Last Word

The calls came over the span of a single month in 2004, patient after patient with strikingly similar complaints. Some told Oregon psychiatrist James Hancey that their new generic medication for depression had stopped working. Others described unexpected reactions — dizziness, flu-like symptoms and electric shock sensations in the brain. “That started to tell me, ‘This drug is no good,’” Hancey...

It is generally acknowledged that the Baby Boom generation (of which I am a member) has been the most successful, socioeconomically speaking, in the history of this planet, and the prospects for the generations following to match or surpass us are not looking good. As a confirmation of the disparity, I recently read that while Baby Boomers make up approximately 20% of the current US population,...

Recognize the risk When a state medical board notifies you of a formal complaint or investigation, your right to practice is at risk. State medical boards oversee professional conduct under the Medical Practice Act and may impose disciplinary actions ranging from letters of concern and fines to suspension or revocation of your license. Processes and deadlines vary by jurisdiction. Early legal...

People infected with HIV must take antiretroviral drugs for life. But promising trials using engineered antibodies suggest that ‘functional cures’ may be in reach. Around the world, some 40 million people are living with HIV. And though progress in treatment means the infection isn’t the death sentence it once was, researchers have never been able to bring about a cure. Instead, HIV-positive...

On the far east side of Michigan, the future of fluoride in drinking water — long an ordinary practice for preventing tooth decay — has suddenly provoked passionate debate. Public meetings in St. Clair County, about an hour northeast of Detroit, have filled with people weighing in. One man waved his Fixodent denture cream before the county commissioners, suggesting that his own experience showed...

Cigarettes kill nearly half a million Americans each year. Everyone knows it, including the Food and Drug Administration. Yet while the most lethal nicotine product remains on sale in every gas station, the FDA continues to block or delay far safer alternatives. Nicotine pouches—small, smokeless packets tucked under the lip—deliver nicotine without burning tobacco. They eliminate the tar, carbon...