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All Healthy Living Special Reports
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Impulse Control: The Link Between Parkinson's and Gambling
You may be familiar with the most typical symptoms of Parkinson's disease -- tremor, rigidity, and trouble initiating movement -- but many people don't know that therapy for Parkinson's is linked to a startling array of impulse-control disorders, like pathological gambling and hypersexuality. More...
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Do You Have a Thyroid Disorder?
Thyroid problems can lead to a number of conditions, including cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and chronic fatigue. But in older adults, thyroid disorders are often overlooked or misdiagnosed, because the symptoms resemble other conditions, says Simeon Margolis, M.D., Ph.D., Medical Editor of our Health After 50 newsletter and Professor of Medicine and Biological Chemistry at Johns Hopkins. Fortunately, tests are available to diagnose thyroid disorders -- and in most cases, effective treatment consists of a simple medication regimen. Here’s what you should know … More...
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Your Cosmetic Dentisty Options
According to the American Dental Association, teeth were 'designed' to last about 30 years. Decay and discoloration of teeth are the most obvious problems, but older adults face a variety of other age-related changes that can create a less youthful-looking smile. If you're considering a dental makeover, here's a rundown of available procedures and their costs. … More...
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The Pain-Mood Connection
Pain is one of the most common symptoms people with depression complain about, and people who are depressed experience more impairment from their pain than those who are not depressed. Often, the depression-pain scenario plays out in a vicious cycle, and to find relief from one, you must treat the other. … More...
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How the FDA Approval Process Works
In 1906, the Pure Food & Drug Act established authority for a regulatory agency that eventually became the FDA. Today, the FDA alone decides whether and how pharmaceutical companies may test drugs in Americans and, ultimately, whether the companies will be allowed to sell a drug. Here's an overview of the FDA drug approval process. … More...
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Are You At Risk For Gallstones?
Experts estimate that 20 to 25 million adults in the United States have gallstones -- hard, crystal-like clumps of debris that form in the gallbladder. About one third of people with gallstones experience an acute attack of abdominal pain. The good news is that gallstone disease can be cured. … More...
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Breathe Easier With An Air Purifier
If you have a lung condition and are trying to reduce indoor air pollution in your home, portable air cleaning devices may look like an attractive option to cut down on lung irritants. But do they really work? Here's a review of your choices from the experts at Johns Hopkins. … More...
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Good Nutrition in a Hurry
From frozen foods to meal assembly, here are eight time-saving strategies to help you prepare nutritious meals quickly and easily.
With all the pressures on our time, good nutritional habits often get left by the wayside. To cut corners, we often resort to fast food, restaurant take-out, and frozen entrées that may be loaded with salt, fat, and calories. But it doesn't have to be that way. … More...
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How Vitamin C Stops The Big “C”
2007 JOHNS HOPKINS PRESS RELEASE
Nearly 30 years after Nobel laureate Linus Pauling famously and controversially suggested that vitamin C supplements can prevent cancer, a team of Johns Hopkins scientists have shown that in mice at least, vitamin C -- and potentially other antioxidants -- can indeed inhibit the growth of some cancer tumors, just not in the manner suggested by years of investigation. More...
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Uncovering the Benefits of Aspirin
Is enteric aspirin 'safe” and 'easier” on the stomach than uncoated aspirin? The jury is still out. Aspirin has long been known as an effective painkiller, but it's become as important for preventing stroke and heart attack as it is for preventing pain. Low-dose aspirin therapy helps prevent heart attack and stroke by keeping blood platelets from clumping together and forming dangerous clots. More...
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Healthy Teeth, Healthy Heart?
While a direct link between periodontal disease and heart disease has yet to be firmly established, doctors believe there is an important connection between oral and cardiovascular health.
You may have cultivated an excellent working relationship with a caring and competent physician. You may be eating a heart-healthy diet and exercising regularly. But have you seen your dentist lately? This is an important question, because the state of your teeth and gums may impact your cardiovascular… More...
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Are the New Sleeping Pills Right for You?
David Neubauer, M.D., Associate Director of the Johns Hopkins Sleep Disorders Center, talks about insomnia.
A good night’s rest can become a rare commodity as you age. This is because sleep patterns change as you get older: You spend more time in the lighter stages of sleep and less time in the deep, restorative stages. If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep more than three nights a week, or if lack of sleep leaves you exhausted, you probably have insomnia. David Neubauer, M.D., Associate Director of the Johns Hopkins Sleep Disorders Center and the author of Understanding Sleeplessness (Johns Hopkins University Press), explains his approach to insomnia and evaluates the new sleeping pills.
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The Uses and Misuses of Testosterone Therapy
Johns Hopkins professor Adrian Dobs, M.D. talks about testosterone replacement therapy.
After age 40, a man’s testosterone level declines by about 1% each year. Most men don’t experience symptoms. But if the testosterone level drops below 300 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL), as measured by a blood test, this indicates a condition called hypogonadism that can only be treated with testosterone therapy.
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Try Tai Chi for Your Health
Perhaps you’ve caught sight of them in a park on a sunny day -- people moving in synchrony as they perform a series of graceful, flowing movements. Most likely, they’re practicing tai chi, an ancient Chinese form of exercise that can help people of all ages improve their flexibility, balance, and muscle strength.
Now recent studies indicate that tai chi may help with a range of medical problems, including Parkinson’s disease, high blood pressure, and rehabilitation after knee replacement surgery.
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Starting a Walking Program
It is a well-established fact that better cardiovascular health gained by regular exercise reduces your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol levels. Now, new research suggests that regular cardiovascular exercise might benefit your brain as well. Two separate studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association report that walking regularly may help preserve mental sharpness. More...
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Disease Prevention and Genetic Testing -- Can You Benefit?
In 2003, publication of the complete sequence of the human genome capped a decade of explosion in genetic knowledge. Later that year, researchers announced that much of this information had been placed on a single, dime-sized glass slide called a DNA microarray or gene chip. This tool allows researchers to rapidly examine humankind’s estimated 35,000 genes so they can pinpoint those linked to disease, an achievement that promises to transform the practice of medicine in the near future. More...
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How to Double the Odds You'll Quit Smoking
If you’re past midlife and have not yet quit smoking, chances are you’d like to quit smoking. Statistics show that most older smokers have tried—and failed—to quit smoking at least once. The addictive nature of nicotine, one of the major chemicals in tobacco, accounts for many of these failures.
“Tobacco delivers explosively high doses of nicotine to the brain,” says Johns Hopkins Professor of Psychiatry Jack Henningfield, Ph.D., “causing neurologic changes that are
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