Regular aerobic exercise increases blood flow to the brain, which may help slow mental decline in older adults, a new, small study suggests. Researchers from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center looked at 70 men and women diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This means there are slight changes to the brain that affect memory,… read on > read on >
There’s a reason you may choose to talk in singsong tones and with exaggerated sounds when you’re talking to babies — they’re more likely to listen. New research shows that babies pay more attention to baby talk than to regular speech. The finding held in many languages, and even when the baby was bilingual. “Crucially… read on > read on >
Exercise, mental stimulation and massage are among the drug-free therapies that are as good or better than medication in treating depression in dementia patients, researchers say. They reviewed 256 studies that included a total of more than 28,000 people with dementia with or without major depression. Medications alone were no more effective than usual care… read on > read on >
Fewer children end up in ERs for asthma attacks if nearby coal-fired power plants are shut down, a new study finds. “When these power plants close, we see a reduction of somewhere between 12% and 18% in emergency department visits for asthma,” said senior researcher Emily Pakhtigian, an assistant professor of public policy at Pennsylvania… read on > read on >
A new study shows just how devastating a diagnosis of mental decline can be: Researchers found that rates of suicide rise sharply in the months after such news is delivered. The study of almost 148,000 older U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs patients, mostly men, looked at diagnoses for mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which is often… read on > read on >
For people who are obese, even a small amount of weight gain may come with higher medical costs, a new study finds. It’s well known that obesity contributes to health conditions like arthritis, diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers — and health care costs reflect that. But the new study dug a little deeper into… read on > read on >
Kids born to moms who took a drug widely used to prevent miscarriages in the 1950s and 1960s may be twice as likely to develop cancer in adulthood. The drug in question, hydroxyprogesterone caproate, also known as OHPC or 17-OHPC, is a man-made version of the hormone progesterone. It is no longer used to reduce… read on > read on >
WEDNESDAY, March 24, 2021 (American Heart Association News) — The increasingly trendy trio of kefir, kimchi and kombucha may not be familiar to you, but experts say fermented foods like these can help the home of most of your immune system – your gut. How and why some (not all) fermented foods work is an… read on > read on >
If you feel recharged after a day spent in the great outdoors, there’s a physiological reason for that. Bird song and lapping waves combat negative feelings such as annoyance and stress, while boosting positive emotions and health, according to new research using the sounds found at U.S. national parks. “It’s good for what we’re calling… read on > read on >
Nearly half of the public schools in America are now holding in-person classes, with white children far more likely to be in those classrooms than Black, Hispanic or Asian students, the first federal data on the state of education during the pandemic shows. The survey, released early Wednesday, suggests the nation is moving toward a… read on > read on >
