• Sharebar

spacer block for clear fix

Topical Issues

No Tragedy at the Boston Marathon

The blasts at the Boston Marathon are not a tragedy. They are something far worse.

Last Saturday, my four-year-old ran her first race. It was a just-for-kids, 1.2 mile run in the midst of a panopoly of races that I can only call a celebration of running. There was a marathon, a half-marathon, a 10K, a 5K, and then the kids’ race, with 1500 kids and parents all trotting around a soft, grassy Midwestern park. It took half an hour to get to the start line –and almost as long to run the mile.

Read more »
read more topical issues >>

Health News Reviews

Can Coffee and Green Tea Help Prevent Stroke?

Need another excuse to drink that cup of coffee in the morning? Do you regularly reach for a cup of green tea when you need a mid-afternoon pick-me-up? You may be lowering your risk of stroke, if research published March 14 in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association holds true. Study findings suggest that the benefits of green tea and coffee consumption may include a reduction in risk of stroke by as much as 20%.   

Read more »
Daily Hormone Shot May Help Memory

A daily dose of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) may help to improve memory and reasoning abilities in older people, whether or not they have mild problems with cognition. In a small randomized trial conducted by a University of Washington research team, people who received daily injections of GHRH did better on tests of mental function than those who received a fake shot, or placebo.

Read more »
Ritalin's Longterm Effects

Parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are often concerned about the safety and long-term effects of medications used to help manage  ADHD symptoms. But a recent animal study by a Wake Forest Baptist research team suggests that these fears may be unfounded. In this study of juvenile monkeys, the researchers found that Ritalin – the stimulant drug most commonly prescribed for ADHD – did not affect the developing brain, physical growth, or increase the risk of later substance abuse.

Read more »
read more health news reviews >>

ehealthMD Blog

Do I need surgery for a dislocation of my acromioclavicular (AC) joint in the shoulder

I am often asked by my patient's and frequently by other patients as a second opinion, whether they need surgery after a dislocation of the acromioclavicular joint of their shoulder.

We will refer to the acromioclavicular joint as the AC joint.

The answer as to whether surgery is needed for an injury of this type is quite straightforward.

Mostly surgery is not needed. The decision really is made depending on the type and extent of the dislocation. A dislocation is when a joint is entirely out of position. A subluxation is when a joint is partly out of position.

Read more>>
Do metal plates and screws need to be removed from the bone after a fracture has healed?

It is common now for broken bones (fractures) to be fixed with metal plates and screws or a long nail (called the "hardware"), especially if the fracture is unstable or the joint surface has been damaged and for this hardware to be left in the body.

The role of the hardware is simply to stabilise the fracture in the correct position while it heals. Once the fracture has healed, the hardware has done its job. It is no longer really needed.

But it's not always necessary to remove the hardware.

Read more>>
read more orthopedic blog posts>>

Take Our Quiz

Hypertension

High blood pressure (hypertension) affects one in three adults around the world. In parts of Africa, up to 50% of the population has high blood pressure. Even in developed countries like the United States, where effective medications and interventions can help people control blood pressure, half of people who have high blood pressure don't know they have the condition.

How much do you know about hypertension? Take our hypertension quiz to test your knowledge of high blood pressure!

take previous quizzes >>

Poll

How do you stop a headache?:

From Andrew Maynard - Chair of the University of Michigan Department of Environmental Health Sciences, with help from David Faulkner - 2013 Master of Public Health graduate.