How clinical trials help fight disease
Clinical trials are necessary for finding new ways of preventing, detecting or treating diseases. Often, though, limited participation creates challenges for meeting clinical trial goals. Despite decades of effort and strategies to identify and address barriers to recruiting and enrolling study participants, recruitment challenges persist, particularly among women, older adults and... READ MORE
You may be paid to monitor your mobility
Last year a local man had a stroke and had to re-learn to walk. His doctors wanted to monitor his recovery, so they outfitted his home with three sensors and gave him a fourth sensor to wear on his belt. “He had been treated for foot drop, so we wanted to see how active he was, how much walking he did in his apartment, and also how he interacted with his wife, who was quite... READ MORE
Help UMD with a two-hour hearing study
As we get older, loud restaurants, stadium games and other background noises can interfere with our hearing. It may become harder to understand certain accents. Or perhaps you’re just not catching every word in a sentence. If we get a standard hearing test, though, the audiogram may appear normal. What then? The Hearing Brain Lab at the University of Maryland in College Park... READ MORE
Tired after Covid? A healthy diet could help
Covid affects people in different ways. For some it’s fatal, while others experience no symptoms at all. Others struggle with autoimmune conditions and fatigue months after the infection has resolved — a condition known as long Covid. Now, there’s a new study for people over 50 who have felt tired for months after having Covid. The University of Maryland, with funding from... READ MORE
Study aims to help those who can’t sleep
We’ve all been there: It’s late at night, but you can’t seem to fall asleep. After you finally catch some winks, you wake up at 4 a.m., raring to go. If you’re over 65 and have trouble sleeping, Johns Hopkins may be able to help. Hoping that exercise can improve sleep and cognitive health, researchers have created an exercise plan that can be done entirely from home. It’s... READ MORE
Eyes may be a window into aging brains
What if an eye test could predict — or even delay — the onset of blindness or Alzheimer's disease? Researchers at The University of Maryland School of Medicine are studying how aging affects blood flow to the eyes. They hope that one day scientists can develop a diagnostic test to detect brain changes. “There’s a really strong connection between the eye and the brain.... READ MORE
Surprising benefits from toothbrushing
Maybe we should add toothbrushes to the bouquet of flowers we bring to friends and family members in the hospital — and make sure to pack one if we wind up there ourselves. New Harvard-led research published online in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that seriously ill hospitalized patients are far less likely to develop hospital-acquired pneumonia if their teeth are brushed twice... READ MORE
Survey seeks those with Type 2 diabetes
If you’re a Marylander over 65 years old who is living with Type 2 diabetes, Johns Hopkins researchers would like to hear from you. The survey, called the Diabetes Care Network Study, hopes to determine how our family and friends interact with our healthcare network. “We’re interested in seeing if that connection between family and friends and healthcare providers may be ... READ MORE
Can a healthy diet impact Alzheimer’s?
In recent years scientists have been looking at the link between the gut microbiome and cognitive function. They’ve discovered that the bacteria that live in our intestines can influence our hormones, neurotransmitters and proteins, which affect our brain. Now there’s a study at George Washington University underway to look at the connection between the food we eat and... READ MORE
NIA study seeks way to prevent diabetes
Strawberries, raspberries and nuts are delicious. Can they also prevent diabetes? The National Institute on Aging needs your help to determine whether a nutritional supplement can help regulate blood sugar — and perhaps stave off type 2 diabetes. When we eat foods like pomegranates, berries, walnuts and pecans, our bodies produce something called urolithin A. It’s also sold in... READ MORE
