Dorothy L. Tengler

Dorothy L. Tengler, MA, is a freelance medical writer/communication specialist with nearly 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and medical communication industries. She has developed educational and medical marketing materials, including monographs, slide kits, health articles, primary and review manuscripts, and pharmaceutical sales training materials.

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Articles by Dorothy L. Tengler

• Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine: Interim report claims 90% effectiveness

  Thursday, November 12, 2020

  COVID-19 is raging. The U.S. continues to see record case totals each day. A vaccine is perhaps the best hope for ending the pandemic. Currently, there is no vaccine to prevent infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), but researchers have been racing to develop one. Now, based on an interim efficacy analysis, Pfizer and BioNTech claim their messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 in participants who had not previously been infected with SARS-CoV-2.

• Study: Tracking the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 virus mutations

  Thursday, November 05, 2020

  COVID-19 can go in two different directions once it has infected someone. The immune response can remain stable and regain control over the virus, eventually clearing it through T cell and antibody activity. Or the immune system can freak out and start to overrespond, churning out more and more inflammatory cytokines, in a frantic attempt to wipe out the virus. The second path causes substantial cell death in the lungs, resulting in the most severe infections, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and even death. However, in a new study, University of Illinois researchers and students found that the virus is honing the tactics that may make it more successful and more stable.

• Study report: Children and the coronavirus

  Tuesday, October 13, 2020

  Since the start of the pandemic, researchers have been puzzled at how children have been spared by the same rate of COVID-19 infection as adults. In fact, new evidence shows that children carry high levels of the virus even without falling ill, which may impact the spread of the virus to others, especially those who are at high risk of developing severe COVID-19. One study, out of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, found that young children carry far more of the coronavirus than adults.

• Safe or risky? Indoor dining during the COVID-19 pandemic

  Tuesday, September 15, 2020

  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now suggests that dining out increases risk of contracting coronavirus more than other activities, citing the fact that masks are not used while people are eating and drinking. In fact, a new CDC study found that people who tested positive for the coronavirus were twice as likely to have eaten at a restaurant beforehand. The researchers collected data during the month of July across 10 states from 314 adults with coronavirus symptoms.

• Survey: ‘Long haulers’ report lingering, numerous symptoms after COVID-19 infection

  Friday, September 04, 2020

  A recent survey conducted by researchers affiliated with Survivor Corps, a not-for-profit, grassroots movement that connects COVID-19 survivors to the medical, scientific, and academic research community, suggests that COVID-19 symptoms may linger for weeks or months after an initial diagnosis of the disease and include everything from joint pain and fevers to hair loss and double vision. In fact, these victims of the virus have self-nicknamed themselves the "long haulers" and report nearly 100 different symptoms.

• Study: Back-to-school strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic

  Tuesday, August 25, 2020

  One of the most debated and important issues concerning COVID-19 is the reopening of schools. A recent study shows that children carry high levels of the virus even without falling ill, which may impact the spread of the virus to others, especially those at high risk. One important strategy that school administrators can consider about opening schools is cohorting or forming pods, in which groups of students and sometimes teachers or staff stay together throughout the school day to minimize exposure.

• Studies: Antibody levels may fall weeks or months after contracting COVID-19

  Wednesday, July 15, 2020

  While people across the world wait for news of treatments and vaccines against the virus that causes COVID-19, attention is also being given to antibody protection. Although antibodies may provide significant protection from getting infected with the virus again, researchers are still determining how much protection the antibodies may provide or how long this protection may last, if at all. A major new study in Spain found no evidence of widespread immunity to the virus, suggesting that people who experience mild symptoms do not have long-lasting protection.

• Interim study report shows that a COVID-19 vaccine could be on the horizon

  Monday, July 06, 2020

  The world anxiously awaits a vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which has caused the COVID-19 pandemic. Pharmaceutical companies are moving at an unprecedented rate with at least 120 projects launched worldwide, involving gene-based vaccines, inactivated vaccines, or live vaccines with viral vectors, to name a few. One promising project is triggering stronger immune responses in recipients than those seen in people naturally recovering from an infection of COVID-19.

• RECOVERY trial update: Dexamethasone shows promise for treating COVID-19

  Monday, June 22, 2020

  The Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy (RECOVERY) trial, with an estimated enrollment of 12,000 patients, is currently testing some suggested treatments for the disease. Although the results of this trial are not available until July, interim trial results indicate that dexamethasone, which is used to reduce inflammation in other diseases, reduced death rates by about a third among the most severely ill COViD-19 patients admitted to hospitals.

• Social distancing: Is 6 feet enough?

  Tuesday, June 09, 2020

  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) define social distancing as avoiding crowded places and mass gatherings and staying at least six feet, which is about two meters, from others in order to minimize the risk of contagion. However, recently published studies support the hypothesis that virus transmission may occur more than two meters from an infected person.

• A look at the possible link between COVID-19 and pregnancy

  Thursday, May 21, 2020

  Although there are no current data proving that COVID-19 affects pregnant women more than non-pregnant women, those who are pregnant are at a greater risk of contracting respiratory viruses, including pneumonia, which is a concern because lung capacity is already diminished during pregnancy. Some pregnant women have become ill and some have died during the pandemic. In a cohort study, researchers at the University of Oxford collected data, using the UK Obstetric Surveillance System, from 427 pregnant women with COVID-19 admitted to hospitals in the United Kingdom.

• Quantifying undetected cases of COVID-19: The pandemic serum sampling study

  Friday, May 08, 2020

  A new study at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, has been initiated to determine how many adults in the U.S. without a confirmed history of COVID-19 infection have antibodies to the virus. This is a serosurvey, and researchers will collect and analyze blood samples from an estimated 15,000 participants (18 years of age and older) who have not had a confirmed history of COVID-19 or current symptoms in an endeavor to provide critical data for epidemiological models.

• A look at the first trial for a COVID-19 vaccine

  Thursday, April 30, 2020

  Developing a vaccine to protect against COVID-19 is critical because of the large number of people infected, the ability of the virus to spread from person to person, and the spread of the virus across so many geographic areas. Despite global efforts, however, the World Health Organization estimates 18 months before a vaccine against the coronavirus is publicly available. At present, about 80 companies and academic institutions are racing to find a vaccine, and of those, five are now testing their vaccine candidates in people. The first of these to enter human trials did so in March.

• Prevention and treatment of COVID-19 with hydroxychloroquine (PATCH) trial

  Wednesday, April 22, 2020

  Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), or Plaquenil, is used to prevent and treat malaria in areas where malaria remains sensitive to chloroquine and is also used to treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and porphyria cutanea tarda. Importantly, as recently reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, there is no high-quality evidence demonstrating efficacy of HCQ or its chemical cousin, chloroquine, to treat COVID-19. Consequently, a new trial (NCT04329923), led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, will test whether HCQ can treat or prevent COVID-19.

• Do face masks prevent COVID-19 transmission? Results of a small study

  Monday, April 20, 2020

  Citing concern about asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic spread of COVID-19, the CDC has now released recommendations that all Americans should wear cloths masks in public where distancing measures are difficult to maintain. Recently, a small study from South Korea questioned the effectiveness of surgical or cotton face masks to prevent dissemination of COVID-19 from the coughs of infected patients. Sung-Han Kim, MD, of the University of Ulsan College of Medicine in Seoul and colleagues examined data from four COVID-19 patients.

• Searching for COVID-19 treatments: The RECOVERY trial

  Wednesday, April 15, 2020

  In December 2019, with less than 500 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide, a small trial was initiated at the Jin-Tan Hospital to investigate whether anti-viral drugs would relieve the symptoms of COVID-19. The findings from this study will be part of the new Randomised Evaluation of COVid-19 thERapY (RECOVERY) trial, which provides a platform to evaluate about 20 treatments that are currently thought to have potential for treating COVID-19. The chief investigator in the RECOVERY trial will be Peter Horby, Professor of Emerging Infectious Diseases and Global Health in the Nuffield Department of Medicine at the University of Oxford, who was also part of the small trial in Wuhan. In contrast to the usual six to nine months for a trial to get started, the RECOVERY trial enrolled the first patient in nine days.

• Treating COVID-19-related respiratory failure with an anticoagulant: A compassionate use trial

  Thursday, April 09, 2020

  As the novel coronavirus enters lung cells, it starts to replicate, destroying the cells, resulting in the most common complication of COVID-19, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Because of this complication, ventilators have become the single most important piece of equipment in the fight to sustain these patients. A compassionate use trial is currently enrolling COVID-19 patients with ARDS to evaluate both inhaled and intravenous treatment with a common anti-clotting drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating ischemic thrombotic stroke. Researchers have long considered anticoagulants to reduce ARDS-induced death, but the treatment was never adopted or formally approved by the FDA.

• Does COVID-19 affect the cardiovascular system?

  Thursday, April 02, 2020

  COVID-19 is an illness that can affect a person's lungs and airways with fatal consequences for those with underlying cardiovascular disease (CVD), evidenced by the large proportion of COVID-19 patients who have CVD. Although researchers have known that viral illnesses such as COVID-19 cause respiratory infections that lead to lung damage and sometimes death, their knowledge about the effects on the cardiovascular system is still evolving. A recent review, however, shows that COVID-19 can cause cardiac injury even in patients without underlying heart conditions.

• New study reports on incubation period of COVID-19

  Thursday, March 12, 2020

  A new study on COVID-19, led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, estimates 5.1 days for incubation period and suggests that about 97.5% of people who develop symptoms of infection will do so within 11.5 days of exposure. The researchers estimated that for every 10,000 individuals quarantined for 14 days, only about 101 would develop symptoms after being released from quarantine. These estimates imply that, under conservative assumptions, in 101 out of every 10,000 cases, people will develop symptoms after 14 days of active monitoring or quarantine.

• Prehabilitation: Helping patients prepare for surgery

  Wednesday, March 04, 2020

  Patients often feel anxious before surgery, especially in the days leading up to the procedure, which may be spent in pre-surgery preparation. Prehabilitation (prehab) is an inexpensive program that involves using the weeks before surgery to get mentally and physically ready for their upcoming procedures. After the first prehab test in surgery inpatients in 21 hospitals across Michigan, the approach showed reductions in total medical costs related to patients' care and shorter hospital stays compared to similar patients who had surgery before the program began.

• Zooming in on rogue immune cells: New research in autoimmune disease

  Wednesday, February 26, 2020

  Although there are over 100 autoimmune disorders, researchers don’t know exactly why the body's immune system signals cells to target the body's own healthy organs and tissues. Current treatments for autoimmune disease can only address the symptoms. According to Professor Chris Goodnow, director of the UNSW Sydney Cellular Genomics Futures Institute, studying rogue immune cells is challenging because they are so rare in a blood sample. However, researchers have developed a technique that allows them to look directly at the cells that cause autoimmune disease.

• The complications of choosing a pain reliever

  Tuesday, February 18, 2020

  Although over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used to treat pain, these drugs cause about 100,000 hospitalizations and 17,000 deaths annually. In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently strengthened its warning about the risks of cardiovascular disease attributed to NSAIDs. Because choosing a pain reliever can be complicated for healthcare providers and their patients, researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Schmidt College of Medicine have addressed cardiovascular risks as well as gastrointestinal and kidney side effects of pain relievers, including over-the-counter and prescription drugs for pain relief.

• Taking on the coronavirus with a new next-generation sequencing strategy

  Monday, February 10, 2020

  The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is closely monitoring an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a new coronavirus named 2019-nCoV. The outbreak first started in Wuhan, China, but cases have been identified in a growing number of other international locations, including the United States. In the meantime, to monitor how viruses like this one spread and evolve in animal populations, researchers are exploring next-generation sequencing (NGS). However, NGS can be costly and laborious, so geneticists are developing less expensive and more efficient NGS strategies.

• The return of whooping cough

  Tuesday, January 21, 2020

  Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a highly contagious acute infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. During the 1940s, before a vaccine was introduced, more than 200,000 cases of pertussis were reported annually. As a result of the pertussis vaccine, used since 2000, incidence has decreased more than 80%. The vaccine targets three antigens in the bacteria. However, despite vaccination, pertussis bacteria are becoming smarter at colonizing and feeding off unsuspecting hosts. Now, whooping cough is emerging as a superbug.

• How diet influences macular degeneration

  Thursday, January 02, 2020

  The risk of irreversible age-related macular degeneration (AMD) increases with age. About 10 million people have reduced vision due to AMD in the U.S. The disease is most common among older white Americans, affecting more than 14% of white Americans age 80 and older. The causes of AMD are complex, but smoking, abdominal weight, unchecked cardiovascular disease, and hypertension increase the risk. Recent research suggests that a diet high in consumption of red and processed meat, fried food, refined grains, and high-fat dairy also may be a risk factor for developing late AMD.

• Study results: Long naps, long nighttime sleeping may be risk factors for stroke

  Wednesday, December 18, 2019

  Every 40 seconds someone has a stroke; every four minutes, someone dies from stroke. Although stroke risk increases with age, strokes can — and do — occur at any age. In 2009, 34% of those hospitalized for stroke were younger than 65 years of age. Every year, about 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke. About 610,000 of these are first strokes; 185,000 are recurrent strokes. A new study suggests a risk of stroke is too much sleep, including long daytime naps or longer than nine hours at night.

• Anti-inflammatory agents for major depression: Results of a pooled data analysis

  Tuesday, November 26, 2019

  Major depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States. An estimated 65% of those with depression received combined care by a health professional and medication treatment. According to a pooled analysis, anti-inflammatories, such as aspirin/paracetamol, statins, and antibiotics can safely and effectively control or limit the symptoms of major depression. The effects of these agents are even stronger when added to standard antidepressant treatment.

• Study: Off-label use of gabapentin for cancer pain

  Tuesday, November 05, 2019

  Although not all cancer patients have pain, it is still one of the most common symptoms caused by cancer treatment, surgery, or cancer itself. Opioid drugs are commonly used to treat moderate or severe cancer pain and are recommended for this purpose in the World Health Organization (WHO) pain treatment ladder. But the opioid epidemic has raised questions about whether postoperative use of opioids can lead to misuse. Between 2005 and 2015, as the opioid crises became evident, prescriptions for gabapentinoid medications such as gabapentin and pregabalin saw a twofold increase for use with cancer.

• Study reveals the best time to take blood pressure medications

  Tuesday, October 29, 2019

  About 7 in 10 adults with high blood pressure use medications to treat the condition. However, what time of day should patients take their blood pressure medications? A new large study investigated the effect of time of day when people take their blood pressure medications on their risk of cardiovascular problems. The study, led by Professor Ramón C. Hermida, found that patients who took their medications at bedtime had nearly half the risk of dying from or suffering heart attacks, myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure or requiring coronary revascularization compared to patients who took their medications in the morning.

• Controlling hypertension: Do electronic pill bottles and text messaging work?

