Many doctors would welcome ability to prescribe cannabisA doctor writes: Drug can help patients who are suffering but evidence is unclearThu Dec 01 2016 - 18:38
Medical Matters: Should we stop pointless investigations?Some routine medical practices, long viewed as essential, are now being questionedTue Nov 29 2016 - 19:07
Who will be to blame when the first unvaccinated baby dies from meningitis B?Muiris Houston: The good news is that a vaccine against meningitis B is due to be introduced to the free childhood vaccination programme from December 1stMon Nov 21 2016 - 10:56
Medical matters: Childhood cancer goes against a natural orderThe news that Michael Bublé’s son, Noah, has been diagnosed with cancer is a shockSat Nov 12 2016 - 16:00
Let me out of my coffin . . . I’m alive!Premature burial was an understandable fear in centuries past. It happened.Sun Oct 30 2016 - 18:00
Coming off a prescribed painkiller was a struggle‘Mother’s little helper’ was, in fact, a highly addictive drug that was overprescribedTue Oct 25 2016 - 06:00
Anthony Foley death: What is pulmonary oedema?A doctor writes on the cause of Foley’s premature death aged 42Wed Oct 19 2016 - 10:35
What can improve the health of the nation? Longer GP consulationsDr Muiris Houston: Minister, modify doctors’ payments to include longer consultationsSun Oct 16 2016 - 16:00
Are you a good liar? Not as good as you once were, say Ig Nobel winnersAlternative prizes find those most receptive to bullshit were ‘lower in cognitive ability’Sat Oct 08 2016 - 16:00
Bruce Springsteen: a story of depression full of hopeMedical Matters: You won’t find a better male depression narrative than Bruce Springsteen’s autobiographyTue Oct 04 2016 - 05:50
The sound men dread the most? The snapping of a doctor’s latex glovesHow to be a Man: undergoing a prostate cancer test fills many men with fear – but it can be life-saverTue Sept 27 2016 - 18:10
The skinny on the State’s obesity action planAnalysis: Ten-year plan is well-researched and ambitious but it fails to mention fundingFri Sept 23 2016 - 01:00
We too often blame acts of terrorism on mental illnessesThe better we treat potential lone terrorists for depression, the safer we are likely to beSun Sept 18 2016 - 06:00
Hillary Clinton’s pneumonia diagnosis explainedDespite advances, pneumonia remains a potentially fatal illness, especially in the elderlyMon Sept 12 2016 - 12:58
Would it be fair to deny smokers and obese people medical treatment?Under planned UK health policy, smokers would have been denied surgery until they quitSat Sept 10 2016 - 15:00
Have heart disease? Time to follow a Mediterranean dietItalian study finds high consumption of vegetables had the greatest impact on survival, followed by oily fish intakeSun Sept 04 2016 - 13:00
Have you ever been ‘Ice’d’ by your doctor?Breaking the ice that threatens the doctor-patient relationshipTue Aug 30 2016 - 05:45
There’s an app for that: exercise prescription cuts heart attack riskApp allows you personalise exercise needed to cut risk of death from cardiac eventsMon Aug 29 2016 - 01:00
Getting HRT treatment is worth risk of cancer for someHormone replacement therapy can almost triple risk of breast cancer, research showsWed Aug 24 2016 - 01:00
Just because research is ‘scholarly’ doesn’t mean it’s qualityEven professionals who use health information daily haven’t been trained to appraise research criticallyTue Aug 23 2016 - 05:45
What health conditions do people rank as worse than death?Study finds 70% of people rank incontinence and inability to get out of bed as being as bad as or worse than deathSat Aug 13 2016 - 17:00
Can you decipher your medical prescription?There’s no doubt abbreviations, in Latin or English, are a source of healthcare errorMon Aug 01 2016 - 16:00
A doctor writes: medical benefits of cannabis beyond doubtCBD oil reduces seizure activity without side effects of cannabis yet its use is restrictedMon Aug 01 2016 - 01:00
Mick Jagger is to be a new dad at 73. So does semen have a lifespan?The best sperm quality is found in men who have never smoked and never drank alcoholSat Jul 23 2016 - 16:00
