August 2003
Ask Dr. Marks: 08/03
Subscribers Only In cleaning out my medicine cabinet recently, I noticed a number of drugs that have expiration dates that have passed. Is there any danger in my taking these drugs now? When do good drugs go bad? All over-the-counter medications will have an expiration date printed on their label. Expiration dates will vary from medication to medication and from lot to lot. They are based on the pharmaceutical company’s test for stability of the drug. …
Wristy Business: Carpal Tunnel Turmoil
Subscribers Only If your fingers suddenly turn numb and tingly, you could be feeling more than a hand that’s fallen asleep. You could be experiencing carpal tunnel syndrome, in which pressure on a nerve in your wrist causes numbness and muscle weakness. The carpal tunnel is by nature an anatomically crowded location—a narrow channel on the underside of the wrist with bones on three sides and a ligament on the other. Nine tendons and a single nerve, called…
Popular Arthritis Drugs Less Cost-Effective Than Common Pain Killers
Subscribers Only Selective COX-2 inhibitors, such as rofecoxib (Vioxx) and celecoxib (Celebrex), are not as cost-effective as common non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil, Nuprin), indomethacin, and naproxen, in treating arthritis in the average patient. This was the conclusion of a recent study conducted by the University of California (Los Angeles) and the Veterans Affairs of Greater Los Angeles. Researchers found that the newer COX-2 drugs, developed to offer the same pain relief as NSAIDs but…
Good Moves, Bad Moves
Subscribers Only When it comes to building strong bones, or easing sore joints, not all exercises are created equal. Put another way, what may be a killer exercise, figuratively speaking, for sufferers of osteoporosis may also be a killer move, in a very real sense, for people with osteoarthritis. If you suffer from arthritis, exercises that increase your range of motion, flexibility and strength are best. On the other hand, there are also certain positions and movements of…
Cartilage: A Cushion For Your Bones
Subscribers Only Cartilage is amazing stuff. This slick, rubbery material cushions and protects the ends of bones, allowing them to roll, rotate and glide smoothly against and over each other. Cartilage is 85 percent water. It has no blood supply or nerves, yet it absorbs enormous forces as we walk, run, bend, or flex. Cartilage also has a “memory”; it can change form when under stress, then spring back to its original shape. …
Aspirin: The 104-Year-Old Wonder Drug That’s Still Young At Heart
Subscribers Only Since the commercial launch of aspirin 104 years ago, it’s believed that more than one trillion aspirin tablets have been consumed. Today, 50 billion tablets are taken every year. Aspirin, which goes by the chemical name acetylsalicylic acid, has often been called a “Wonder Drug” or “Miracle Drug”—but why? What does it do and how does it work? …
In the News: 08/03
Subscribers Only Stem Cell Technology Now Available For Bone Repair Cellect, a kit that allows surgeons to harvest stem cells from a patient’s bone marrow and grow new bone for grafting, has been introduced by Cleveland Clinic orthopaedic surgeon Dr. George Muschler. It’s the first stem cell technology to be commercially developed and the first technology to be introduced for bone repair. The process, in which bone fibers and chips are used to control the rate of new…
New Weapons For Joint Defense
Subscribers Only The news coming out of a recent American Medical Association press briefing on inflammatory diseases was not just encouraging—it was extraordinary. “During the past decade,” journalists were told by Dr. Steve Abramson of the Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York City, “there has been a molecular revolution that has moved therapies from bench to bedside with amazing speed. We have entered an unprecedented period in which every year there is something to be hopeful…