  Tuesday, October 15, 2019

  Only half of the 77.9 million adults in the United States with high blood pressure have their condition under control. By 2030, it is estimated that the prevalence of hypertension will increase 7.2% from 2013 estimates. A major factor in uncontrolled hypertension is patients’ failure to consistently take their medications. Researchers from Penn Medicine tested new tactics, including text messaging and remote monitoring via an electronic pill bottle to test adherence.

• On the horizon: Video selfie blood pressure monitoring

  Tuesday, October 01, 2019

  Blood pressure readings taken at home are often lower than those taken at a doctor’s office and may provide a more accurate picture of a patient’s blood pressure. However, users tend not to follow American Heart Association guidelines and device manufacturers' suggestions to take multiple measurements each time. In a recent study, Kang Lee, Ph.D., professor at the University of Toronto, and colleagues measured the blood flow of 1,328 Canadian and Chinese adults by capturing two-minute videos using an iPhone equipped with transdermal optical imaging software.

• Study provides new insight into the decline of older brains

  Tuesday, September 24, 2019

  As people age, their ability to perform tasks may be impaired not just because they can’t remember but because they are unable to suppress other memories that are irrelevant. A recent study showed that some older adults who had no noticeable cognitive problems had a more difficult time separating irrelevant information from what they needed to do than younger people. According to Susan Courtney, a cognitive neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins, some memory problems are more a matter of retrieving the correct information at the right time to solve the problem at hand rather than a matter of specific memory.

• Pilot study: Treating opioid use disorder with naltrexone during pregnancy shows promise

  Thursday, September 19, 2019

  Neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) is common due to the current opioid addiction epidemic. The incidence of infant opioid withdrawal has grown rapidly in many countries over the last decade, nearly a fivefold increase, presenting significant health and early brain development concerns. However, a recent study led by researchers at Boston Medical Center showed that infants of mothers taking naltrexone during pregnancy had shorter hospital stays than infants of mothers who took buprenorphine during pregnancy.

• Researchers chase new treatments for urinary tract infections

  Wednesday, September 04, 2019

  In the United States, urinary tract infections (UTIs) account for more than 8-10 million office visits and 100,000 hospitalizations each year. Women are significantly more likely to experience a UTI than men. According to Professor Mark Schembri from the University of Queensland's School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, the problem of UTIs is magnified by increasing antimicrobial resistance, and antibiotic treatments can sometimes just stop working on some patients, with dire results. A recent study, performed in collaboration with researchers from the University of Utah, followed a long-term recurrent UTI sufferer, using genetic analysis to find out whether the infection came from a single bacterial "reservoir" in the body.

• Study investigates effectiveness of hormone injections for weight loss in obese patients

  Friday, August 23, 2019

  Obesity increases the risk of health issues such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, and metabolic syndrome, all of which can be addressed with bariatric surgery options, including gastric band, gastric bypass, and gastric sleeve. However, these procedures can cause complications. The findings of a new small study found that a hormone injection helped reduce body weight and glucose levels in patients with diabetes and obesity in four weeks. Previous research by Imperial College London suggested that one of the reasons gastric bypass surgery works so well is because three specific hormones originating from the bowels are released in higher levels.

• Study: Surgical gowns remain contaminated with C. difficile after disinfectant

  Wednesday, July 31, 2019

  Clostridium difficile infects 500,000 Americans and kills 29,000 each year. Commonly affecting older adults in hospitals and long-term care facilities, symptoms of infection include diarrhea, fever, rapid heartbeat, inflammation of the intestines, and kidney failure. C. difficile spores are resistant to many commonly used disinfectants, sanitizers, and cleaning agents, including alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Surgical gowns and stainless steel often remain contaminated with C. difficile even after treatment with a recommended disinfectant. According to Dr. Tina Joshi of the University of Plymouth in England, because the spores can grow after decontamination, disinfecting measures in hospitals need to be reconsidered.

• Researchers develop turmeric drug delivery system to inhibit cancer cell growth

  Friday, July 19, 2019

  The American Cancer Society estimates 3,500 new cases of bone and joint cancer in 2019 and expects 1,660 deaths. Clinical trials for bone cancers are ongoing, with some looking into ways to combine surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, and drugs known as targeted therapy to treat these cancers. A Washington State University research team has recently developed a drug delivery system using curcumin, the main ingredient in the spice turmeric that inhibits bone cancer cells and promotes growth of healthy bone cells.

• Study: Caring for dementia caregivers

  Tuesday, July 16, 2019

  Worldwide, an estimated 50 million people are living with dementia. These numbers are projected to reach 82 million by the year 2030 and 152 million by 2050. Dementia, which is not a normal part of aging, is overwhelming not only for the people who have it but also for their caregivers and families. Dementia behaviors, such as wandering, sundown syndrome, anxiety, and hallucinations, are huge sources of stress. Now, a program of therapy and coping strategies for caregivers and family members with dementia promises to improve the caregivers’ mental status for a least a six-year follow-up.

• Preventing chronic pain in lab mice

  Friday, July 12, 2019

  In the U.S., chronic pain affects more people than cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes combined. When pain is chronic, signaling persists over time and can lead to biochemical changes in the nervous system. Options for treating chronic pain include oral and topical therapies. Other options include physical therapy, exercise, acupuncture, relaxation techniques, and psychological counseling. Effective drugs against chronic pain are not necessarily forthcoming. However, researchers have recently identified a protein as a future potential target for medicinal drugs.

• A new device that measures stress

  Tuesday, June 11, 2019

  According to a new survey from the American Psychological Association, average stress levels in the U.S. rose from 4.9 in 2014 to 5.1 on a 10-point stress scale, and there has been an increase in number of adults who experience extreme stress. Andrew Steckl, an Ohio Eminent Scholar and professor of electrical engineering in the University of Cincinnati's College of Engineering and Applied Science, and his research team have developed a new test that can easily and simply measure common stress hormones using sweat, blood, urine, or saliva. Their unique device measures multiple biomarkers and can be applied to different bodily fluids.

• Study: Cardiac resuscitation outside the hospital performed less frequently in women

  Wednesday, June 05, 2019

  Although death and disability have been significantly reduced by bystander interventions such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) was the third leading cause of health loss due to disease in the U.S. behind ischemic heart disease and low back/neck pain, according to the most recent data. In a recent study, led by cardiologist Dr. Hanno Tan at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, researchers aimed to provide a comprehensive overall view on sex differences in care utilization and outcome of OHCA.

• New study: Exercise improves memory in heart failure patients

  Wednesday, May 29, 2019

  About 5.7 million adults in the United States have heart failure (HF). One in nine deaths in 2009 included HF as contributing cause, and about half of those who develop HF die within five years of diagnosis. HF is associated with frequent hospital admissions, reduced quality of life, significant morbidity, and increased mortality. Cognitive impairment is a common adverse consequence of HF and is characterized by deficits in one or more cognition domains, including attention, memory, executive function, and psychomotor speed.

• New study shows compelling case for link between autism, antidepressant use during pregnancy

  Monday, May 20, 2019

  Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder. Although many causes have been proposed, the cause is still questionable and ultimately unknown. However, a recent study shows a potential link between autistic-like behavior in adult mice and exposure to a common antidepressant in the womb. One of the most commonly prescribed antidepressants is fluoxetine (Prozac), a serotonin reuptake inhibitor. The researchers investigated adult mice born to mothers treated with fluoxetine over a 15-day time period, which corresponds to the second trimester in humans, compared with those born to mothers given normal saline.

• Brain circuit implicated in cocaine relapse

  Thursday, May 16, 2019

  Repeated use of cocaine rewires the brain and changes the brain’s reward circuitry, which leads to dependence and addiction. An initial, short-term effect — a buildup of the neurochemical dopamine — leads to euphoria and a desire to take the drug again. Researchers are seeking to understand how cocaine’s many longer-term effects produce the persistent cravings and risk of relapse. Researcher Peter W. Kalivas, Ph.D., a university professor and chair of the Department of Neuroscience at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), and colleagues have identified a type of neuron that is critical for cocaine-seeking behaviors in rodents.

• The increasing health benefits of walnuts

  Tuesday, May 14, 2019

  Based on several research studies, walnuts may be thought of as the superfood of nuts. A few years ago, studies indicated that a diet including walnuts may have a beneficial effect in reducing the risk, delaying the onset, and slowing the progression of, or preventing Alzheimer's disease. More recently, breast surgeons Mary Legenza, M.D., of Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and Edwards Comprehensive Cancer Center, and James Morgan, M.D., formerly of St. Mary's Medical Center, linked walnut consumption as a contributing factor that could suppress growth and survival of breast cancers.

• Australian researchers develop new animal model of schizophrenia

  Friday, May 10, 2019

  The exact cause of schizophrenia remains unknown, but current research suggests that it is a multifactorial disease based in genetics, susceptibilities, and environment. Ultimately, better treatments are urgently needed. Recently, neuroscientists at The University of Queensland's Brain Institute developed a new animal model of schizophrenia where dopamine is specifically elevated at the dorsal striatum — a model that was inspired from animal models of Parkinson's disease where dopamine is deficient.

• Study: Failed birth control may be linked to gene

  Tuesday, May 07, 2019

  Different birth control methods may be highly effective for preventing pregnancies, but birth control failure is more common than many realize. About 5% of the time, women using reliable birth control find themselves unexpectedly pregnant, and until now, the main reason was thought to be that the birth control method wasn’t being used correctly. A new study suggests that women who get pregnant while using birth control may carry a gene that breaks down the hormones common in contraceptives.

• Researchers present new implications for treating sickle cell disease

  Monday, April 22, 2019

  In sickle cell disease (SCD), hemoglobin molecules form into fibers that act like stiff rods within the red blood cells. Although the causes of SCD have been known at the molecular level for decades, the disease has never been studied at the level of detail it recently was by biomedical engineers in the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering. According to David Wood, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the university, the researchers were surprised at what they discovered at the nanoscale — that the disease self-assembly process is less efficient. This means that developing new medicines that are effective at lower doses and cause fewer side effects might be easier than originally thought.

• Treating bacteria in urine: IDSA recommendation update

  Wednesday, April 17, 2019

  Accurate diagnosis of urinary tract infections depends on both the presence of symptoms and a positive urine culture, although in most outpatient settings this diagnosis is made without the benefit of culture. Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB), the presence of bacteria in the urine without the symptoms of an infection, is common and has been a contributor to antibiotic misuse, which promotes resistance. According to updated ASB guidelines released by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), which recommend avoiding screening in certain groups of patients who don’t have symptoms, such as healthy non-pregnant women, elderly patients, those with diabetes and spinal cord injuries, new groups include infants and children, those who have had joint replacement or organ transplants.

• Study reveals statins have surprising benefits

  Wednesday, April 10, 2019

  Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Approximately one-third of all deaths in the U.S. are due to heart disease or stroke. Elevated blood cholesterol is a major risk factor for CVD, and statin therapy has been strongly associated with a reduced risk of atherosclerotic CVD. While investigating why statins cause negative side effects, cellular chemists at The University of Toledo discovered previously unknown benefits. Statins may play a protective role in the event of a heart attack because they can suppress a biological process that disrupts cardiac function.

• Study: Higher risk of depression in women who work long hours

  Friday, April 05, 2019

  Working women face challenging stressors involving both their family and professional lives, juggling roles as a wife, mother, and earner. For women who work more than 55 hours a week, however, these stressors increase the risk of depression. According to a recent observational study, those who worked for all or most weekends had 4.5% more depressive symptoms compared to women working only weekdays. For men who worked all or most weekends, 3.4% had more depressive symptoms compared to men working only weekdays.

• A new insight for studying dyslexia

  Tuesday, April 02, 2019

  Dyslexia, a widespread learning disability, occurs when an individual has significant difficulty with speed and accuracy of word decoding. Despite different therapeutic approaches and learning strategies to address the reading and writing difficulties, there is no cure for dyslexia. And despite previous studies that developmental dyslexia is caused by dysfunction of structures in the cerebral cortex, the reasons for such alterations remain unknown. However, a recent study conducted by Dr. Katharina von Kriegstein and an international team of experts reveals that people with dyslexia have a weakly developed structure that is not located in the cerebral cortex but at a subcortical processing stage.

• Study results show promise for using ultrasound to assess bone health

  Thursday, March 28, 2019

  Osteoporosis affects about 25 percent of women aged 65 years and over and about 5 percent of men aged 65 and over. Unfortunately, most people are unaware that they have osteoporosis until they break a bone. Dual/energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the gold standard for assessing bone health. Although effective in identifying those with low bone mineral density (BMD), using DXA to screen for bone health is limited by cost, size, and technical requirements to operate the machine. A recent study, however, showed that inexpensive ultrasound screenings for osteoporosis were equal to data gathered using DXA.

• A blood test to measure pain

  Tuesday, March 05, 2019

  Whether acute or chronic, most of us have dealt with pain. In 2016, 20 percent of adults in the United States had chronic pain, and 8 percent had pain that limited at least one major life activity. The state of the art of pain measurement right now is a pain scale that was invented decades ago. However, a new University of Pittsburgh study shows that physicians may soon be able to quantify pain with a simple blood test. Researchers have developed a test that objectively measures pain biomarkers in the blood.

• Exercise training for patients with Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease

  Wednesday, February 20, 2019

  ​The World Health Organization estimated that 9 percent of the world's population had diabetes in 2014, and over 90 percent of these suffered from Type 2 diabetes. Moreover, Type 2 diabetes already causes 5 million deaths per year, mostly from cardiovascular diseases. According to a recent position paper, patients with Type 2 diabetes should be prescribed physical activity to control blood sugar and improve heart health. According to Dr. Hareld Kemps, a cardiologist in the Netherlands, diabetes doubles the risk of mortality, but the fitter patients become, the more that risk declines. Unfortunately, most patients do not engage in exercise programs.

• Detecting hidden anxiety, depression in children

  Thursday, February 14, 2019

  As many as 1 in 5 children suffer from anxiety or depression, starting in preschool years. Early diagnosis and appropriate services for children and their families can make a difference in the lives of children with mental disorders. However, when children suffer in silence because they never exhibit the disruptive behaviors that would lead to a referral for diagnostic assessment, how can parents be sure their child is anxious or depressed? Ryan McGinnis, a biomedical engineer at the University of Vermont, led a team to develop a tool that could help screen children who were internalizing disorders to catch them for early treatment.

• Common pain relievers may promote C. difficile

  Tuesday, February 12, 2019

  Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) is the most commonly diagnosed cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and has surpassed methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus as the most common healthcare-associated infection in many U.S. hospitals. Healthcare costs attributed to these infections can reach nearly $5 billion each year. Commonly occurring in older hospitalized adults after the use of antibiotic medications, C. diff affects the normal flora of the gut. This hardy type of bacteria is very difficult to treat. An estimated 15,000 deaths are directly attributable to C. diff infections, making it a substantial cause of infectious disease death.

