50 Plus: The Graedons' People's Pharmacy for Older Adults

This latest from the syndicated newspaper columnists and authors of The People's Pharmacy is a valuable guide for a greying audience. Data is clear and concise; brand-name drug references are in boldface, and at the end of each chapter is a numbered recap of important points. The Graedons are strong advocates of patients' involvement in their own treatment, and they offer many tips to enable older readers to get the best possible drug therapy for the least amount of money. Although they stress that the right prescription can work wonders, they also condemn physicians who haphazardly prescribe for the elderly and greedy pharmaceutical companies that profit by promoting brand-name drugs over usually less expensivebut often equally effectivegenerics. Almost every aspect of health care for the aging is covered, from the positivedrugs that fight skin and heart problems and loss of memoryto the negativethose that induce impotence and other unwanted side effects. Medicine and nutrient interactions are examined as well as specific drugs that tend to cause adverse conditions in older people. Author tour. (June)