Treatments Archive

Consumers should be wary about direct-to-consumer men's health clinics, as many offer costly treatments not supported by evidence and lack medical oversight, according to a 2023 investigative study.

There are currently nine trials of vaccines for Alzheimer's disease under way. All of them are in people with mild Alzheimer's or with the pre-Alzheimer's condition called mild cognitive impairment. All of the vaccines are designed to encourage the immune system to remove protein deposits from the brain. Most experimental vaccines are given by injection; one being tested at Harvard Medical School uses a nasal spray. It will be several years before we know if any of them will work.

Adopting healthy self-management strategies that focus on a healthy diet, physical activity, and achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, can improve the quality of life of people with gout. Many of these same strategies can help reduce the risk of developing gout to begin with.

Unlike a few decades ago, there are now a number of minimally invasive ways to treat varicose veins. Doctors can shut down problem veins with injections of various substances or certain catheter procedures. A treatment currently in clinical trials in the United States promises to simply "zap" away varicose veins from outside the body. Called high-intensity focused ultrasound, it converts sound waves into a focused beam of heat that seals a malfunctioning vein.

First-line gout treatment focuses on reducing pain and inflammation. Ideally, treatment should begin within 24 hours of the start of the gout attack. Treatment is stopped once the attack is over, and symptoms have gone away.

The most common non-melanoma skin cancers are basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas. They aren’t usually life-threatening, but they can be quite dangerous. They can bleed, hurt, and eat away at skin. If left untreated, they can erode through important structures like the nose, eyes, bones, or muscles. If they become very large, they can spread, and in rare cases cause death. Treatment ranges from scraping out skin cancers with surgical tools to Mohs surgery, a procedure that spares as much healthy skin as possible.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects up to 45 million Americans, two-thirds of whom are women. IBS is categorized into three types depending on which symptoms dominate: diarrhea, constipation, or a mix of both. Possible contributors include changes in gut bacteria, faulty nerve signals between brain and intestine, pelvic floor problems, and genetics. Newer treatment approaches target pathways involved in symptoms. Doctors are also repurposing older drugs for IBS, including certain antidepressants and the antibiotic rifaximin (Xifaxan).

Migraines, which affect nearly 40 million Americans, are likely vastly underdiagnosed and undertreated. Women are three times more likely to get migraines than men, and hormones appear to be a major trigger. Other triggers include stress, disrupted sleep patterns, hunger or dehydration, certain foods or medications, and bright lights or loud noise. Newer medications are more targeted and pose fewer side effects. They include CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide) blockers, more effective nasal sprays, and green light therapy.

Updated national guidelines on hormone therapy after menopause recommend that women use it only for relief of menopause-related symptoms, not to prevent chronic conditions that become likelier with age.

Melasma, which causes dark patches on the face, is far more prevalent in women than in men. Dubbed the "mask of pregnancy," melasma triggers include not only pregnancy but also hormonal fluctuations, genetics, and sun exposure. People with darker skin are more prone to it. Melasma is typically treated with topical products that lighten the skin or slough off cells. Laser treatments and chemical peels, however, may worsen melasma. Sunscreen use can help prevent flares.