• Psychological stress in midlife may be a risk factor for dementia

  Tuesday, February 05, 2019

  Vital exhaustion, a kind of emotional collapse, is further defined as excessive fatigue, feelings of demoralization, and increased irritability. Vital exhaustion has been identified as a risk factor for cardiac events. In a previous study, probabilities of adverse cardiac events over time were significantly higher in people with high vital exhaustion compared to those with low exhaustion. A recent study suggests that vital exhaustion, or psychological distress, is also a risk factor for future risk of dementia. Currently, an estimated 2 million people in the United States suffer from severe dementia, and another 1 to 5 million people experience mild to moderate dementia.

• New study evaluates presentation of chronic fatigue syndrome in the ED

  Wednesday, January 30, 2019

  Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is poorly understood, but proposed mechanisms include biological, genetic, infectious, and psychological. This disease is characterized by profound fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, sleep abnormalities, autonomic manifestations, pain, and other symptoms that are made worse by exertion of any sort. For years, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended two controversial treatments for CFS — a program of steadily increasing activity and a specific form of cognitive behavior therapy. However, few medical professionals are aware that the CDC has dropped the exercise and psychotherapy recommendations. How do patients with CFS get the healthcare and treatment they deserve to deal with their symptoms?

• Getting clever to beat the flu

  Friday, January 25, 2019

  We all dread the flu. From late fall to early spring, from mild to severe to even deadly varieties, the flu is anticipated and discussed every year. Since 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) have recommended routine annual influenza vaccinations for all persons 6 months of age or older who don’t have contraindications. However, the flu virus is a moving target, and it is often difficult to study the exact number and locations of proteins on any individual virus, and scientists have always known that a flu virus in our bodies can be a lot different than viruses grown in the lab petri dish where viruses are uniform and spherical. In our bodies, these viruses vary in shape and composition.

• Hand hygiene in the operating room: Halting the spread of staph infections

  Friday, January 04, 2019

  In 2014, approximately 14.2 million inpatient operations were performed in U.S. hospitals. A survey of healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevalence, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control, revealed an estimated 157,500 surgical site infections associated with inpatient surgeries in 2011. Although advances have been made in infection control practices, surgical site infections remain an alarming cause of morbidity, prolonged hospitalization, and death. In fact, these infections are associated with a mortality rate of 3 percent, and 75 percent of deaths are directly attributable to these infections.

• Do patients lie to their physicians? Results of an eye-opening survey

  Tuesday, December 18, 2018

  In the delicate doctor-patient relationship, not telling the truth to patients requires special attention because patients can suffer serious harm if lied to by their physicians. Not only is patient autonomy undermined, but patients who are not told the truth may experience a loss of trust, and trust is essential for healing. Similarly, patient failure to disclose medically relevant information to their physicians can undermine patient care or even lead to patient harm. A recent survey showed that patients commonly withhold medically relevant information from their clinicians, a pattern that may adversely affect the quality of patient care.

• Should everyone be taking a statin? Results of an umbrella review

  Tuesday, December 11, 2018

  Statins are relatively inexpensive and do not have many downsides; the most common complaint is myalgia, which is experienced by about 10 percent of patients. In addition to reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, statins have been linked to benefits for other diseases and conditions, such as chronic pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, some cancers, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and infections. So, why shouldn’t everyone be on a statin? The answer is because after a review of statins and multiple non-cardiovascular outcomes, the jury is still out.

• Study: Evening stress may be worse than morning stress

  Tuesday, December 04, 2018

  The Decade of the Brain, as proclaimed by President George H.W. Bush for the 1990s, has come and gone. But many mysteries remain, and President Barack Obama launched his own brain research program in 2013 — The Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative. The fact that the brain inspired such a call to action is not surprising in view of the many mysteries still to be revealed.

• Study refutes effectiveness of drug combination for treatment-resistant depression

  Monday, November 26, 2018

  Many treatment options are available for depression, but how well treatment works depends on the type of depression and its severity. Antidepressants take time — usually 2 to 4 weeks — to work, and often, symptoms such as sleep, appetite, and concentration problems improve before mood lifts. However, despite advances in understanding the psychopharmacology and biomarkers of major depression and the introduction of several novel classes of antidepressants, only 60 to 70 percent of patients with depression respond to antidepressant therapy.

• Study: Controlling blood pressure with blue light shows promising results

  Monday, November 19, 2018

  About 75 million American adults (32 percent) have high blood pressure — that’s 1 in every 3 adults — and 1 in 3 adults has prehypertension. High blood pressure costs the nation $48.6 billion each year, a cost that includes healthcare services, medications, and missed days of work. A new study suggests that blue light can reduce blood pressure. Blue light increases levels of nitric oxide, an important signaling molecular that protects the cardiovascular system.

• Pilot study showcases breathing device for acute migraine

  Tuesday, November 13, 2018

  Migraine is the third most prevalent neurological disease in the world, affecting 39 million men, women, and children in the United States and 1 billion people worldwide. In the U.S., nearly 1 in 4 households includes someone who suffers with migraine. Treatment has included both pain-relieving and preventative medications. Many patients attend pain clinics and endure countless trials of different medications. For some, the medications work for a short time, others not at all. According to a new study, however, some migraine patients may be able to cut down on medication or stop taking medication at all by using a newly developed inhaler that changes the composition of the air that they breathe.

• Study shows larger brain region for stress in those with depression

  Thursday, November 01, 2018

  According to the World Health Organization, 322 million people worldwide were affected by depression in 2015. In the U.S., 16.1 million adults aged 18 years or older had experienced at least one major depressive episode in the last year, which represented 6.7 percent of all adults. Depression, a leading psychiatric disorder, is also the leading cause of disability among people ages 15-44 years. Although the cause remains unknown, it is thought that depression results from a chemical imbalance, but the disease itself may be more complex.

• Physician burnout may affect patient care

  Tuesday, October 16, 2018

  Physicians are at high risk for burnout, which is marked by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and a lack of sense of personal accomplishment. The Minimizing Error, Maximizing Outcome (MEMO) study found that more than half of primary care physicians felt stressed because of time pressures and other work conditions. For physicians, the emotional exhaustion of burnout can have professional and personal consequences. For patients, being examined and treated by a physician dealing with burnout, manifesting in lack empathy or agitation, may result in dissatisfaction or unwillingness to comply with treatment recommendations.

• Decreasing the risk of suicide in fibromyalgia patients

  Friday, October 05, 2018

  Fibromyalgia, one of the most common pain conditions, affects about 10 million adults in the U.S. About 75-90 percent of those with this condition are women, and most are diagnosed during middle age. One study of 1,269 Danish women with fibromyalgia showed that the suicide risk was 10 times that of the general population. Although the cause of fibromyalgia remains unknown, the disorder can be effectively treated and managed. A recent study showed that fibromyalgia patients who regularly visited their physicians or healthcare providers were much less likely to attempt suicide than patients who do not regularly see their physicians.

• Diabetology: An emerging, but stunted, new field

  Tuesday, October 02, 2018

  New cases of diabetes have doubled during the last 30 years, mainly among obese people. This increase in diabetes prevalence has caused an emerging crisis in healthcare. About 14 years ago, one-year fellowship programs were created to afford primary care physicians the clinical skills to manage diabetes and its complications. Currently, there are four diabetes fellowship programs nationwide. But new research reveals that resistance among payers and other physicians may slow growth of this new specialty.

• Tapering off opioids after surgery: The Transitional Pain Program

  Wednesday, September 26, 2018

  Preoperative opioid use is reported in 23.1 percent of patients undergoing surgery. However, there is an increased incidence of patients who receive prescription opioids after surgery compared with nonsurgical patients. In fact, a study of health insurance claims showed that patients undergoing two of the most common types of surgery were at an increased risk of becoming chronic users of opioid painkillers. Although prescriptions for opioids are most often related to surgical care, recent data suggest that 6 percent of patients undergoing either major or minor elective surgical procedures develop long-term opioid dependence.

• Increasing antibiotic resistance leads to emergency department visits for children

  Monday, September 17, 2018

  Antibiotics, which are among the most commonly prescribed medications, are often lifesaving, yet may cause unwanted side effects. Antibiotic use, or overuse, has led to increasing antibiotic resistance, one of the world’s most pressing public health problems. This means that illnesses that were once easily treatable with antibiotics are becoming more difficult to cure. Each year from 2011-2015, antibiotics led to approximately 70,000 emergency room visits for allergic reactions and other side effects in children.

• Study reveals promise for ‘triple pill’ to treat high blood pressure

  Thursday, September 13, 2018

  Hypertension is the most common of all the conditions of the circulatory system. An estimated 103 million adults have high blood pressure, nearly half of all adults in the United States. About 7 in 10 U.S. adults with high blood pressure use medications to treat the condition, but only about half (54 percent) of people with high blood pressure have their condition under control. However, a new treatment that combines low doses of three blood pressure-lowering medications shows promise for lowering high blood pressure more than usual care.

• Study shows promising new therapy for humans, dogs with Type 1 diabetes

  Tuesday, September 11, 2018

  In the U.S. alone, more than 1 million people are living with Type 1 diabetes, and approximately 80 people per day, or 30,000 per year, are newly diagnosed. Despite continual improvements in insulin, insulin delivery methods, and home glucose monitoring methods, most people with Type 1 diabetes do not achieve recommended levels of glycemic control. A new therapy for diabetes might mean that instead of injecting insulin once a day or wearing pumps, those with Type 1 diabetes would just need an injection of collagen mixed with pancreatic cells every few months.

• Antibiotic-resistant UTIs are on the rise in emergency departments

  Wednesday, September 05, 2018

  Urinary tract infections (UTIs) account for 8.3 million doctor visits, 1 million emergency department visits, and 100,000 hospitalizations annually. Although accurate diagnosis of a UTI depends on both the presence of symptoms and a positive urine culture, in most outpatient settings this diagnosis is made without the benefit of culture. When cultures are obtained, however, many of these infections are often caused by drug-resistant bacteria. The rise of drug-resistant bacteria was recently noted in a California emergency department.

• Detecting kidney cancer with a blood test

  Tuesday, August 28, 2018

  One of every four deaths in the United States is due to cancer. Kidney cancer is among the 10 most common cancers in both men and women. It is commonly a disease of older people, as the average age of diagnosis is 64 years. Importantly, kidney cancer has the potential for cure with surgery when diagnosed at an early stage. Recently, scientists have discovered a marker in the blood that could help predict a person’s risk of kidney cancer.

• New research focuses on link between hormones and migraines in women

  Thursday, August 23, 2018

  The three most common forms of pain treated in the United States are headache, backache, and metastatic pain or cancer pain. Headaches are a major reason why people miss work or school or visit a healthcare provider. Migraine headaches, which affect about 12 percent of Americans, involve moderate-to-severe throbbing pain, often on one side of the head. Migraines are three times more common in women than in men and may relate to changes in hormones and hormonal levels during their menstrual cycle.

• The benefits, risks of new blood pressure guidelines

  Monday, August 20, 2018

  Since 1999, more people with high blood pressure — especially those 60 years of age or older — have visited their healthcare professionals for treatment. Because of its high prevalence, hypertension remains an important public health concern and a risk factor for adverse health outcomes, including coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, and decline in cognitive function. According to the landmark Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT), intensive blood pressure management may save lives.

• Recent study uncovers gene responsible for addictive behavior

  Wednesday, August 15, 2018

  Cocaine is one of the oldest and most widely abused stimulants in the United States, and addiction affects all income groups, ages, and ethnicities. There is no single cause of addiction. In some cases, addiction is related to the ingredients in the addictive substance causing chemical reactions in the body. In other cases, addiction is partly genetic. Scientists have long known that cocaine directly stimulates the brain’s reward center and induces long-term changes to the reward circuitry that are responsible for addictive behavior.

• Computer program breaks new ground in treatment for triple-negative breast cancer

  Friday, August 10, 2018

  Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide, with about 1.7 million new cases diagnosed in 2012. Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents 15-20 percent of all breast cancers. More aggressive than other forms of breast cancer, TNBC may spread beyond the breast, may return within three years of chemotherapy, and may be fatal within the first five years. Chemotherapy has no guarantee of success, and even drug cocktails cannot predict which combinations, among hundreds, will work.

• NIH study sheds new light on bacteria therapy for eczema

  Tuesday, August 07, 2018

  Not only do the embarrassing patches of rough, reddened eczema erode self-esteem, the intense itching often leads to infection that requires treatment with antibiotics. Eczema is a disease group that encompasses a few forms of dermatitis, both endogenous (atopic dermatitis) and exogenous (irritant and allergic contact dermatitis). While the cause of atopic dermatitis is unknown, studies suggest that the skin microbiome plays a key role, and scientists have known that people with atopic dermatitis tend to have large populations of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria on their skin.

• The link between diabetes and cancer in women

  Thursday, August 02, 2018

  Nearly half of American adults have diabetes or prediabetes. Diabetes increases the risk of heart disease (the most common diabetes complication) by about four times in women but only about two times in men, and women have worse outcomes after a heart attack. Epidemiologic evidence suggests that people with diabetes are at significantly higher risk for many forms of cancer. In fact, diabetes and cancer often coexist in the same individuals.

• Identifying, treating age-related muscle weakness

  Friday, July 13, 2018

  Lean muscle mass contributes up to 50 percent of total body weight in young adults, but that decreases to 25 percent by age 75 to 80. By 25 years of age, skeletal muscles have reached their maximum size. Although the decrease in muscle tissue begins around the age of 50 years, the decrease becomes more dramatic after age 60 and results in diminished muscle function. This decline of muscle mass and strength, or sarcopenia, is often hastened by inactivity.

• Action needed to minimize ovarian cancer risk in LGBT community

  Tuesday, July 10, 2018

  According to the American Cancer Society, 22,240 women will receive a new diagnosis of ovarian cancer in 2018, killing about 14,070 women. While the risk of ovarian cancer is 1 in 75, the risk for women in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community may be even greater. Studies have found that lesbians and bisexual women get less routine healthcare than other women, including colon, breast, and cervical cancer screening tests. The reasons include low rates of health insurance, fear of discrimination, and negative experiences with healthcare providers, which delays routine care such as early detection tests.

• Replacing opioids with medical marijuana in older adults with chronic pain

  Thursday, July 05, 2018

  While often effective and appropriate, opioid painkillers have contributed to the worst drug epidemic in history. Health experts have worked diligently to determine when dependency on these powerful prescription drugs starts, as well as how to prevent addiction. Although young adults may be the first to be tagged as prescription drug abusers, seniors may have unwittingly become involved in using opioid pain relievers. Now, physicians are considering treating older men and women who have chronic pain with medical marijuana to reduce their opioid use.

