Best Practices

There are steps you can take to relieve headache pain and prevent future attacks. Thai Liang Lim/E+ via Getty Images ~~~~~ Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Why do people get headaches? – Evie V., age 10, Corpus Christi, Texas Whether sharp and stabbing or dull and throbbing, a...

Fundamentally, the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) has a flawed design. Its architects meant to appeal to the public, promising what the old system could not fully deliver – guaranteed access to affordable health cover and coverage for pre-existing conditions (PECs). But they were wrong about being able to keep your doctor or your old policy if you wanted. Previously individual policies had...

Physician Lauren Hughes was heading to see patients at a clinic about 20 miles from her Denver home in February when another driver T-boned her Subaru, totaling it. She was taken by ambulance to the closest hospital, Platte Valley Hospital. A shaken Hughes was examined in the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with bruising, a deep cut on her knee, and a broken ankle. Physicians recommended...

A whole lot more than just one genetic mutation determines whether and how disease develops. lvcandy/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images ~~~~~ Genetic inheritance may sound straightforward: One gene causes one trait or a specific illness. When doctors use genetics, it’s usually to try to identify a disease-causing gene to help guide diagnosis and treatment. But for most health conditions, the...

The Transformation of Medicine: From Healers to Healthcare Workers I had the privilege of addressing the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons this past Friday at their annual meeting and convention. I spoke on a topic that I’d never addressed publicly before, but one in which I feel quite versed through hard-won experience. During my medical career, which spans four decades, I’ve...

Infusion of the tiny, sausage-shaped structures helps to rejuvenate tissues deprived of blood. Researchers hope the technique can treat a variety of damaged organs. James McCully was in the lab extracting tiny structures called mitochondria from cells when researchers on his team rushed in. They’d been operating on a pig heart and couldn’t get it pumping normally again. McCully studies heart...