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Almost anyone who’s bothered by the function or appearance of falling upper eyelids is a candidate for a surgery called upper blepharoplasty. It takes place in an outpatient surgery center. During the procedure, a surgeon makes incisions along the upper eyelid’s natural folds, removes excess skin (and sometimes underlying fat) from the upper eyelids, and then closes the incisions with stitches. Recovery lasts two to four weeks. The procedure might be covered by insurance if sagging eyelids interfere with vision.

The FDA has approved three GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs for weight loss. The drugs not only lower blood sugar and weight, but also quiet inflammation, stimulate the production of antioxidants, help repair damaged DNA, and slow the aging of the body’s cells. Evidence suggests that among people who use the drugs for diabetes and obesity, the drugs reduce the risks of kidney disease progression, heart attack, death from heart disease, death from COVID-19, and death from all causes by 15% to 35%.

Certain strategies can help people avoid trips to the emergency room during the winter. For example, to avoid slipping and breaking a bone, spread salt on sidewalks and driveways; to avoid hypothermia, wear a coat and layers of athletic clothing that wicks away moisture; to avoid a heart attack from overexertion, use caution when starting a new exercise routine or shoveling snow. It’s also important to build an emergency kit that includes several days’ worth of food and drinking water, and two weeks of medication.

A 2024 study of more than 200,000 adults, combined with findings from 19 other studies (for a total of 1.25 million people), tied eating ultra-processed foods—particularly sugary drinks and processed meats—to an increased risk for heart disease.

A 2024 study of 10,000 people (average age 67) who answered questions about resilience every other year for 12 years found that people with more resilience were much less likely to die in the next decade, compared with people with less resilience.

A small randomized trial in 2024 found that both self-adjustment and in-situ audiometry were effective strategies to match self-fitting hearing aids to personal hearing needs. However, self-adjustment devices had the best satisfaction rates and consistent use.

Sometimes asking certain questions at the doctor’s office can be embarrassing, especially if the question involves gut problems or sexual dysfunction. To cope, it might help to speak with a doctor privately in person; to communicate with the doctor on the phone or via a patient portal; to see a specialist; to write down questions and hand them to the doctor; or to describe a problem in a professional, matter-of-fact way, using medical terms (such as “stool” or “bowel movement” instead of “poop”).

Some scientists believe that microbes might play a part in Alzheimer’s disease development. They say it could be that certain viruses or bacteria that infect the brain aren’t completely eradicated by the immune system, which leads to neuroinflammation and brain cell death. It could also be that microbes trigger the release of protein deposits—amyloid-beta plaques and tau tangles—which kill neurons, further increase neuroinflammation, and lead to more neuron death.

Anti-obesity drugs, which can lead to dramatic weight loss, may improve symptoms of sleep apnea. This serious breathing disorder raises the odds of high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke. Excess weight is the strongest risk factor linked with sleep apnea, which affects about 25% of men and 10% of women in the United States. Extra fat tissue in the neck and throat can narrow the airway, and extra weight on the chest and belly puts pressure on the lungs, which makes the normal process of inhaling and exhaling less effective.