healthy living for women + their families
Researchers have made a breakthrough in the use of ultrasound to detect and monitor cancer, and the discovery could provide a safer method than the ones already in use.
Ultrasound has some advantages over other detection and monitoring methods such as X-rays, CT scans and MRIs: It’s less expensive and is radiation-free. But it hasn’t provided as clear an image as have the other methods.
By Servet Hasan
None of us can escape loss. Life's challenges are universal and eventually will find us. Whether you're moving to a new city, leaving for college, or experiencing a divorce in your family, having life throw a major curve ball can leave us longing for the way things used to be.
It’s well known that inflammation is frequently a cause of disease, but new research indicates that low levels of a pro-inflammatory substance in the brain are crucial for cognition.
Researchers from the University of Texas, San Antonio, found that found that blocking the substance, interleukin-6 , impaired learning in rats. The learning area affected was cognitive flexibility – the ability to change learned thoughts and behaviors in response to a changed environment.
Patients at high risk of osteoporosis can be identified via an automated letter-generating system that encourages them to follow up on their care, according to researchers.
Investigators from the Penn State College of Medicine say that the system effectively promotes osteoporosis intervention and can help prevent future fractures.
Editor’s Note: A crucial part of looking after yourself is managing the medicines you’re taking – by, among other things, understanding how and when you’re taking them; being consistent; storing them properly; and noting when you should ask for a refill. Here, the best tips for being an efficient medication manager, from the SeniorHealth division of the National Institutes of Health:
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Think twice before reaching for that fat-free cookie or sugar-free ice cream bar as an afternoon snack.
In most cases, you’re better off having the real thing in moderate portions, says Kristin Kirkpatrick, MS, RD, LD, wellness manager at Cleveland Clinic’s Wellness Institute.
The issue, Kirkpatrick says, is that choosing heavily processed foods over natural foods often means taking in too many additives and refined ingredients with questionable nutritional value.
Substitutions — but no substitute for the real thing.
Complications from facelifts can be painful and embarrassing, but a new 3-D technique may change that.
The technique deals with liquid facelifts, in which people remove wrinkles and soften creases by the injection of a gel-like material. Hundreds of patients suffer redness and swelling after the procedure.
Millions of people each year remove wrinkles, soften creases and plump up their lips by injecting a gel-like material into their facial tissue. These cosmetic procedures are sometimes called “liquid facelifts” and are said to be minimally invasive.
The rate of traumatic spinal cord injuries is rising sharply among older people, with the leading cause appearing to be falls, according to a new study from Johns Hopkins.
In fact, the number-one cause of spinal cord injuries overall no longer appears to be motor vehicle crashes, but falls. The injuries suffered in these accidents range from temporary numbness to paralysis. Researchers said their findings indicated that efforts to prevent falls among older people could significantly reduce the number of spinal cord injuries.
Fifty years ago this month, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an unprecedented report that linked smoking to deadly illnesses like lung cancer and heart disease. As research efforts have expanded over the years, investigators have linked still other illnesses to tobacco.
Electronic health-records systems, in which medical information is securely shared, may be helping avoid unnecessary care, a new study shows.
Fewer emergency patients got repeated medical scans when they went to a hospital that takes part in a health information exchange, or HIE, according to researchers published online in the journal Medical Care.
Researchers from the University of Michigan said their findings are a good evaluation of the effectiveness of HIEs.
Diabetics between the ages of 18 and 65 are at higher risk of getting the flu than are those without the condition, a new study has shown.
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Researchers have developed a way to predict how a cancer patient's tumor is likely to behave and which of several treatments might be most effective.
Researchers have identified two molecules that perpetuate chronic pain, and that may pave the way for more effective, less addictive medicines. A study from the Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland said that the molecules may play a role in the phenomenon that causes uninjured areas of the body to be more sensitive to pain if they are near an area that has been injured. The findings were published in the journal Neuron. "With the identification
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While overesposure to cold is linked to serious and even fatal consequences, regular exposure to mild cold may actually help people los weight. On the other hand, cozy indoor environments might lead to weight gain.
The findings were published in Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Almost half of hospitalized Americans 65 and older need decision-making assistance from family members because they are too impaired to make decisions on their own, a new study has found. And those health-care surrogates need to be taken more seriously. Most surrogates are children or spouses. Some patients have two or more family members making decisions toether. Researchers from Indiana University said the problem is only going to grow more prevalent as the U.S.
