Treatments Archive

Short-term (acute) pain occurs for various reasons, like a sports or exercise injury, a broken bone, a medical procedure, or a household accident. Many times the pain goes away or diminishes on its own or with a combination of rest and over-the-counter remedies. But if ignored, the pain may progress to longer and potentially more serious chronic pain that requires stronger medication, physical therapy, and other treatments.

A 2022 study found that older adults with sleep apnea who are hospitalized for cardiovascular disease are far less likely to be rehospitalized within 30 days if they consistently treat their apnea with CPAP therapy, which keeps the airway open during sleep.

Hormonal therapy is a cornerstone of prostate cancer treatment, but it has burdensome side effects. Doctors and patients alike are highly motivated to use this therapy only for as long as necessary. But how long is long enough? A recent study provides needed clarity.

Science suggests that the placebo effect, in which a person derives a physical benefit from a fake treatment, can have real health benefits for managing pain. It may even work if people are aware that the treatment is a sham. The ritual of receiving treatment is essential for the placebo effect to work, and it’s possible for people to tap into its benefits by adopting healthy habits that require rituals and procedures like healthy eating, exercise, and meditation.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation helps some people with treatment-resistant depression, but the process takes multiple weeks and gets results in only about a third of those who try it. A new approach to delivering this therapy showed promise in a small study.

Some people with newly diagnosed mild to moderate open-angle glaucoma have another option for first-line treatment. Instead of using prescription eye drops initially, they can have a laser procedure called selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT). SLT uses light pulses to help clean up debris clogging the eye’s natural drains. Clogged drains lead to elevated eye pressure that damages the optic nerve. SLT's effects wane after three to five years, at which point it may be necessary to have the procedure again, or to begin using eye drops to treat glaucoma.

A standard treatment for localized prostate cancer is radiation, but there is a risk that it can lead to secondary cancers forming in the body later. Now, a large study of men treated with current radiation delivery methods clarifies that the amount of risk is low, but real.

Ketamine has been used for decades as an anesthetic, and in 2019 an inhaled version of it was approved by the FDA for treatment-resistant depression. But it is generally prescribed only when other treatments have not been effective.

Supervised exercise therapy (SET) for peripheral artery disease (PAD) requires pushing through pain while walking to improve blood flow through narrowed blood vessels in the legs. SET can work as effectively as surgical procedures to improve the calf pain and cramping of PAD. SET is a treadmill-based program overseen by clinicians at a health care facility. Home-based SET can work comparably at improving symptoms, but only if PAD patients walk at a faster pace and continue the regimen long-term.

Melasma is a skin condition affecting mostly women with darker skin. It cannot be fully prevented in those most likely to develop it, and there is no cure, but consistent sunscreen use is critical, and numerous treatment options are available.