May Harvard Health Letter features Q&As from Harvard doctors

Every month, members of Harvard Health Letter’s editorial board — and occasionally other Harvard-affiliated doctors — answer questions from readers in its back-page “By the Way, Doctor…” feature. These Q&As sometimes zoom in on the devils-in the-details (particular drug interactions, subtypes of vitamins). Other times, the Harvard doctors impart big-picture wisdom (the real meaning of a recent study, the true benefits of a new medication).

Either way, the Q&As are among the best-read articles in the newsletter. So the editors of the Health Letter have devoted the entire May issue to the “By the way, doctor…” Q&As. Dr. Anthony Komaroff, editor in chief, describes the issue as an experiment in giving readers “more of a good thing.”

The doctors address these questions:

• What is burning mouth syndrome?
• Should I choose a minimally invasive knee replacement or a traditional one?
• Are aromatase inhibitors better than tamoxifen for breast cancer treatment?
• Does cooking with a microwave take nutrients out of food?
• Do birth control pills disguise menopause?
• Should I get the cervical cancer vaccine?
• How much migraine medicine is too much?
• Does Celebrex raise my risk for stroke?
• Do calcium supplements raise heart attack risk?
• Why don’t we ever hear about cancer of the small intestine?
• Can human growth hormone help after surgery?
• Do I need to go to the hospital after fainting?
• Is it okay to take a stool softener long-term?
• Why does skin wrinkle after being underwater?
• Are the guidelines for taking statins different for women?