Harvard Health Letter articles from December 2006

Harvard Health Letter archives from December 2006

The top 10 health stories of 2006.(human papillomavirus)
December 1, 2006... Vaccines figure prominently on our top 10 list in 2006. The vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) should mean that many thousands of women won't get cervical cancer caused by HPV infections -- millions fewer, if the vaccine is made...

Leafy, green, healthful -- but contaminated.
December 1, 2006... The E. coli outbreak from bagged spinach is a reminder that fruit and vegetables can harbor harmful bacteria. If you're to count yourself among the nutritionally virtuous, you eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, and spinach is the...

In Brief; Attention to detailing.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Drug companies spend billions on marketing their wares, but the industry still depends on sales representatives -- its more polished version of the door-to-door salesperson -- to persuade doctors to prescribe its products. The sales...

In Brief; RNA interference: Silencing of the genes.
December 1, 2006... The Human Genome Project identified all human genes, but it didn't tell us what each of these genes do or how to turn them on and off. The 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Andrew Fire and Craig Mello for their studies...

Anesthesia: Numbed by choices?
December 1, 2006... No more "knock me out, doc." Increasingly, you're given choices about anesthesia. Before anesthesia, doctors dulled pain with alcohol, opium, or even bloodletting. But none was really satisfactory, and surgical wards remained nightmarish...

By the way, doctor; Should I worry about my diabetes leading to Alzheimer's?(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Q. I'm an 86-year-old man with type 2 diabetes. I get my eyes checked, eat carefully, and test my blood sugar. I exercise in the gym three times a week and still play tennis once a week. Recently, I read new studies that say type 2 diabetes may...

By the way, doctor; Ginkgo biloba: What's the verdict?
December 1, 2006... Q. A friend recently recommended that I take the herb ginkgo biloba to protect against getting dementia. Is it effective, and is it safe? A. The first thing you should consider is that the FDA doesn't regulate the manufacture of any herbal...