Researchers uncover why light-to-moderate drinking is tied to better heart health: The findings could help in identifying new interventions that reduce the brain’s stress activity without the negative health effects of alcohol
A new study led by investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, offers an explanation for why light-to-moderate alcohol consumption may be associated with lower risk of heart disease. For the first time, researchers found that alcohol, in light to moderate quantities, was associated with long-term reductions […]
Opinion | ‘Every Kid Dreams of Walking on the Moon, or Mars’: What We Heard This Week
“Every kid dreams of walking on the moon, or Mars.” — Nathan Jones, MD, of Springfield Memorial Hospital in Illinois, on his motivation to volunteer for NASA’s year-long simulated Mars mission. “You will be poisoned and you will die.” — Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), on the need for greater awareness about fentanyl’s potency at a […]
Opinion | The Patient Case Against Requiring Medical Chaperones
A third person is just a third wheel in a trusting doctor-patient relationship. Yale-New Haven Hospital and affiliated clinics have a rule that a chaperone must be present for any examination of so-called “sensitive” areas, including breasts, genitalia, and perianal area. Having a chaperone present is mandatory, and in visits to my gynecologist at Yale, […]
Opinion | ‘No One Ever Died of a Skinny Buttocks’: What We Heard This Week
“Remember, no one ever died of a skinny buttocks.” — Arthur Perry, MD, of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, on the risk-benefit ratio of Brazilian butt lift surgery. “I get up every morning and I look at patient messages and half of them are due to Mounjaro.” — Karl Nadolsky, DO, of Holland Hospital […]
New Video Shows Virginia Deputies Piling On Handcuffed Black Man Who Later Died
Irvo Otieno, 28, died after an encounter with law enforcement at a state hospital in Petersburg, Virginia. Ben Crump Law/Handout via REUTERS New surveillance footage from a Virginia state hospital shows at least 10 sheriff’s deputies and hospital workers piling on top of Irvo Otieno, a handcuffed Black man who died of asphyxia soon after. […]
I Thought I Had A Headache. It Turned Out To Be Herpes (HSV-1) — In My Brain.
The author during her stay at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where she was treated for encephalitis in 2015. “I do not remember this day,” she writes. Courtesy of Brigid Ward On Oct. 28, 2015, I left my high school teaching job early because I thought I had the flu. I had been […]
Sen. John Fetterman Checked Into Hospital For Clinical Depression
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) checked himself into a hospital this week in order to be treated for depression, according to a statement released by his chief of staff Thursday. “Last night, Senator John Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to receive treatment for clinical depression. While John has experienced depression off […]
Opinion | ‘The Evil Hand Is Mother Nature’: What We Heard This Week
“The evil hand is mother nature.” — Paul Offit, MD, of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, explaining why Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine work is not gain-of-function research. “We’ve been doing a lot more amputations over the last couple of years for really bad necrotic wounds and dysfunctional limbs and infections that go all the way down to […]
Opinion | The Agonizing Decision of Caring for an Abusive Parent
“My parents abused me as a child. I went ‘no contact’ with them over 10 years ago, but now my dad is in the hospital with a serious diagnosis and the discharge planner keeps asking me to be involved. I don’t want to. What are my rights?” I read the lengthy message several times, feeling […]
Opinion | ‘I Thought I Had Woken Up to an Earthquake’: What We Heard This Week
“The first time I experienced it, I thought I had woken up to an earthquake.” — Nassim Zecavati, MD, of Children’s Hospital of Richmond in Virginia, discussing her personal experience with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. “It’s like giving the full sandwich rather than giving bread, salami, and tomato, and a little mustard and mayo separately. […]