Tips for coping with hot weather . . . at home and abroadWhat happens if you overheat and what can you do to stay safe in the sun?Tue Jul 19 2016 - 15:50
Bed rest: a sexist treatment that killed more than it curedBed rest was mostly prescribed for women and became a popular treatment for hysteria, writes Muiris HoustonTue Jul 05 2016 - 10:43
Is aspirin really a miracle drug?Jim came to see me after some tingling in his hand. It was a TIA – a recognised stroke warningMon Jun 27 2016 - 13:27
Julian Cuddihy case highlights continued mental health stigmaMuiris Houston: We're all complicit in stigma that indirectly led to deaths of Cuddihy coupleTue Jun 21 2016 - 01:00
Muhammad Ali’s toughest fight? Parkinson’s diseaseWhen Ali announced he had Parkinson’s aged 42 , people blamed the boxing ringSat Jun 11 2016 - 13:00
Surviving cancer: Money no cure-all, but poverty limits chancesReport shows striking gap between best and worst off on lung, stomach, cervical cancersThu Jun 09 2016 - 18:26
Medical Matters: Why people do not adhere to treatment plans are complexExpecting ‘buy in’ for 10 years or indeed a lifetime of treatment is probably unrealistic, says Muiris HoustonTue Jun 07 2016 - 05:45
A doctor writes: Cost of high-tech drugs a bitter pill to swallowMelanoma patients told State to cover Pembro, while CF drug Orkambi ‘too expensive’Fri Jun 03 2016 - 08:28
The muddy waters of body mass index (BMI)Is it time to move away from a BMI-focused approach at the level of the individual?Sun May 29 2016 - 15:42
Should doctors start prescribing religion for their patients?Harvard study shows beneficial effects for women of attending religious servicesMon May 23 2016 - 19:00
When does a herbal medicine become a mainstream medicine?The very ‘naturalness’ of herbal medicines reinforces the idea that they are safeTue May 17 2016 - 05:45
Medical Matters: Sarcopenia – what is it and how can we prevent it?If we are physically inactive, we can lose up to 5 per cent of our muscle mass per decade after age 30Tue May 10 2016 - 05:45
Would Sherlock Holmes be a coke addict today? It’s an interesting questionUS opioid sales quadrupled from 1999-2010, but there can serious side effects even when taken as directedMon May 02 2016 - 16:00
Zika advice for Irish people travelling this summerMedical matters: There is currently no medication or vaccine that can prevent the virusSun Apr 24 2016 - 05:45
How to calm and reshape an anxious mindMedical matters: Dr Harry Barry’s book contains much to put our busy brains to restMon Apr 18 2016 - 19:00
Study shows MMA fighters suffer brain injury in one third of boutsBlood clots can interfere with the respiratory centre in the brain, writes Dr Muiris HoustonTue Apr 12 2016 - 16:52
Medical Matters: No lazy assumptions about patients with intellectual disabilityTue Apr 12 2016 - 05:45
Medical Matters: 1916 leaders would be aghast at two-tier healthcareVisionaries would focus on local care and try to embed health as a social movementTue Apr 05 2016 - 05:45
Are house calls by doctors the way back for healthcare?Medical Matters: house calls by doctors give extra insight into the patient’s conditionMon Apr 04 2016 - 10:29
Judging ‘morning after’ driving condition an uncertain scienceSeveral variables, including pace of drinking, weight and gender, affect alcohol absorptionWed Mar 23 2016 - 01:00
Medical matters: Watch out, here comes summertimeAn increased stroke risk around daylight saving time changes probably relate to interrupted sleep patternsTue Mar 22 2016 - 06:27
A doctor writes: Procedure will increase size of donor pool and cut waiting timesMater hospital team breaks new ground with innovative surgical processThu Mar 17 2016 - 01:00
Celebrity doctors: the perils of treating the famousMedical Matters: Were blurred professional boundaries a factor in the deaths of Elvis and Michael Jackson?Tue Mar 15 2016 - 05:45
Caution required when prescribing – or blaming – antibioticsMedical Matters: Sir William Osler certainly wouldn’t be impressed with the current trend to overdiagnose and overtreatTue Mar 08 2016 - 05:45
Concern over new injury in young rugby playersType of hip fracture associated with violent trauma found in players at Tallaght hospitalTue Mar 08 2016 - 00:15
