Side Effects

-- It's worth noting that no exercises or diets specifically target belly fat - despite the promises of many infomercials. As Dr. Samuel Klein, professor of medicine and nutritional science at Washington University School of Medicine, explains, you can't shed any fat from your mid-section unless your entire body is losing weight. Aerobic exercise can remove fat from your belly and elsewhere, he says, but sit ups and crunches will only build up abdominal muscles, not remove fat. Toned abs are fine, of course, but they won't do a person much good if they're covered in fat, he says.

A drug used for the treatment of depression seems to have a remarkable effect on some people who take it: When they yawn, they have an orgasm. Yes, men and women alike. Yes, really. The "yawngasm" effect is no doubt quite a boost to the antidepressant qualities of the drug, clomipramine (marketed under the brand name Anafranil by its manufacturer, Ciba Pharmaceuticals).

Antidepressants can help people recovery from major depression, but some people dislike the medications because of their effects on sexual function. An antidepressant approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Monday, however, appears to have fewer sexual side effects. The drug, called Viibryd (or vilazodone), is the first antidepressant that is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor combined with and a 5HT1A receptor partial agonist. Many of the so-called SSRI antidepressants, such as Prozac or Zoloft, work on the serotonin system of the brain.

The current state of our healthcare system, and especially the pervasiveness of prescription pills, have been the subject of great and compelling interest to news outlets over the last few years. But it's not exactly been the stuff of great multiplex excitement. We received more proof this weekend with the opening of “Side Effects” . The movie, which tells of a troubled woman (Rooney Mara) for whom things begin to go askew when she tries a new psychiatric medication, grossed a dismal $10 million in U.S. theaters despite the presence of popular stars (Channing Tatum plays Mara's husband)

Statins are widely considered to be one of the safest drugs available. An estimated 24 million Americans take the cholesterol-lowering drugs, and most of them feel no different after their daily dose. "The vast majority of patients tolerate statins extremely well," said Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at UCLA. But like any drug, statins carry a risk of side effects. With so many people taking them, and millions of other potential users out there, doctors and patients need to be alert for symptoms that could be related to the drugs.

Once fleet and ephemeral, defined as much by time and season as strawberries or sweet corn once were, television is undergoing a similar transformation in genetics and packaging that is neatly summed up by the Netflix new original series "Lilyhammer. " That Netflix got into the original programming business was to be expected — eventually, you have to actually make something. That the entertainment company would premiere all eight of its episodes at once was in its own way not surprising either.

Some women stop taking their breast cancer drugs early, and a study reveals why: side effects from the medication may be more than they can bear. The study included 686 postmenopausal women who were taking aromatase inhibitors, which halt estrogen production in postmenopausal women whose cancer cells are fueled by the hormone, thus reducing the risk of the cancer returning. The recommended length of time to stay on the medication is five years. Among the participants, 10% quit after two years and 54% quit between 25 months and 4.1 years.

Certain types of chemotherapy can be brutal, causing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. However, an ancient Chinese remedy shows promise in animal studies for relieving some of those symptoms as well as enhancing the effects of chemotherapy in destroying cancer cells. Dr. Yung-Chi Cheng, a professor of pharmacology at Yale University, tested an herbal preparation called huang quin tang that has been used in Chinese medicine for more than 1,800 years to treat stomach and intestinal disorders.

Question: When I read about all the possible side effects of aspirin, I begin to think the treatment may be worse than whatever it is the aspirin is being taken for. Why don't doctors recommend that their patients take acetaminophen instead? Answer: As I have noted on numerous occasions, every drug has the potential for adverse side effects. Aspirin is no exception.