Editor’s Note: We’ve all gulped at some scary health headline. But chances are we’re overreacting. Here, from experts at the National Institute on Aging, are some suggestions on how to read the health news so you can be informed, not overwhelmed: “Risk” is the chance that something bad will happen—like catching the flu or… Continue reading How to Read The Health News
Tag: Staying Current
Delirium in the ICU Linked to Fatal Outcomes
About one-third of patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) will develop delirium, a condition that lengthens hospital stays and substantially increases one’s risk of dying in the hospital, according to a study led by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers and published in June 2015 in the British Medical Journal. A release from Johns Hopkins… Continue reading Delirium in the ICU Linked to Fatal Outcomes
A New Treatment for Fibromyalgia?
Women who have fibromyalgia appear to benefit from treatment in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, according to researchers at Rice University and institutes in Israel. The painful condition improved in every one of the 48 women who completed two months of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the researchers said. Brain scans of the women before and after treatment… Continue reading A New Treatment for Fibromyalgia?
Are Some Hospital Patients Kept Longer than Necessary?
Some hospitals may be keeping patients longer than necessary because of the way Medicare determines payment rates, according to a study from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Medicare pays these facilities – known as long-term hospitals – at a higher rate for patients who stay for at least a certain number of days;… Continue reading Are Some Hospital Patients Kept Longer than Necessary?
Eggs Can Improve Salads’ Health Benefits
Eggs added to a salad of raw vegetables can improve the absorption of nutrients known as carotenoids that help reduce inflammation, according to research from Purdue University. “Eating a salad with a variety of colorful vegetables provides several unique types of carotenoids, including beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin and lycopene,” said Wayne Campbell, a professor of nutrition… Continue reading Eggs Can Improve Salads’ Health Benefits
How the Brain Stimulates or Stifles Creativity
Investigators at Stanford University Medical Center and Stanford’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, commonly known as the d.school, have found a surprising link between creative problem-solving and heightened activity in the cerebellum, a structure located in the back of the brain and more typically thought of as the body’s movement-coordination center. The study was published… Continue reading How the Brain Stimulates or Stifles Creativity
Brain Circuits and Decision-Making
A discovery by scientists at MIT could point the way toward possible therapies for mental disorders, such as schizophrenia and depression, that are characterized by difficulty in decision-making. “In order to create a treatment for these types of disorders, we need to understand how the decision-making process is working,” said Alexander Friedman, a research scientist… Continue reading Brain Circuits and Decision-Making
Returning Home after a Disaster
Editor’s Note: Cleaning up after a natural disaster like a hurricane or tornado isn’t only a heartbreaking task – it’s dangerous as well. Here, from the federal Centers for Disease Control, are some strategies that could save your home and even your life: Basic Overall Recommendations Do not enter a building if you smell gas.… Continue reading Returning Home after a Disaster
A New Understanding of Women and Multiple Sclerosis
Scientists now have new insight why women are likelier than men to develop autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS). The finding, detailed in a paper published in The Journal of Immunology, focuses on a type of white blood cell, the innate lymphoid cell, that exhibits different immune activities in males versus females. “Women are… Continue reading A New Understanding of Women and Multiple Sclerosis
Osteoporosis Test Being Given Too Often
Many women who get a common osteoporosis screening test don’t need it. And many women who do need it don’t get it, according to researchers. A study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that screening rates increased sharply among women at age 50, despite guidelines suggesting screening at age 65 unless risk… Continue reading Osteoporosis Test Being Given Too Often
A New Clue to Treatment for Diabetic Macular Edema
Researchers are drawing closer to understanding why so many patients with diabetic macular edema (DME), a serious vision condition linked to diabetes, do not respond to current therapies. The drugs target a protein, VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor), that is inside the eye. But, researchers discovered, the patients for whom the drug doesn’t work don’t… Continue reading A New Clue to Treatment for Diabetic Macular Edema
Coffee May Help Reduce Erectile Dysfunction
Good news for men who drink coffee: two to three cups a day will reduce your chances of erectile dysfunction, according to researchers from Men who drink the equivalent caffeine level of two to three cups of coffee a day are less likely to have erectile dysfunction (ED), according to researchers from The University of… Continue reading Coffee May Help Reduce Erectile Dysfunction
Is Health Information Secure on Mobile Devices?
Since cyber thieves have discovered the mountain of gold containing personal and financial data hidden in healthcare networks, many consumers have started to be anxious about the safety of their information. It’s a valid concern, but if the chosen healthcare provider is up to date on best practices, there isn’t much about which to worry.… Continue reading Is Health Information Secure on Mobile Devices?
Understanding the Signals of Pain
Researchers have drawn closer to an understanding of higher cognitive processes by discovering that people learn pain cues even though they are unaware of such cues. Investigators from the Karolinska Institute, in Stockholm, looked at 49 people who were assigned into four groups that would examine the levels of conscious awareness during the experiment. According… Continue reading Understanding the Signals of Pain
Better Treatment for Hep C Patients
A new system can help identify which hepatitis C patients are most in need of new anti-viral drugs. An awareness campaign directed at baby boomers, born between 1946-1965, to be screened for hepatitis C , took off as effective treatments emerged to wipe out the liver-damaging virus. But high costs – up to more than… Continue reading Better Treatment for Hep C Patients
Childless Boomers at Risk of Becoming “Elder Orphans”
With an aging Baby Boomer population and increasing numbers of childless and unmarried seniors, nearly one-quarter of Americans over age 65 are currently or at risk to become “elder orphans,” a vulnerable group requiring greater awareness and advocacy efforts, according to new research by a North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) geriatrician and palliative care physician.… Continue reading Childless Boomers at Risk of Becoming “Elder Orphans”
Many Probiotic Supplements Are Contaminated with Gluten
More than half of popular probiotic supplements contain traces of gluten, according to an analysis performed by investigators at the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) in New York City. Tests on 22 top-selling probiotics revealed that 12 of them (or 55%) had detectable gluten. A release from CUMC reports that probiotics… Continue reading Many Probiotic Supplements Are Contaminated with Gluten
Death and A Belief in The Afterlife
A belief in the afterlife often influences how people feel about the prospect of death, according to new research. Dr. Arnaud Wisman and Dr. Nathan Heflick, of the School of Psychology at the University of Kent, in the UK, set out to establish in four separate studies whether people lose hope when thinking about death… Continue reading Death and A Belief in The Afterlife