Palliative care: Surprising benefits from an underused therapy
An important study shows that palliative care can be beneficial, especially when it’s started early.
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Putting the placebo effect to work
While the mechanisms of the placebo effect are far from being fully understood, the patient’s expectation of improvement and changes in brain chemistry appear to be important factors.
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6 ways to tame the modern muffin
Muffins can be improved by adjusting the recipes to use healthier ingredients, and by making them smaller.
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Ask the doctor: Should I be worried about the side effects from cortisone shots?
I’m in my late 70s and have been getting about four cortisone shots a year for the past several years for the arthritis in my left knee. They really help with the pain, but I’ve heard that, long-term, there could be bad side effects. Should I be worried?
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Treating pelvic organ prolapse
The muscles and ligaments that support the pelvic organs can stretch and weaken with age, allowing intrusion into the vagina. The condition may be exacerbated by obesity, vaginal childbirth, or other factors.
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In Brief: Vigorous exercise produces ‘afterburn’ bonus
An extended period of vigorous exercise produces a boost in metabolism that lasts for several hours afterward and burns additional calories.
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Tales of two heart failures
Incidence of heart failure is split about evenly between two types, in which the heart’s muscle has either weakened or stiffened.
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Update on cataract surgery and replacement lenses
Some ophthalmologists are now using lasers to perform cataract surgery, but the additional cost may not be worth the slight improvement in the results.
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Drug May Help Hard-to-Control Diabetes
A new type of drug may help to lower blood sugar in people who have trouble controlling their diabetes, a study finds. The drug is called dapagliflozin. It causes the kidneys to release sugar into the urine, which removes it from the body. The study included more than 800 people with type 2 diabetes. They were taking 1 or 2 types of diabetes pills and also injections of insulin. But they still had trouble controlling their blood sugar. People were randomly assigned to receive either a placebo (fake pills) or dapagliflozin, in 1 of 3 doses. After 24 weeks of treatment, researchers measured people’s hemoglobin A1C. This measurement reflects blood sugar control for about the last 3 months. It is expressed as a percentage. For people in the dapagliflozin group, A1C levels had dropped 0.79% to 0.96%, depending on their medicine dose. On average, they also lost 2 to 3.5 pounds.
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Health Goals Cut Deaths, Few Meet Them
Only 1.2% of U.S. adults meet all 7 major health goals to help prevent heart disease. But those who meet at least 6 goals are only half as likely to die young as those who meet 1 goal or none, a new study finds. The study included nearly 45,000 U.S. adults. Information came from a major national health survey that included physical exams. Researchers also used a database of deaths. The first survey was in 1988-1994. At that time, 2% met all goals for heart health. They didn’t smoke, ate a healthy diet and exercised regularly. They were not overweight. They also had ideal levels of blood pressure, blood sugar and total cholesterol. The last group was surveyed in 2005-2010. Then only 1.2% met all goals. The average follow-up time was 14.5 years. During that time, people who met at least 6 goals had a 51% lower risk of death from all causes than people who met no more than 1 goal.
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