spent...
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Don't Plug & Play with Pills (April 18, 2006)
A few weeks ago we ordered a bookshelf and tried to assemble it. Our crew of two was divided on the proper way to proceed. One of us thinks that such tasks should be intuitive and you should just dive...
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Cancer Drug Costs Are Out of Control (April 10, 2006)
When you’re being robbed at gunpoint, the question is often “your money or your life?? Increasingly, that is the choice cancer patients are being offered. The cost for many new cancer drugs is almost unbelievable. Herceptin, a drug for breast...
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New Hope for People with Ringing in the Ears (April 3, 2006)
Is there anything more annoying than hearing a mosquito buzzing around your head and not being able to catch it? A dentist’s drill might be a close match. Now imagine what it would like to have crickets chirping in your...
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Don't Suffer in Secret from Peyronie's Disease (March 27, 2006)
Peyronie’s disease is not a household name. Most people have never heard of this condition, which affects the most private part of a man’s anatomy. Yet it can have a major impact on self esteem or even marital relations. No...
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Is Grapefruit Safe for Lowering Cholesterol? (March 20, 2006)
Grapefruit has long had a reputation as a health food. Not only is it loaded with nutrients like vitamin C, potassium and folic acid, but it also has been reported to help people lose weight. For decades, dieters were convinced...
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Dietary Dogma Causes Credibility Crisis (March 13, 2006)
Is it any wonder people are feeling betrayed and bewildered? Over the last couple of decades they have been given a lot of advice on healthy living. Most of the suggestions required sacrifice and self-denial. The message from the “experts?...
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Low-Price Drugs May Have Hidden Costs (March 6, 2006)
For years we have been critical of “me-too? drugs. These are copy-cat medicines. When a pharmaceutical company comes up with a brilliant new compound, it doesn’t take competitors long to create variations on the theme. For example, Prilosec (omeprazole) was...
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Low-Fat Diet Reaps Few Rewards (February 27, 2006)
A century ago, our forebears were happy to eat eggs and bacon for breakfast and a big meal of steak or fried chicken for dinner. They worked hard, they liked the taste, and they didn’t worry about high-fat food. Then,...
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New Diet Pill May Have Benefits Beyond Weight Loss (February 20, 2006)
Everyone wants an easy way to lose weight. That’s why diet pills have been greeted with such enthusiasm over the years. But safe and easy weight loss has been an unfulfilled promise—until now, that is. Rimonabant (Acomplia) may break the...
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Are Cholesterol Drugs Linked to Memory Loss? (February 13, 2006)
Can cholesterol-lowering drugs affect memory? That is a question we have wrestled with for nearly six years. It started when we received a letter from a woman who complained that several months after starting on Lipitor she was “having trouble...
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Drug Warnings Too Often Ignored (February 5, 2006)
Doctors are way too busy these days. Full waiting rooms and crammed schedules mean physicians rush from one patient to another with barely enough time to do scribble a prescription. Because of this frenetic pace, many doctors don’t take much...
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Calming a Cough Calls for Creativity (January 30, 2006)
Once upon a time, before the end of the last century, Americans could buy cough medicines that worked. Codeine-containing syrups were widely available without prescription. Physicians also recommended terpin hydrate, an expectorant, from the late 1800s until the early 1990s....
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ED Drugs Not Rising to Expectations (January 23, 2006)
Americans are obsessed with sex. All you have to do is turn on television in the middle of the day and you will see steamy scenes on the soap operas. “Desperate Housewives? is one of the more popular prime time...
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It's Hard to Get a Good Night's Sleep (January 16, 2006)
Whoever coined the phrase “sleeping like a baby? must have been childless. No parent who’s walked the floor for hours with a fussy infant or gotten up for numerous nighttime feedings would imagine babies sleep well. At the other end...
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How Safe Is Aspartame? (January 9, 2006)
People love to hate artificial sweeteners. Starting with saccharin in the late 1950s, some have enthusiastically embraced the idea of sweets without calories. Others have warned that saccharin, cyclamate and aspartame are too dangerous for human consumption. The debate is...
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Don't Play Russian Roulette with Drugs and Alcohol (January 2, 2006)
There’s increasing encouragement for people to drink alcohol. Headlines state that a drink or two a day may protect against heart attacks, strokes and maybe even Alzheimer’s disease. At holidays, the social pressure to drink a toast is even greater....
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New Lesson from COX-2 Catastrophe (December 27, 2005)
Even before aspirin was developed, people with arthritis used willow bark to ease their pain and inflammation. By the 1850s, natural derivatives of the bark were widely used in Germany. But even then people recognized that these salicylates were tough...
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Cold Remedies May Pose Unsuspected Risks (December 20, 2005)
Are you sniffling, sneezing and coughing? If so, you’ve joined millions of others infected with a cold virus. Traveling, shopping and holiday stress can all increase the possibility of catching a cold at this time of year. What should you...
