ArcaMax

Analysis of the health status of U.S. adults ages 65 and older indicates that 2.7 million folks are living with vascular dementia (impaired supply of blood to the brain, often caused by mini-strokes) or mixed dementia (vascular causes plus Alzheimer's, Lewy Body or frontotemporal dementia). But only around 800,000 folks have been diagnosed with ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: What can you tell me about the cause and treatment of immune thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP)? I am a 71-year-old male, and after lab results showed a low blood platelet count, I underwent a spleen and liver scan as well as a bone marrow biopsy. They all showed normal function, and no infection (viral or bacterial) has been found. ...Read more

Do you feel sluggish and stiff when you start your workouts? Here's a simple way to get loose -- and have more stamina.

A study published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science found that you can power up your muscles' performance with passive warmups (using heating pads or a hot shower) or active warmups (10 minutes on the stationary bike ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: When I was about 6 years old in the early '40s, my 16-year-old brother was sent to a sanitarium for tuberculosis patients. He was there for 18 months and was a survivor.

During this period of time, we (the family) went regularly for chest X-rays and some kind of test that involved a needle in my forearm. Why aren't X-rays done...Read more

You know how important it is to eat a healthy diet. Yet only about 12% of Americans eat the recommended amount of fruits every day, and only 10% get the recommended amount of vegetables. So, I keep dishing up evidence of how important it is in the hopes that more of you will decide to have at least seven (nine is better) servings of fruits and ...Read more

Researchers are now advising folks who get a flu shot to consider refraining from taking a pain reliever like aspirin, Advil or Aleve after inoculation because it can dampen production of necessary antibodies that protect against viral illness.

Many over-the-counter pain and fever reducers are classified as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs,...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I read with interest the letter from the reader who had shoulder pain and was identified with Parsonage-Turner syndrome. I had never heard of it before. I am a 64-year-old woman with severe shoulder pain. It has persisted for more than five years.

In addition to the ball of fire in the top of my arm/shoulder, I'm bothered by a...Read more

Fact No. 1: More than 40% of U.S. adults are obese and almost 10% are severely obese.

Fact No. 2: Around 9 million Americans have dementia; more than 7 million of those are cases of Alzheimer's disease (AD). And the numbers are expected to double by 2060.

Turns out that these two facts are intertwined. A five-year study presented at the ...Read more

January is Hot Tea Month, so let's look at the health benefits that come from having a cup of fresh-brewed black and green tea. (No tea bags please; they often contain micro- and nanoplastics that are released in hot water.)

A new review in a journal called (I kid you not) Beverage Plant Research says there is solid evidence that regularly ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have suffered from high blood pressure since I was a young man in my early 20s. I recently turned 70 years old. My blood pressure has been controlled by various medications. Most recently, I have been taking 20 mg of lisinopril once each day. I also take amlodipine.

Recently, my primary care physician spotted some abnormal ...Read more

Every day, around 60 million U.S. adults wake up to (or never slept because of) chronic pain. If you're one of these folks, you know that while physical therapy can make you feel better, it can often be a temporary solution, and pain meds, even non-opioids, have drawbacks.

Now, a study out of China shows that when chronic pain is caused by ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have notes from friends at home who are getting their COVID vaccines and high-dose flu shots on the same day in the same arm. They talk about being completely wiped out and the cons of having two sore arms. Does it matter if you get the shots in one arm or the other? I suspect that it's fine to do them both in one arm, and ...Read more

Even with modern medicine, vaccines and artificial intelligence helping to diagnose diseases early, the risk of dying before age 70 -- called probability of premature death, or PPD -- still varies widely around the world.

In 2019, 12% of people in the world's healthiest countries died before age 70. In sub-Saharan Africa, that number was 52%;...Read more

The so-called "California sober" trend involves swapping alcohol in favor of cannabis consumption in the belief that it's less harmful to the body and reduces the danger of using more potent drugs like opioids, cocaine and methamphetamine.

A small published study suggests the approach actually does reduce alcohol consumption, at least in the ...Read more

Let's look at some converging lines of population numbers. The United States appears to be trending toward a new club of nations: those in which annual deaths routinely outnumber births. Some countries in Europe and Asia, such as Japan, Italy, South Korea and Germany, already have more deaths each year than births.

The biggest driver appears ...Read more

Apart from their widely celebrated effect at weight loss and diabetes management, GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy might also reduce alcohol use.

In a pilot study published in Scientific Reports, researchers found that GLP-1 agonists (which mimic the effects of GLP-1 compounds) slowed the speed at which alcohol enters the bloodstream, ...Read more