Harvard Women's Health Watch articles from March 2006

Harvard Women's Health Watch archives from March 2006

Avoiding acetaminophen-related liver injury.
March 1, 2006... Misuse of an otherwise safe painkiller can cause acute liver failure. It never occurred to Tara Ryan (not her real name) that she could take too much over-the-counter pain medication. She just wanted to relieve the intense back pain from a...

In Brief; Antioxidants in food may help prevent macular degeneration.
March 1, 2006... Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of vision loss in the United States, is a progressive disease that affects the macula, the area of the eye that's responsible for central vision. In 2001, a large clinical trial --...

In Brief; Abdominal chemotherapy improves ovarian cancer survival.
March 1, 2006... A treatment that pumps anticancer drugs directly into the abdomen -- called intraperitoneal (IP) therapy -- stands poised to change medical treatment for women with advanced ovarian cancer. Each year, 25,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian...

When keeping stuff gets out of hand.(compulsive hoarding)
March 1, 2006... "Waste not, want not" is a useful rule to live by; it's not a license to hoard. We've all been encouraged to keep essentials on hand for the future. But some people take this to an extreme, acquiring and accumulating objects of dubious...

LED photomodulation: "Light" way to skin renewal.(Light Emitting Diodes)
March 1, 2006... Acquiring a more youthful look often involves sanding, peeling, or heating the skin. A new painless technique relies only on low light. At one time, women could get a lasting younger look only by a surgical facelift. Then came...

More on coffee; Cola, not coffee, raises blood pressure.
March 1, 2006... "I love coffee; I love tea; I love the java jive, and it loves me...." Most "caf-fiends" can identify with the lighthearted "Java Jive." But many people have serious concerns about caffeinated coffee. One worry is high blood pressure. We know...

By the way, doctor; Does Paxil cause breast cancer?
March 1, 2006... Q. I heard there's a relationship between Paxil and breast cancer risk. Is this true? A. The short answer to your question is no: The available research does not show that Paxil (paroxetine) raises the risk of breast cancer. The story of...

By the way, doctor; Do soy products cause thyroid problems?
March 1, 2006... Q. I read that soy can cause a low thyroid condition. What do you know about this? A. Although many people consider soy to be part of a healthy diet, there have been persistent concerns about its effects on the thyroid gland. Animal...