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Heartburn Help Is Within Reach (December 12, 2005)
Between now and New Year’s Day we put a terrible strain on our stomachs. Holiday parties and family feasts mean overindulgence: rich food and too much of it. For millions of people this means heartburn. The new fangled term is...
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Orphan Drugs Have Become Big Business (December 5, 2005)
Orphan: Noun: 1a. A child whose parents are dead. b. A child who has been deprived of parental care and has not been adopted...4. An orphan technology or product. Adjective: 1. Deprived of parents…5. Affecting so few people that the...
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Simple Pleasures Can Be Healthy (November 29, 2005)
As the old saying goes, if it hurts or tastes bad it must be good for you. That may be why generations of children were dosed with cod liver oil or had their skinned knees doused with alcohol. Those practices...
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Are Natural Hormones Better? (November 22, 2005)
Three years ago the world of women’s health turned upside down. That was when a large study, the Women’s Health Initiative, showed that hormone replacement therapy could have serious health consequences. HRT was expected to protect women from heart attacks...
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Pomegranates Have Many Health Benefits (November 14, 2005)
Have you eaten a pomegranate? The fruit features in Greek mythology in the story of Persephone, daughter of the harvest goddess Demeter. Hades, the lord of the underworld, kidnapped the beautiful maiden. Because she ate a few pomegranate seeds before...
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Old-Fashioned Listerine Has New Uses (November 7, 2005)
The smell and taste of original Listerine are so distinctive that, once experienced, they can never be forgotten. Gargling with this mouthwash can’t be described as pleasant. The taste is bitter. It puckers the mouth and makes the tongue tingle....
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How Effective Are Flu Shots? (October 31, 2005)
People are freaked out about the flu. Public health officials have been fretting about bird flu and the possibility that it could turn into a worldwide pandemic. There is not much anybody can do about avian flu. No vaccine has...
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Infectious Ulcers Win Nobel Prize (October 17, 2005)
For decades medical students were taught a simple rule: "no acid, no ulcer." It was an article of faith that stress and an executive life style contributed to acid-induced stomach ulcers. Millions of ulcer patients were advised to eat a...
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Attention Deficit Disorder Creates Dilemma (October 10, 2005)
When a child is diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, a parent is put in a terrible bind. On the one hand, teachers may push for medications like Ritalin or Strattera. That's because kids with ADHD can be inattentive, disruptive and...
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Treatment For Mental Illness Falls Short (October 3, 2005)
The mentally ill have been tortured throughout history. Many past cultures interpreted the delusions of schizophrenics as signs of demonic possession. In some cases holes were drilled in their skulls so that evil spirits could escape. The Romans used electric...
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New Medicare Drug Benefit Creates Confusion (September 26, 2005)
After years of wrangling, Congress finally passed a prescription drug benefit for senior citizens. The Medicare program will launch in January of 2006, but over the next several weeks, people who are eligible for Medicare will be bombarded with competing...
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Sleep Deprivation Makes Driving Dangerous (September 19, 2005)
Are you a hazard on the highways? Do you drive impaired? Most people would answer no, but they might be deluding themselves. Far too many people drink and drive. Even a few glasses of wine can slow reaction time and...
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FDA Delay of Plan B Triggers Complaints (September 12, 2005)
The FDA is in hot water. Not long ago the agency was under scrutiny for its handling of the Vioxx problem. Critics charged that the Food and Drug Administration was more concerned about the health of the pharmaceutical industry than...
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Arthritis Sufferers Caught In Dilemma (September 5, 2005)
Pity anyone with pain that lasts more than 10 days. That's how long the FDA says you can safely take an over-the-counter analgesic such as Advil, Aleve or Tylenol on your own. The trouble is that one in three adults...
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Old Scams In New Bottles (August 29, 2005)
Why is the grass always greener someplace else? The idea that remedies from a far-away, exotic location are more potent than anything home grown harkens back to the traveling medicine shows of the 19th century. These days, instead of snake...
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Hospitals Take Lessons From Supermarkets (August 22, 2005)
Ever since 1999, when the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published its landmark report on medical error, health care leaders have been bemoaning the sorry state of American medicine. Authors of the study, "To Err Is Human," estimated that nearly 100,000...
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Criticism Of Drug Advertising Prompts Review (August 15, 2005)
In 1997 the FDA opened Pandora's box when it changed its rules to permit widespread advertising of prescription drugs to consumers. Before that, regulations were so strict that most drug companies didn't see any value in promoting such products to...
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Battling Lice Takes Persistence (August 8, 2005)
LICE! Just reading the word can make your head itch. What is it about lice that inspires such loathing? Otherwise normal people become hysterical at the mere thought of these bloodsuckers. Many people associate lice with uncleanliness. This idea is...
