healthy living for women + their families
Blood-pressure medications have an unintended and potentially deadly side effect: they increase the risk of serious fall injuries by up to 40 percent.
Yale School of Medicine researchers looked at 4,961 patients older than 70 who had hypertension. Among the participants, 14 percent didn’t take any medication, 55 percent took moderate doses and 31 percent took high doses.
Selenium or Vitamin E can sharply increase the risk of prostate cancer, according to a new study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center.
Taking Vitamin E can raise the chances of getting prostate cancer by as much as 63 percent in some men. Taking selenium can double the risk of getting a high-grade form of the same illness.
The findings, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, are the latest to show that supplements don’t always have a positive effect.
By Michelle Andrews, Kaiser Health News
Dealing with the aftermath of a suicide or attempted suicide is stressful enough. But some health plans make a harrowing experience worse by refusing to cover medical costs for injuries that are related to suicide—even though experts say that in many cases such exclusions aren't permitted under federal law.
Yet patients or their loved ones often don't realize that.
Obese cats could lose weight if their owners feed them smaller wet meals throughout the day, according to new research from the University of Illinois.
But those methods, which work for humans as well, may be hard to implement.
Editor’s Note: Over the last few years, there have been frightening headlines about the dangers of the chemical BPA, many of them focusing on health risks, including possible liver damage. Water bottles and other containers bearing the label “BPA-free” are common in stores and supermarkets– an indication of how widely known the issue is.
Scientists at Imperial College London have discovered that iron deficiency may increase the risk of stroke by making blood stickier and more vulnerable to dangerous clothing.
The Imperial team found that iron deficiency increases the stickiness of platelets, small blood cells that initiate blood clotting when they stick together.
Researchers have discovered the structure of a hepatitis C protein, and the finding could help scientists develop a vaccine for the deadly illness.
Joseph Marcotrigiano, associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Rutgers University, says the research has uncovered the structure of an “outer region” of hepatitis C that enables the virus to evade the body’s immune system.
Along with all the other changes we go through as we age, food may start tasting different, according to the National Institute on Aging. Here, from the NIA experts, is why that happens and how to handle it:
There are a few reasons food might be tasting differently these days:
Medicines can alter the way foods taste, or even make you feel less hungry.
Giving blood pressure lowering medications to patients who have suffered a stroke doesn’t reduce their likelihood of death or major disability, according to a new study.
The study was published inJAMA.
At least 25 percent of the population has high blood pressure, which greatly increases the risk of stroke. Lowering blood pressure has been shown to reduce the risk of stroke.
Psychological treatment often provides better relief for chronic pain than prescription drugs or surgery, according to a review published by the American Psychological Association. However, it’s used much less frequently.
“Chronic pain affects 116 million American adults, making it more prevalent than heart disease, diabetes and cancer combined, and traditional medical approaches are inadequate,” said lead author Mark P. Jensen, PhD, of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Washington.
We don’t like to think about suddenly becoming seriously sick or disabled. Yet it’s extremely helpful to review what you and others need to know if that happens. To have your “affairs in order” will help your family and caregivers as well as you yourself. The federal National Institute on Aging has a list that will help you and other family members be prepared for a sudden crisis. (And if you are caregiving yourself for a family member, it might be a good idea to tactfully bring up this subject.)
From the Cleveland Clinic
Online sites to rate physicians have proliferated in recent years, and about 25 percent of patients now use them, according to a new study.
Additionally, 65 percent of respondents reported awareness of online physician ratings.
The study, reported in JAMA, analyzed responses from a nationally representative sample of the U.S. population.
Patients who suffered a hip fracture showed improved physical function with a post-surgery home-based exercise program, according to a study published in JAMA.
The program included exercises such as climbing a stair or standing up from a chair.
Researchers from Boston University looked at 232 adults who had completed traditional rehabilitation after a hip fracture. One group was given the additional home exercise program, while the other wasn’t.
Experts have found a process that fuels triple negative breast cancer, the most aggressive form of the illness, and that could lead to new treatments.
The researchers, from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and Georgia Regents University, discovered that a protein that fuels an inflammatory pathway does not turn off in breast cancer. The failure to turn off leads to an increase in cancer stem cells.
The protein, SOCS3, is highly expressed in normal cells but until now has been undetectable in triple-negative breast cancer.
Researchers have pinpointed an area in the brain that may be linked to why some people recall more dreams than others.
In a study published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, investigators linked the difference between “high dream recallers” and “low dream recallers” to an area of the brain called the temporo-parietal junction. Increased activity in that area, which acts as an information-processing hub, might promote intermittent waking throughout the night. And that, in turn, makes dreams easier to recall.
Medicines can enter the body in many different ways, including through an inhaler, a skin patch, a pill or a hypodermic needle. As drugs make their way through the body, many steps happen along the way. Understanding how medicines work in your body can help you learn why it is important to use medicines safely and effectively. In this section on taking medicines, we’ll focus on medicines you take by mouth, since those are the most common.
Entering and Circulating in the Body
Walking can help pave the way to fitness. But are you taking enough steps to get results? Using a pedometer can help you set and achieve fitness goals. A pedometer can offer motivation and accountability. See how to choose and use a pedometer — it can be a powerful reminder that every step counts on the path toward better health.
Choosing a pedometer
