Aerobic exercise is not enough to maintain good health in your older years. Strength training in older adults is very important because it can slow and reverse age-related declines in muscle mass and muscle endurance.
Researchers now have better evidence that deep brain stimulation improves the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease for up to three years after implantation.
What is the best way to treat the pain and swelling from a scorpion sting?
For women from ages 50 to 69, getting a mammogram saves lives. That’s the conclusion of a new review of research. About 7 to 9 lives are saved for every 1,000 women who get mammograms every 2 years, the study found. That benefit outweighs potential harms, the authors concluded. Harms might include anxiety and treatments that some women don’t really need. The new analysis was based on studies in Europe and the actual experience of breast cancer screening programs there. It found that about 4 women for every 1,000 tested were “overdiagnosed.” This means the cancers found would not have been detected otherwise or caused any problems during their lives. Researchers also estimated other results for each group of 1,000 women tested. About 200 would have at least one recall visit and an extra test that showed they did not have cancer.
What is a lacunar stroke?
People who have to pay less for their medicines are more likely to take them, says a review of several earlier studies. The research review focused on a widespread problem. Studies show that about half of U.S. patients don’t take their medicines correctly for long-term conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Up to 30% of prescriptions are not even filled. All of this is estimated to contribute to 125,000 deaths each year. Researchers reviewed several dozen studies. Five studies found that people were more likely to take their medicines if their drug coverage improved or their out-of-pocket costs went down. Educating patients and trying to help with problems that were keeping them from taking their medicines also helped. So did personal contacts from a nurse for people with a high risk of not taking all medicines.
My husband is on the border of being pre-diabetic. What kind of food should we be eating? We were told to avoid refined starch – but we do enjoy pasta and breads. Which are the best ones?
I have diabetes, and am looking to control my carb intake. I want to eat more fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy diet. But how do I know if I am over doing it and getting too many carb calories?
Taking fish oil pills doesn’t reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke or death, a new review of earlier research finds. The review combined results of 20 studies. They included nearly 69,000 people. Most had a prior heart attack, stroke or other form of heart and artery disease. In 18 studies, people were randomly divided into 2 groups. One group took pills containing omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil. The other group took placebo (fake) pills. Overall, rates of heart attack, heart-related death and sudden death were 9% to 13% lower than for people who got placebo pills. But those differences were small enough to be caused by chance. Rates of stroke and all deaths were similar in both groups. In 2 other studies, some people were urged to eat more fatty fish. One study found a benefit from this. The other did not.
Taking a common type of pain reliever may increase the risk of a second heart attack and death, a new study suggests. The study kept track of people for 5 years after a first heart attack. The higher risk applied to those who took any nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). These drugs include ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin and others) and naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn and others). Prescription types include celecoxib (Celebrex). The study was done in Denmark. In that country, all NSAIDs except low-dose ibuprofen require a prescription. Researchers looked at records for almost 100,000 people who had a first heart attack. In the next 5 years, nearly half of them filled a prescription for an NSAID. People who took the painkillers had a 63% higher risk of death from any cause. They had a 41% higher risk of another heart attack.