Two years’ involvement in programs focused on healthy eating, regular exercise and “brain training” exercises appears to have helped a wide range of older adults — even those at heightened risk for Alzheimer’s — avoid cognitive decline, a new study finds. The findings, presented Monday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Toronto, “encourage us…  read on >  read on >

Parkinson’s disease can dramatically affect a patient’s ability to walk, with “Parkinson’s gait” increasing their fall risk and reducing their ability to get around. But deep brain stimulation (DBS) custom-tailored to a patient’s brain activity and gait pattern can effectively improve walking ability, a new study says. Tweaking a patient’s brain stimulation based on analysis…  read on >  read on >

Terminally ill nursing home residents are being hounded to their graves with needless trips to the hospital, a new study says. About 80% of ER visits by terminally ill nursing home residents are potentially avoidable, researchers report in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. Likewise, nearly one-third of hospitalizations among these residents were…  read on >  read on >

If a doctor diagnoses you with a serious illness and suggests palliative care, don’t jump to conclusions. It doesn’t mean you have mere months to live, NIH News in Health emphasizes. Palliative care, which is focused on comfort care and symptom management, may be recommended at any stage of a chronic or serious illness. But…  read on >  read on >

 It’s official: The controversial preservative thimerosal will be stripped from all flu vaccines distributed in the United States. U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. signed off on the recommendation from an expert panel that recommended removing the mercury-based preservative from all influenza vaccines. Use of thimerosal had been largely phased out in the U.S. by…  read on >  read on >