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New Antidepressant Warning Is Too Late For Some (July 25, 2005)
Some psychiatrists may have been shocked by the FDA's recently revised labeling for antidepressants: "Adults being treated with antidepressant medication, particularly those being treated for depression, should be watched closely for worsening of depression and for increased suicidal thinking or...
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Skin Doctors Turn Thumbs Down On Sun (July 18, 2005)
Dermatologists hate the sun. There's a good reason for their loathing. They see the effects of excessive sun exposure-not just wrinkles, age spots and leathery skin, but also a variety of skin cancers. But do dermatologists go too far in...
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Consumers Confused About Canadian Drugs (July 11, 2005)
Many Americans suffer sticker shock when they buy medicine at their local drugstore. They would like to save money by purchasing prescription drugs from Canada. But they are bewildered by contradictory messages about Canadian pharmacies. States are also having a...
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Opposition Increases to Prescription Drug Ads (July 4, 2005)
Are you fed up with prescription drug ads? If so, you are not alone. For the last several years Americans have been bombarded with commercials that promote drugs for satisfying sex or overactive bladder. Readers have complained about trying to...
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New Questions About Safety of Pain Relievers (June 27, 2005)
here's more bad news for people in pain. First we learned that Vioxx could increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. Then Bextra and Celebrex came under similar scrutiny. Now the entire category of pain relievers called NSAIDs (non-steroidal...
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New Treatments For Restless Legs (June 20, 2005)
Sleeping is supposed to be relaxing. It's a time when the body rejuvenates itself. But for millions of people, getting to sleep is difficult because they suffer from restless leg syndrome (RLS). In this condition, people have an insatiable urge...
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Medication Mistakes Are Common And Deadly (June 13, 2005)
Millions of people are apprehensive about flying. It's more dangerous to drive to the airport than it is to fly across the country, but a lot of folks worry that there could be a plane crash. Imagine their consternation if...
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Doctors Squabble Over Sunshine Vitamin (June 6, 2005)
Is it any wonder so many people are confused about the sun? On the one hand, dermatologists have been issuing dire warnings for decades. They tell us that sun exposure causes wrinkles, age spots and skin cancer. If we go...
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Prepare Now For Coming Flu Season (May 30, 2005)
Experts are worried about the next big flu outbreak. While most of the rest of us don't give influenza a single thought in the spring and summer, world health authorities are preparing for a possible pandemic. Virologists are already concerned...
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Overcoming Constipation Is A Challenge (May 23, 2005)
Judging from the popularity of laxatives, a lot of Americans think that regularity is essential for good health. But is this true or is it a myth? Although grandmothers in many countries have promoted daily bowel movements for generations, there...
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Allergy Medicines Make Driving Dangerous (May 16, 2005)
People often think that the most dangerous time to drive is between Christmas and New Year's. That's because of all the holiday parties that lead revelers to drink too much and get behind the wheel. While it is certainly true...
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Drug-Induced Hallucinations Distressing (May 9, 2005)
When people hear music no one else can hear or see things that aren't really there, they may worry they are going crazy. If they tell anyone what's happening, they may be taken in for a psychiatric evaluation. In some...
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Should Pharmacists Refuse to Fill Prescriptions? (May 2, 2005)
Pharmacists have consistently ranked among the most highly respected professionals in the country. According to a Gallup poll, Americans consider pharmacists highly ethical, above medical doctors, police officers and clergy. That lofty position may soon change. Despite the trust they...
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Seniors and Drug Industry Fight Over Prices (April 25, 2005)
Americans are cynical about statistics. They know that numbers can be tortured to tell tales. Two new studies on the cost of prescription drugs illustrate the problem. One was announced by PhRMA, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. This...
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Patients Find Statins Can Have Side Effects (April 18, 2005)
Guidelines for cholesterol control have become much more stringent. For millions of Americans, achieving the new targets requires strong medicine. Over the last decade, prescriptions for statin-type cholesterol-lowering drugs have soared. Such medications are extremely effective at getting the numbers...
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Not Enough Time For Sleep or Sex (April 11, 2005)
Americans are obsessed with sex. Racy innuendos sell everything from soap to cars. Now the ads are practically selling sex itself. Turn on the evening news and you are likely to see a commercial featuring a drug to treat erectile...
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How Safe Are Other Pain Relievers? (April 4, 2005)
Millions of people have taken Vioxx, Celebrex and Bextra for pain. These new COX-2 inhibitor drugs were prescribed for a variety of conditions, including arthritis, muscle strains and bad backs. Then evidence about heart attacks and strokes led to the...
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Old Fashioned Treatment Is Good As Gold (March 28, 2005)
Rheumatoid arthritis patients have been on a roller coaster the last couple of years. Their potentially debilitating disease still remains mysterious, and promising treatments have turned out to have serious side effects. Unlike osteoarthritis, which is associated with aging and...
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FDA On The Hotseat Because Of Safety Concerns (March 21, 2005)
According to the old proverb, "He who pays the piper calls the tune." FDA officials are now facing the music. They must answer to the American public, the people who really pay the bills. For decades Congress has allocated billions...
