Stiff Arteries May Raise Risk of Alzheimer’s

Artery stiffness may increase the odds of developing dementia, a new study suggests. People are more likely to develop both stiff blood vessels and dementia as they grow older. The new study looked at links between these conditions in 81 adults. All were age 83 or older. They did not have dementia when the study began. Researchers gave them positron emission tomography (PET) scans of the brain. They also estimated artery stiffness by measuring how fast blood moves through the body. They repeated the tests 2 years later. At the beginning, 48% of those in the study had beta amyloid plaques in the brain. Larger amounts of beta amyloid are linked with Alzheimer’s disease. Two years later, 75% had amyloid deposits. People with stiffer arteries were more likely to have these deposits. The journal JAMA Neurology published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it March 31.

Content restricted. Requires subscription

Living with asthma: Help your child breathe easy

When parents hear that their child may have asthma, their minds are immediately filled with ideas of their child out of breath, puffing on an inhaler, and having trouble keeping up with friends. That does not have to be the case!  Living with asthma is much more about preventing an asthma attack and promoting a healthy life.

You can help your child to always breathe easy if you follow some important guidelines for managing asthma.

Content restricted. Requires subscription