Harvard Health Letter articles from September 2004

Harvard Health Letter archives from September 2004

LDL cholesterol: Low, lower, and lower still.
September 1, 2004... More people than ever before will have to take statins or other cholesterol-lowering drugs to meet new guidelines. A federal panel of experts -- including representatives of the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology...

Iron: Are you getting too much?
September 1, 2004... Many Americans get more iron than they need, but whether that causes harm hasn't been proved. Do you have iron-poor, tired blood? So went the Geritol ads from the 1960s, offering a supplement sure to rejuvenate anyone tired from working,...

Pacemakers for the brain.(deep brain stimulation devices)
September 1, 2004... Devices that deliver small jolts of electricity to the brain are helping people with Parkinson's disease and other neurological disorders. When he was 49, Jim Sullivan* began noticing ripples in his coffee whenever he would pick up a cup....

Reefer Rx: Marijuana as medicine.
September 1, 2004... The legal status of smoking marijuana for medical purposes is cloudy, but could compounds related to it be used to treat Alzheimer's disease, obesity, or pain? Marijuana is a mixture of dried leaves, seeds, and stems from a hemp plant,...

By the way, doctor; Is my HDL too high?(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Q I am a 67-year-old woman. I walk three miles five or six times a week and swim for half an hour every day. I take a diuretic for high blood pressure, a calcium supplement, and vitamins C and E. My HDL level is usually over 100, but it was up...

By the way, doctor; Is there a cure for immune thrombocytopenic purpura?(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Q My sister-in-law's blood tests showed that she has a low platelet count. Her doctors thought the problem might be her blood pressure medication, but ultimately reached a diagnosis of immune thrombocytopenic purpura. What could have given her...