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Celiac Disease Has Terrible Consequences (March 14, 2005)
Graduating medical students are sometimes told: "Half of what we have taught you is wrong...we just don't know which half." As amusing as this sounds, it rings true for a complex condition called celiac disease. For decades medical students were...
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Can Drugs Trigger Violence? (February 28, 2005)
Americans have a hard time imagining that a drug could change someone's behavior. Maybe that's why the Zoloft defense failed. A jury took just six hours to decide that Christopher Pittman was guilty of murder in the death of his...
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Beware Drug-Induced Skin Rash (February 21, 2005)
Allergies and skin rash are common adverse reactions to drugs. But they rarely considered serious. Patients and doctors alike may brush off such symptoms as a minor annoyance. In too many cases, though, skin reactions can be life threatening. A...
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Talking About Side Effects Can Prevent Problems (February 14, 2005)
If men are from Mars and women are from Venus, then doctors may be from Pluto. Communication is hard enough between men and women, but doctors and patients might as well be speaking different languages. In fact, doctors do speak...
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Winter Blues Can Be Beaten (February 7, 2005)
Apologies to T.S. Eliot who said April is the cruelest month, but we think it's February. The days are too short and the nights are too long. Cold, dreary weather keeps people inside. For many, the lack of sunlight contributes...
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Arthritis Patients Caught In Bind (January 31, 2005)
For 70 million arthritis sufferers, the last few months have been a nightmare. The medicines they rely on to ease their aches and pains have come under fire. First, Merck withdrew its popular arthritis drug Vioxx because it increased the...
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Canadians May Ban Drug Exports To U.S. (January 24, 2005)
Millions of Americans have figured out a way to save big bucks on prescription drugs. A click of a computer mouse allows access to Canadian online pharmacies with prices that run 30 to 50 percent lower than in the U.S....
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What Is A Safe Drug? (January 17, 2005)
"There is no such thing as a safe drug. Each medication is a double-edged sword, with a good side and a bad side." We wrote those words thirty years ago in the first edition of our book The People's Pharmacy....
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Old-Fashioned Drug Trumps New Arthritis Pills (January 10, 2005)
First it was Vioxx. Then Bextra and Celebrex were tarnished. Even the over-the-counter arthritis drug Aleve (naproxen) has been linked to cardiovascular complications. Several weeks ago a safety expert for the FDA estimated that as many as 160,000 Americans may...
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FDA Has Double Standard On Testosterone (January 3, 2005)
SEX! From the beginning of human history sex has been a topic of compelling interest. And people can't seem to get enough. They have been trying to concoct aphrodisiacs for thousands of years. Truffles, oysters, artichokes and crocodile kidneys all...
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The Power Of Prescription Drug Advertising (December 27, 2004)
When visitors from another country turn on the TV in the U.S., they are often shocked to see commercials for prescription drugs. The only other place in the world where this is permitted is New Zealand, and efforts are underway...
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Is Chocolate Good For You? (December 20, 2004)
The Mayan Indians of Central America recognized the power of chocolate more than 3000 years ago. They liked the taste, but they also believed chocolate had healing properties. They used it as medicine, for fertility and spiritual guidance. For the...
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Drugs For Kids Pose Parental Dilemma (December 13, 2004)
Double bind: n. A psychological impasse created when contradictory demands are made of an individual so that no matter which directive is followed, the response will be construed as incorrect. A situation in which a person must choose between equally...
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Can The FDA Handle Drug Safety (December 6, 2004)
How safe are America's medicines? Ask the pharmaceutical industry or the FDA, and you will be told that we have the safest drugs in the world. But the Vioxx fiasco has Americans starting to wonder if this is true, especially...
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How Good Are Children's Cold Medicines? (November 29, 2004)
Americans spend billions each year on cough and cold remedies. Much of that money is wasted. Many products on drug store shelves are ineffective, but don't tell Dr. Mom that. It will just make her mad. When a child comes...
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Genric Drug Problem Raises Questions On Quality (November 22, 2004)
For decades the FDA has maintained that generic drugs are every bit as good as their brand name counterparts. Millions of people rely on generics as less expensive alternatives to pricey products like Coumadin, Valium or Prozac. Employers, insurance companies...
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Sunshine Vitamin In Short Supply (November 15, 2004)
If you spend 10 to 15 minutes out in the sun two or three times a week, you make enough vitamin D to stay healthy. Our ancestors had little trouble getting that much sunshine. They walked and worked outside a...
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Antiviral Drugs Can Ease Flu Frenzy (November 8, 2004)
Even though the influenza season has barely begun, millions of Americans are in a frenzy over flu. You can hardly blame them. Earlier this fall, public health officials were emphasizing the dangers of influenza. They pointed out that each year...
