I came of age during the “tobacco wars,” when industry executives were being vilified in Congress and heavily penalized for peddling a dangerous, often deadly, …
Author: Ruthann Richter
Study finds Egyptian doctors are not discouraging female genital cutting
Some women in Egypt are feeling conflicted about whether they should have their daughters undergo female genital cutting and are seeking out the opinions of …
How a link from afar saves children in Latin America
Frances Stock, MD, is the lone pediatric oncologist in her city of Merida, Venezuela, where she cares for about 1,000 patients, some of whom travel …
Just one needle saves a life following Stanford physician’s trip to Madagascar
Stanford emergency physician S.V. Mahadevan, MD, had no idea when he visited Madagascar two months ago that he would help save the life of an …
Massive campaign against parasitic worm disease is cost-effective, new study shows
In 2014, I was fortunate to visit a lovely resort in Uganda on the edge of Lake Victoria, one of Africa’s great lakes. As my …
“We have been very successful in training high-tech innovators in the last 15 years:” A look at Stanford Biodesign
In classic Silicon Valley style, it began with an informal group of about a dozen physicians and engineers wanting to invent new medical devices desperately …
Study shows that promoting abstinence, fidelity for HIV prevention is ineffective
PEPFAR, the U.S. government’s signature program for HIV treatment and prevention, has long supported projects in the developing world that encourage sexual abstinence and fidelity. …
New device improves contraceptive options for women in the developing world
Many women in the developing world say they don’t want to get pregnant in the 18 months after childbirth, but they don’t have access to …
The most important letter you may ever write
When most people are asked how they would like to die, they'll tell you they want to go gently and comfortably, with family at their …
Using arts and communication to help physicians improve health, avoid suicide
Physicians are more prone to suicide than members of the general population, as stress, burnout and emotional exhaustion are becoming endemic to the profession. But …
Study shows huge lag in surgery in poor nations
In this country, if you suffer a broken leg, you can be reassured that there is a surgeon available to help fix it and there's …
The “little angel” who helps young Latin American children with cancer
Eduardo Zambrano’s spare office in Stanford Hospital displays some of the essentials of his pathology practice: a large microscope which dominates his desktop and a …
Growing resistance to vital HIV drug raises concern
HIV resistance to the antiviral tenofovir, one of the mainstays of HIV treatment and prevention, is increasingly common following therapy, particularly in low and middle-income …
Clean water for Dhaka, one pump at a time
More than two years ago, Amy Pickering, PhD, and her Stanford colleagues were just starting to field-test a radical new approach to clean up the …
Pedicure soothes lab mice with serious skin disease
Laboratory mice commonly suffer from a skin problem called ulcerative dermatitis – itchy lesions that spur the animals to repeatedly scratch themselves with their hind …
C-section rates up to 19 percent help save women and their newborns, global study finds
Cesarean sections are the most commonly performed operations around the world. But just how effective are these procedures, which have their own risks and complications, …