Category: Health

May 10, 2024 – When we’re young, we take our macula for granted. At the center of our retina – the deepest layer of the eye that’s chock-full of photoreceptors and that confers color to our world – the macula is like a high-resolution camera. As light hits our eyes, the retina’s macula recasts our world in a bloom of color with astoundingly high visual sharpness. But as you age, your vision dulls. What once stood out sharply becomes foggy, like condensation on a windowpane. After some time, a coal-black smudge or cloudy circular area begins to affect your central ... Read more

May 10, 2024 — Cow udders have the same receptors for flu viruses as humans and birds, raising concerns that cows could become “mixing vessels” that help the bird flu virus spread between people. That’s according to new research conducted by scientists at the University of Copenhagen and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis and published as a preprint study in bioRxiv. The scientists examined samples of brain, respiratory, and mammary gland tissue taken from a small number of cows and a calf. They stained the tissues and put it under the microscope to see what kind of receptors would be found.  ... Read more

May 9, 2024 – Were you born with family genes that predict a short life? Fear not; it turns out that having such genes is not a death knell but an opportunity.  In fact, new findings suggest that adopting and sticking to a combination of lifestyle changes may be one of the most important ways to defy these “bad” family genes. The study, which was published in late April, looked at the combined effect of lifestyle and genetics on human lifespan based on the records of over 350,000 people of European ancestry who were followed for an average of 13 ... Read more

The first sign something was wrong with Curtis Warfield came in 2005, when a lab test found protein in his urine during a routine checkup. In 2012, Warfield was diagnosed with stage 3 kidney disease. Two years later, he started dialysis. “When you get diagnosed, you’re sitting there kind of like a deer in headlights. You don’t know what’s going on. You don’t know what’s coming next,” Warfield said. “All you know, you have this disease.” Warfield, a Black man, was 52 years old, had been healthy, and had no family history of kidney disease. As his condition worsened and ... Read more

May 8, 2024 — Want to sleep better and longer? Ditch the meat. At least that’s what some experts are saying.  Vegans and vegetarians sleep around 30 more minutes per night than average, and up to 90% of them report good or excellent sleep quality, according to a recent survey published by the Sleep Foundation.  “Poor sleep leads to poor food choices,” according to Abhinav Singh, MD, medical director of the Indiana Sleep Center and medical advisor for the Sleep Foundation. “That is why they are called comfort foods — because nobody who’s tired and sleep-deprived is going to reach for a salad.” ... Read more

Anorexia nervosa takes an enormous toll on the body. But that’s not all. It has the highest death rate of any mental illness. Between 5% and 20% of people who develop the disease eventually die from it. The longer you have it, the more likely you will die from it. Even for those who survive, the disorder can damage almost every body system. What happens exactly? Here’s a look at what anorexia does to the human body. The first victim of anorexia is often the bones. The disease usually develops in adolescence — right at the time when young people ... Read more

May 6, 2024 –Megan Tavares was at the grocery store when her doctor called to tell her to get to the hospital immediately. Blood tests had shown that Tavares, who was 39 weeks pregnant, had a rare condition linked to preeclampsia. Her baby needed to be delivered right away. Nine hours later, Tavares, a social worker from Somerset, MA, delivered a healthy baby boy. But the ordeal had proven traumatic for the new mother, and in the weeks after the birth she began to experience depression, obsessive behaviors, and other symptoms that she recognized as far from normal.  “I felt like ... Read more

Your friendships enrich your life. They’re good for your health, too. Studies show that people who have good friends and good relationships are healthier, happier and may live longer. That’s why maintaining your social life might be the perfect supplement to your ulcerative colitis care. “Whether you have IBD or not, social isolation is not healthy for human beings,” says Marci Reiss, a licensed clinical social worker and founder and president of the IBD Support Foundation. During a flare, you might feel like hiding at home, but ulcerative colitis doesn’t mean your social life and relationships have to end. Managing ... Read more

Your dietary needs change as you age. WebMD advises what should be on your grocery list. Source link

Those first strands of gray hair are a sign of the inevitable. We’re getting older and our bodies are changing. We may grow a little rounder around the waistline, or wake in the night, or feel a little stiffer in the morning. Yet while we adapt to new realities, we shouldn’t discount every symptom as just further evidence of aging. How do you know when to ignore your body’s lapses or when to seek medical advice? What’s normal aging, and what’s not? “Aging, in and of itself, is a subtle, quiet process,” says Marie Bernard, MD, deputy director of the ... Read more