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What's the relationship between diabetes and dementia?

It has been known for many years that type 2 diabetes increases a person’s risk for stroke and heart disease, and more recent studies have shown that diabetes also increases risk of dementia. But new research examined the association between when a person first is diagnosed with diabetes and their risk of developing dementia later.

What exactly is a hernia?

A hernia is an area of weakness in the abdominal wall muscles that allows contents of the abdomen to push through the wall and form a pouch. A small hernia may follow a "watch and wait" approach, while a larger and more painful one often requires surgery to repair.

Which disease starts first?

Among atherosclerosis, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, which are all related, cholesterol deposits start first.

Do I need to take my blood pressure in both arms?

Taking blood pressure readings in both arms can help reveal potential heart risks.

Pick up the pace for better walking with peripheral artery disease

A small, randomized trial published online April 6, 2021, by JAMA found that people who took part in a high-intensity walking program for one year covered more ground in six minutes than people who’d taken part in a low-intensity walking program.

Man's best friend — and medicine's too?

Scientists are studying whether medical detection dogs can sniff out and identify disease in humans, such as cancer, infection, and Parkinson’s disease. Dogs might be useful because their noses have 60 times the number of scent receptors as human noses; that might make dogs able to detect scents given off by bacteria or diseased human cells. But it’s hard to get solid evidence about the accuracy of medical detection dogs. Scientists are also studying whether technology can replicate the same kind of detection.

Advice about daily aspirin

The heart-protecting benefits of a daily low-dose aspirin have to be weighed against the risk of bleeding, a common side effect that is usually minor but sometimes serious. The calculation depends on age and whether a person has cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or a condition that raises risk of bleeding.

Easing summer swelling

Lower leg and foot swelling is most often the result of an abnormal buildup of fluid, which doctors refer to as edema. Fluid tends to flow downhill, making it more likely to pool in the lower parts of the body. Excess fluid retention can be triggered by many things, including eating too much salt, heat, drinking alcohol, or standing for a long period of time. To reduce it, reduce dietary sodium, elevate the feet at the end of the day and wear support stockings.

Not yet ready for cataract surgery? Try these tips

Cataracts often affect vision as people get older. The surgery is quick and effective, but most cataracts progress slowly, so in the early stages you may want to make some adjustments to your home and daily behavior to make living with cataracts easier.

Tendon trouble in the hands: de Quervain's tenosynovitis and trigger finger

Painful conditions like de Quervain's tenosynovitis, inflammation of the tendons that move the thumb, and stenosing tenosynovitis, or trigger finger, when a digit becomes locked, can develop due to overuse or repetitive movement.

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