• Assessing pain with a new tool

  Tuesday, July 03, 2018

  Although estimates of the prevalence of chronic pain vary, the number of persons experiencing chronic pain in the U.S. is substantial. According to a new study prepared by the National Institutes of Health, an estimated 11.2 percent of adults experience chronic pain. To address this issue, clinicians and researchers at the University of Washington's Center for Pain Relief found the use of an in-depth questionnaire tremendously helpful. The "Pain Tracker" can be filled out online from any digital device or completed on paper.

• Older mothers and the risk of heart disease in their children

  Thursday, June 28, 2018

  The average age of first-time mothers is increasing because more women are waiting until their 30s and 40s to start having children, and fewer women are having their first child during their teens and 20s. The vast majority of all births are still to women under 35 (about 85 percent). However, rates for all births, not just of a first child, to women over 35 have been rising over the past 20 years, while birth rates for younger women are stable or declining, especially in developed countries. However, waiting until one’s 30s to have children may pose health risks to both mother and child.

• Osteoporosis patients who take ‘drug holidays’ may suffer increased fracture risk

  Tuesday, June 26, 2018

  Osteoporosis affects nearly 200 million women worldwide, and the prevalence of bone diseases is expected to increase significantly as the population ages. In the U.S., the number of people age 65 and older is expected to rise to 86 million in 2050 from 35 million in 2000. Fractures, which are common and can be quite debilitating, are by far the biggest problem caused by bone disease and are often the first sign of the disease in patients. Worldwide, osteoporosis causes more than 8.9 million fractures annually, resulting in an osteoporotic fracture every three seconds.

• The effects of loneliness on our hearts

  Wednesday, June 20, 2018

  It is well-known that our hearts often respond to our emotional state. For example, broken heart syndrome, also known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy or takotsubo cardiomyopathy, is a recently recognized heart problem. Symptoms of broken heart syndrome can look like those of a heart attack. But a broken heart may not be the only emotional stressor that affects our hearts. Loneliness may also be bad for the heart and may even lead to premature death.

• Reducing the need for corticosteroids in treating severe asthma

  Thursday, June 14, 2018

  Severe asthma includes up to 20 percent of asthma patients who have frequent and severe symptoms despite aggressive therapy with anti-inflammatory and other controller medications. Current treatments for severe asthma often include high doses of corticosteroids, such as prednisone, to control exacerbations. Reducing the need for corticosteroids with alternative treatments is preferable because these medications are associated with serious side effects from prolonged use, including multi-organ toxicities and immunosuppression.

• Are antidepressants and bladder medications contributing to dementia?

  Tuesday, June 12, 2018

  Dementia is the leading cause of dependence and disability. The number of people living with dementia worldwide is currently estimated at 47 million and is projected to increase to 75 million by 2030 and triple by 2050. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia. Alzheimer's disease is thought to be caused by a combination of genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors that affect the brain over time. A new landmark study led by the University of East Anglia (UK) and funded by Alzheimer's Society, however, indicates that antidepressants and bladder medications may be linked to dementia.

• Your stress, my brain: Communicating stress to others

  Wednesday, June 06, 2018

  Stress affects everyone. Whether it’s routine stress related to pressures at work, school or family, stress that occurs from a sudden negative change, such as job loss, divorce, illness or traumatic stress that occurs after a major accident, physical assault or natural disaster, our recovery depends on our coping skills. Recognizing the signs of stress, such as insomnia, increased alcohol consumption, anger, depression and low energy levels, is the first step in coping.

• New study: AFib and noise may be linked

  Tuesday, May 29, 2018

  Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is the most common type of heart arrhythmia. About 2.7 to 6.1 million people in the United States have AFib, and with the aging population, this number is expected to increase. AFib can occur because the heart's electrical system has been damaged, typically from other conditions that affect the heart, such as hypertension and coronary heart disease. Interestingly, in a recent study, scientists discovered that noise may throw the heart out of rhythm.

• Do oncologists have enough knowledge to prescribe medical marijuana?

  Wednesday, May 23, 2018

  Although 30 states and the District of Columbia now allow marijuana use for medical purposes, physicians are expected to guide patients through areas where most have little or no training. A recent study revealed that although most oncologists do not feel informed enough about medical marijuana’s use to make clinical recommendations, at least half still recommend the drug to their patients.

• Large-scale study shows link between allergies and depression

  Wednesday, May 16, 2018

  Allergies are a major health issue, the sixth-leading cause of chronic illness in the United States, with an annual cost more than $18 billion. More than 50 million Americans suffer from allergies each year. Historically, there is not a direct link between the mechanism of allergic disorders and depression or anxiety. However, a new, large-scale study surprisingly links eczema, hay fever and asthma to an increased risk of developing mental illnesses.

• Are opioids more effective for chronic musculoskeletal pain?

  Thursday, April 26, 2018

  In the last 20 years, physicians have been prescribing opioids for chronic pain with the rationale that chronic pain patients legitimately need some relief. Physicians felt the side effects of these opioids were not too severe and that when opioids were used as prescribed, there was little chance for addiction.

• Experimental drug may decrease hot flashes during menopause

  Wednesday, April 25, 2018

  ​Menopause affects every woman, and with the large baby boomer generation reaching midlife and beyond, an unprecedented number of women are now postmenopausal. Approximately 6,000 women in the United States alone reach menopause every day — more than 2 million per year.

• The ongoing debate on acupuncture for pain

  Wednesday, April 18, 2018

  ​Chronic pain, which affects 100 million adults in the United States, continues to be an immense clinical problem. In one pain survey, more than half of the respondents (51 percent) felt they had little or no control over pain. About 77 percent of respondents reported feeling depressed, and 74 percent said their energy levels were impacted by their pain.

• Problem with insomnia? You may be born with it

  Friday, April 13, 2018

  As adults, we need seven or more hours of sleep each night for the best health and well-being. However, many people have problems sleeping — whether falling asleep, staying asleep or just simply sleeping well. And new research indicates it's a problem we may be born with.

• Aware or unaware: Exploring the brain during unconsciousness

  Thursday, April 05, 2018

  The unconscious brain is difficult to investigate. Yet we know that even when the body rests deeply in a coma — beyond the reach of sensation and thought — the brain works to pump blood, move air into and out of the lungs, and digest food.

• The role of fitness and brain fiber in dementia

  Friday, March 30, 2018

  ​An estimated 2 million people in the United States suffer from severe dementia, and 5 to 8 percent of people over the age of 65 have some form of dementia. Globally, the number of people living with dementia is expected to increase from 50 million in 2017 to 152 million by 2050, a 204 percent increase.

• How video games help rehabilitate stroke survivors

  Monday, March 19, 2018

  Every year, about 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke, and approximately two-thirds of these individuals survive and require rehabilitation. Nearly half of older stroke survivors experience moderate to severe disability, but researchers have been examining new therapeutic treatments, including video games.

• Opioid addiction treatment could cause breathing problems

  Friday, March 09, 2018

  Opioid addiction remains an alarming epidemic in the United States — in fact, ​it may even be getting worse. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimated that there are approximately ​2.1 million people in the U.S. who have substance abuse issues related to prescribed opioids and another 467,000 who are addicted to heroin.

• Music helps soothe patients during cast room procedures

  Thursday, March 08, 2018

  ​Fractures, whether intrinsic or extrinsic, account for 16 percent of all musculoskeletal injuries in the United States annually and are among the most common orthopedic problems.

• Exercise may help prevent heart failure in aging hearts

  Monday, March 05, 2018

  ​Heart disease continues to be one of the country's most serious health problems and the leading cause of death. Approximately 84 million people in the U.S. suffer from some form of cardiovascular disease, causing about 2,200 deaths per day, with one-third of cardiovascular disease deaths occurring before age 75. About half of those who develop heart failure die within five years of diagnosis.

• Study: Controlling the risk of osteoarthritis with proteins

  Thursday, February 22, 2018

  Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common disease that affects 30 million adults in the United States. OA is a disease of the entire joint, involving the cartilage, joint lining, ligaments and bone. But OA is more than joints just wearing out. The disease is characterized by cartilage breakdown, bony joint changes, tendon and ligament deterioration, and various degrees of inflammation of the joint synovium.

• Ibuprofen: Exceeding the daily dosing limits

  Tuesday, February 20, 2018

  ​Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most commonly used drugs worldwide to treat mild-to-moderate pain and inflammation. The widespread availability of over-the-counter NSAIDs such as ibuprofen, aspirin and sodium naproxen, for example, has allowed tens of millions of individuals to minimize the pain, swelling and inflammation linked with mild moderate athletic injuries.

• A simple food preservative may help some schizophrenia patients

  Friday, February 16, 2018

  ​Schizophrenia can affect all aspects of a person — thinking, feeling and behaving — and is associated with tremendous personal suffering, disability, family burden, premature death and societal cost. Getting people into treatment quickly is important for recovery.

• A targeted healing agent for bones that won’t mend

  Thursday, February 15, 2018

  The human body contains 206 bones vulnerable to fractures of all kinds, and the average person has two fractures in a lifetime. Broken bones are among the most common orthopedic problems. Fractures account for 16 percent of all musculoskeletal injuries in the United States annually. Broken bones are very common in childhood, although children's fractures are generally less complicated than fractures in adults.

• Patients with fibromyalgia may screen positive for ADHD

  Thursday, February 08, 2018

  ​Fibromyalgia (FM) is one of the most common pain conditions, characterized with diffuse aching, pain or stiffness in the muscles or joints and accompanied by multiple tender points on examination. It affects 10 million people in the United States and an estimated 3-6 percent of the world population. About 75-90 percent of those who suffer with FM are women.

• Influenza may be another risk for heart attack

  Wednesday, February 07, 2018

  The number of seasonal influenza cases has increased sharply in the United States this year, with 42 states reporting high flu activity, ​according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For the week ending January 27, the proportion of people seeing their healthcare provider for influenza-like illness (ILI) was 7.1 percent, which is above the national baseline of 2.2 percent and is approaching the 7.7 peak of the 2009 pandemic.

• The effect of salt on brain function and blood pressure

  Tuesday, February 06, 2018

  Diseases related to blood pressure — including stroke, coronary heart disease, heart failure and kidney disease — are leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Even slightly-elevated BP levels can lead to increased risk in cardiovascular diseases or stroke.

• Large clinical study explores link between sepsis and cardiac arrhythmias

  Tuesday, January 30, 2018

  We all know that feeling of our heart skipping a beat. These cardiac arrhythmias are common. Symptoms such as dizziness, palpitations and syncope are frequent complaints encountered by family physicians, internists and cardiologists.

• Antidepressants may not work in patients with chronic illnesses

  Tuesday, January 23, 2018

  Clinical depression is a serious and often complex medical condition, affecting about 16 million people in the United States. A report from the National Center for Health Statistics shows that from 2011-14, about 13 percent of people 12 years and older reported taking an antidepressant in the previous month — a number that has increased from 11 percent in 2005-08. In 2015, antidepressants were the second-most commonly prescribed medications after drugs to lower cholesterol.

• Landmark research explores a new and safer opioid

  Thursday, January 18, 2018

  A large percentage of American adults suffer from some sort of severe or chronic pain. According to data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey, 11.2 percent (25.3 million people) have experienced some form of pain every day for the past three months. In fact, pain is a common reason for patients to seek care from their healthcare professionals.

• Study: Skipping breakfast may increase risk of atherosclerosis

  Thursday, January 11, 2018

  Cardiovascular disease claims the lives of 17.7 million people each year, accounting for 31 percent of all global deaths. Atherosclerosis, the underlying and leading cause of cardiovascular disease, is a universal problem, resulting in a high rate of mortality.

• ERs play a growing role in US medical care

  Monday, December 18, 2017

  ​Emergency room (ER) visits play a major role in the health of people in the United States. In recent years, the percentage of care given at ERs has grown significantly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 1 in 5 people in the U.S. had one or more ER visits over a 12-month period in 2007. In 2008, there were nearly 124 million visits to the nation's 4,000 ERs.

• ADHD: A constellation of disorders

  Monday, December 04, 2017

  Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects 1 in 20 children in the United States and has been increasing dramatically in the last few years. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) says that 5 percent of American children have ADHD. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) puts the number at more than double the APA's estimate. The CDC says 11 percent of American children, ages 4 to 17, have ADHD — an increase of 42 percent in just eight years.

• Research: How skin may help control blood pressure

  Wednesday, November 29, 2017

  ​Hypertension, the silent killer, is ​a major public health problem. The American Heart Association estimates high blood pressure affects approximately 1 in 3 adults in the United States — ​about 76 million Americans. Only about half (54 percent) of people with high blood pressure have their condition under control.

• Is time of day a factor for surgical complications?

  Monday, November 27, 2017

  All surgical procedures have potential complications that can increase the risks of a negative outcome, whether specific to the procedure or after surgery has been completed, but the operating room is the highest risk area for serious complications. Both older and more recent studies indicate that surgeries performed at night lead to worse outcomes, especially for patients undergoing coronary angioplasty, orthopedic surgery, transplant surgery, colorectal surgery and cardiac arrest.

• EAET: A new therapy for fibromyalgia

  Tuesday, November 21, 2017

  Fibromyalgia affects 10 million or more Americans ages 18 and older and an estimated 3-6 percent of the world population. A complex, long-term pain condition, fibromyalgia takes a powerful toll on health, well-being and quality of life, affecting sleep, social activities, thinking and memory. Of those who face the challenges of fibromyalgia, 75-90 percent are women.

• Who are the defenders against antimicrobial resistance?

  Friday, November 17, 2017

  Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health. Nearly 2 million Americans per year develop hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), resulting in 99,000 deaths — the majority of which are caused by bacteria that are resistant to multiple antibiotics.

• More children arriving at emergency departments addicted to opioids

  Friday, November 03, 2017

  Opioid addiction is a big problem in the United States. Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death, with 52,404 lethal drug overdoses. And opioid addiction is driving the epidemic, with 20,101 overdose deaths related to prescription pain relievers, compared to 12,990 overdose deaths related to heroin in 2015.

• A critical link between menopause and Alzheimer’s disease

  Thursday, October 26, 2017

  ​Alzheimer's disease, a devastating and irreversible brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, is currently ranked as the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. For most people with Alzheimer's, symptoms first appear in their mid-60s.

• Are primary care physicians recognizing prediabetes patients?

  Friday, October 20, 2017

  Approximately 84 million American adults — more than 1 out of 3 — have prediabetes, with an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke, and 90 percent don't realize they are at risk. Prediabetes, which is not a disease itself, is characterized by high blood sugar, almost to the point of being diagnosed as diabetes. It is unclear, however, whether primary care physicians (PCPs) diagnose prediabetes and adjust the treatment plan in light of hemoglobin test results.

• The dangers of organ damage in hypertensive young men and teens

  Wednesday, October 18, 2017

  About 75 million American adults have high blood pressure — roughly 1 of every 3 adults. High blood pressure may not manifest with any symptoms, but it's important to get under control because it can lead to heart attack and stroke.

