Alzheimer's Disease Archive

Here's how to prepare for the coming allergy season.

Spring is in the air, and so are millions of pollen particles, the tiny grains that fertilize plants. Seasonal allergies — also known as hay fever — can affect almost anyone and at any time in life. Although most people begin to experience allergies in childhood or early adulthood, sometimes the symptoms become more problematic later in life, especially if their living environment changes.

"Even if you have never suffered from allergies — or used to when you were much younger but not anymore — there is a good chance you will become more sensitive to pollen as you reach your 60s and 70s, although it's not clear why," says Dr. Mariana Castells, of the Department of Allergy, Rheumatology, and Immunology at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

But these remedies aren't the best choice if you have frequent heartburn.

You feel the familiar sensation in your chest: heartburn. Again, you find yourself reaching for the bottle of antacids in the medicine cabinet. It's something you've done a few times a week for the past six months. Is it okay to keep popping over-the-counter acid reducers, or is it time to see a doctor?

We asked two experts, Dr. Jennifer Nayor and Dr. Molly Linn Perencevich, both instructors in medicine at Harvard Medical School, for their thoughts on heartburn, including when it's okay to use over-the-counter antacids and when you should seek other treatments. Below are their responses.

Ask the doctors

Q. I recently had diverticulitis. I'd like to avoid a recurrence. Is there anything I can do to prevent this painful condition in the future?

A. As people age, small pouches often form in the wall of the large intestine, a condition called diverticulosis. If food or bacteria become trapped in these pouches, they can become inflamed or infected, which is known as diverticulitis.

Research we're watching

If you have an arthritis-related condition called Heberden's nodes, you may be at higher risk for arthritis-related knee problems, according to a study published online January 9 by Arthritis & Rheumatology.

Heberden's nodes develop when cartilage in the fingers wears away, causing the bones to rub against one another. This prompts new bone to form, creating bony nodules in the knuckles closest to the fingertips.

The benefits of meditation go beyond stress reduction.

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Most of us sense instinctively that clutter is unhealthy. Sure, we may joke about a disorganized desk or a teenager's messy room, but we feel that a clean, organized space is a healthier, more soothing environment. What about a cluttered mind — a mind constantly presented with different simultaneous challenges and distractions? Is that unhealthy, and is there a fix?

Uncluttering — or, as is usually said, "emptying" — your mind through meditation has a host of health-related benefits, and maybe that's why more people are taking up the practice. Data from a national survey conducted by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, published online by the CDC in November 2018, found that 14% of American adults reported meditating in 2017, compared with just 4% in 2012.

News briefs

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For some people, it's tough to prevent flare-ups of rosacea, the reddened and sometimes bumpy skin that shows up on the cheeks, nose, and other areas of the face. Caffeine, heat and sun exposure, and a long list of foods (everything from spicy foods to yogurt) have been thought to trigger rosacea or make it worse. But a study published online Oct. 17, 2018, by JAMA Dermatology not only pokes a hole in the idea that caffeine is to blame, it also suggests that one major caffeine source — coffee — might even reduce the risk of rosacea. Researchers analyzed health and diet survey responses gathered every four years from nearly 83,000 women (most of whom were white) from 1991 to 2005. It turns out that women who drank four or more cups of caffeinated coffee per day were 23% less likely to report a diagnosis of rosacea during the study period, compared with women who drank less than one cup per month. Increased caffeine intake from tea, soda, and chocolate had no impact on the likelihood of developing rosacea. The study was only observational and can't prove cause and effect. But coffee has also been linked to many other health benefits, including lower blood pressure, a slower rate of weight gain with age, and reduced risks for developing type 2 diabetes or dying from cardiovascular disease or neurological diseases.

In the journals

Need another reminder to eat your fruits and vegetables? Doing so might lower your risk of memory loss, according to a study published online Nov. 21, 2018, by Neurology. The study looked at almost 28,000 men, average age 51, who filled out questionnaires every four years for 20 years about how many servings of fruits, vegetables, and other foods they ate each day. The participants also took tests of their thinking and memory skills at least four years before the end of the study, when the average age was 73.

The researchers found that men who consumed the most daily servings of vegetables and fruit (six or more servings) were less likely to develop poor thinking skills than the men who consumed the fewest (about two daily servings or less). A serving of fruit was defined as a cup of whole fruit or half a cup of fruit juice. A serving of vegetables was a cup of raw vegetables or two cups of leafy greens.

Stress and depression may lead to new health issues or intensify the symptoms of existing conditions.

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We tend to think of grieving as an emotional experience, and it is — fraught with intense sadness, profound loss, and psychological pain. But grief has a physical side that sets us up for a number of health risks. "Most of these side effects are the result of emotional distress responses," explains Dr. Maureen Malin, a geriatric psychiatrist with Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital. Whether you're grieving the loss of a loved one, a job, a home, or a beloved pet, it's important to understand how the process puts your health in jeopardy.

Stress and grief

Grieving takes a toll on the body in the form of stress. "That affects the whole body and all organ systems, and especially the immune system," Dr. Malin says. Evidence suggests that immune cell function falls and inflammatory responses rise in people who are grieving. That may be why people often get sick more often and use more health care resources during this period.

Ask the doctors

Q. I heard that there is a new medication that you can take for the flu. Is this a vaccine?

A. In October 2018, for the first time in 20 years, the FDA approved a new medication to treat the flu. Baloxavir marboxil, sold as Xofluza, is not a vaccine, but rather an antiviral drug that can help your body fight off influenza more quickly. Antivirals work by stopping viruses from reproducing, lessening both the severity of your symptoms and their duration. Xofluza joins two antiviral drugs commonly prescribed for flu, oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir inhaler (Relenza). (A third flu drug — peramivir, trade name Rapivab — is administered as an intravenous infusion.)