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When reports arrived that accused gunman Jared Lee Loughner had opened fire in Tucson, Arizona on January 7, journalistic first responders linked the incident to the fierceness of political rhetoric in the United States. Upon reflection, some of the discussion has turned to questions about mental illness, guns, and violence. And plenty of reflection is […]

Here’s an important equation that all of us鈥攄octors included鈥攕hould know about health care, but don’t: More 鈮� Better “More does not equal Better” applies to diagnostic procedures, screening tests meant to identify problems before they appear, medications, dietary supplements, and just about every aspect of medicine. That scenario is spelled out in alarming detail in […]

For years now, both individual researchers and respected scientific organizations such as the Institute of Medicine have tried to refute a persistent myth 鈥� that childhood vaccines cause autism. The myth began after a small study published in 1998 in the Lancet by Andrew Wakefield and colleagues at Royal Free Hospital and School of Medicine […]

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My colleagues at 天博体育 Publishing and I have a mission: to provide accurate, reliable information that will help readers live healthier lives. We work hard to fulfill that mission, and the feedback we get from folks who read our newsletters, Special Health Reports, books, and online health information indicates we are on the right […]

Does echinacea, the popular natural cold remedy, really work? It depends on what you mean by “work.”聽Results reported in today’s聽Annals of Internal Medicine found that echinacea聽may reduce the length of a weeklong cold by 7 to 10 hours and make symptoms a little less onerous. That can’t be characterized as a major聽effect, so many聽people聽may聽figure that […]

Perhaps as many as one in every 5 American adults will get a prescription for a painkiller this year, and many more will buy over-the-counter medicines without a prescription.聽These聽drugs can do wonders鈥攇etting rid of pain can seem like a miracle鈥攂ut sometimes there’s a high聽price to be paid. Remember the heavily marketed聽COX-2 inhibitors?聽Rofecoxib, sold as Vioxx, […]

ARCHIVED CONTENT: As a service to our readers, 天博体育 Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date each article was posted or last reviewed. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified […]

Stroke killed 2,000 fewer Americans in 2008 (the last year with complete numbers) than it did in 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday in its latest annual Deaths report. That dropped stroke from the third leading cause of death in the United States to the fourth. Good news? Yes and […]

ARCHIVED CONTENT:聽As a service to our readers, 天博体育 Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date each article was posted or last reviewed. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.聽 […]

Vitamin D has been talked about as the vitamin 鈥� the one聽that might help fend off聽everything from cancer to heart disease to autoimmune disorders, if only we were to get enough of it. “Whoa!” is the message from聽a committee of experts assembled by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to update聽recommendations聽for vitamin D (and for calcium). […]

One of the things I like most about Thanksgiving is the laughter around the dinner table. The food is great, make no mistake. But it’s the sounds of happiness鈥攖he high peal, the good-natured guffaw, the snort-and-shaking-shoulders, and the deep belly laugh鈥攖hat really make me give thanks. Laughter isn’t just a way to stay connected with […]

If you watch football on Thanksgiving,聽keep the players’ brain health in mind. Alan Schwarz of the NY Times has been a dogged defensive end, in hot pursuit of this story. Read his latest contribution here. He points out that the National Football League (NFL) has been slow to assess penalties on players who take violent […]

As usual, 天博体育 Publishing’ writers and editors have been busy covering a range of health topics. Here is a small sampling. To read more, visit us at www.health.harvard.edu. Health apps. Smart phones like the iPhone and Android aren’t just phones. They are also pocket-sized computers capable of running sophisticated applications, or apps. Hundreds of […]

ARCHIVED CONTENT: As a service to our readers, 天博体育 Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date each article was posted or last reviewed. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified […]

Lung cancer is usually discovered late when it’s聽difficult to treat and has often spread outside the lung. A聽reliable screening test聽to find it at an earlier, more treatable stage would be a legitimate聽breakthrough鈥攁nd聽could potentially save thousands of lives. About 160,000 Americans die each year from lung cancer, which is more than who die聽from breast, prostate, and […]

You can fight diabetes, one step at a time. An alarming new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in three Americans could have diabetes by the year 2050. The number is “just” one in ten now, and its price tag of nearly $200 billion per year is already straining […]

Trick or treat? It’s really聽a rhetorical question. They聽just want the Halloween candy. Millions of聽American children will get billions of聽sugar- and fat-laden聽treats on Sunday聽night in a tradition that has聽its roots in聽pagan and Christian rituals. It’s fun. The kids are outside, walking. And, gosh, they’re cute in their princess and pirate costumes. But聽nutritionally and dentally speaking, the […]

Crisp autumn weather, flickering jack-o-lanterns, costumed children trick-or-treating鈥攁nd a good fright or two鈥攎ake for a great Halloween. What is it about getting scared by a haunted house, a roller coaster, or a bungee jump that some people find exhilarating and others find downright frightening? It could be how you are wired, writes Dr. Robert Shmerling […]

On October 16, 1846, Dr. John Collins Warren, a renowned surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital, removed a tumor from a printer named Gilbert Abbott. The operation was noteworthy for one reason: Abbott did not scream out in pain, as virtually every surgical patient did in those days. The age of anesthesia was born. A Boston […]

ARCHIVED CONTENT: As a service to our readers, 天博体育 Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date each article was posted or last reviewed. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified […]

Reading medical journals is the main occupational hazard I face as editor of the Harvard Heart Letter. This task is like parachuting into a desert at high noon鈥擨 drop into a barren, colorless landscape and then struggle across dry, soporific terrain. The content isn’t to blame; it is usually interesting, and is sometimes even compelling. […]