• Saving lives with smart tattoos

  Monday, October 16, 2017

  Although tattoos have served in various cultures as rites of passage, marks of status and rank, symbols of religious and spiritual devotion, decorations for bravery, sexual lures, pledges of love, punishment, amulets and talisman, tattoos may soon have a new purpose — saving lives.

• Researchers identify brain area responsible for hearing voices in schizophrenia

  Wednesday, October 11, 2017

  ​Schizophrenia affects more than 21 million people worldwide. Between 0.2 percent and 2 percent of the population suffer with this disorder. Characterized by deficits in thought processes — delusions, muddled thoughts and hallucinations — the complexity of schizophrenia continues to challenge healthcare professionals.

• Report: 4 key strategies to improve overcrowded EDs

  Friday, October 06, 2017

  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 136 million people visit the emergency department (ED) every year — and this number is rising. Of these, roughly 40 million are treated for injuries, and 2.1 million are admitted to the critical care unit. In 2011, 20 percent of adults in the U.S. reported at least one ED visit in the past year, and 7 percent reported two or more visits.

• Promoting sleep — brain, muscle or both?

  Thursday, October 05, 2017

  ​According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), insufficient sleep ​is a public health problem, often leading to traffic accidents and occupational errors. A plethora of information exists about sleep disorders, sleep deprivation and what we can do to improve our sleeping habits, such as going to bed at the same time each night and rising at the same time each morning as well as avoiding large meals, caffeine and nicotine close to bedtime.

• A new superbug on the horizon

  Thursday, September 28, 2017

  ​According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 23,000 Americans die each year from infections resistant to antibiotics, with at least 2 million people becoming infected with drug-resistant bacteria.

• Can a protein trick your heart into thinking you exercise?

  Friday, September 22, 2017

  ​Heart failure (HF), the final common stage of many diseases of the heart, continues to be a major health concern in the United States, affecting nearly 6 million people. Each year, about 550,000 individuals are diagnosed with HF. Although advances in managing HF continue to grow, about half of those diagnosed will die within five years.

• 2 studies explore depression and the brain

  Wednesday, September 20, 2017

  Major depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States with 1 in 6 people experiencing a depressive episode during their lifetime. Depression varies in severity and by demographic indicators, and it is rapidly becoming a significant health concern worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, depression will be the second-leading cause of disability in the world by 2020.

• Using lasers to detect heart attack and stroke

  Friday, September 15, 2017

  ​Cardiovascular disease (CVD) from atherosclerosis accounts for 29 percent of deaths worldwide and ranks second only to infectious and parasitic disease. Deaths from CVD are often premature, and millions of nonfatal events result in disability.

• Teaching physicians how to interact with transgender patients

  Friday, September 08, 2017

  ​Accessing appropriate medical care is more challenging for members of the LGBT community than for heterosexual and nontransgender people. Although LGBT people share the same health risks as the rest of society, they also face a profound and poorly understood set of additional health risks because of social stigma.

• Research: What causes depression in elderly adults?

  Thursday, September 07, 2017

  While people are starting to recognize and seek treatment for depression during the teen years and adulthood, depression in older adults often goes overlooked and untreated. Older adults face loss of partners, chronic physical illnesses, financial concerns and cognitive impairment.

• Challenging the concept of healthy obesity

  Monday, August 28, 2017

  ​Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. About 610,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year — that's 1 in every 4 deaths. Obesity has significant negative impact on cardiovascular disease (CVD), including hypertension, coronary heart disease, heart failure and arrhythmia.

• Do male and female brains process depression differently?

  Thursday, August 17, 2017

  ​Major depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States, carrying with it the heaviest burden of disability among mental and behavioral disorders. In 2015, an estimated 16.1 million (6.7 percent) adults aged 18 or older in the U.S. had at least one major depressive episode in the previous year.

• A technique to look inside dangerous blood clots

  Thursday, August 10, 2017

  On average, 274 people die every day from blood clots, one person every six minutes. Each year, 100,000 to 300,000 deaths occur from blood clots, which is greater than the total number of people who lose their lives each year to AIDS, breast cancer and motor vehicle crashes combined.

• First, do no harm? A failure of stethoscope hygiene

  Tuesday, August 08, 2017

  Although studies have illustrated the importance of stethoscope hygiene and guidelines have been established, healthcare professionals rarely comply.

• How can we heal the healers?

  Monday, July 31, 2017

  The prevalence of burnout among physicians in the United States is at an alarming level. Although practicing medicine may be highly fulfilling and meaningful, U.S. physicians suffer more burnout, manifesting as emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, than other American workers.

• Brain scans show fathers respond differently to daughters than sons

  Thursday, July 27, 2017

  The ratio of boys to girls born in the United States is 51 percent to 49 percent. Since 1940, an average of 91,685 more male babies have been born each year than females, a total of 5,776,130 over that 63-year period. An early review notes that in the United States, parents — especially fathers — have shown a strong preference for sons. Couples with sons are more likely to marry and are less likely to divorce if married. Fathers also tend to spend more time with sons than with daughters.

• Flying physicians to stroke patients: A new intervention standard?

  Tuesday, July 25, 2017

  ​More than 130,000 Americans die from a stroke each year. Stroke is the third leading cause of death and the leading cause of long-term disability in the United States. The chances of survival are greater when emergency treatment begins quickly, but many stroke victims don't get quick help. According to one survey, only 38 percent of people were aware of major stroke symptoms and knew to call for help.

• Regular walks help lower office workers’ blood lipids

  Monday, July 17, 2017

  Working long hours in the office has been linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. In a long-term study, researchers found that among more than 1,900 people who worked more than 46 hours per week, 43 percent had been diagnosed with angina, coronary artery disease, heart failure, heart attack, high blood pressure or stroke. Although this study did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship between long hours at work and increased heart disease risk, there is concern about how long hours of sitting affects heart health.

• Saving lives with a novel antibacterial wound cover

  Tuesday, July 11, 2017

  Skin wounds — and the infections that come with them — pose a big challenge for medical professionals. Bacterial skin infections are the 28th most common diagnosis in hospitalized patients, and treating them is becoming more difficult with the rise of drug-resistant bacteria. But researchers have developed a new type of wound dressing that may help treat these difficult cases.

• Is doodling good for your brain?

  Friday, July 07, 2017

  Art therapy — often used in combination with traditional psychotherapeutic theories and techniques — has been touted as a way for us to connect with our creative selves. Now, research has gone a step further, suggesting that art therapy in the form of creative doodling helps people stay focused, grasp new ideas and even retain information.

• Possible link between marijuana use in young people and schizophrenia

  Thursday, June 29, 2017

  Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the U.S. — for the population overall and for youths in particular. Based on 2013-2014 data, 7.22 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 17 years across the nation had used marijuana in the past month. Of adults 26 or older who used marijuana before age 15, 62 percent then went on to use cocaine at some point in their lives, and 9 percent eventually used heroin at least once.

• Is red wine really good for your heart?

  Monday, June 26, 2017

  ​A glass of wine a day helps keep heart disease away, right? We've all heard that enticing claim. But is it true? Although an excessive amount of red wine remains a definite risk for health, it has been suggested that mild-to-moderate amounts of red wine may provide a net beneficial effect. The French paradox describes the epidemiological observation that French people have a relatively low incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) despite having a diet relatively rich in saturated fats.

• Mental health concerns among physicians

  Thursday, June 22, 2017

  Of all occupations and professions, the medical profession is at the top of the list of occupations with the highest risk of death by suicide, with 300 to 400 physicians a year taking their own lives. Although many physicians are practicing what they preach as far as healthy habits, such as quitting smoking, exercising regularly, and eating healthier, they remain reluctant to address depression, a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in this group.

• Study shows possible relationship between blood sugar, brain cancer

  Wednesday, June 21, 2017

  More than 29 million Americans are living with diabetes, and 86 million are living with prediabetes. Type 2 diabetes accounts for about 90 to 95 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes, and Type 1 diabetes accounts for about 5 percent. Cancer rates are higher in those with diabetes. However, although many cancers are more common among those with diabetes, a study from The Ohio State University found that cancerous brain tumors are less common among those with elevated blood sugar and diabetes.

• Gray hair may predict risk of coronary artery disease in men

  Friday, June 09, 2017

  We can all probably remember the day we found our first gray hair — some of us as early as high school or college, and some of us in our 30s or 40s. Beyond the beauty and age implications of gray hair, there may be health concerns we should worry about — especially men.

• Can suicide intervention at the ED save lives?

  Wednesday, June 07, 2017

  Although many suicide attempts go unreported or untreated, surveys suggest that at least 1 million people in the United States intentionally try to kill themselves each year, and 45,000 are successful. Suicide is the 10th-leading cause of death in the U.S., and there are about 121 suicides each day, nearly one every 13 minutes.

• The brain’s failure in obsessive compulsive disorder

  Thursday, June 01, 2017

  Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) was previously considered an anxiety disorder but is now classified as a mental illness. About 2.3 percent of the population suffers with this common, chronic and long-lasting disorder. In the United States, the current numbers approximate 3.3 million, although some estimates have been as high as 6 million, related, in part, to how patients are diagnosed and categorized. But a recent study in the U.K. that illustrates how the OCD brain reacts compared to the average brain may help better treat these patients.

• NSAID use connected to increased risk of heart attack

  Tuesday, May 30, 2017

  Some people take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) every day either for chronic pain, inflammation, or both. A survey of medication use in the United States showed that ibuprofen was taken by 17 percent of adults, aspirin by 17 percent and naproxen by 3.5 percent of adults in the preceding week.

• Unnecessary antibiotics: Treating the common cold

  Wednesday, May 17, 2017

  Antibiotic resistance is a major concern worldwide. It has been well established that antibiotic use increases the likelihood for an individual to develop bacterial resistance. The majority of antibiotic prescribing takes place in primary care, and physicians and PAs have been encouraged to prescribe antibiotics more rationally, only when necessary.

• Symptom relief for worsening heart failure

  Monday, May 15, 2017

  Heart failure (HF) is a growing problem. More than 20 million people worldwide are affected by HF, including more than 5 million in the United States alone. HF affects 6 percent to 10 percent of people over the age of 65. Although the relative incidence is lower in women than in men, women constitute at least half of the cases of HF because of their longer life expectancy.

• Getting a good night’s sleep to stay young

  Wednesday, May 03, 2017

  ​Everyone has had a sleepless night once in a while, and we all have gone through periods of unwelcome insomnia. But some people have far less good sleep than others. In fact, one-third of adults in the United States report inadequate sleep.

• Progress in overcoming antibiotic‑resistant bacteria

  Monday, May 01, 2017

  ​Since the 1940s, antibiotics have been used to treat infectious diseases. With long-term use, however, the infectious organisms have adapted to the drugs designed to destroy them, rendering the drugs much less effective. Simply using antibiotics creates resistance. Up to 50 percent of the time antibiotics are not optimally prescribed. It is not uncommon for antibiotics to be prescribed when not needed or dosed incorrectly.

• The brain of a superager: Staying sharp in later life

  Thursday, April 27, 2017

  ​In 2010, 40.3 million people in the United States were 65 and older, accounting for 13 percent of the total population. This age group was larger than in any other decennial census, up from 31.2 million in 1990 and 35.0 million in 2000. And this number will continue to grow. By 2050, the projected population of people 65 and older is 88.5 million. People in this age group would comprise 20 percent of the total population at that time.

• Study: Statins may increase risk of diabetes in older women

  Thursday, April 20, 2017

  ​The number of people taking cholesterol-lowering medications continues to grow. The percentage of adults aged 40 and older taking drugs to address high cholesterol rose from 20 percent to 28 percent between 2003 and 2012, ​according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

• The new hope for an eczema cure

  Wednesday, April 19, 2017

  Atopic dermatitis (AD), a chronic inflammatory skin disease, is often referred to as "eczema," which is a general term for several types of skin inflammation. About 31.6 million Americans have symptoms of eczema, including 17.8 million with symptoms of AD. Eczema treatments have generally been limited to topical medications, steroid creams, moisturizers and ultraviolet light, plus antihistamines to relieve itching, which provide some relief for eczema but limited relief for AD. Basically, there is no cure for eczema ─ until now.

• Social anxiety disorder: Researchers study genetic causes

  Thursday, April 13, 2017

  Social anxiety is normal for everyone, except when the anxiety begins to interfere with living a happy and healthy life. Social anxiety disorder (SAD), or social phobia, involves intense anxiety or fear about various social situations and is the third-most common mental health problem in the world today after alcoholism and depression.

• Opioid prescription practices among emergency physicians

  Wednesday, April 12, 2017

  Treating pain is a large part of emergency medicine, often involving aggressive treatment to get a patient's pain under control in a timely manner. In fact, up to 42 percent of emergency department (ED) visits are related to painful conditions. But striking a balance between managing pain effectively and possibly sowing the seed for drug addiction or feeding a pre-existing drug addiction remains challenging.

• Turning spinach into human heart tissue

  Thursday, April 06, 2017

  Like Popeye, we have all grown up knowing the health benefits of eating leafy green spinach. Belonging to the chenopodiaceae family (also known as goosefoot), spinach is part of a family of nutritional powerhouses. As for its benefits, dark green spinach leaves contain high levels of chlorophyll and health-promoting carotenoids (beta carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin), which are touted to have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancerous properties — especially important for healthy eye-sight, helping to prevent macular degeneration and cataracts.

• I scratch, you scratch: A study of contagious itching in mice

  Thursday, March 30, 2017

  We begin to recognize emotions in others at an early age and copy what we see. The urge to mimic the emotional behavior of others — called emotional contagion — continues throughout life. For example, researchers know that people with autism struggle with decoding the emotional content of faces, bodies and sounds. But for most, seeing someone in distress makes "mirror neurons" in the brain that cause similar feelings.

• Do anti-inflammatory drugs really improve low back pain?

  Tuesday, March 21, 2017

  ​Acute back pain is one of the most common reasons for visits to primary care physicians, second only to colds and flu. The annual prevalence of low back pain in the United States is estimated at 15 to 20 percent, and the lifetime prevalence is over 60 percent. The first episode usually occurs between 20 and 40 years of age.

• Removing ovaries during hysterectomy may increase risk of heart disease

  Monday, March 20, 2017

  ​Hysterectomy is one of the most commonly performed surgeries in women. ​Approximately 600,000 hysterectomies are performed each year in the United States, second only to cesarean sections. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ​11.7 percent of women between the ages of 40-44 had a hysterectomy from 2006-2010. By the age of 60, more than one-third of all women have had a hysterectomy.

• Minor eye problems overburdening emergency departments

  Thursday, March 16, 2017

  ​Despite limited resources, emergency departments (EDs) face ever-increasing demand to provide effective clinical care. The ​National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey reported that in 2002, only 56.5 percent of all visits to the ED were emergent or urgent.

