depressive symptoms – Page 15

Estrogen May Affect Male Obesity

An imbalance of female hormones may contributing to obesity among men in Western nations.

In a paper published in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers from the University of Adelaide’s School of Medical Sciences, in Australia, said that part of the massive weight gain among men could be linked with exposure to substances containing estrogen.

“Hormonally driven weight gain occurs more significantly in females than in males, and this is very clear when we look at the rates of obesity in the developing world,” said medical student James Grantham, co-author of the study.

A New Kind of Drug for Alzheimer’s?

Researchers have discovered a new drug target to fight Alzheimer’s, and the finding could lead to a new diagnostic tool as well.

Earlier drugs have long targeted the amyloid protein called plaques, which can cause neurons in the brain to die. But Penn State University researchers have found that another substance, a neurotransmitter known as GABA, could also be implicated in the development of Alzheimer’s.

Watching Out for Bedbugs

Along with other insect-related problems we’re worrying about (bites from ticks, mosquitos and ants, to name a few) we’re got an even nastier one: bedbugs. And they’re growing in number.

Friends and Your Health

Friendships can have a major impact on your health and well-being, but it’s not always easy to build or maintain friendships. Understand the importance of friendships in your life and what you can do to develop and nurture friendships.

What are the benefits of friendships?

Good friends are good for your health. Friends can help you celebrate good times and provide support during bad times. Friends prevent loneliness and give you a chance to offer needed companionship, too. Friends can also:

Increase your sense of belonging and purpose

Men with Gout Often Have ED

A study presented in June 2014 in Paris at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2014) showed that erectile dysfunction (ED) is present in most men with gout and is frequently severe.

A release from EULAR reports that in a survey of 201 men, 83 had gout, of whom a significantly greater proportion had ED (76%) compared with those patients without gout. Also, a significantly greater proportion of gout patients (43%) had severe ED compared with patients without gout (30%).

Frailty Means Greater Hospital Complications

Researchers have found that elderly patients who are frail are likelier to experience in-hospital complications following trauma. Previously, complications had been associated with age alone.

The investigators, from the University of Arizona Medical Center, Tucson, examined statistics from 250 patients according to the 50-item Canadian Frailty Index, which measures social and daily living activities, nutrition and mood.

Keeping Your Pet (and Yourself) Healthy

We Americans love our pets – and we’ve got millions of them. According to the Humane Society of the United States, there are 164 million owned pets across the country, in 62 percent of our households. But while pets provide love, comfort and companionship, they may also have health issues, and some of them can affect us. Here, from the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC), are some tips on keeping your pet (and your family) healthy.

A Better Assessment Tool For Heart-Disease Risk

An international team of researchers has created a heart disease risk assessment tool designed to better evaluate the likelihood of heart disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

People with rheumatoid arthritis are twice as likely as the average person to develop heart problems.

What You Need to Know About Exercise As You Get Older

By Soriyya Bawa

While exercise and weight loss are both important elements of any anti-aging regimen, many seniors worry that the risks outweigh the potential benefits. Exercise at an older age means risking serious injury due to falling, injuring the ligaments of the knee, and other forms of musculoskeletal injuries; the risk is even greater if the person is obese. However, a recent study has found that the benefits from exercise at an older age, and the subsequent weight loss, far exceed any possible risk of injury.

Mice With MS Walk Again After Stem Cell Tx

Mice severely disabled by a condition similar to multiple sclerosis (MS) could walk less than two weeks following treatment with human stem cells. The study, which uncovers new avenues for treating MS, was don e at the University of Utah and published online on May 15th 2014, in the journal Stem Cell Reports.

A Breakthrough in Anti-Aging Treatment

The hormone oxytocin – associated with childbirth, sex and social attachments – is also essential for muscle maintenance and repair, researchers have found. But an animal experiment found that it declines with age.

The new study, published) in the journal Nature Communications, indicates that oxytocin, if it could be administered to humans, could eventually be a treatment for age-related muscle wasting, or sarcopenia.

The discovery is especially significant because oxytocin is already approved by the Food and Drug Admnistration for use in people.

A Possible Link Between Carbohydrates and Breast Cancer

Limiting carbohydrate intake could reduce the risk of one type of breast cancer, researchers have found.

The findings, published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, focused on the cancer whose tumor tissue has the IGF-1 receptor.

“There is a growing body of research demonstrating associations between obesity, diabetes, and cancer risk,” said lead author Jennifer A. Emond, an instructor in the Department of Community and Family Medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College.

Watch: Preventing & Treating Swimmer’s Ear

Here’s another addition to our ThirdAge Video Collection. Press play to start learning!

7 Things You Should Know About Cooking With Oil

By The Beating Edge Team HealthHub from Cleveland Clinic

When it comes to cooking with oils, do you have to choose between cooking for taste or cooking for health? People have strong opinions about what’s best.

Health Hub sat down recently to chat about cooking with oils with James D. Perko, CEC, AAC, Executive Chef for Cleveland Clinic’s Wellness Institute and its Center for Lifestyle Medicine and nutritionist Katherine Patton, MEd, RD, CSSD, LD.

No More Eye Drops for Glaucoma

Scientists from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the Singapore Eye Research Institute have jointly developed a new nanomedicine, liposomal latanoprost, that will allow glaucoma patients to do away with daily eye drops. The nanomedicine is delivered to the front of the eye via a painless injection and will stay and release the anti-glaucoma drugs slowly over the next six months.

“Solomon’s Paradox” Causes Unwise Choices

If you’re faced with a troubling personal dilemma, such as a cheating spouse, you are more likely to think wisely about it if you consider it as an observer would, according to a study done at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada and the University of Michigan. The findings, which will appear in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, demonstrate that talking about yourself in the third person and using your name when reflecting on a relationship conflict helps you solve the issue wisely.

Protein Keeps Aging Blood Stem Cells Healthy

The notion that a protein called SIRT1 is a powerful regulator of aging has been highly debated, but its connection to the health of blood stem cells “is now clear,” according to Saghi Ghaffari, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Developmental and Regenerative Biology at Mount Sinai’s Black Family Stem Cell Institute, Icahn School of Medicine in New York City. “Identifying regulators of stem cell aging is of major significance for public health because of their potential power to promote healthy aging and provide targets to combat diseases of aging,” Dr. Ghaffari said.

Depression LInked to Quicker Progression of Alzheimer’s

Late-life depression could be a major risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s more quickly than those who aren’t depressed.

The finding was presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.

“Our results clearly indicate that mild cognitively impaired subjects with depressive symptoms suffer from elevated amyloid-levels when compared with non-depressed individuals,” said the study’s principal scientist Axel Rominger, MD, from the department of nuclear medicine at the University of Munich in Germany.