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Federal Watch Dog Doesn't Bark (November 1, 2004)
Almost 100 years ago Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, setting the stage for federal regulation of medications. Americans had become sick and tired of fraudulent advertising and ineffective or dangerous drugs. Times have changed, but some of...
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Leg Cramp Remedies Earn Boos and Cheers (October 25, 2004)
Nothing can ruin a good night's sleep faster than a sudden leg cramp. There you are, sleeping peacefully one minute and then the next you are awakened by excruciating pain like a bolt of lightning. No one really knows what...
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Mood Altering Drugs Have Unexpected Risks (October 18, 2004)
Americans have had a love-hate relationship with mood medicine for decades. During the 1970s and 1980s Valium was one of the most popular drugs in the country. This anti-anxiety agent was even the subject of the Rolling Stones' song, "Mother's...
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Can Couples Cope With The Viagra Challenge? (October 11, 2004)
Viagra, Levitra and Cialis have become household names. That's because the manufacturers of these drugs broke the taboos against discussing erectile dysfunction in public. Turn on the television and you may see provocative ads touting the benefit of these medications...
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New Drug Warnings Require Vigilance (October 4, 2004)
If you've ever watched TV commercials for drugs like Viagra, Vioxx or Zocor, you know that they present such medications in a very appealing light. Actors smile and seem to be having such a wonderful time that it is little...
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The Dark Side Of Statins (September 27, 2004)
Bill Clinton's recent bypass surgery has captured a lot of attention. Some commentators publicly rebuked the former president for his fondness for fast food and cigars and for stopping his cholesterol-lowering medication. There is no question that bad diet, smoking,...
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Old Approaches To Depression Are Coming Back (September 20, 2004)
Depression can be a devastating, even life-threatening, disorder. Sadness, loss of appetite, trouble sleeping, low energy and reluctance to socialize are just some of the symptoms of major depression. Fifty years ago talking therapy was a mainstay of treatment. People...
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Plan Ahead To Fight Flu Effectively (September 13, 2004)
Last year's flu season is a distant memory. But in a few months the flu will be back, and no one knows how bad it will be. The experts overreacted last year because influenza struck early. Public health officials exhorted...
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States Challenge Rules On Canadian Drugs (September 6, 2004)
States don't often declare war on the federal government. But several are on the verge of battle over the issue of importing prescription drugs from Canada. The governor of Vermont plans to sue FDA for refusing the state permission to...
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Careless Prescribing Puts Elders At Risk (August 30, 2004)
Doctors know better than to prescribe certain dangerous drugs to pregnant women. Medications like thalidomide (Thalomid) or isotretinon (Accutane) can cause tragic birth defects. The ulcer medicine misoprostol (Cytotec) can trigger premature labor. Packaging and prescribing instructions for these drugs...
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Medical Mistakes Still Take Too Many Lives (August 23, 2004)
In 1999 the prestigious Institute of Medicine (IOM) shook the medical community to its foundation. The IOM estimated that almost 100,000 Americans die in hospitals every year as a consequence of errors. People were outraged. If a similar number of...
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Home Defibrillators Can Save Lives (August 16, 2004)
If you watch medical dramas on TV, the chances are good that you have seen a crisis like this: A patient goes into cardiac arrest, someone yells "code blue" and doctors come rushing with a crash cart and defibrillator. Someone...
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Older People Are Vulnerable To Drug Disasters (August 9, 2004)
Children are not just small adults. Drugs that are safe and effective for grown-ups, such as antidepressants or cough syrup, may not work well for kids. Pediatricians have worked hard to tailor children's health care to their special requirements. It's...
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New Cholesterol Guidelines Pose Interaction Dangers (August 2, 2004)
New guidelines have just been issued for cholesterol control. People at high risk of heart disease are now being encouraged to get bad LDL cholesterol under 70. Their prior goal was 100. To accomplish this, most patients will need high...
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Beware Savings On OTC Medications (July 26, 2004)
People love nonprescription drugs. Being able to get allergy medicine, pain relievers or an athlete's foot remedy without spending time and money at the doctor's office and the prescription counter is a convenience. The modest price of over-the-counter medicines seems...
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Generic Drugs Save Money But Do They Save Lives? (July 19, 2004)
Generic drugs are frequently offered as a solution to the high cost of prescription medicine. They are supposed to be identical to their brand name counterparts. But how good are they, really? The FDA maintains generics are excellent. For decades...
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Will HRT Mistakes Be Repeated? (July 12, 2004)
During the hormone replacement heyday, millions of women were encouraged to take estrogen and progesterone to prevent everything from hot flashes and heart disease to dementia and cancer. There were even claims that HRT could prevent wrinkles and improve libido....
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Importing Drugs From Canada Back On The Agenda (July 5, 2004)
The high cost of medicine remains one of the hottest political buttons in this election year, just as it has been for the last several elections. The reason is that senior citizens vote--and they are mad as hornets about their...
