Mild cognitive impairment often stays mild, but it can "progress" to Alzheimer's disease.

Some difficulty with remembering things (like names) and forgetting where you put things (like keys) is so typical that it's considered a normal part of aging. Just as hair thins and joints become less flexible, the brain processes information more slowly in our later years.

But some people experience a middle ground of cognitive impairment that's worse than normal age-related problems but not as bad as dementia from Alzheimer's disease or other brain diseases. Researchers labeled this intermediate state "mild cognitive impairment" in the 1980s, and the ...

Dr. Jerry Avorn is chief of the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and a professor at Harvard Medical School. Avorn and his colleagues published research that helped identify the heart attack risk of rofecoxib (Vioxx). He is the author of numerous articles and the book Powerful Medicines (2004).

You've been critical of the pharmaceutical industry. Are drug companies behaving more responsibly these days?

They are somewhat more cautious, primarily because the FDA has become more vigilant. A 2007 law forced the agency to create a better system for monitoring and studying drugs once ...

If you didn't grow up with a food allergy, you're not off the hook. They can spring up without warning at any time of life.

Food allergy doesn't rank high on the list of later-life maladies. Only 4% of adults are allergic to a food, and even those who begin life with the most common food allergies — to milk, eggs, wheat, and soy — are likely to outgrow them by the time they enter kindergarten.

Yet no adult is truly immune to food allergy. Some food allergies — especially to peanuts, tree nuts (which include almonds, cashews, and walnuts), ...

Stress hormones increase appetites and a craving for high-fat, sugary food.

It's been another hectic day. On impulse, you grab an extra-large candy bar during your afternoon break. You plan to take just a few bites. But before you know it, you've polished off the whole thing — and, at least temporarily, you may feel better.

Rest assured you're not alone. Stress, the hormones it unleashes, and the effects of high-fat, sugary "comfort foods" push people toward overeating. Researchers have linked weight gain to stress, and according to an American Psychological Association survey, about one-fourth of Americans rate their stress ...

Eating high-fiber foods helps lower cholesterol, and research is now suggesting that it may also help protect against respiratory and infectious diseases.

  Ways to prevent kidney stones mainly revolve around dietary choices, along with drinking plenty of water.   Read More »

Eating oatmeal is a great way to add fiber to your diet, and using a microwave oven is a convenient way to speed up the cooking time.

I am overweight and need abdominal surgery. Does being overweight make the surgery more difficult and add to the complication rate?

I read that Harvard researchers found no association between eating red meat and developing heart disease and diabetes. Have I been depriving myself of steak for more than 20 years for no good reason?