Latest news with #MinWu
Fox News
18-06-2025
- Health
- Fox News
NSAIDs vs. acetaminophen: What you need to know before your next headache
Most households have a stash of painkillers tucked away for surprise headaches or stubborn cramps. But some may not realize that all painkillers are not created equal, and they don't all treat the same kind of pain. Over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers fall into two main categories, according to MedLine Plus. The first is NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like ibuprofen and naproxen. "These reduce both pain and inflammation, but can irritate the stomach if not taken with food," Dr. Jessica Oswald, MD, MPH, an anesthesiologist and pain management specialist at UC San Diego Health, told Fox News Digital. The other medication, acetaminophen, also helps with pain and fever, but does not reduce inflammation, Oswald noted. Dr. Min "Frank" Wu, a physician at AdventHealth in Littleton, Colorado, elaborated on how these drugs work differently in the body. NSAIDs are effective in treating fever and pain relief, the doctor told Fox News Digital. These medications can alleviate a variety of symptoms related to arthritis, infection, back injury, headaches and muscle strain, along with other acute and chronic conditions that cause pain and inflammation, he said. "NSAIDs work by inhibiting cyclooxygenase enzymes (COX-1 and COX-2) throughout the body," he noted, which means they inhibit the production of "biological mediators" that cause inflammation and blood clotting. Acetaminophen, on the other hand, works by "inhibiting COX enzymes and modulating the endocannabinoid system in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) to exert its effects," Wu said. As a pain reliever, acetaminophen is effective for migraines, according to the doctor. "In combination, acetaminophen/caffeine is recommended as a first-line agent by many European agencies," he noted. Acetaminophen's effectiveness for arthritic pain, however, is small and not clinically important, according to Wu. "It has not been shown to be effective for low back pain or radicular (nerve pain) in general," he added. Wu pointed out that acetaminophen appears to boost the pain-relief properties of other medications. "The combination of acetaminophen and NSAIDs has been shown to be more effective than either medication alone," Wu said. Oswald also spoke about this method, which she calls a "multimodal" approach. "In many cases, combining different types of pain relievers can be more effective than using just one," she told Fox News Digital. For example, an NSAID like ibuprofen along with acetaminophen and a topical cream "can work together to relieve pain more effectively," Oswald said. Research has shown that NSAIDs have multiple adverse effects and should be used with caution, both doctors pointed out. "They have been shown to cause gastrointestinal issues, and in severe cases can cause ulcers and bleeding," Wu noted. These side effects appear to be dependent on the size of the dose, the doctor added. "In many cases, combining different types of pain relievers can be more effective than using just one." There is evidence of increased gastric effects, kidney impairment and heart disease at higher doses. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also issued warnings about cardiovascular risk. At high enough doses, it can (less commonly) cause liver damage, which can potentially be fatal, according to Wu. Oswald recommended that people with certain health conditions — such as kidney problems, heart issues or stomach ulcers — should talk to a doctor before using NSAIDs. Acetaminophen has been linked to a potential risk of liver injury and allergic reactions, according to the FDA. Rare but serious skin reactions have also been reported. "Acetaminophen is generally safer for most people, as long as they stay under 3,000 milligrams per day," Oswald added. After weighing the benefits and risks, the doctor said that people should "absolutely" keep both types of OTC medications on hand at home. "Having a few different options allows you to manage pain more effectively by targeting it in different ways," she said. For more Health articles, visit Ultimately, if pain doesn't improve or keeps coming back, it's best to consult a healthcare professional who can assess the cause and discuss other treatment options, including prescription medications.
Boston Globe
09-05-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
A Dartmouth program lets tourists be students as they pass through the pretty campus
It's called The transformation from tourist to student begins at the historic 245-year-old Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The valet at the historic inn (which underwent a stunning $43 million renovation in 2011) parked our car when we arrived and told us we wouldn't need it. He was right. Most of the classes and activities are a block or two away, across the historic Dartmouth Green, the center of the college's academic and social life. Advertisement Students relax from coursework with a game of volleyball on the Dartmouth Green. Trustees of Dartmouth College We set off to find our first seminar amongst the college buildings that ring the Green, many of which feature the beautiful style of Georgian architecture. Advertisement We found it in an auditorium with the tiered seating of an ancient Grecian theater. Eager to absorb new pearls of wisdom in an academic setting, we took our seats in one of the rows, surrounded by young undergraduates and grad students, all with notebooks and laptops at the ready. Our old minds were open and ready, too, as we waited for the lecture to begin. It began moments later when the professor, Min Wu, a PhD from Yale School of Medicine, wrote the title of her subject on the giant whiteboard: ' The lecture on 'Coordinate Cortical Dynamics and Signaling' was fascinating to the students but — like all the other sessions attended — was way over the writer's head. TIM LELAND This was English, granted, but an English that left our active, open old minds gasping for breath. What was that all about? We had no idea, but the fresh-faced young students around us apparently found the lecture fascinating because they spent the next hour furiously writing down everything Dr. Wu was saying in their notebooks and laptops. It was an eye-opening start to the series of classes we attended, each of which led to the same conclusion: today's college students, at least at Dartmouth, are much smarter than we are, and they're taking courses way beyond our ken. Most of the classes seemed to have little to do with the curriculums we encountered at our respective colleges 60 years ago. The Dartmouth College logo is seen on the Dartmouth College campus. Scott Eisen/Getty We were optimistic when we saw the title of our final class: 'How Media Count.' As retired journalists, we thought we would be right at home in the six-hour seminar given by four visiting professors from the University of Toronto. It turned out that by 'media' the Digital Humanities and Social Engagement cluster at Dartmouth meant fabric, prints, sculpture, and music, just about anything except print newspapers, our idea of 'media.' Presented in a Chaucer-esque Middle English, the seminar linked media with concepts of time, abstraction and reality, rendering us unable — not daring — to ask a question with intelligence. Advertisement Needless to say, the students around us asked lots of questions that showed they knew what the speakers were talking about. The courses may have been over our heads, but there was one 'reality' that we couldn't miss: Today's college students are courteous and eager to help obviously lost older tourists in their midst. As we wandered around the campus looking forlornly for the location of our next class, students were forever approaching us to ask where we were trying to go and telling us the best way to get there. Our brief experiment in contemporary student life was an education in itself. Thankfully, we didn't have to take any exams when it was over. In the end, our Ivy League Field Trip reinforced our faith in the calibre and kindness of today's young people. That may have been the most important learning experience of all. Julie Hatfield and her husband are former members of the Globe editorial staff. She can be reached at julhatfield@