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Beware Home Remedies That Hurt (June 28, 2004)
Everyone loves home remedies. Whether it's a banana peel taped to a wart or a teaspoon of sugar for hiccups, these inexpensive approaches seem harmless and amusing. But not all home remedies are safe. Even though your great-grandparents may have...
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Toilet Seat Contagion Is Disputed (June 21, 2004)
Nothing stirs up emotions quite like toilet seats. The frightening idea of catching an infection from simply sitting has been hotly contested. We recently heard from a senior citizen who reported that her husband had contracted herpes from the facilities...
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Atkins Diet Data Confounds Experts (June 14, 2004)
Robert Atkins may be dead, but his low-carbohydrate, high protein diet lives on. In fact, it may be picking up steam. The low-carb craze has been blamed for losses at Krispy Kreme. In response, the company is considering a low-sugar...
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Breathing Offers New Approach To Healing (June 7, 2004)
Most of the time, we take breathing for granted. On average, each of us inhales 26,000 times a day without even thinking about it. But breathing can be controlled. We can decide how fast or slow, how shallow or deep...
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Are Antidepressants Hazardous Just Kids? (May 31, 2004)
The Food and Drug Administration is in a bind. Millions of people, including many children, have taken antidepressants like Prozac, Paxil and Wellbutrin. Physicians and patients assumed that the FDA seal of approval on these drugs meant they were safe...
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Serotonin Syndrome Can Be Deadly (May 24, 2004)
Serotonin is a critically important neurochemical that helps control mood and is also involved in appetite, sexual behavior, sleep and learning. Millions take medications such as Prozac, Paxil, Lexapro or Zoloft that work by regulating serotonin levels in the brain....
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Choosing A Discount Drug Card Is Challenging (May 17, 2004)
Beware politicians bearing gifts. After years of wrangling, the first phase of the Medicare drug benefit is going into effect. But saving money with drug cards won't be simple. Congress knows that the high cost of prescription medicine is a...
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Spring Cleaning Is Still In Style For The Medicine Chest (May 10, 2004)
Spring cleaning seems like such an old-fashioned concept. Years ago this was the time to put warm coats and sweaters away, store the heavy quilts and get rid of the junk that piled up in the attic or the cellar....
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Nosebleed Remedy Yields Amazing Results (April 19, 2004)
Home remedies are usually reserved for minor irritations. Hiccups, heartburn, colds and warts are often treated with remedies passed down from one generation to another. Nosebleeds are common, but they can be more serious. That's why we were surprised when...
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FDA Issues Warning On Antidepressant Dangers (April 12, 2004)
When Prozac (fluoxetine) came on the market in 1987 there wasn't a lot of fanfare. Eli Lilly introduced it slowly and carefully as the first of a new generation of antidepressants called SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). First year sales...
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Patients Pay For Meds And Meals (April 5, 2004)
Drug companies are concerned about their image. For decades, physicians, nurses, pharmacists and patients admired the pharmaceutical industry because it produced drug breakthroughs and provided life-saving medicines at affordable prices. Those days are long gone. Nowadays health professionals and patients...
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Grapefruit Interactions Are Confusing (March 29, 2004)
Ever since the "grapefruit effect" was discovered more than a decade ago, this fascinating food and drug interaction has confused patients, physicians and pharmacists. People still don't understand why it's important, how long it lasts and how to avoid problems....
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Listerine Dazzles With Different Uses (March 22, 2004)
More than 100 years ago Listerine was developed as an antiseptic. At first, surgeons used it in the operating room, but before long it became a household brand. The Lambert Pharmaceutical Company marketed Listerine aggressively to treat dandruff as well...
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Drug Breakthroughs Need Human Touch (March 15, 2004)
Ask any drug company executive why his medicines cost so much and you'll get a standard answer: research and development is expensive. If Americans want wonderful new drugs, they have to be willing to pay for the research. This argument...
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Fighting Fever Blisters With and Without Drugs (March 8, 2004)
Cold sores are common. By some estimates more than two-thirds of adults have been infected by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), the culprit behind cold sores. People frequently catch this infection as children or young adults. And once infected,...
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Drugs Hold Special Hazards For Seniors (March 1, 2004)
Old age ain't for sissies--at least, that's what some seniors tell us. It's even harder when the medicines that are prescribed to help overcome ailments end up causing more harm than good. A new study in the Archives of Internal...
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FDA Makes Drug Ads Easier On Industry (February 23, 2004)
Prescription drug ads used to be found only in medical journals. That seemed logical, since doctors determine the most appropriate treatment for any given patient. Selecting the proper drug requires years of medical education and clinical judgment honed by practical...
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Nosebleed Remedies Defy Logic (February 16, 2004)
Nosebleeds are common, messy and embarrassing. No one likes to drip blood all over everything. Children are especially prone to nosebleeds, perhaps because they are also more likely to pick their noses. Other causes include dry air, a blow to...
