NIH MedlinePlus Magazine is a new quarterly publication which brings the latest and most authoritative information from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to patients and their families and to other health care consumers. Free PDF copies of each issue may be directly downloaded to a desktop computer from the web site or free mail subscriptions are available. Issues typically run about 30 pages, and many articles feature prominent links to the MedlinePlus web site for additional information.

The magazine debuted with the Summer 2006 issue http://www.fnlm.org/magazine/summer2006.pdf which featured articles about Lance Armstrong’s battle with cancer, detecting and managing high blood pressure, and the challenges of living with Parkinson’s Disease.

The magazine was formally launched with the Fall 2006 issue http://www.fnlm.org/magazine/autumn2006.pdf in September, 2006, with an event on Capitol Hill attended by lawmakers, their staff, and members of the press. Dr. Elias Zerhouni, director of the NIH, also attended. He introduced the new magazine and spoke about how it helps deliver good health information to the public. The cover article for the Fall 2006 issue featured Mary Tyler Moore as a spokesperson for diabetes. Print issues are being sent to doctors’ offices so their patients can learn about NIH and benefit from the results of NIH-sponsored research.

In the story on diabetes, Ms. Moore tells about her personal experience with diabetes and her long-time involvement with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The article describes the different forms of diabetes and includes tips on how to prevent and cope with the disease.

Other articles in the issue include description of a research project to discover how genes and the environment interact to affect the chances of getting breast cancer in women who have had the disease and their cancer-free siblings, one woman’s successful experience in dealing with osteoarthritis, and how to protect yourself and your family from the flu.

There is also an article describing the National Network of Libraries of Medicine and its cooperative work with Network members to ensure that the latest and most accurate biomedical information is available to health professionals and the public, by promoting the many resources of the National Library of Medicine.

There is a link to the NIH MedlinePlus Magazine in the lower right corner of the MedlinePlus home page. You may also soon see the magazine in the waiting room at your doctor’s office!