Harvard Health Letter articles from April 2004

Harvard Health Letter archives from April 2004

Bad combinations.(Drug interactions)
April 1, 2004... Drug interactions you and your doctors need to worry about. Almost half of all Americans age 65 or over take at least 5 different medications per week, and 1 in 8 take 10 or more. With so many people taking so many pills, opportunities for...

Subclinical thyroid disease: Is it a disease?
April 1, 2004... Some say it's just a lab value. Others think it is the beginning of a serious condition that needs to be treated. The thyroid is the glandular throttle on your metabolism. If it's set too low and not making enough hormones, the body...

Understanding your lung function tests.(lung care)
April 1, 2004... More people are getting lung function tests these days as the diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other lung diseases becomes more common. But without some explanation and a little decoding, it's easy to get lost in...

Farm-raised salmon in the dock.(benefits of Omega-3 fats and risks of Polychlorinated biphenyls)
April 1, 2004... Getting your omega-3s vs. avoiding those PCBs. The evidence for the health benefits of omega-3 fats, particularly the long-chain varieties in fish, has been piling up. The most persuasive studies show that they protect against the serious...

In Brief; Beware of low potassium levels from diuretics.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Thiazide diuretics like hydrochlorothiazide (Esidrix, HydroDIURIL, other brands) have made a comeback as medications for high blood pressure. They're inexpensive, and results from large studies have shown them to be at least as effective as...

In Brief; Your diet and your DNA.(health)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Researchers at the University of Southern California showed that a particular variety of gene fuels inflammation and atherosclerosis in arteries and therefore might cause heart disease. No surprise there: We're blase about genes "linked to"...

In Brief; Flu: The fowl news.(danger of hybrid avian-human flu strain)
April 1, 2004... During the winter of 2003-04, one flu outbreak tailed off while another halfway around the world took flight, especially among birds. The outbreak of flu in the United States began in October 2003, which is unusually early, and frightened...

By the Way, Doctor; Can digital rectal exams cause blood in the urine?(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Q I'm 81 and have an enlarged prostate. My urologist checks my prostate three or four times a year with a digital rectal exam and a PSA test. Recently I had blood in my urine. Do you think the digital exam could have caused the bleeding? How...

By the Way, Doctor; Do organic eczema treatments work?(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Q My six-month-old son was suffering from a bad case of eczema. I didn't want to use a steroid cream on a young child, so I tried something that claimed to be organic, and it seemed to work. What do you think of these alternative eczema creams?...