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Winter Skin Problems Bring Misery (February 9, 2004)
In the grand scheme of things, dry skin, rough nails and cracked fingertips are not serious health problems. But they certainly can make life miserable. Writing a check or buttoning a shirt with cracked fingertips can be extremely painful. Rough...
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Mystery Disease Causes Great Suffering (February 2, 2004)
In medical school, professors often warn their students, "When you hear hoof beats, think of horses, not zebras." In other words, the patient's problems are much more likely to be caused by something common than by an exotic condition. This...
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Sex and Drugs Still Interest Aging Rockers (January 26, 2004)
The slogan for the hippy generation of the 1960s was sex, drugs and rock and roll. The drugs involved were marijuana and hallucinogens like LSD. Forty years later, the slogan for aging baby boomers could still be sex and drugs....
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Drug Company Secret Shocks Patients (January 19, 2004)
If you watch television you can't miss the commercials for prescription drugs like Lipitor, Zoloft, Viagra and Vioxx. Judging from the smiles on the actors' faces, you would assume that everyone is benefiting from the medicines they are taking. But...
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Nail Fungus Remedies Kick Up Controversy (January 12, 2004)
Something about home remedies stirs strong emotions. Not long ago, we heard from a podiatrist who was very unhappy with us. "Home remedies hardly ever work," he wrote. "The unproven treatments you mention are little more than urban legends. Don't...
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Do Antidepressants Provoke Suicide In Kids? (January 5, 2004)
In 1988 an ophthalmologist contacted us because his daughter had unexpectedly committed suicide while taking Prozac. He was convinced that this antidepressant had somehow triggered her sudden violent act. We could find nothing in the medical literature to support his...
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Medication Mistakes Are Common And Can Be Deadly (December 29, 2003)
When an airplane crashes, the public demands to know what went wrong. They also want the problem to be corrected so it won't happen again. The entire space shuttle program has been grounded since the Columbia tragedy last February. There...
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Preventing And Treating Colds Is Tricky (December 22, 2003)
The flu has arrived ahead of schedule and is hitting hard. Millions may suffer, but doctors speculate some might side-step problems with a flu shot. The vaccine is not a perfect match for the dominant flu strain this year (Fujian),...
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Is Diet Advice Full Of Big Fat Lies? (December 15, 2003)
Americans were told for decades that if they just cut back on eggs, butter and red meat, they would lower their cholesterol and reduce their risk of heart disease. The French, on the other hand, continued to eat croissants, brie...
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Don't Become A Statistic This Flu Season (December 8, 2003)
The flu is back, it's early and it's bad! Thousands will die over the next few months. Many of the deaths could be prevented, if only people took action soon enough. Getting a flu shot is a good idea. This...
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Women Care About Sex Too (December 1, 2003)
For hundreds of years men suffered impotence in silence. The very word implied weakness, so it's no wonder the topic was taboo. Then Viagra brought a new terminology. Bob Dole introduced "erectile dysfunction" on prime time television. With Levitra competing...
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Court Cracks Down On Canadian Imports (November 24, 2003)
The high cost of prescription drugs is creating chaos, confusion and conflict. Congress, the FDA, a federal judge and several state governments are all working at cross-purposes. Because brand name medications are frequently much cheaper in Canada, millions of Americans...
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Teaching Old Drugs New Tricks Is Risky (November 17, 2003)
True drug breakthroughs are few and far between. In a good year, the FDA might approve a handful of new medications that are truly innovative. But teaching old drugs new tricks is becoming increasingly common. Pharmaceutical companies have discovered a...
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Playing Doctor Is A Game Of Russian Roulette (November 10, 2003)
Once upon a time if you wanted to practice medicine you had to graduate from college, spend four years in medical school, pass rigorous medical board exams and do several years of residency. After this trial by fire you had...
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Food And Drug Interactions Can Be Lethal (November 3, 2003)
Most of us swallow our pills with a glass of juice or a swig of water. We rarely think twice about when we take our medicine or what we eat with it. Yet food and drug interactions can be dangerous...
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Use Over-The-Counter Drugs Wisely (October 27, 2003)
Americans love to play doctor and the pharmaceutical industry is only too happy to play along. Drugs that once required a physician's prescription are now readily available in drugstores, supermarkets and even convenience stores. Prilosec OTC is just the latest...
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How Safe Are American Medicines? (October 20, 2003)
The FDA and the pharmaceutical industry like to brag that Americans have the safest medicines in the world. But recent revelations suggest that an increasing number of counterfeit drugs may be tarnishing that stellar reputation. Fake drugs have been discovered...
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Older People At High Risk For Drug Disasters (October 13, 2003)
If you live long enough, you may end up taking a fistful of pills every morning. Millions of older Americans swallow five or more medicines daily, not counting vitamins and other supplements. Visit an elderly aunt or a grandparent and...
