Harvard Health Letter articles from May 2005

Harvard Health Letter archives from May 2005

Then... and now: Celebrating our 30th birthday, 1975-2005.(Harvard Health Letter anniversary)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The Harvard Health Letter celebrates its 30th anniversary in November 2005. For the next few months, we'll be using this space to look back at the changes in medicine over the past three decades as reflected in our pages. Our very first...

CPR: Are we doing it wrong?(cardiopulmonary resuscitation guidelines)
May 1, 2005... Some say just doing chest compressions might be easier and more reliable. And there are questions about where the defibrillator fits in. Cardiac arrest means simply that the heart has stopped beating. Without that constant thumping in our...

Nicotine: It may have a good side.(nicotine health aspects )
May 1, 2005... It gets people hooked on cigarettes, but researchers hope that nicotine and related compounds will have therapeutic uses. Nicotine is rightly reviled because of its associations with smoking and addiction. But the rogue substance has a wide...

Dieting with a French accent.(diet books)
May 1, 2005... It's not true that French women don't get fat, but the best-selling diet book is fun and, who knows, may help some people lose a few pounds. The other day we came across a yellowing paperback copy of The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet by...

In brief; Should you be taking aspirin? It depends.(aspirin cardiovascular protection in women)
May 1, 2005... For years, the jury has been out about whether low-dose aspirin gives women the same kind of cardiovascular protection as it does men. In March 2005, a verdict came in but was mixed. Nothing is simple in medicine, not even a little old aspirin....

In brief; Are carbonated beverages bad for you?(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... In the early 1990s, Harvard researchers reported study results showing that teenage girls who consumed a lot of cola tended to have more broken bones. In 2003, a study of soft drink (not just cola) consumption among teenagers in Northern...

In brief; Naps have gotten a bum rap.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... If you have trouble sleeping at night, you may want to try incorporating some shuteye into your daytime routine. A few studies -- including one in the January 2005 Journal of the American Geriatric Society -- have called into question the...

In brief; Correction.(Correction Notice)
May 1, 2005... In our February 2005 issue, we said taking low-dose aspirin after niacin may block the flushing side effect. Aspirin should be taken before niacin to help with this side effect.

By the way, doctor; If COX-2 drugs are anti-inflammatory, why are they associated with heart attacks?(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Q. I'm confused. I've read articles about heart disease being caused by inflammation. If the COX-2 drugs are anti-inflammatory, why do they seem to make heart disease worse, not better? A. That's a good question and one that's certainly...

By the way, doctor; Should I get an immune system test?
May 1, 2005... Q. I'm 73, in generally good health, but bothered by frequent colds and respiratory infections. I suspect I have a weakened immune system. Are there tests that will tell me if that is so? A. Doctors order tests of the immune system quite...