Dr. Robert S. Stern, chair of the Department of Dermatology at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center , calls them "solar-phobes": people so concerned about getting skin cancer that they stay inside or cover every bit of skin. "They cover up like they were going out into the Arabian Desert ," he says. The marketing of ultrablocking sunscreens and special sun-protective clothing plays into these fears.

There's no getting around the fact that sunlight is hard on your skin. Age gets blamed for wrinkles and rough, dry skin. But the real culprit is a combination of age and sun that dermatologists call photoaging. The short UVB wavelengths that cause sunburn can also damage DNA and suppress the skin's immune system. The longer, more penetrating UVA wavelengths may create highly reactive oxygen molecules capable of damaging skin cell membranes and the DNA inside.

People who suffer from fibromyalgia know something is not right, even though they appear fine otherwise. This painful condition is not well understood, making it that much more difficult to diagnosis and treat. New research offers a better understanding of the disorder and may provide doctors with a way to diagnose the condition and monitor treatment.
Fibromyalgia causes mild to severe pain in the joints, tendons, and muscles of the body. Other symptoms may include fatigue and disrupted sleep. Fibromyalgia can last indefinitely, but does not seem to progress or affect survival. Although the condition is traditionally classified as a rheumatic disease, researchers believe fibromyalgia has its roots in the nervous system. This idea is supported by the results of a study published in the May 2003 issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism.

The study involved sensory testing of 85 individuals suffering from fibromyalgia and 40 healthy volunteers. Using testing of the pain reflex, various temperatures, mechanical pressure, and electrical stimuli, the researchers discovered that patients with fibromyalgia have highly excitable pain centers in their nervous systems compared to healthy individuals. This translates to higher pain sensitivity and lower tolerance for pain than the average person. A simple pinprick may be excruciatingly painful for someone with fibromyalgia.

Essential tremor

We use our hands constantly. Every morning millions of people shower, shave, get dressed, eat breakfast — tasks that would be incredibly difficult without steady hands. For an estimated 10 million Americans with a neurological disorder called essential tremor, shaking of their arms and other body parts makes it difficult or even impossible to perform the simplest of movements.

The condition, which affects the muscles of the hands, head, and voice, is often mistaken for Parkinson's patients. But essential tremor is 5-10 times more common than Parkinson's disease. Most people diagnosed with essential tremor have action tremor, which means they shake when they move, and some develop a distinctive nodding or shaking of the head. People with Parkinson's usually experience tremors at rest, along with stiffness and slowness of movement.

Although hard-to-read heart attacks happen to both men and women, they are more common in women. One reason for this is that men's symptoms initially set the standard for recognizing heart trouble. Now a growing body of research shows that women can experience heart attacks differently than men.

Understanding sex differences in heart disease is important. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women. Although it mostly affects older women, it isn't rare in younger women. One in 10 of all women who die from heart disease or a stroke are under age 65, and this age group accounts for one-third of heart- or stroke-related hospitalizations. Even so, younger women and their doctors don't necessarily suspect a heart attack even when all the signs are there.

Interstitial cystitis is a chronic inflammation of the bladder that causes people to urinate -- sometimes painfully -- as often as 40, 50, or 60 times a day. Their quality of life, research suggests, resembles that of a person on kidney dialysis or suffering from chronic cancer pain. Not surprisingly, the condition is officially recognized as a disability.

There's no cure for interstitial cystitis, but many treatments offer some relief, either on their own or in combination.

If you wear glasses or contacts, chances are you've been at least a little bit tempted to investigate the infomercials and books promoting eye exercises to improve your eyesight without surgery. Some programs even claim that faithful adherents may be able to give up their glasses. If this sounds too good to be true, that's because it is.

Purveyors of self-directed eye exercise programs have not conducted randomized trials to verify the effectiveness of their programs, and there is no medical evidence for their oft-stated claim that wearing lenses weakens the eyes and necessitates ever-stronger prescription eyewear. Furthermore, some programs are based on ideas that don't quite square with the anatomy and physiology of vision.

"Stay away from me! I don't want to get sick, too." Most of us have had to utter those words to a family member, friend, or colleague who was sneezing or coughing incessantly. But how do we know how great the chances of catching someone's cold or other illness really are? A medical review published in the New England Journal of Medicine tells us when to exercise concern over eight respiratory tract infections.

What causes dry mouth —
and what treats it

The three pints of saliva that the average healthy adult produces every day may be the most underrated body fluid. Saliva jump-starts digestion, dissolving and adding moisture to food so it's easier to swallow. It breaks down starch with a digestive enzyme called amylase. Saliva contains bicarbonate, which acts as a buffering agent that offsets the enamel-corroding acid produced by bacteria. Salivary antibodies and protein also fend off dental bacteria as well as other infectious agents. Saliva helps you speak clearly by keeping your mouth moist and allowing the tongue — which is essential to forming many sounds — to stay agile.

Compared with other medical problems, dry mouth, or xerostomia, may be little more than an annoyance: eating is a little less pleasant and speech a little more difficult. But for people who have little or no saliva, persistent xerostomia is a serious and often uncomfortable condition that can jeopardize oral health. It makes eating and swallowing difficult, causes bad breath, and may irritate mouth tissues, leaving them more vulnerable to infection. Dry mouth also increases the risk for tooth decay and gum disease.

Surprising factors influence urine color and odor including food and medication

Many things can alter the look and smell of your urine. When should you be concerned?

Nearly six and a half cups — that's how much urine the average person produces a day, usually in four to eight trips to the toilet. The ritual is so routine that most of us pay little attention to our urine — that is, unless it happens to look or smell different than usual.