Radio Health Journal
The latest in health, science, technology, and the intersection of medicine and public policy.
Measles had been declared eliminated in 2000, but has come roaring back because of the increasing number of people who have not been vaccinated. Parents may have legitimate fears of side effects, but claims vaccines are unsafe are not true. Experts discuss the complicated psychological reasons vaccine refusal exists despite this, and what may help change …
Millions of Americans cannot afford the medications they’ve been prescribed. Many skip doses, split pills or don’t fill prescriptions at all as a result, with sometimes even fatal consequences. But doctors are often unable to consider cost very well in prescribing, as the same drug often costs patients vastly different amounts due to insurance differences. …
Autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus carry a genetic predisposition, but need an environmental trigger to take hold. Triggers are poorly understood, but some women claim their disease is a result of contraceptives, including birth control pills and IUDs. Experts and one women suffering from autoimmune disease discuss the issue.
Millions of Americans cannot afford the medications they’ve been prescribed. Many skip doses, split pills or don’t fill prescriptions at all as a result, with sometimes even fatal consequences. But doctors are often unable to consider cost very well in prescribing, as the same drug often costs patients vastly different amounts due to insurance differences. …
The flu’s unique ability to mutate makes it one of the toughest diseases to solve, as it evades vaccines and treatment. It also has a deadly history, which prompts fears each flu season. A noted expert discusses all about the flu and its myths.
Heart disease is often preventable, but how people look at it often keeps them from doing as much about it as they could. Often this is a result of myth and misinformation. An expert physician discusses some of the most harmful of these myths.
Since the introduction of antibiotics in World War II, doctors have prescribed courses of treatment that typically ran longer than necessary. Bacterial resistance is forcing a reevaluation, shortening courses sometimes to just a few days and even prompting doctors to advise not using all pills if patients feel better.
Hormones were unknown until a little more than 100 years ago, and experts admit we still have a lot to learn. An expert author details the discovery of hormones and how our growing knowledge has shaped treatment of many diseases and conditions.
Dupuytren's disease (pronounced DOO-pah-tren) is the most common disorder crippling hands that most people have never heard of. It is a genetic condition of the fascia beneath the skin of the palms, and it stubbornly resists treatment. An expert and a patient discuss the disorder.
Thanks in part to its Biblical past, the disfiguring disease leprosy carries more stigma than most diseases. We hear little about it today, but it still exists, and because it’s now treatable, often the stigma is worse than the disease. An expert discusses.
About 40 percent of eligible people have been vaccinated against the flu in recent years, but many more might do so were it not for persistent myths about the disease and its vaccine. For example, a new survey shows that more than half of parents believe the flu shot can cause the flu. Experts explain why those myths aren’t true and set the record …
About two-thirds of people with dementia in the United States are women, and researchers are discovering it’s not just because they live longer. Reproductive history also plays a role. Scientists are focusing on the role of estrogen as a potential protective factor against Alzheimer’s disease. Several who are involved in this research explain.
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