• New study examines anorexia in the brain

  Monday, March 13, 2017

  The brain needs no introduction; it makes us who we are. And yet, this organ that lets us understand the world understands little about ourselves. Scientists are currently researching the brain in relationship to the eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, a psychiatric disorder of unknown etiology. Although there is still much to learn about anorexia, it is clear that a patient's nervous system, which includes the brain and nerves, is negatively impacted by restrictive behaviors.

• Mental health concerns among parents of children with heart problems

  Thursday, March 09, 2017

  Dealing with sick children can be challenging for parents. Usually, parents can handle common short-lived colds, viruses and other childhood illnesses. But parents of children born with serious conditions, such as heart defects, are particularly vulnerable to ongoing stress. A study evaluating emotional distress, depression and quality of life in parents of infants with severe congenital heart defects revealed that parents of these newborns, especially mothers, need psychological support during their children’s hospitalizations.

• Battling heart failure: Study provides new insight

  Tuesday, February 28, 2017

  Heart failure (HF) is a major public health problem associated with significant mortality and morbidity, especially for those over age 65. Worldwide, more than 23 million adults ages 25 and older have HF. One in nine deaths in 2009 included HF as a contributing cause.

• Researchers find key brain differences in those with ADHD

  Thursday, February 23, 2017

  With symptoms of inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is challenging for families. Forgetfulness and disorganization cause problems at home as well as in school, and characteristics such as low self-esteem, aggressiveness and emotional immaturity affect the daily lives of all family members.

• Are you wasting your doctor’s time?

  Wednesday, February 22, 2017

  ​The relationship between patients and their doctors has long been explored and remains key to delivering high-quality healthcare. Policymakers and healthcare professionals are increasingly interested in the patient experience.

• Researchers discover brain changes in social anxiety disorder

  Thursday, February 16, 2017

  No one enjoys making mistakes, looking bad, feeling embarrassed or being humiliated in front of others. But everyone has had such an experience at least once. An excessive and unreasonable fear of social situations, however, may signal a social anxiety disorder (SAD), and a lack of social skills may not help. People with SAD suffer with distorted thinking — false beliefs about social situations and the negative opinions of others — which interferes with normal daily routine, including school, work, social activities and relationships. SAD may be linked to other mental illnesses, such as panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and depression, which are often among the initial reasons for visiting a physician.

• The link between heart health and psychiatric disorders

  Wednesday, February 08, 2017

  Although anxiety and depression are different disorders, they often produce similar symptoms, such as nervousness, irritability, trouble concentrating and problems sleeping. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting 40 million adults (18 percent of the population) aged 18 and older. As for depression, in 2015, an estimated 16.1 million adults aged 18 or older in the U.S. had at least one major depressive episode in the past year, representing 6.7 percent of all adults.

• Cardiac monitoring in the emergency department

  Tuesday, February 07, 2017

  Chest pain — ranging from musculoskeletal chest pain to potentially life-threatening emergencies such as acute coronary syndrome (ACS), aortic dissection or pulmonary embolism — is a common presenting symptom in the emergency department, accounting for between 5 and 20 percent of all admissions. Yet clinical management is highly variable.

• Do night owls really work better at night?

  Monday, February 06, 2017

  We all know the old proverb, "Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." Ben Franklin started his day at 4 a.m. Winston Churchill was a famous night owl. Do you stay up long after midnight, or are you at the keyboard at sunrise? It has been suggested that our internal biological clocks, regulating our daily lives, may be genetic and that such a gene may even determine what time of day we will die.

• How do infant brains compare to adult brains?

  Tuesday, January 24, 2017

  The brain is a remarkable organ, always undergoing changes. For example, studies show ​the brain shrinks as we age, particularly in the frontal cortex. In fact, our brains are changing every minute of the day, from our time in the womb until the moment we die. We also know there are certain times in our lives during which the brain is most malleable.

• Tapping into the link between emotions and politics

  Thursday, January 12, 2017

  There was a time when emotions were considered a weakness, getting in the way of good thinking. We now know emotions can result in powerful changes to our bodies and actual physical responses. Think about what happens when we are afraid of something. The amygdale — the small almond-shaped region housed deep in the brain — sends a variety of signals to the rest of the cortex that engages our attention to the situation at hand, setting our heart and breath racing, changing our facial expressions, tensing our muscles, and starting us sweating. Eventually, the limbic system — our brain’s emotional circuitry — sends important information to the frontal lobes, helping us to put our feelings in context.

• Holiday season heart attacks spike in women

  Tuesday, January 03, 2017

  Studies show that heart attacks increase during the holiday season. Aside from the risk factors for coronary artery disease — smoking, hypertension, high cholesterol, age and lack of exercise — certain other triggers such as time of year can play a role in holiday heart attacks.

• Reducing heart failure with the Mediterranean diet

  Wednesday, November 30, 2016

  Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for more than 17.3 million deaths per year — a number that is expected to grow to more than 23.6 million by 2030. In the United States, heart disease kills more than 370,000 people a year, striking someone about once every 42 seconds.

• Surgeon general addresses opioid addiction crisis

  Tuesday, November 22, 2016

  Doctors most often prescribe opioids to relieve pain from toothaches and dental procedures, injuries, surgeries and chronic conditions such as cancer. Opioids usually are safe when they are used correctly, but people who misuse opioids can easily become addicted.

• The relationship between physical activity and brain function

  Thursday, November 17, 2016

  ​We have all heard and read the advice about feeling, thinking and performing better overall — drink more water, exercise, eat more fruits and vegetables, meditate, and get enough sleep. While we all have good intentions, how many of us really follow this advice on a regular basis?

• A new pathway to treat depression

  Tuesday, October 25, 2016

  Depression has many faces — from the common sad mood variety to major psychotic depression. ​Major depression, defined as a severely depressed mood that goes on for two weeks or more, is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States and includes symptoms such as sadness, sleep problems, suicidal feelings and a general inability to feel pleasure.

• An alarming link between early menopause and cardiovascular disease

  Thursday, October 06, 2016

  In a study published recently in the journal Menopause, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that women who experience hot flashes and night sweats early in life were more likely to die from cardiovascular disease. The research suggests menopausal symptoms in younger midlife women may mark adverse changes in dysfunction of the endothelium, or lining of the blood vessels, placing them at risk for heart disease.

• How do we concentrate? New insights into the brain

  Wednesday, September 21, 2016

  ​Former President George H.W. Bush's "Decade of the Brain" has come and gone, but many mysteries remain. And scientists continue to help the world better understand the brain's role in both health and behavior. For example, research has shown it takes one part of the brain to start concentrating and another to be distracted. Our brains pay attention in one of two ways — either willfully, which is goal oriented; or reflexive, which may be in response to sensory information (think bright lights or loud noises).

• New hope for treatment-resistant depression

  Tuesday, September 20, 2016

  Although sadness is something we all experience from time to time, depression interferes with daily life and normal functioning, causing pain not only for us but also for those who care about us. Current research suggests depression is caused by a combination of genetic, biological, environmental and psychological factors. Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects approximately 16 million people in the United States and 121 million people worldwide.

• Study: Your smartphone may help prevent a stroke

  Tuesday, September 06, 2016

  Across the globe, 33 million people have atrial fibrillation (AF), a disorder of heart rhythm. In the United States, an estimated 3-6 million people have AF, and with our aging population, this number is expected to increase — AF occurs in 2 percent of those under age 65, and in 9 percent of those older than 65.

• Cognitive offloading: Help or hindrance?

  Friday, August 26, 2016

  Roughly two-thirds of Americans (68 percent) have smartphones, and nearly half (45 percent) have tablet computers. Such devices tell us the time, date, sunrise, sunset, weather, what we need to do, when we need to do it and how we can get there. We can sync our calendars as well as our grocery to-do lists on all our devices.

• Promising relief for neuropathic pain

  Thursday, August 18, 2016

  Neuropathic pain erodes quality of life. In this chronic pain state, nerves in the central nervous system have become damaged, dysfunctional or injured, sending incorrect signals to other pain centers.

• Researchers find on-off switch between sleep and wakefulness

  Tuesday, August 09, 2016

  Sufficient sleep is increasingly being recognized as an essential aspect of chronic disease prevention and health promotion. Sleeping less than seven hours per night is associated with increased risk for obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke and frequent mental distress. Insufficient sleep also impairs cognitive performance, which can increase the likelihood of traffic accidents, industrial accidents, medical errors and loss of work productivity.

• Can neurons tell us when to stop drinking?

  Monday, August 01, 2016

  It’s summer. You're on vacation, poolside and drinking your favorite alcoholic beverage. But how many drinks do you have? Other than the need to drive, is there something else that tells you when to stop refreshing your drink? According to new research findings, we may be able to influence alcohol drinking behavior by activating particular neurons. These findings provide insight into another mechanism underlying alcoholism.

• New study links education levels to heart failure risk

  Thursday, July 28, 2016

  A Norwegian study of over 70,000 cardiac patients found that the more education patients had, the less their risk of heart failure was. Previous research has shown that patients are more likely to die after a heart attack if they have a lower educational level, but information on the mechanisms involved was sparse. Since heart failure is the most important incident in the chain of events leading to death after a heart attack, the researchers hypothesized that it might contribute to the observed educational disparities in survival.

• How the brain adapts to childhood adversity

  Thursday, July 21, 2016

  ​Mental illnesses in children are so complex that healthcare professionals cannot always detect them. Symptoms for mental disorders can be so nonspecific that even parents cannot tell if their child is being rambunctious or seriously ill.

• Researchers may have found key to switching off junk food cravings

  Thursday, July 14, 2016

  High calorie intake causes stress on our bodies. Extraordinary intake of foods high in fats and sugars can increase risk factors for Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancers as well as obesity.​An epidemic in the United States and a major cause of death, obesity costs this country about $150 billion a year or almost 10 percent of the national medical budget.

• Researchers find brain circuit that spurs bullying in mice

  Thursday, July 07, 2016

  Bullying — whether physical, emotional or social — should not be considered a normal rite of passage or "kids just being kids." The effects of bullying can be serious, including depression, low self-esteem, health problems and even suicide.

• When high cholesterol is a family affair

  Wednesday, July 06, 2016

  ​​In the United States, 73.5 million adults (31 percent) have high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol. Yet not even half of adults with high LDL cholesterol are getting treatment to lower their levels. Less than 1 out of every 3 adults (29.5 percent) with high LDL cholesterol has the condition under control.

• Hope on the horizon: Experimental antibiotic to treat deadly MRSA

  Wednesday, June 15, 2016

  ​Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is caused by a type of staph bacteria that has become resistant to many of the antibiotics used to treat ordinary staph infections. Thus, treating MRSA has been a challenge for healthcare professionals.

• Clearing the air: The link between air pollution and heart disease

  Tuesday, June 14, 2016

  Whether you live in a city where smog forecasts are routine or in a less populated place, tiny pollution particles in the air can lead to big problems for your heart. Over the last decade, a growing body of epidemiological and clinical evidence has led to a heightened concern about the potential deleterious effects of ambient air pollution on health and its relation to heart disease and stroke.

• Working together: Differences in male and female brains

  Thursday, June 09, 2016

  Cooperation, the cornerstone of all successful relationships, is an important societal issue. Cooperation between family members, friends, co-workers and even governments worldwide is something that is invaluable and instrumental. That said, men and women experience cooperation differently.

• Researchers find clue to editing memories

  Thursday, May 12, 2016

  If moments are fleeting, then memories are permanent. When we share our most powerful memories, they grow with time rather than fade — giving us the ability to celebrate friends and family members long after they have passed. But we all have some memories we'd rather forget.

• Analyzing the social brain

  Thursday, May 05, 2016

  ​In 2010, medical researchers uncovered a wiring diagram that shows how the brain pays attention to visual, cognitive, sensory and motor cues. ​The study was the first of its kind to show how the brain switches attention from one feature to the next.

• Warding off heart disease with dietary supplements

  Tuesday, May 03, 2016

  ​Coronary artery disease (CAD), also known as ischemic heart disease, is the most common type of heart disease in the United States. Atherosclerosis is the major cause of heart disease, killing approximately one individual every 34 seconds and responsible for about a third of all deaths worldwide.

• Long-term memories may be the result of ‘replay’

  Thursday, April 28, 2016

  When my dad was in his 80s, he was able to remember everything from decades earlier, but little about events of previous weeks. For some of us, it is the opposite — we have good short-term memory but remember little of long ago.

• The surprising connection between heart rate and wisdom

  Thursday, April 21, 2016

  According to Aristotle, "Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." Although wisdom may be difficult to define, people generally recognize it when they encounter it. ​Most psychologists agree wisdom involves an integration of knowledge, experience and deep understanding that incorporates tolerance for the uncertainties of life as well as its ups and downs. That said, researchers now believe wisdom is a matter of both heart and mind, touting that fluctuations in our heartbeats may, in fact, affect our wisdom.

• Forgetting to learn: Making room in the brain

  Wednesday, March 30, 2016

  Human memory is a complex, brainwide process that is essential to who we are. Experts say once you've learned to ride a bicycle or drive a car or swim, you never forget. But surprisingly, new research suggests that while learning, the brain is actively trying to forget.

• Studies: Women really do have more sensitive hearts than men

  Friday, March 25, 2016

  According to French author Henri B. Stendhal, "Since I am a man, my heart is three or four times less sensitive, because I have three or four times as much power of reason and experience of the world — a thing which you women call hard-heartedness." Stendhal may have been more astute than even he knew.

• Food for the aging brain: Re‑energizing with pyruvate

  Thursday, March 24, 2016

  Deterioration of the brain sneaks up on most of us. Some people may notice a modest decline in their ability to learn new things and retrieve information, such as remembering names. They may perform worse on complex tasks of attention, learning and memory than would a younger person.

• Research brings new hope for pediatric brain tumors

  Wednesday, March 23, 2016

  ​Childhood brain tumors are the second-most frequent malignancy of childhood and the most common form of solid tumor. Tumors of the central nervous system comprise 22 percent of all malignancies occurring among children up to 14 years of age and 10 percent of tumors occurring among 15-19-year-olds.

• Can happiness break your heart?

  Friday, March 18, 2016

  Heart disease is ​the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. The relationship between stress, heart disease and sudden death has been recognized since antiquity. More research is needed to determine exactly how stress contributes to heart disease.

• Do students think best on their feet?

  Tuesday, February 23, 2016

  ​Thinking on your feet has always been thought of as how to perform well under pressure, staying composed — when the floor is all yours, making a quick decision or giving an answer quickly. But now, the concept is being taken to another level.

• Can mindfulness help childhood obesity?

  Wednesday, February 17, 2016

  Childhood obesity is a serious problem in the United States. Despite recent declines in the prevalence among preschool-aged children, obesity among children is still too high. For children and adolescents aged 2-19 years, the prevalence of obesity has remained fairly stable at about 17 percent and 12.7 million children and adolescents for the past decade.

