Good connections can improve health and increase longevity.

For many of us, the holidays mean family gatherings, getting together with friends, and participating in special religious, community, and workplace activities. Such occasions are an opportunity to check in with each other, exchange ideas, and perhaps lend a supportive ear or shoulder.

Social connections like these not only give us pleasure, they also influence our long-term health in ways every bit as powerful as adequate sleep, a good diet, and not smoking. Dozens of studies have shown that people who have satisfying relationships with family, friends, and their community are happier, ...

Applications that run on your cell phone put health and wellness aids just a touch away.

Multipurpose gadgets — from the dubious devices hawked on late-night television to reliable standbys like food processors — capture our fancy because they promise to save space, time, and money. The iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry are no exception. Aptly dubbed "smartphones," they don't just make calls — they're also highly portable, powerful computers that can perform a seemingly infinite variety of tasks, thanks to operating systems that run programs called applications, or "apps."

Hundreds of thousands of smartphone apps are already available for downloading, ...

Older people who are able to perform better on measures of physical strength such as grip strength and walking speed are likely to live longer than those whose performance was poorer.

People with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) have a new option for reducing periodic attacks (relapses) and for delaying the progression of MS-related disability. MS is typically treated with injected drugs or infusions, which can be painful and inconvenient and may discourage some patients from staying on therapy. The FDA has approved the first oral medication, fingolimod, brand name Gilenya (pronounced jil-EN-yah).

The drug, taken once a day in 0.5-milligram (mg) capsules, works by a different mechanism than other approved MS medications, and in a head-to-head comparison, it was more effective against relapses than one of the leading injectables. ...

Officials acknowledge a connection between the most popular bone drugs and rare thigh fractures.

In October 2010, the FDA issued a warning that long-term use of bisphosphonates — the class of drugs most widely prescribed for preventing and treating osteoporosis — may increase the risk of unusual fractures of the thigh. Reports of these fractures began to emerge in 2007. The bone breaks involved occur just below the hip joint (subtrochanteric) and in the long part of the thighbone (diaphyseal). They generally happen with little or no trauma and, in some cases, have occurred in both femurs. About half the ...

I keep hearing that aspirin can help prevent colon cancer, but I have no idea how much I should take. Can you help? I've had adenomatous polyps in the past.

I've been diagnosed as having chilblains in the fingers on both hands. What causes chilblains? Is there a cure?