Category: health-letter

Alzheimer’s runs in my family. Will it help to get gene testing for this disease?

Small electronic devices to monitor movement help people recognize how much exercise they need and may help motivate them to be more active.

Whole-body CT scans, routine ECG screening, coronary calcium scores, chest screenings, and tuberculosis skin tests are not recommended unless a person has symptoms or risk factors of disease.

It’s normal to feel sad sometimes, but symptoms of depression should not be ignored, especially if you suspect you are depressed. Waiting to see if symptoms pass can make depression worse.

Use of blood thinners requires caution with other drugs, especially painkillers called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Taking blood thinners and NSAIDs together can raise the risk of bleeding.

It appears that activities such as reading a book or writing can help slow the rate of memory decline in old age.

Nutrition Facts labels can help people make better food choices. Key to reading a label is to note serving size and calories per serving, but ignore percent daily values.

Increased eye pressure isn’t always an accurate way to detect glaucoma. Sometimes you can have normal eye pressure and still have the condition. That’s called normal-tension glaucoma (NTG).

Stress leads to shorter telomeres. People with shorter telomeres are at greater risk for several major diseases, including heart disease and some forms of cancer.

Joint pain isn’t always caused by arthritis. Sometimes the culprit is bursitis. It occurs when fluid-filled sacs near the joints called bursae become inflamed, most commonly at the shoulders, hips, knees, elbows, or even the buttocks.