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Can Canadian Drugstores Save State And Municipal Budgets? (October 6, 2003)
Times are tough and the squeeze on state and city budgets is prompting some government officials to break the law. Like millions of senior citizens who travel to Canada or shop online for prescription drugs, the mayor of Springfield, MA,...
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New Approaches To Treating Fibromyalgia (September 29, 2003)
Experts estimate that six million Americans suffer from a mysterious condition called fibromyalgia. They suffer constant pain, especially in trigger points around the neck and upper back. Weakness and fatigue are also common. Some doctors doubt the very existence of...
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Drug Report Cards Could Save Lives (September 22, 2003)
If you were going to buy a new car, a laptop computer or a stereo system, you'd want to know how to get the best buy for your money. Instead of relying on advertising from the manufacturer, you might turn...
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No Vacancy At Heartburn Hotel (September 15, 2003)
When's the last time you sat down to a leisurely dinner with the family? Nowadays, that seems like a fantasy from Norman Rockwell. Americans eat on the run. With pressure to work late, lots of after-school activities for the kids,...
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Heart Failure Is A Confusing Killer (September 8, 2003)
Five million Americans suffer from a potentially life-threatening condition. It has claimed the lives of Henry Fonda, Ella Fitzgerald, Wilt Chamberlain, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Even though half a million patients are diagnosed with congestive heart failure (CHF) each...
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More Bad HRT News Creates Chaos (September 1, 2003)
Millions of women are dazed and confused. For decades they were told that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) would protect their bones, their hearts and their brains. If they worried about rumors of breast cancer, they were frequently reassured that the...
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Diabetic Diet Creates Controversy (August 25, 2003)
The proof of the pudding is in the eating, so they say. For diabetics, that may be literally true. Food is turned into sugar (glucose), the fuel that runs our bodies. In diabetes, glucose builds up in the blood because...
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Will Congress Legalize Prescription Drug Smuggling? (August 18, 2003)
When Alice fell down the rabbit hole into Wonderland, reality was turned upside down. Watches ran backwards and people had to run as fast as they could just to stay in one place. A lot of senior citizens are wondering...
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Is Sex Becoming Extinct In America? (August 11, 2003)
For millions of married Americans, sex has nearly disappeared. Hectic lifestyles and pressures from work and parenting are the enemies of romance and intimacy. Some experts estimate that as many as one out of five couples have "sexless marriages." This...
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Who Pays For Doctors' Free Lunches? (August 5, 2003)
They say there's no such thing as a free lunch. That may be true for most of us, but if you work in a doctor's office free lunches are frequently standard fare. If you're a doctor, free dinners may also...
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Is Your Medicine Bringing You Down? (July 28, 2003)
If you develop a rash within hours of starting a new medicine, you don't need Sherlock Holmes to help you make the connection. But some drug side effects are harder to recognize. Psychological reactions can be insidious, appearing slowly over...
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Get Cholesterol Down One Way Or Another (July 21, 2003)
The most successful drugs in the pharmacy are called statins. That's shorthand for products such as atorvastatin (Lipitor), simvastatin (Zocor), lovastatin (Mevacor) and pravastatin (Pravachol). Lipitor and Zocor are the two best-selling pharmaceuticals in the world, with annual sales of...
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HRT Bandwagon Went Down Wrong Road (July 14, 2003)
If physicians are feeling betrayed by opinion leaders in their profession, their distress is understandable. For years, doctors heard from colleagues they trusted that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was good for women. A combination of estrogen and progestin was supposed...
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Celiac Disease Is Clinical Chameleon (July 7, 2003)
as the Chameleon. That's because celiac disease can masquerade under the guise of so many other conditions. It's frequently misdiagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), chronic fatigue, osteoporosis, anemia, dermatitis, depression or even dementia. Many patients suffer for years or...
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Can Generic Drugs Save The Day? (June 30, 2003)
President Bush is pushing FDA to approve more generic drugs, and to do it faster. The idea is to save money for insurance companies and government programs like Medicaid and the Veterans Administration that spend billions on prescription drugs. It...
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Home Remedies Offer Alternatives For Arthritis (June 23, 2003)
The three As, aspirin, Advil and Aleve, are mainstays in American medicine chests. Millions rely on such anti-inflammatory medicines to cope with arthritis pain, sports injuries and backaches. But what happens when you can't tolerate aspirin or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory...
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More Bad News On Hormone Replacement Therapy (June 17, 2003)
For decades doctors have been pushing women to take hormone replacement therapy. That's why drugs like Premarin, Provera and Prempro were among the most popular prescription pills in the pharmacy. Premarin was approved in 1942, but it really got attention...
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Common Sense Best Guide For Health (June 9, 2003)
With years of research and millions of taxpayer dollars, scientists have discovered what the old wives always knew. The cornerstone to good health is common sense. Grandma always said that to stay healthy you need to get a good night's...