Tag: Staying Current

Capsaicin, a substance already known to relieve pain associated with shingles, may also ultimately reduce the risk of colorectal tumors, according to new research.

Investigators from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine said that capsaicin, which is the active ingredient in chili peppers, activates a receptor on the intestinal cells of mice. Their findings were published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

A lot of loud noise may do more than damage your hearing: It actually alters the way the brain processes speech, neuroscientists say.

Researchers from the University of Texas at Dallas said that could eventually lead to difficulty in distinguishing speech sounds hearing loss. The investigators’ findings were published in the journal Ear and Hearing.

Here’s another addition to our Third Age video collection. Press play to start learning.

Although people often assume that mobile health apps have been “approved,” in fact there is very little oversight of the multibillion-dollar industry, according to health-law researchers.

Instead of fighting chronic diseases one by one as they develop, researchers suggest, medicine should focus instead on preventing several of these illnesses at once. That approach, the investigators say, could help extend healthy lifespans.

Although it’s well known that therapy helps patients with psychological disorders, researchers aren’t clear what changes occur in the brain to relieve some of the disorders, according to a newly published paper.

Many older people are not even aware that they have a problem with their sense of smell because the changes occur gradually over several years. They may not even notice that they are experiencing a loss of smell until there is an incident in which they don’t detect food that has spoiled or the presence of dangerous smoke.

Older people are much likelier to suffer memory and cognitive impairment when they’re presented with “environmental distractions” such as material that’s irrelevant to the task at hand.

The finding, by psychologists from Rice University and Johns Hopkins University, is the first to convincingly demonstrate impairment from environmental distractions, such as irrelevant speech, during tasks.

Patients’ participation in health-care research is becoming more active thanks to “big data” research projects that use many people to provide real-time information on symptoms, side effects and results.

An analysis published in the journal Health Affairs said that new technologies such as electronic health records and monitoring devices are playing an increasing part in major studies.

A cancer therapy that was until now only available for humans has been developed for dogs.

Scientists from the Messerli Research Institute of the Vetmeduni Vienna, the Medical University of Vienna, and the University of Vienna have developed a way to use cancer immunotherapy on dogs.

Almost half of dogs ten years or older develop cancer.

General anesthesia may not always be best for patients undergoing hip-fracture surgery, a study has found.

The researchers, from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, found in another study that there were high rates of mortality and functional disability among nursing-home residents who were treated for hip fracture.

Each year, about 300,000 hip fractures occur in the United States. They often happen as a result of serious falls that can impair functionality.

WHAT IS A DIETARY SUPPLEMENT?

Watching too much TV can be fatal: Adults who indulge for three or more hours each day may double their risk of premature death, according to new research.

Researchers, who published their findings in the Journal of the American Heart Association, said that watching television is one of many bad lifestyle habits on the rise.

In a landmark study of multiple sclerosis patients, researchers have traced the pattern of cognitive impairment of MS sufferers.

The study, by investigators from the Kessler Foundation and the Cleveland Clinic, followed the patients over 18 years. That length of time allowed researchers a unique insight into the cognitive decline of people who have MS.

A new study has found important clues about the process the brain uses to “navigate” back to consciousness after being on anesthesia.

Earlier research has revealed some elements of brain activity under anesthesia, but until now there haven’t been any findings on the navigation process out of anesthesia.

A combination of quit-smoking therapies is more effective than using just one for male smokers and people with a high level of nicotine dependence.

Researchers from Duke Medicine analyzed the outcomes of 349 people who reported smoking ten or more cigarettes per day. The participants were given a six-item questionnaire that measured their level of nicotine dependence. Before they quit, the researchers provided the subjects with a nicotine patch.

A device that detects different kinds of strokes in patients could be a lifesaving instrument, according to new research.

Strokefinder, which is placed on a patient’s head, uses microwaves to examine the patient’s brain tissue. The device interprets the findings to determine if the stroke is caused by a blood clot or bleeding. The difference between those two kinds of strokes can be crucial in emergency treatment.

Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sahlgrenska Academy and Sahlgrenska University Hospital, in Sweden, studied 45 patients.

Combining a widely used medication with a cancer-killing virus might improve the effectiveness of the virus in battling malignancies, according to a new study.