Tune in to our radio show on your local public radio station, or sign up for the podcast and listen at your leisure. Here's what it's about: Aspirin was first developed and marketed more than a century ago. As an... (Read More)
Tune in to our radio show on your local public radio station, or sign up for the podcast and listen at your leisure. Here's what it's about: Washing your hands may be a good way to avoid catching colds, but... (Read More)
Tune in to our radio show on your local public radio station, or sign up for the podcast and listen at your leisure. Here's what it's about: The Veterans Health Administration is an enormous bureaucracy, but it is striving to... (Read More)
Tune in to our radio show on your local public radio station, or sign up for the podcast and listen at your leisure. Here's what it's about: How does our exposure to the environment affect our health? Medicine is beginning... (Read More)
Tune in to our radio show on your local public radio station, or sign up for the podcast and listen at your leisure. Here's what it's about: Acetaminophen is often considered the safest pain reliever available, and it is certainly... (Read More)
Tune in to our radio show on your local public radio station, or sign up for the podcast and listen at your leisure. Here's what it's about: At the start of a new year, many of us resolve to adopt... (Read More)
Surgeons, especially neurosurgeons, have incredible technical skills that can help patients survive in difficult circumstances. Sometimes, though, they find they need to look a bit beyond their usual abilities to figure out how to proceed. We talk with a neurosurgeon... (Read More)
Tune in to our radio show on your local public radio station, or sign up for the podcast and listen at your leisure. Here's what it's about: Sugar seems like an improbable treatment for hard-to-heal wounds. But the ancient Egyptians... (Read More)
Tune in to our radio show on your local public radio station, or sign up for the podcast and listen at your leisure. Here's what it's about: Thousands of years ago (and more), human beings co-existed with a wide range... (Read More)
Tune in to our radio show on your local public radio station, or sign up for the podcast and listen at your leisure. Here's what it's about: One American man in every six is diagnosed with prostate cancer at some... (Read More)
The obesity epidemic in the U.S. has been increasing alarmingly. The usual explanation is that we eat too much and exercise too little. But some scientists think that the explanation lies in the type of food now found in our... (Read More)
Tune in to our radio show on your local public radio station, or sign up for the podcast and listen at your leisure. Here's what it's about: For years we have been told that all calories are equal. In theory,... (Read More)
Joints like shoulders and hips are susceptible to injury as well as arthritis. Conventional medicine usually offers physical therapy or surgery, or most likely both. One doctor who specializes in physical medicine has developed some unorthodox treatments that are often... (Read More)
When X-rays were first developed, they seemed like magic because the doctor could see problems inside the body without doing surgery. Before long, however, physicians learned that too much X-radiation could cause illness. Modern CT scans combine radiation with computerized... (Read More)
Conditions like glaucoma and macular degeneration are very common among older Americans. They often result in impaired vision and affect quality of life severely. Are there health practices that can reduce the risk of these serious problems? Dry eye is... (Read More)
As we get older memory slips seem to become more common. Forgetting someone's name is embarrassing, and it fuels our concern about whether our minds are weakening as we grow older. But there are strategies to employ to reduce the... (Read More)
More than 100,000 people die each year from infections they catch while receiving health care for another problem. The germs that spread in hospitals are often resistant to the antibiotics usually used to treat them. MRSA, for example, is methicillin-resistant... (Read More)
FDA approval is granted to drugs that are evaluated as safe and effective. But what does that mean for you? Many people, both patients and physicians, overestimate the benefits and underestimate the downside of prescription medications. Michael Jackson's death is... (Read More)
In some parts of the country, emergency room physicians have been faced with a puzzling scenario: the patient awakens in the middle of the night with unbearable itching, hives, low blood pressure or trouble breathing. Usually, such an anaphylactic reaction... (Read More)
Medicare has become a punching bag for politicians. In fact, it was controversial right at the start. But for many decades now, it has been one of the most popular programs for senior citizens, allowing them access to health care... (Read More)
As youngsters across the country settle into a new school year, some parents will receive disturbing news: little Jason or Emma has dyslexia. While this difficulty in processing written words can create challenges, it can be overcome with creativity. Two... (Read More)
There's no doubt that exercise can benefit heart health and may even provide a psychological boost. But new research shows how exercise can help protect the brain from chemical injury. Run, run, run! Doctors' white coats give an image of... (Read More)
Ten years ago, the Institute of Medicine shocked the medical establishment when it published To Err Is Human. The experts of the IOM estimated that nearly 100,000 Americans died of medical errors in hospitals every year. More studies of the... (Read More)
A hundred years ago, the pre-eminent physician of that time, Sir William Osler, wrote that asthma was almost never fatal. These days, however, thousands of people die from acute asthma attacks each year. Why has asthma become both more common... (Read More)
The Internet and other communication technologies, such as cell phones, have had a profound influence on how we live every day. What is the impact on our health care? Some doctors shudder when a patient comes into the office with... (Read More)
Have you ever fumed while cooling your heels in the doctor's waiting room for hours, with little or no explanation as to why the doctor is running late? One patient found a way around her frustration: she sends the doctor... (Read More)
Doctors and dietitians have been recommending a prudent low-fat diet for decades. Now there's increasing evidence that a low-fat diet, which is necessarily a high-carb diet, may make weight control more difficult. Science writer Gary Taubes has sifted through the... (Read More)
There are more than a hundred different conditions known as arthritis, but all are capable of causing chronic pain. An estimated 48 million Americans can attest that it is often all too difficult to get relief. What are the best... (Read More)
High cholesterol is well known as a risk factor for heart disease. But far too many people are under the impression that taking a medication to lower cholesterol also reduces their risk of dying from an initial heart attack. While... (Read More)
NSAIDs like diclofenac, ibuprofen and naproxen are staples of treatment for painful chronic conditions such as osteoarthritis. Many people are aware that these drugs can have negative consequences for the digestive tract. But new research suggests they may also increase... (Read More)
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