New vaccine options for this flu season
Several different types of flu shots are available to older adults this year, along with a new FDA-approved shot for pneumonia. Here are your options:Flu shotsJust as they do every year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) strongly recommends a seasonal flu shot to almost everyone, but it’s especially important for older adults, who are more vulnerable. The flu puts more than... READ MORE
Take two chocolates and call me in the a.m.
Chocolate to cure a broken heart is a popular prescription, but it turns out chocolate's heart-mending reputation might just be deserved.A few months ago, Harvard researchers reported that in a study of over 31,000 middle-aged and elderly Swedish women, those who consumed one or two ounces of chocolate a week had a 32 percent lower risk of heart failure than women who ate no... READ MORE
Family history of heart disease raises risk
Paul Ryan works out and watches his diet, but a new study shows that clean living can only go so far to help people like the vice presidential candidate overcome a strong family history of heart disease. The study of 4 million people — the largest ever on heart risks that run in families — found that having a close relative die young of cardiovascular disease doubles a person's odds... READ MORE
Will we one day ‘print’ drugs at home?
Technology is being developed that could one day allow anyone with a 3D printer and an Internet connection to set up a home-based pharmacy. (A 3D printer builds solid objects by depositing repeated layers of a substance in much the same way an ink-jet printer deposits ink on a page. A digital file instructs the printer exactly what to do.)A team of researchers led by chemist Lee Cronin at... READ MORE
Blood test may help predict heart attacks
Too often, people pass a cardiac checkup only to collapse with a heart attack days later. Now scientists have found a clue that one day may help doctors determine if a heart attack is imminent, in hopes of preventing it.Most heart attacks happen when fatty deposits in an artery burst open, and a blood clot then forms to seal the break. If the clot is too big, it blocks off blood flow.The... READ MORE
Universal, lifetime flu vaccine on the way
Annual flu shots might soon become a thing of the past — and threats such as avian and swine flu might disappear with them — as a vaccine touted as the “holy grail” of flu treatment could be ready for human trials next year.That’s earlier than the National Institutes of Health estimated in 2010, when they said a universal vaccine could be five years off.By... READ MORE
Five foods that may help you sleep better
Some people have trouble falling asleep. Others can’t stay asleep. And then there are the people who have trouble turning life “off” and tucking into bed at a reasonable hour.Whatever the reason, more than 50 million Americans don’t get enough shut-eye. Yet the health benefits of a good night’s rest are legion.Sleep helps keep you happy, your brain sharp, your... READ MORE
Doctors aren’t always truthful. Is that OK?
Trust your doctor? A survey finds that some doctors aren’t always completely honest with their patients.More than half admitted describing someone’s prognosis in a way they knew was too rosy. Nearly 20 percent said they hadn’t fully disclosed a medical mistake for fear of being sued. And 1 in 10 of those surveyed said they’d told a patient something that wasn’t ... READ MORE
Implanted device dispenses daily drugs
Medication via remote-control instead of a shot? Scientists implanted microchips in seven women that did just that, oozing out the right dose of a bone-strengthening drug once a day without them even noticing.Implanted medicine is a hot field, aiming to help patients better stick to their medications and to deliver those drugs straight to the body part that needs them.But the recent study... READ MORE
Tips to help you lower your medical bills
Few things make me feel as clueless as a bill from my doctor’s office. I don’t recognize the abbreviations or understand the jargon. I can’t tell when I’m being charged too much.And there’s no screen on the wall, at least not at my doctor’s office, tallying the cost of each extra test I agree to or question I ask.But, even if you have health insurance as... READ MORE
