Brain training game linked to lower dementia risk a decade later
(Mallory Locklear/ New Scientist) — Could a computer brain-training program be the first effective tool for preventing dementia? The results from a decade-long study of over a thousand people suggests it might be.
Approximately 47 million people have dementia worldwide, but there are no known interventions that can be used to reduce …
Prostate cancer: Symptoms, risk factors, and treatment
(Christian Nordqvist/ MedicalNewsToday) — Prostate cancer affects the prostate gland, the gland that produces some of the fluid in semen and plays a role in urine control in men.
The prostate gland is located below the bladder and in front of the rectum.
In the United States (U.S.), it is the most common cancer in men, but it is also …
New guidelines mean half of U.S. adults have high blood pressure
(Marilynn Marchione/ Associated Press) — New guidelines lower the threshold for high blood pressure, adding 30 million Americans to those who have the condition, which now plagues nearly half of U.S. adults.
High pressure, which for decades has been a top reading of at least 140 or a bottom one of 90, drops to 130 over 80 in advice announced …
Bill Gates’s newest mission: Curing Alzheimer’s
( Dr. Sanjay Gupta/ CNN) — It’s one of the holy grails of science: a cure for Alzheimer’s. Currently, there is no treatment to stop the disease, let alone slow its progression. And billionaire Bill Gates thinks he will change that.
“I believe there is a solution,” he told me without hesitation.
“Any …
Sleep apnea may boost Alzheimer’s risk
(Steven Reinberg/ HealthDay) — If your sleep is continually disrupted by a condition called sleep apnea, you might face a higher chance of developing Alzheimer’s down the road.
So claims a new study that has linked sleep apnea with an increase in the development of amyloid plaque in the brain, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. …
Common form of breast cancer may return even 20 years later, study finds
(Judy Silverman and Maggie Fox/ NBC News)— Breast cancer can “smolder” and return even 20 years later unless patients keep taking drugs to suppress it, researchers reported Wednesday.
They were looking for evidence that at least some breast cancer survivors …
Drug costs rising fast in Canadian health-care spending, report finds
(Nicole Ireland/CBC News) — Hospitals still account for the biggest portion of heath-care spending in Canada but drugs are the fastest-growing expense, according to new data released Tuesday.
Total health spending is expected to reach $242 billion in Canada in 2017, …
Stop using antibiotics in healthy farm animals, WHO warns
Describing a lack of effective antibiotics for humans as “a security threat” on a par with “a sudden and deadly disease outbreak”, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “strong and sustained action across all sectors” was vital to turn back the tide of antibiotic resistance …
Quebec urges people to get flu shots as annual vaccination campaign kicks off
(CBC News) — It’s that time of year again.
Quebec’s flu vaccine campaign kicked off last Wednesday, and provincial health authorities are stressing just how important getting the flu shot is to prevent getting sick, especially for young children and seniors.
The campaign expects to see more than two million doses of the …