Can the adoring gaze of a dog or the comforting purr of a cat be helpful to people with mental illness? Absolutely, new research suggests. Although furry companions won’t replace medications or therapy for mental health concerns, they can provide significant benefits, according to British researchers. Their review of 17 studies found that pets can…  read on >

You’ve caught the flu, but you have to go to work and you can’t desert your family. What do you do? Believe it or not, one expert says there are ways to stem the spread of sickness — even if you can’t avoid being around other people. It sounds like a tall order during this…  read on >

Less than a fifth of U.S. children with sickle cell anemia are getting the antibiotics that could save their lives, a new study finds. “Longstanding recommendations say children with sickle cell anemia should take antibiotics daily for their first five years of life,” the study’s lead author, Sarah Reeves, said in a news release from…  read on >

The only equipment you really need to go running are running shoes. But choosing a pair can often feel like a shopping marathon. There’s no shortage of big box sporting goods stores, but ask the staff at a local running club for suggestions about where to shop. The salespeople at a specialty shoe store should…  read on >

Taking blood-thinning drugs is typically thought to ward off stroke in people with the heart rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation. However, new research out of Britain hints — but cannot prove — that the drugs might actually raise the odds of stroke in seniors with a-fib who also have kidney disease. “Chronic kidney disease is common…  read on >

Researchers from Denmark are suggesting a potential — and unusual — risk factor for stroke: Being short as a kid. The investigators found that men and women who had been about 2 inches taller than average at age 7 had, as adults, up to an 11 percent lower risk for an ischemic stroke. That’s the…  read on >

They described hearing loud, unusual noises in either their homes or hotel rooms. Afterwards, they experienced concussion-like symptoms such as memory and thinking problems, headaches, dizziness and balance issues. But the exact nature of what harmed more than 20 U.S. government personnel stationed in Havana, Cuba, last year remains mysterious, reports a team led by…  read on >

Obese men with advanced melanoma skin cancer seem to have a survival benefit over their slimmer peers, a new study suggests. Among men who received treatment for the potentially deadly cancer, obese patients lived an average of 47 percent longer than those with a healthy body weight, researchers found. For women, however, weight did not…  read on >

If you have intense pain in your feet, arthritis may be the cause of your woes. Arthritis leads to swelling and pain in the cartilage and lining of the joints. If these symptoms affect your feet, it’s probably time to visit a podiatrist, the American Podiatric Medical Association says. The group says symptoms of foot-joint…  read on >