• The link between TBI and neurodegenerative disorders

  Tuesday, February 16, 2016

  Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability in the United States, contributing to about 30 percent of all injury deaths. In 2010, about 2.5 million emergency department visits, hospitalizations or deaths were associated with TBI — either alone or in combination with other injuries.

• Treating heart disease through the gut

  Wednesday, February 10, 2016

  Cardiovascular disease is the leading global cause of death, accounting for more than 17.3 million deaths per year, a number that is expected to grow to more than 23.6 million by 2030. About 2,200 Americans die each day from these diseases, and cardiovascular diseases claim more lives than all forms of cancer combined.

• A new understanding of spelling impairment after stroke

  Friday, February 05, 2016

  ​After a stroke, many people face communication challenges. Stroke's impact on language and speech can be significant and difficult. Some people have trouble speaking. Some have difficulty understanding words spoken by others. Reading, writing and math skills may also be affected.

• Study shows connection between life purpose and risk of death

  Thursday, February 04, 2016

  We all have a need to find purpose in life. Some people find a way to express their purposes in their jobs, while others seek opportunities outside their daily work. Our purpose in life may be something grand and complicated, or it may be as simple as dispensing love and kindness wherever we go. Just as we eat healthy foods and exercise to take care of our bodies, seeking a meaningful life of purpose nourishes the spirit and, as contemporary research shows, improves our emotional and physical health as well.

• Fragmented sleep may be linked to stroke risk in elderly

  Monday, February 01, 2016

  A new study has identified a link between disrupted sleep and the risk of cerebral blood vessel damage in the form of arteriosclerosis and macroscopic and microscopic infarcts in the elderly population. Although several forms of sleep disruption are associated with stroke, few studies have examined the relationship between sleep and histopathologic measures of cerebrovascular disease.

• More clues to understanding schizophrenia

  Friday, January 29, 2016

  The exact causes of schizophrenia, which affects about one in every 100 adults worldwide and more than two million Americans, have eluded physicians and scientists for centuries. Although available drugs to treat this disorder may blunt some of the symptoms, such as delusions and hallucinations, they do not treat the underlying causes. Two theories have for decades dominated research on the causes of schizophrenia: genetics and neurotransmitters. Over the past two years, a third theory has become the first major new addition to schizophrenia study in the last half-century.

• Despite slow start, it’s still too soon to declare this a mild flu season

  Thursday, January 14, 2016

  Flu season is unpredictable. Over a period of 30 years, between 1976 and 2006, annual estimates of flu-associated deaths in the United States ranged from a low of about 3,000 to a high of about 49,000 people.

• Pain and the brain: Examining differences in coping mechanisms

  Wednesday, January 13, 2016

  ​A recent market research report indicates more than 1.5 billion people worldwide suffer from chronic pain — pain that lasts for more than six months. Respondents of a National Institute of Health Statistics survey indicated that lower back pain was the most common (27 percent), followed by severe headache or migraine pain (15 percent), neck pain (15 percent) and facial ache or pain (4 percent).

• CDC: ‘Phantom menace’ superbug on the rise

  Thursday, December 10, 2015

  A particularly dangerous superbug, dubbed the "phantom menace" by scientists, is on the rise in the United States, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

• How your stomach bile may protect against heart disease

  Monday, December 07, 2015

  In the United States, someone has a heart attack every 34 seconds, and someone dies from a heart disease-related event every 60 seconds. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., killing nearly 787,000 people alone in 2011.

• The absence of positive thoughts during depression

  Monday, November 30, 2015

  People with depression or healthy people with a depressed mood can be affected by depressive thoughts. However, according to a recent study, depressive thoughts are maintained for longer periods of time for people with a depressed mood, and this extended duration may reduce the amount of information that these individuals can hold in their memory. Although it has been known that negative thoughts tend to last longer for those with depression, this study is unique in showing that these thoughts, triggered from stimuli in the environment, can persist to the point that they hinder a depressed person's ability to keep their train of thought.

• Aortic valve replacement: Mechanical or biological?

  Tuesday, November 24, 2015

  ​Heart disease is the ​leading cause of death in the United States, killing more than 600,000 Americans each year, and more than 5 million Americans are diagnosed with heart valve disease each year. Heart valve disease can occur in any single valve or a combination of the four valves, but diseases of the aortic and mitral valves are the most common. ​Replacement of diseased valves with prosthetic heart valves reduces the morbidity and mortality associated with native valvular disease, but it comes ​at the expense of complications related to the implanted prosthetic device.

• As we age, brain health linked to fitness level

  Wednesday, November 18, 2015

  ​People are living longer, and while that is a good thing, growing older in today's world presents challenges. ​In a 2009 Pew Research Center survey, about 1 in 4 adults ages 65 and older reported experiencing memory loss. About 1 in 5 said they had a serious illness, were not sexually active, or often felt sad or depressed. About 1 in 6 reported they were lonely or had trouble paying bills. Also, 1 in 7 could not drive, and 1 in 10 felt they weren't needed or were a burden to others.

• Anti-heartburn medications may increase risk of death for hospital patients

  Thursday, November 12, 2015

  Antacids are used commonly for symptoms such as heartburn, abdominal pain and nausea resulting from a number of conditions, such as inflammation or acid-peptic ulcers of the esophagus (esophagitis), stomach (gastritis) and duodenum (duodenitis). In almost any hospital in the United States, about half of the patients have a prescription for an acid-reducing drug to reduce heartburn or prevent bleeding in their stomach and gut.

• Digital app helps detect and treat COPD symptoms

  Wednesday, November 04, 2015

  Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of death in the world, representing an important public health challenge that is both preventable and treatable. Many people suffer from this disease for years and die prematurely from the disease itself or its complications. Globally, the COPD burden is projected to increase in coming decades because of continued exposure to COPD risk factors and aging of the population.

• How exactly does the brain handle our complex multitasking?

  Thursday, October 29, 2015

  How many windows are open on your computer right now? Most of us are running a few websites, not to mention our email, Facebook, Twitter, a word processor, a spreadsheet and maybe a few other random software applications. Then, close by we might have a cellphone and maybe an eBook reader and an iPod or iPad.

• The heart-healthy benefits of beer

  Wednesday, October 14, 2015

  Among the many attractions, the "liquid gold" is probably the most important thing at Oktoberfest. But aside from this annual celebration, beer accounts for 67 percent of the alcohol consumption reported in the United States. It remains the preferred beverage of choice among Americans who drink alcohol — as it has every year since 1992, except for 2005 when wine edged into the top spot.

• Childhood shyness and the connection to mental illness

  Thursday, September 24, 2015

  ​Although childhood shyness is commonplace, it concerns many parents, especially those who place great value on sociability. Some children become shy because of harsh life experiences, but most are born that way.

• Air pollution and its effect on the heart

  Monday, September 21, 2015

  Smog in urban areas has been a concern for a long time because of the problems it can cause for our lungs. As it turns out, tiny pollution particles in the air can lead to big problems for our hearts as well.

• Cognitive rehabilitation after traumatic brain injury

  Wednesday, September 16, 2015

  Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious public health problem in the United States. Each year, TBIs contribute to a substantial number of deaths and cases of permanent disability. In 2010, 2.5 million TBIs occurred either as an isolated injury or along with other injuries.

• E-health and the battle against heart disease

  Tuesday, September 15, 2015

  Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. About 26.6 million adults (11.3 percent) have been diagnosed with heart disease, which kills more than 600,000 people each year. The number of people who go to the hospital for heart disease every year is about 3.7 million. On average, these people stay in the hospital for 4.6 days. And a whopping 12.4 million people make heart disease-related visits to their physicians every year.

• Study: Quick adrenaline reduces cardiac arrest mortality in children

  Thursday, September 10, 2015

  Sudden cardiac arrest is a primary cause of death in adults (about 300,000 deaths each year in the United States), but it's actually quite rare in the young. That said, approximately 16,000 pediatric patients suffer cardiac arrest each year in the U.S. Younger patients, specifically younger than 1 year of age, comprise the majority of pediatric patients with cardiac arrest, and males are affected in a slightly higher proportion (62 percent).

• Study: Calling 911 for stroke differs by race and sex

  Thursday, September 03, 2015

  Evidence in a new study shows blacks are more likely to die from a stroke than whites, and that minorities in general have more disability after a stroke than non-Hispanic whites. Since the reasons for these differences are unclear, researchers sought to determine whether they might be related to 911 use.

• Can’t make a decision? Here is what’s happening in your brain

  Wednesday, September 02, 2015

  ​For many, making a relatively simple decision ends up being a source of stress. The story is familiar to all of us: We are renovating and choosing paint colors. After agonizing over color charts and asking the opinion of everyone in our lives, we finally decide on one and give the painter the go-ahead. But even as he is throwing the color up on the wall, we wonder if we should have chosen a lighter or deeper shade.

• Depressed teens may be headed for heart disease

  Wednesday, August 26, 2015

  ​Adolescence can be a difficult time for both young people and their parents. The normal and often-turbulent hormonal, physical and cognitive changes that occur during this stage of development sometimes make it difficult to recognize and diagnose underlying depression in children. Depression in adolescence may also lead to behavioral problems such as irritability or moodiness, fighting, defiance, skipping school, running away, drug use, and poor grades.

• Study: Your choice of sleep position may affect your brain

  Wednesday, August 12, 2015

  We all have our favorite sleeping positions — back, side, stomach — but a new study shows our sleeping position may have more benefits than just comfort. Researchers at Stony Brook University believe sleeping on one's side — the most common position in humans and many animals — may more effectively remove brain waste and help reduce the chances of developing neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

• Study: Poverty harms brain development in children

  Thursday, July 30, 2015

  ​Between 2009 and 2010, 1 million more children in America joined the ranks of those living in poverty, bringing the total to an estimated 15.7 million poor children in 2010, an increase of 2.6 million since the recession began at the end of 2007. Most of these children have parents who work, but low wages and unstable employment leave their families struggling to make ends meet.

• First, do no harm: When healthcare practitioners work while sick

  Monday, July 20, 2015

  "Go to school. You'll be fine," or "If I miss work, I'll be fired." These are all common misconceptions most of us have learned throughout life. Why is it so difficult for us to stay home when ill? The reasons are different for each of us. For the general public, one reason is more than 40 million American workers ​get no paid sick leave. They have to work when ill or take unpaid sick days, which can lead to financial hardship, or even dismissal.

• New study damages old heart attack theory

  Thursday, July 16, 2015

  Medical researchers have been examining the link between excess calcium in heart cells and the death of those cells during heart attacks. But ​a new study at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine appears to throw a monkey wrench into this line of work. ​A previous study at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine demonstrated how the enzyme CaM kinase II triggers heart cell death following heart damage, showing the action takes place in the cells' energy-producing mitochondria. In animal tests, the team reported that blocking the enzyme could prevent heart cells from dying and protect the animals from heart failure.

• Replenishing the heart muscle

  Thursday, June 25, 2015

  The adult heart muscle is made of cells called cardiomyocytes, which don't replenish themselves after a heart attack or other significant heart muscle damage. It was initially believed that cardiomyocytes were unable to replicate themselves and that their total number was firmly set at birth. However, ​UT Southwestern researchers were able to devise a new cell-tracing technique, allowing them to detect cells that do replenish themselves after being damaged.

• The brain and autism: Challenging traditional testing

  Tuesday, June 09, 2015

  About 1 in 68 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to estimates from the CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network. Studies have shown that parents of children with ASD notice a developmental problem before their child's first birthday. Concerns about vision and hearing were more often reported in the first year, and differences in social, communication and fine motor skills were evident from six months of age.

• Study: New hope for infants with congenital heart defects

  Tuesday, June 02, 2015

  Congenital heart diseases (CHDs) affect nearly 1 percent (about 40,000) of births per year in the United States and are a leading cause of birth defect-associated infant illness and death. The prevalence of some CHDs — especially mild types — is increasing, while the prevalence of other types has remained stable.

• Scientists are closing in on the root cause of schizophrenia

  Thursday, May 14, 2015

  ​Schizophrenia was once thought to be just a catch-all term for forms of mental behavior that we don't understand. In fact, however, schizophrenia is a diagnosis that describes a psychiatric illness characterized by impairments in the perception or expression of reality. These impairments most commonly manifest as auditory hallucinations, paranoid delusions or disorganized talking and thinking in the context of significant social or occupational dysfunction.

• Spotting a heart attack with a thermometer

  Wednesday, May 13, 2015

  ​Every year, about ​735,000 Americans suffer a myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack. Of these, 525,000 are a first heart attack, while 210,000 happen in people who have already had a heart attack. Diagnosing a heart attack can be difficult for physicians. Many patients have symptoms — such as dizziness or nausea — that may mimic other conditions. Many have normal EKG readings, and a quarter of heart attack patients have no chest pain.

• Teens and food: How a fatty diet can disrupt muscle response

  Monday, May 11, 2015

  ​Today, about 1 in 3 American kids and teens is overweight or obese. Tripling from 1971 to 2011, childhood obesity is now the No. 1 health concern among parents in the United States, topping drug abuse and smoking. Despite a social emphasis on being thin, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) reports that among those in the age group 12 to 19, the incidence being overweight increased from 11 percent to 17 percent.

• Future implications of the increase in middle-aged hip replacements

  Monday, May 04, 2015

  More than 300,000 total hip replacements are performed in the U.S. each year, and that number is expected to increase to 500,000 by the year 2030. The number of THRs nearly doubled among middle-aged patients from 2002-2011, primarily because of the increasing middle-aged U.S. population. This continued growth in hip replacement surgeries in patients age 45 to 64, an increase in revision surgeries for this population as they age, and a nearly 30 percent decline in the number of surgeons who perform THRs could all have significant implications for future healthcare costs.

• Life after cardiac arrest

  Friday, May 01, 2015

  Nearly 383,000 out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrests occur annually. Of those who survive a cardiac arrest, mild-to-moderate cognitive impairment is common; half of all those who survive experience problems with cognitive functions such as memory and attention. However, in a recent study, a control group comprising heart attack patients had largely the same level of problems, which suggests that it is not only the cardiac arrest and the consequent lack of oxygen to the brain that is the cause of the patients' difficulties.

• How often are opioids for chronic pain truly misused?

  Monday, April 27, 2015

  More than 1.5 billion people worldwide suffer from chronic pain, and treating it can be challenging for physicians. Doctors often resort to the use of chronic opioid therapy, which has increased substantially in recent years. To examine just how pervasive this issue is, the American Pain Society and the American Academy of Pain Medicine commissioned a systematic review of the evidence on chronic opioid therapy for chronic noncancer pain and convened a multidisciplinary expert panel to review the evidence and formulate recommendations.

• Preventing and reversing cardiac hypertrophy with an ancient remedy

  Friday, April 24, 2015

  Cardiac hypertrophy, or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), is a thickening of cardiac muscle often caused by chronic high blood pressure that can lead to heart failure. Although HCM is a leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes, it is a significant cause of sudden unexpected cardiac death in any age group.

