Author: Jane Farrell

Earlier Detection for Lyme Disease

Researchers have developed techniques to detect Lyme disease bacteria weeks sooner than current tests, allowing patients to start treatment earlier. The findings appear in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. The authors include scientists from Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, Harvard University, Yale University, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, FDA, Centers for Disease… Continue reading Earlier Detection for Lyme Disease

Are You Really a Social Drinker, or Could You Be An Alcoholic?

Increasingly, women are going head to head with men when it comes to binge drinking. It’s not surprising: Society normalizes, encourages, and promotes drinking so heavily that it can be nearly impossible, at times, to know what’s ordinary or not. A 2015 report by the National Institutes of Health says an expanding number of Americans… Continue reading Are You Really a Social Drinker, or Could You Be An Alcoholic?

Blood Test Identifies More Treatable Cancers than Tissue Biopsy Alone

In one of the largest clinical studies to ever examine the impact of using a blood test to detect treatable mutations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania found that they could identify significantly more mutations through liquid biopsy instead of a solid tissue biopsy… Continue reading Blood Test Identifies More Treatable Cancers than Tissue Biopsy Alone

Information for Caregivers: Where to Find Low-Cost Dental Care

As someone who cares for an older adult, you know the importance of brushing and flossing for maintaining oral health. In addition to having a good oral hygiene routine, the person you help should see a dentist for regular check-ups and any necessary dental treatment. If he or she cannot afford to visit the dentist,… Continue reading Information for Caregivers: Where to Find Low-Cost Dental Care

A Surprising Benefit of Hearing Aids – and Cataract Surgery

Hearing aids and cataract surgery are strongly linked to a slower rate of age-related cognitive decline, according to a new study by British researchers. According to Dr Piers Dawes and Dr Asri Maharani, of the University of Manchester, cognitive decline- which affects memory and thinking skills- is slowed after patient’s hearing and sight are improved.… Continue reading A Surprising Benefit of Hearing Aids – and Cataract Surgery

A Gene Mutation that Could Someday Block Diabetes

Researchers have discovered a gene mutation that slows the metabolism of sugar in the gut, giving people who have the mutation a distinct advantage over those who do not. Those with the mutation have a lower risk of diabetes, obesity and heart failure. According to a news release from the National Institutes of Health, the… Continue reading A Gene Mutation that Could Someday Block Diabetes

E-cigarette Additives Cause Inflammation and Impair Lung Function

Flavoring and additive ingredients in e-cigarettes may increase inflammation and impair lung function, according to new research. The study, published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology–Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, also found that short-term exposure to e-cigarettes was enough to cause lung inflammation similar or worse than that seen in traditional cigarette… Continue reading E-cigarette Additives Cause Inflammation and Impair Lung Function

Choose Kinder Self-Talk and Say Goodbye to Shyness

Are you shy? Socially anxious? Quiet around others and hesitant to speak up with your point of view? Statistics show that social inhibition is a widespread phenomenon, with 40-60% of all adults admitting to some form of ‘shyness’. Thankfully, there is a simple way to increase your confidence and become more empowered in your communication.… Continue reading Choose Kinder Self-Talk and Say Goodbye to Shyness

Faith-Based Approach to Changing Lifestyle Lowers Blood Pressure

A church-based program to encourage a healthy lifestyle lowered systolic blood pressure more than an educational program alone delivered in other churches, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal. The Faith-based Approaches in the Treatment of Hypertension (FAITH) trial is the first and largest community-based study to… Continue reading Faith-Based Approach to Changing Lifestyle Lowers Blood Pressure

Parents Need to Have “The Talk” More Than Once With Their Kids

Patting yourself on the back for gritting through “the talk” with your kid? Not so fast: new research from Brigham Young University family life professor Laura Padilla-Walker suggests that when it comes to your teens, one generic conversation about sex is not enough. In her study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, Padilla-Walker found… Continue reading Parents Need to Have “The Talk” More Than Once With Their Kids

Three Ways You’re Underestimating Retirement Costs

People underestimate what their costs of living in retirement will be in three critical ways: Assuming you’ll spend less in retirement than while working: The majority of people have never really sat down and calculated what they’ll need every month.You need to be comprehensive in listing out all expenses. List everything you might spend in… Continue reading Three Ways You’re Underestimating Retirement Costs

Artificial Sweeteners Are Toxic to Beneficial Gut Microbes

FDA-approved artificial sweeteners and sport supplements are toxic to digestive gut microbes, according to a new study. The paper was published in Molecules by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Israel and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. The collaborative study indicated relative toxicity of six artificial sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose, saccharine, neotame, advantame,… Continue reading Artificial Sweeteners Are Toxic to Beneficial Gut Microbes

Drinking More Water Reduces Bladder Infections in Women

Women who drank an additional 1.5 liters of water daily experienced 48 percent fewer repeat bladder infections than those who drank their usual volume of fluids, according to a new study. “That’s a significant difference,” said senior author Dr. Yair Lotan, Chief of Urologic Oncology at UT Southwestern Medical Center and professor with the Simmons… Continue reading Drinking More Water Reduces Bladder Infections in Women

Gastric Banding Is As Effective As Metformin in Slowing Progression of Prediabetes and New-Onset Type 2 Diabetes

People with prediabetes or new-onset type 2 diabetes who had gastric banding, a type of bariatric surgery for weight loss, had similar stabilization of their disease as did those who took metformin alone, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health. These findings were published on October 3 in Diabetes Care, coinciding… Continue reading Gastric Banding Is As Effective As Metformin in Slowing Progression of Prediabetes and New-Onset Type 2 Diabetes

Smokers with Peripheral Artery Disease Need More Help to Kick The Habit

While many people with peripheral artery disease (PAD) smoke, few receive proven smoking cessation strategies from their doctor, according to new research in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Worldwide, 202 million adults are affected by peripheral artery disease, which is a narrowing… Continue reading Smokers with Peripheral Artery Disease Need More Help to Kick The Habit

Mediterranean Diet Can Be a Sight-Saver

European researchers have found that people who adhere to a Mediterranean diet can cut their risk of late-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by 41 percent. It’s been known that poor diet plays a part in the development of AMD, a leading cause of blindness in the U.S. But this newest research expands on previous studies… Continue reading Mediterranean Diet Can Be a Sight-Saver

Atrial Fibrillation Patients with Cancer Are Less LIkely to See Cardiologists

Atrial fibrillation (AFib) patients with a history of cancer are less likely to see a cardiologist or fill anticoagulant prescriptions, compared with AFib patients who never had cancer, according to a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. By not filling and taking prescribed medication, these patients are potentially putting themselves at… Continue reading Atrial Fibrillation Patients with Cancer Are Less LIkely to See Cardiologists