It is easy to ridicule a 2000-year-old treatment that can seem closer to magic than to science. Indeed, from the 1970s to around 2005, the skeptic’s point of view was understandable, because the scientific evidence to show that acupuncture worked, and why, was weak, and clinical trials were small an...

Follow me on Twitter @RobShmerling Venturing out in frigid conditions with our golden retriever, I was wishing I had wo another layer or two. And that got me thinking. Sparky’s got a thick coat of fur, but is that enough? Is there more I should be doing for him during cold snaps? On our last walk, I...

Follow me on Twitter @drClaire The first 1,000 days of life are crucial for brain development — and food plays an important role. The ways that the brain develops during pregnancy and during the first two years of life are like scaffolding: they literally define how the brain will work for the rest ...

Recently, Massachusetts Gove or Charlie Baker introduced “An Act Relative to Combatting Addiction, Accessing Treatment, Reducing Prescriptions, and Enhancing Prevention” (CARE Act) as part of a larger legislative package to tackle the state’s opioid crisis. The proposal would expand on the state’s e...

I am a physician. As a high-risk obstetrician (mate al-fetal medicine specialist) I pride myself on caring for women who are likely to become (or who are already) so ill that many others view caring for them as a burden. I help women achieve a safe pregnancy when colleagues have advised against preg...

There are a range of options for reconstruction following breast cancer surgery. When a mastectomy is performed, reconstruction can be achieved using various forms of implants, or with natural tissue taken from other parts of the body to re-form the breast. Whether or not a woman chooses to pursue b...

There are few subjects that can stir up stronger emotions among doctors, scientists, researchers, policy makers, and the public than medical marijuana. Is it safe? Should it be legal? Decriminalized? Has its effectiveness been proven? What conditions is it useful for? Is it addictive? How do we keep...

Follow me on Twitter @DrClaire Sore throats happen all the time in childhood — and most of the time, it’s nothing to worry about. Most of the time, they are simply part of a common cold, don’t cause any problems, and get better without any treatment. Sometimes, though, a sore throat can be a sign of...

Follow me on Twitter @drClaire It’s the beginning of a new calendar year, that time when we resolve to do new and better things. This is such a wonderful idea, because doing new and better things can make us healthier and happier. Resolutions can be particularly good for families to make. Not only i...

Whether you and your family are embracing the pleasures of the winter season with ice skating and snowball fights, or reluctantly venturing outdoors to walk the dog and shovel snow, be aware of the health hazards of this cold snap… like frostbite. Here’s why you don’t want to mess with frostbite Fro...

Using medications to treat opioid use disorder is a lifesaving co erstone of treatment — much like insulin for type 1 diabetes. The flawed but widely held view that medications like methadone or buprenorphine are “replacing one addiction for another” prevents many people from getting the treatment t...

Follow me on Twitter @RobShmerling This one got by me. I’d never heard of “man flu” but according to a new study of the topic, the term is “so ubiquitous that it has been included in the Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries. Oxford defines it as ‘a cold or similar minor ailment as experienced by a man ...

My ancient workout clothes are folded neatly (and squished) beneath a pile of sweaters on a shelf in my closet. They were cute — from the ‘90s — when I cared very much about how I looked at the gym. Decades later, I skip the gym and instead walk most days and do body weight exercises, all while clad...

The holiday season is filled with hustle and bustle. There’s plenty of excitement from seeing family and friends, but also stress, travel, long lines, planning, preparation — and a range of emotions from positive to negative. For many, the holiday season means planning and taking care of others. How...

Para leer en inglés Probablemente usted sabe que la diabetes tipo 2 se ha convertido en un problema enorme en el área de salud en los Estados Unidos de Norteamérica (EUA) y en el resto del mundo. Las personas con diabetes tipo 2 no pueden utilizar la glucosa (azúcar) que se obtiene de los alimentos ...

To read in Spanish As you probably know, type 2 diabetes has become a major health problem in the US and around the world. People with type 2 diabetes cannot effectively use glucose (sugar) from the food they eat to fuel the body. As a result, blood sugar levels are consistently higher than normal. ...

It’s that time of the year again when we start thinking about the (in)famous New Year’s resolutions. Change can be a frustrating experience for many. So, I decided to investigate what may increase your chances of success. I would like to propose a framework that combines the science of behavior chan...

Does exercise sometimes feel like an annoying chore? Adding a little friendly competition and other “gamification” strategies just might help, according to a new study. The six-month-long study included 94 families who tracked their daily step counts with a wearable device or a smartphone. Just over...

By now, we all know that the number of opioid-related deaths in the United States has reached epidemic proportions. Despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declaring an epidemic in 2011, the death rate has continued to increase every year, with more than 30,000 deaths per year now att...

Since I got married seven years ago and had two kids, I’ve had to shed parts of my life, like the hockey package, going to the movies, and slow-pitch softball. None were hard sacrifices, but the casualty that hurt the most was giving up my doctor of over 20 years. I met him soon after I got out of c...