• Researchers examine link between creativity and mental illness

  Thursday, April 23, 2015

  ​The link between creativity and mental illness has been a fascinating topic for many researchers. For example, well-known author Kurt Vonnegut was intermittently depressed, but that was only the beginning. His mother had suffered from depression and committed suicide on Mother's Day when Kurt was 21 and home on military leave during World War II. His son, Mark, was originally diagnosed with schizophrenia and later, bipolar disorder.

• Clinical trial offers new hope for psoriasis sufferers

  Wednesday, April 15, 2015

  Significant progress has been made in understanding the inheritance of psoriasis. A number of genes involved in psoriasis are already known or suspected. In a multifactor disease (involving genes, environment and other factors), variations in one or more genes may produce a greater likelihood of getting the disease. Researchers are continuing to study the genetic aspects of psoriasis, and some studies are looking at the nervous system to determine the genes responsible for the circuitry that causes itching.

• New research shows progress in the fight against lupus

  Tuesday, March 24, 2015

  ​Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease in which the immune system produces antibodies to cells within the body, leads to widespread inflammation and tissue damage. Although the causes of SLE remain unknown, the disease is believed to be linked to genetic, environmental and hormonal factors, and is marked by periods of illness and remission.

• Smoking impairs drug response in axial spondyloarthritis

  Wednesday, March 18, 2015

  Axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA) is a potentially disabling chronic inflammatory condition, principally involving the hips and axial skeleton. Recent population estimates indicate that the prevalence of AxSpA in the United States is approximately 0.2-0.5 percent.

• Fluorescent probe may hold key to early detection of osteoarthritis

  Tuesday, March 10, 2015

  ​Osteoarthritis (OA), often called "wear and tear" arthritis, is the most common form of arthritis in the U.S. Approximately 27 million adults have reported being diagnosed with OA by their physicians. Nearly 1 in 2 Americans develop symptomatic knee OA by age 85, and one study showed that the first symptoms in the knee often occur when climbing the stairs.

• Spider venom has strong painkiller potential

  Friday, March 06, 2015

  Pain is a serious health problem that affects more Americans than diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined. Acute pain might be mild and short-lived, lasting from a moment to weeks or months and disappearing when the underlying cause has been treated or healed, but chronic pain persists.

• Physician burnout: Erosion of the soul

  Wednesday, February 25, 2015

  ​We have long tended to view the medical profession as being glamorous — filled with status and prestige. However, the reality is that doctors seem to be struggling these days to feel satisfied and fulfilled, and many are turning to retirement.

• What autism may teach us about brain cancer

  Thursday, February 19, 2015

  ​Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. Recent research has used ASD to look at devastating diseases such as brain cancer.

• What your tongue says about your health

  Thursday, February 12, 2015

  Can we reveal our health by simply examining our tongues? It is not uncommon for doctors and other healthcare practitioners to ask their patients to open up and say "ahhh." A close look at the tongue (and everything else inside the mouth) can reveal a lot of hidden information about the overall state of our health.

• Anxiety and concussion-related depression linked to white matter

  Wednesday, January 21, 2015

  Anxiety disorders develop from a complex set of risk factors, including genetics, brain chemistry and personality, and they are more prevalent in women than men. Increasing evidence indicates that major depressive disorder (MDD) is usually accompanied by altered white matter in the prefrontal cortex, the parietal lobe and the limbic system.

• How the brain interprets reality vs. imaginary thought

  Wednesday, December 17, 2014

  Imagination may be our greatest skill. Neuroscientists and psychologists used to regard our ability to imagine fictional scenarios, people and objects as mere mental fluff. Now imagination is recognized as playing a central role in human thought, from planning and creativity to memory and problem-solving. It protects our mental health and may even be the fragile foundation upon which human society is built.

• Changing how PCPs treat symptoms during outpatient visits

  Monday, December 15, 2014

  Pain affects more Americans than diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined. An estimated 20 percent of American adults (42 million people) report that pain or physical discomfort disrupts their sleep a few nights a week or more.

• Researchers discover gene that reduces the risk of stroke

  Tuesday, December 09, 2014

  Strokes — sudden disabling attacks caused by an interruption in the flow of blood to the brain — remain one of the biggest causes of death in the western world. Strokes kill almost 130,000 Americans each year — that's 1 out of every 19 deaths. Every year, more than 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke, and about 610,000 of these are first or new strokes.

• Researchers examining new paths to treat pain and inflammation

  Wednesday, December 03, 2014

  Pain of any type — whether acute or chronic — is the most frequent reason for physician consultation in the United States, prompting half of all Americans ​to seek medical care annually. Although separate conditions, pain and inflammation are nearly always ​associated with each other.

• The mystery of memory: Unveiling FXR1P

  Tuesday, November 25, 2014

  Ordinary human memory is a mess. Most of us can recall the major events in our lives but may have to hear a phone number a dozen times before we can repeat it. It's easy for us to forget things we've learned — like the periodic table. Worse yet, our memories are vulnerable to contamination and distortion as evidenced by when we are fooled by suggestive questions.

• Severe stroke survival may depend on treatment facility volume

  Monday, November 24, 2014

  Emergent management of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is critical. An estimated 10-15 percent of patients die before reaching the hospital. Moreover, mortality rate reaches as high as 40 percent within the first week, and about 50 percent of patients who suffered an SAH die in the first six months.

• A need for RNs: Heading off the nursing shortage

  Friday, November 14, 2014

  Despite the chatter about a nursing shortage, registered nurses are near the top of the list when it comes to employment growth, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. In the past decade, the average age of employed RNs has increased by nearly two years, from 42.7 years in 2000 to 44.6 years.

• How bullying may physically alter our developing brains

  Thursday, November 13, 2014

  It's no mystery that the brain develops before birth and continues throughout adulthood. But we may not have considered that brain development is analogous to building a house: laying the foundation, framing the rooms and installing electrical wiring. Obviously, laying a solid foundation builds a strong brain structure, while a weak foundation creates a faulty structure.

• Hope on the horizon: Addressing the causes of schizophrenia

  Wednesday, November 12, 2014

  Schizophrenia is a severe, chronic and generally disabling brain and behavior disorder — a type of illness or psychosis, causing severe mental disturbances that disrupt normal thoughts, speech and behavior. In the journey to uncover the cause of this age-old disorder, a new theory is being explored — the role of C-reactive protein.

• ‘Dishing’ out a new test to improve breast cancer treatment

  Friday, November 07, 2014

  Excluding cancers of the skin, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States, accounting for 29 percent of newly diagnosed cancers. Breast cancer incidence and death rates generally increase with age, and 79 percent of new cases and 88 percent of breast cancer deaths occur in women 50 years of age and older.

• Chronic fatigue syndrome may be linked to brain abnormalities

  Thursday, November 06, 2014

  ​Up to 4 million Americans experience chronic fatigue syndrome, a debilitating, difficult-to-diagnose and complex disorder marked by extreme periods of fatigue that can last up to six months and are not improved by bed rest. CFS is often thought of as a problem in adults, but it also affects children and adolescents.

• Regenerative cells: Hope for people disabled by spinal cord injury

  Thursday, October 30, 2014

  Stem cells have several unique properties that separate them from other cells. They can proliferate so that they are capable of replenishing themselves for long periods of time by dividing, and they are unspecialized cells that can differentiate into specialized cells such as nerve or heart cells. In addition to treating cancers such as leukemia, stem cells are used to treat other diseases such as Parkinson's, stroke, Alzheimer's, retinal diseases and spinal cord injuries.

• Winning the war against brain tumors with nanotechnology

  Wednesday, October 29, 2014

  ​The Greeks used the Trojan horse to enter the city of Troy and win the war after a fruitless 10-year siege. For brain tumors, the war is ongoing, but researchers may have finally found their secret weapon using nanotechnology.

• What are the top financial concerns for physicians?

  Monday, October 20, 2014

  Practicing medicine continues to be complex and challenging — often to the detriment of physicians' personal financial matters. In fact, 50 percent of physicians believe their profession has more complicated financial needs than other professions.

• Research examines EPO’s effect on the health of preterm baby brains

  Wednesday, October 01, 2014

  Preterm birth is the leading cause of newborn deaths worldwide. Annually, an estimated 15 million babies are born too early, and more than 1 million do not survive beyond the first month of life. Although not all preterm babies experience complications, the earlier a baby is born, the greater the risk.

• The surge in US healthcare jobs: Looking ahead to 2022

  Friday, September 26, 2014

  The jobs with the largest expected growth are often those that benefit from America's changing demographics. It is not surprising, then, that the average of all health-support occupations is expected to grow 28 percent by 2022.

• Could losing your sense of smell predict Alzheimer’s?

  Tuesday, August 26, 2014

  ​Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain's neurons, resulting in loss of memory, thinking and language skills and behavioral changes. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia or loss of intellectual function among people aged 65 and older. However, Alzheimer's disease is not a normal part of aging.

• Mothers may pass their fears to children through smell

  Wednesday, August 06, 2014

  Scientists generally define fear as a negative emotional state triggered by the presence of a stimulus that has the potential to cause harm. Certainly, fear is a vital response to physical and emotional danger — if we didn't feel it, we couldn't protect ourselves from legitimate threats. But often we fear situations that are far from life or death and thus hang back for no good reason.

• What happens after brain injury to trigger epilepsy?

  Wednesday, July 30, 2014

  Although the relationship is not clearly understood, traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a risk factor for epilepsy. Head trauma is common in today's world. In addition to trauma from vehicle crashes and sporting accidents, head injury is becoming the signature injury of modern warfare.

• Researchers show the danger of dormant viruses in the body

  Friday, July 11, 2014

  ​Sepsis is caused by many different types of microbes, including bacteria, fungi and viruses. This is a major challenge in the intensive care unit of hospitals, where it is one of the leading causes of death. Now, a provocative study links prolonged episodes of sepsis to the reactivation of otherwise dormant viruses in the body.

• A heady study: Can football helmets reduce risk of concussion?

  Monday, June 30, 2014

  Of all sports, football holds the highest incidence of concussion. Although collisions are an essential part of the sport, intentionally caused helmet-to-helmet collisions are now banned in most football leagues. Safety concerns include head trauma, repeated concussions, spinal cord injuries and even death. But these helmet collisions continue to occur.

• Behind the white coats: Looking at the lifestyles of today’s physicians

  Monday, May 19, 2014

  When we visit our physicians, we usually don't think about the commitment they made to be able to treat us — four years of medical school, three to seven years of residency, another few years of fellowship. Most likely, physicians have spent seven to 10 years of their lives preparing to practice medicine.

• Doctor or nurse? Blurring the lines of medical treatment

  Friday, April 18, 2014

  Academic Medicine, the journal of the American Association of Medical Colleges, recently called for articles addressing these questions: What is a doctor? What is a nurse? Thirty years ago this would have been an absurd issue not only for doctors and nurses, but for patients as well.

• Does heavy drinking affect brain function?

  Thursday, March 06, 2014

  Not much research exists that examines the impact of alcohol consumption on brain aging before old age. However, a new study has included data from more than 5,000 men and 2,000 women at midlife, and this research suggests that middle-aged men who drink heavily show declines in memory, attention and reasoning skills six years earlier than men who drink less alcohol.

• 30 years later: Are we any closer to a cure for AIDS?

  Monday, February 03, 2014

  ​Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was first discovered in 1983. In 1984, HIV was definitively linked to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients and to groups whose members were at high risk for developing AIDS. But are researchers any closer to finding a cure now than when the HIV/AIDS connection was established 30 years ago?

• Emergency department observation units: A double-edged sword?

  Thursday, January 23, 2014

  What emergency department (ED) wouldn't like millions of dollars in cost savings? Theoretically, this could happen by keeping selected patients under observation in a dedicated hospital unit with defined protocols. The issue has been that many patients seeking ED treatment are clearly not well enough for immediate discharge yet are not sick enough to be admitted.

• The importance of blood vessel reorganization after face transplants

  Tuesday, December 17, 2013

  For the handful of full facial transplants that have been performed, there is a complex rehabilitation process during which the patient learns how to eat, speak and make facial expressions again. The biologic changes that happen after full face transplantation were not fully understood until recent discoveries. Researchers have found that in the months following the procedure, the blood vessels in the faces of transplant recipients ​are actually able to reorganize themselves.

• A blood test that predicts suicide?

  Friday, December 13, 2013

  There are other variables, however, that affect suicide rates, such as socioeconomic status, employment, occupation, sexual orientation and gender identity. But there may be more; it could be that changes in gene expression can indicate heightened risk for self-harm. Alexander Niculescu, a psychiatrist at Indiana University in Indianapolis, has been looking for biological signs of suicide risk in an effort to prevent these tragedies. Because of the brain's complexity and inaccessibility, he has focused on molecular signs, such as biomarkers.

• Text messaging in emergency medicine

  Friday, December 13, 2013

  Texting via cellphones and other electronic communication devices is used more than ever today. Interacting with friends and family, text messaging shapes our lives and language in many ways. And those ways are increasing, especially for patients with diabetes.

• The growing need for psychiatric EDs

  Tuesday, November 12, 2013

  In 2010, there were 129.8 million emergency department visits. However, not all of these visits were injury-related. A January 2012 American Hospital Association TrendWatch reported that there were more than 5 million visits to EDs by patients with a primary diagnosis of mental illness (or a substance abuse disorder). Even more alarming, the rate of mental health visits has increased seven times more than overall ED visits. So what happens when a person with a psychiatric emergency goes to the ED?

• New study sheds light on presentation of CTE symptoms

  Tuesday, October 08, 2013

  ​Scientists have long been aware of the devastation of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is marked by widespread accumulation of an abnormal protein called hyperphosphorylated tau. The disease usually presents with mood and behavioral changes at a young age. However, a new study suggests that clinical presentation could include cognitive symptoms at a later age.

• Improving brain surgery with laser-guided tool

  Monday, September 30, 2013

  For every 100,000 people in the United States (US), approximately 221 have been diagnosed with brain tumors, 138,054 with a malignant tumor and more than 550,042 with a non-malignant tumor. Metastatic brain tumors are the most common. Surgery is an essential component in the treatment of these brain tumors. However surgeons face challenges when removing brain tumors. They need to remove all the tumor without leaving behind any cells that could start a new tumor. They also need to be extremely careful not to damage any healthy tissue to minimize any risk to the patient.

• How to operate a successful urgent care center

  Monday, September 23, 2013

  In a growing trend, consumers are increasingly turning to walk-in clinics and urgent care centers for treatment of minor ailments and injuries instead of trying to squeeze in an appointment with a primary care provider or waiting at a crowded emergency room. Although urgent care centers are a win-win situation for owners and their communities, they are not immune from the business start-up statistics — 50 percent of small businesses fail in the first five years because of management mistakes.