Health News Reviews

People who have trouble sleeping may be at higher risk of developing memory problems and developing Alzheimer’s disease later in life. In a small study of cognitively normal people, frequent nighttime waking or lying awake at night was linked to development of the brain plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease, according to lead author, Yo-El Ju, […]

Blogging may help teens with social anxiety improve self-esteem and better relate to their friends, leading to overall improvements in psychological health. In addition, teens who blog may benefit more than those who write about their fears and concerns in a personal diary. These findings were reported January 4 in the American Psychological Association (APA)

Scheduled for a colonoscopy? Ask your physician to play Mozart while she’s peering through that endoscope, and she may do a better job of detecting potentially cancerous polyps in your colon and rectum, called adenomas. Colonic polyps are common precursors to colon cancer. Adenomas are a type of polyp that may develop into invasive colorectal

Adding a little spice to your diet might help increase your metabolism and help ward off chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, authors of a small but intriguing study reported August 1 in the Journal of Nutrition. Men in the study who added antioxidant-rich spices to their meals experienced several metabolic benefits, including

A popular bodybuilding supplement does not live up to its labels’ promises of improved muscle strength and endurance, said two unrelated groups of researchers this summer. The supplement, arginine-alpha-ketoglutarate (AAKG), is widely marketed as a strength-enhancer to weight lifters and bodybuilders. For example, AAKG is supposed to “extend muscle pump, enhance muscle growth, and get

Researchers have identified a new strain of gonorrhea that is resistant to cephalosporin, the only antibiotic that can be used to treat the disease. The new strain of gonorrhea, labeled H041, has only been found in a very few infections. But the strain has doctors worried for two reasons: First, it does not respond to

People with Parkinson’s Disease appear to have a significantly higher risk of melanoma, according to findings from a meta-analysis (a “study of studies”) reported in the June 7 print issue of Neurology. While researchers had long suspected such a link, this is the first study to bring together previous research to achieve statistically significant results.

Pregnant women who spend time in the sun or take vitamin D supplements may lower their children’s risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) later in life, a preliminary study suggests. Guiulio Disanto, MD, of the University of Oxford, England, reported these results in a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the American Academy of

People who have a “mini stroke” appear to be at twice the risk of later having a heart attack. For people who have a mini stroke before 60 years of age, the risk of heart attack is up 15 times greater.

Are sleep problems linked to our use of communications technology? Do a majority of Americans suffer from the effects of sleep deprivation? Results of a survey released today by the National Sleep Foundation suggest that we could be tweeting, texting, video-gaming, and watching our way to sleep problems. A majority of survey respondents said they