For patients seeking new solutions to managing type 2 diabetes and obesity, the introduction of a class of drugs called GLP-1 receptor agonists (RA) has simultaneously inspired hope and excitement along with misuse and confusion. We developed the following Q&A to go beyond the headlines and explore how Ozempic and similar drugs work, who may benefit most from them, and …
Joint Assets: An Osteoarthritis Update
The aching, swollen, stiff joints associated with osteoarthritis (OA) have long been considered a “wear and tear” condition, associated with aging. It was thought that cartilage, the smooth connective tissue on the end of bones that cushion the joints, simply breaks down over a lifetime of walking, exercising and moving. New research shows that it is a disease of the …
Bone Up: What Is Osteoporosis?
Except for dedicated thespians, saying “break a leg” is most definitely not a harbinger of good luck. More than 10 million Americans are living with osteoporosis, a condition of low bone mass that results in increased risk of bone fracture, sometimes even from a minor fall or pressure from a big hug. Over 1.5 million osteoporotic fractures occur annually, and …
Pandemic Inspires and Challenges Medical Innovation
Pandemic Sparks Promising Future for Clinical Trial Speed and Flexibility Like wartime medicine, the pandemic inspires and challenges medical innovation. The silver lining of the pandemic is the reinvigorated sense of urgency breaking down cumbersome and expensive barriers to the FDA’s phased approval process. While the research- lab-to-patient-arm trials for the highly successful COVID-19 vaccines…
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COVID-19 Vaccine Update
Experts Weigh In With Reassuring Outlook The COVID-19 vaccine rollout is in full swing around the country but many questions remain. We reveal the latest answers (as of February 2021) from nationally recognized vaccine experts Dr. Paul Sax, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Clinical Director of Infectious Disease, Brigham and Women’s Hospital; and…
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A Guide to the Power Players in Pain Relief
Which Pain Relievers Work Best? When you reach for a pain reliever, what are you most likely to find in your medicine cabinet? And does it matter? While aspirin, Tylenol and Aleve may appear similar and aim for the same results, their effects can vary. Below is a quick guide to today’s most recognizable over-the-counter…
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Antibiotics Awareness is Good for Your Health
Antibiotics Awareness Spurred by Alexander Fleming’s serendipitous discovery of penicillin in 1928, antibiotics have rightfully become wonder drugs, often able to change the course of deadly bacterial infections in a matter of days. But in recent years, their unmatched healing power has become overprescribed and over utilized, leading to concerning findings like these: Nearly 23%…
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Manage Prescription Drugs Effectively
Managing Prescription Drugs: From Pickup to Take Back If you are not taking your prescription medications as directed (or at all), you’re far from alone. Compliance is estimated at just 50% among U.S. patients. Unfortunately, adherence is a direct impact on quality and length of life, and overall healthcare costs, accounting for up to 50%…
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Medical Marijuana Myths
Smoking Out the Myths: Medical Marijuana Does medical marijuana offer a solution to treating epilepsy, chronic pain, anxiety and neurogenerative diseases? Or is it an untested, potentially unsafe treatment that will eventually turn out to be more of a pipe dream? As with so many of today’s biggest questions, the truth is somewhere in between….
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Pain Management: The New Approach
The New Approach to Pain Management: Fewer Pills, Lower Doses, More Vigilance It’s hard to imagine a medical crisis more widely discussed, dissected and debated in the last two years than opioid abuse. As a result, clear action steps have been taken, including retooling of the 2016 guidelines for opioid-prescribing protocols – dosage recommendations, follow…
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The Painful New Reality of Opioid Prescriptions
Nothing erodes the quality of life faster than pain and unfortunately more than half of American adults report they live with it on a chronic, recurring basis. That makes it easy to understand why, when seemingly safe, effective opioid drugs became widely available in the 1990s, they were quickly embraced by physicians and patients. Considered…
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Unlocking the Genetic Code: Spotlighting Pharmacogenomics
This is the first in a series exploring some of the most promising advances inspired by the Human Genome project. From the burgeoning field of pharmacogenomics to consumer genetic testing such as 23 and Me, the time from discovery to application is progressing rapidly. We’ll look at some of the latest thinking and its impact…
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