Author: Jane Farrell

What You Need to Know about Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a heartbreaking genetic disorder that usually occurs in infancy. Sometimes, though, the condition, characterized by weakness and wasting muscle, isn’t detected until adulthood. According to the U.S. Library of Medicine, SMA is usually most severe in muscles near the center of the body; it is less severe in muscles away… Continue reading What You Need to Know about Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Recognizing Elder Abuse

Approximately one in 10 older people living in the United States has experienced physical, sexual, psychological or financial abuse or neglect, according to the National Center on Elder Abuse. To understand how to keep your elderly loved ones safe, whether in your care or in the care of others, Patricia Speck, DNSc, a board-certified family… Continue reading Recognizing Elder Abuse

How to Win The Migraine Battle

Migraines are a neurological disease that affects about 39 million men, women and children in the United States and close to one billion people worldwide. These headaches and the associated symptoms are considered among the top 10 most disabling illnesses in the world with an unknown cause. Providing relief require a breadth and depth of… Continue reading How to Win The Migraine Battle

Our Brain and The Colors We Perceive

Anyone who has ever sensed that a person is sick simply by looking at their face has experienced the wealth of information conveyed by face color. According to a new study by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), there’s evidence that the human brain’s visual system is especially… Continue reading Our Brain and The Colors We Perceive

Whether The Stock Market Soars or Sinks, Stay Cool

Market timing doesn’t work. Have a long-term plan and determine if you’re over- or underinvested in U.S. stocks, foreign stocks and bonds. By Anthony D. Criscuolo The stock market this past year has given investors both ecstasy and agony. It continues to provide object lessons. The first lesson: Don’t get overly excited when the market… Continue reading Whether The Stock Market Soars or Sinks, Stay Cool

Urinary Tract Infection And Stroke

Several infections have been identified as possible stroke triggers, with urinary tract infections showing the strongest link with ischemic stroke, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke. Previous research examined infections as triggers of stroke but were limited to the correlation of acute infections with ischemic stroke, a type of stroke… Continue reading Urinary Tract Infection And Stroke

Staying Safe in The Sun

Sun safety is always in season, and it’s important to protect your skin from sun damage throughout the year, no matter the weather. Why? Exposure to the sun can cause sunburn, skin aging (such as skin spots, wrinkles, or “leathery skin”), eye damage, and skin cancer, the most common of all cancers. And skin cancer… Continue reading Staying Safe in The Sun

New Study Says Vitamin D Doesn’t Protect against Diabetes

Taking a daily vitamin D supplement does not prevent type 2 diabetes in adults at high risk, according to new research. The study was funded by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  The Vitamin D and Type 2 Diabetes (D2d) study enrolled 2,423… Continue reading New Study Says Vitamin D Doesn’t Protect against Diabetes

Don’t Have Time for Meditation? Try Meditative Moments

Do you want to meditate but never seem to be able to find the time? Don’t give up. Meditation’s many benefits are worth pursuing, even if you have to use your “time popcorn,” those random small moments such as waiting in line, that pop up randomly throughout the day and make us instinctively reach for… Continue reading Don’t Have Time for Meditation? Try Meditative Moments

Number of New Cancer Cases Continues to Decline

Overall cancer incidence rates decreased in men between 2008 and 2015, while remaining stable in women from 1999 to 2015, according to the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer. The report also said that cancer incidence rates, meaning the rates of new cancers, continued to decline… Continue reading Number of New Cancer Cases Continues to Decline

Hypertension Drug May Hold Promise for Alzheimer’s

Seeking new treatments to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers found the blood pressure drug nilvadipine increased blood flow to the brain’s memory and learning center among people with Alzheimer’s disease without affecting other parts of the brain, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Hypertension. These findings indicate that the… Continue reading Hypertension Drug May Hold Promise for Alzheimer’s

How to Be Food Safe at The Barbecue

As weather gets warmer and the days get longer, we want to gather with friends and family for evenings around the grill. However, with warmer temperatures also comes an increased risk of foodborne illness. According to Stop Foodborne Illness – a national, nonprofit, public health organization dedicated to preventing illness and death from foodborne pathogens… Continue reading How to Be Food Safe at The Barbecue

Heart Disease and U.S.Soldiers

Active-duty Army personnel have worse cardiovascular health than civilians of similar ages, a surprising new study has found. Just 30 percent of soldiers had ideal blood pressure, compared to 55 percent of civilians, researchers reported in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Only a third of both soldiers and civilians weighed an ideal amount.… Continue reading Heart Disease and U.S.Soldiers

Poor Sleep Patterns and High Blood Pressure

A bad night’s sleep may result in a spike in blood pressure that night and the following day, according to new research. The link between poor sleep and cardiovascular health problems is increasingly being documented, but the reason for the relationship is less understoodl The study, led by the University of Arizona, will be published… Continue reading Poor Sleep Patterns and High Blood Pressure

5 Sunscreen Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, affecting one in five Americans in their lifetime. Yet according to dermatologists from the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), most cases of skin cancer can be prevented by protecting your skin from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. The best way to do this, they… Continue reading 5 Sunscreen Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Making Sense of Sell-By Dates

Between the food industry and consumers, Americans are throwing out about a third of our food — about $161 billion worth each year. “Imagine this: You go to your favorite supermarket and come out with three bags full of groceries. Before you get in your car, you toss one of those bags in the garbage.… Continue reading Making Sense of Sell-By Dates

A New Way to Test for Sexually Transmitted Infections

The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared for marketing two tests to detect the sexually transmitted infections chlamydia and gonorrhea, through diagnostic testing of extragenital specimens. The Aptima Combo 2 Assay and the Xpert CT/NG are the first devices cleared for extragenital diagnostic testing of these infections via the throat and rectum, the… Continue reading A New Way to Test for Sexually Transmitted Infections