Columns
Rushing Off Antidepressants Can Bring On More Distress
At first, Zoloft seemed like “manna from heaven,” says this 53-year-old woman, a teacher who lives in Watertown. It was the summer of 1999 and, for reasons she still doesn’t fully understand, she had slipped into a “terrible slump.” Her doctor suggested Zoloft, America’s second most popular antidepressant, after Prozac. And for a while, it…
A ‘Cure’ For Osteoporosis May Be Near
Scientists who normally shy away from words like “cure” or “breakthrough” say researchers are on the verge of what could be a revolution in the treatment of osteoporosis, the dangerous bone-thinning condition that is responsible for 1.5 million fractures in the United States each year. Thanks to a vast improvement in scientific understanding of the…
Moisturizer Madness
So, there it sits on the desktop, this ridiculous, ever-growing collection of moisturizers, seemingly endless bottles and stand-up tubes that rise like little mountain peaks amid the stacks of floppy disks and piles of papers. There’s the tall squirt bottle of Keri lotion, billed as “moisture-rich therapy,” which might be true, judging by the way…
Drug Hunters Can’t See Rainforest For The Medicines
TORTUGUERO NATIONAL PARK, Costa Rica – Carlos Bettancurt cuts the motor and we glide soundlessly toward the bank of the Parismina lagoon, part of the vast network of rivers and canals that crisscross this wildlife sanctuary. Doused liberally with DEET to ward off mosquitoes and swathed in hats, longsleeved shirts and pants, we step ashore…
A New Weapon Against Memory Loss?
After creeping corpulence, perhaps the most common complaint people have about growing older is what the experts politely call “benign” memory loss and the rest of us, less politely, sometimes call CRS, for Can’t Remember You-Know-What. For men with sluggish memories, the best advice to slow the aging process is tried and true: Exercise (to…
Americans Strive To Live With Chronic Illnesses
At 68, Helen Freeman of Seattle has more chronic diseases than many of us will face in a lifetime. First, there’s her labored breathing because of extensive scarring from years of lung infections. Then there’s the diabetes, for which she needs daily medication. The glaucoma is no picnic, either – she’s almost blind in one…
The Time Has Dawned For `Morning-After’ Contraception
The time has come to do the obvious about the whole abortion mess: Provide emergency “morning-after” contraception over the counter. Right now. In every state. In every pharmacy. For every woman who needs it. And at a reasonable price. One way you can tell the time has come is that the American Medical Association, not…
Exercise Holds Key To Fountain Of Youth
Johnny Kelley did everything the expert’s say we should if we want to age well: He started exercising young and never stopped. Too small to play football for his local team in West Medford, Kelley turned to running at 18, and launched the most storied marathoning career in Boston history. Over the years, he ran…
Is Moderate Drinking The Answer?
Until four months ago, Paul Robert, a hard-working, 42-year-old Connecticut businessman, would get home from work and knock back six drinks a night – 45 drinks a week. Sometimes wine, sometimes beer, sometimes the hard stuff. “It was the stress,” he says, and alcohol “absolutely” helped. He didn’t think he was a true alcoholic. His…
A Fair Portrait of the Transgender Issue
Until seven years ago, when she was 40, Nancy Nangeroni lived as a man, which was not all that surprising, given that she was born, as she puts it, with standard male plumbing. Unlike many transgendered people, who feel they are male but trapped in a female body or female stuck with male anatomy, Nangeroni…
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