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June is Brain and Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, an annual observance to highlight the importance of brain health and raise awareness for progressive neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. There is no cure for Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, but there are steps you can take to reduce your risk of developing the disease, many of which involve your diet and lifestyle. And aside from reducing your risk of brain diseases in the future, eating certain foods can help boost your brainpower today....

The American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) recently released the first-ever guidelines for diagnosing and assessing chest pain. Some parts of the guidelines are intended for physicians while others are for patients. Key Takeaways New chest pain guidelines remind people that heart attack pain can also occur in the shoulders, jaw, and arms.Women may experience nausea and shortness of breath when they’re having a heart attack....

Auditory training is for individuals with hearing loss that is being treated via the use of hearing aids or cochlear implants. The training attempts to achieve an improved quality of life by addressing sensory issues related to hearing loss (sensory management), instruction in the use and maintenance of your hearing aid or cochlear implant, and perception training. Additionally, counseling may be used to improve coping skills. Other names that may be used to refer to auditory training or aspects of auditory training include aural rehabilitation, hearing training, speech perception training, sentence training, or even consonant or vowel training....

Most studies have shown that people who are afraid or unable to disclose their HIV status are at greater risk of isolation and depression. This, in turn, can make it harder to maintain the necessary levels of drug adherence to keep the virus fully suppressed, particularly if the HIV medications have to be taken in secrecy. Common sense would dictate, therefore, that persons who fail to disclose their HIV status would be at greater risk of illness and death than those who do....

Cannabis compounds could be helpful in fighting lung cell inflammation in patients with COVID-19, according to a paper published in Scientific Reports in January. Key Takeaways New research shows that certain cannabis compounds may decrease inflamed lung cells.This research could have implications in the treatment of coronavirus patients because lung inflammation is one of the most debilitating and deadly complications in the later stage of the disease.Innovative methods have been developed to test the efficacy of the compounds....

Comorbidity or a comorbid condition is the presence of two or more diseases or conditions that occur together in the same person at the same time. Conditions considered comorbidities are often long-term or chronic conditions, and they may or may not be associated with each other. Other terms that are often used interchangeably with comorbidity include coexisting conditions, co-occurring conditions, multimorbidity, or multiple chronic conditions (although important distinctions differentiate these terms)....

The information in this article is current as of the date listed, which means newer information may be available when you read this. For the most recent updates on COVID-19, visit our coronavirus news page. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple variants of the virus have developed. One of these variants is P.1, which was discovered in four travelers from Brazil as they were screened at an airport in Japan in January 2021....

Dyssynergic defecation is a health condition with difficulty passing stool due to problems with the muscles and nerves of the pelvic floor. It can result in chronic constipation. Dyssynergic defecation is considered to be the result of pelvic floor dysfunction, in that the muscles and nerves within the pelvic floor are not functioning as they should. A common name for it in the past was anismus. About half of the patients seeking treatment for chronic constipation are found to have dyssynergic defecation when diagnosed by specialists....

Because it’s a chronic disease, asthma can affect your quality of life in several ways. This respiratory condition impacts all people differently. Some people may need to miss school or work because they have asthma. Others may need to care for a family member with the condition. In addition, asthma may prevent some people from participating in certain activities, especially sports. Many asthmatics limit their physical activity because of their symptoms....

Statin drugs are among the most commonly prescribed medications in the U.S. with annual sales of over $18 billion, according to research from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. Statin drugs are known to significantly reduce the odds of having a heart attack or stroke by lowering the level of “bad” cholesterol in the blood. But they are no longer prescribed based solely on a person’s blood test results....

Almost all women experience some premenstrual symptoms in a week or two before their period. But in about 40% of women, the symptoms are significant enough to make the diagnosis of Premenstrual Syndrome or Premenstrual Dysphoria Disorder. There are several treatment options for PMS/PMDD. The type of treatment that is right for you depends on upon the severity of your symptoms. If you have only mild PMS you may feel better just with lifestyle changes but if you have severe PMS or PMDD you may need other medications or treatments....

Symptoms of hemangioblastoma include headaches, sensory loss, balance and coordination problems, and hydrocephalus (buildup of spinal fluid in the brain). Depending on the location and size of the tumor, more rare neurological symptoms can occur, like limb weakness or neurological bladder. The cause of hemangioblastomas is a mystery, although some people may develop them as part of a genetic syndrome called Von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL). VHL is characterized by the growth of a variety of benign and malignant tumors....

Fatigue is a common problem for people who have hepatitis. Whether it is brought on directly by liver disease or is the side effect of medication, sufferers may feel extremely tired even after a full night of sleep. According to a 2012 study in the Journal of Hepatology, 53% of people with hepatitis C experience some level of fatigue. Another study published in July 2019 showed that fatigue was a significant problem for people with chronic hepatitis B....

If you’ve been prescribed continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy to treat obstructive sleep apnea, your prescribed CPAP setting is related to several factors—the severity of your sleep apnea, as well as the anatomy of your throat muscles, your sleep position, and the timing of your sleep stages throughout the night. This article explains the key factors that your sleep physician uses to determine the correct setting, as well as how the device can automatically adjust the settings based on your needs....

The right skin regimen is an important step in preventing and treating acne, a common skin condition characterized by pimples and other lesions that arise when excess sebum, oil, or dead cells plug hair follicles. It comes in many forms, including blackheads and whiteheads. But the most severe type is highly visible: The pimple that grows deep inside the skin and forms a red and swollen bump. Don’t Touch Picking at pimples (or scabs that result from popping pimples) prolongs healing time and can cause scarring....

Although there is no cure for Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease, the symptoms it causes can be treated. Often, the most common treatment is surgery to remove the cyst or tumor causing the problem. If the tumor is cancerous, medications such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or targeted therapy may also need to be given. This article will review the treatment options for someone with von Hippel-Lindau disease. Home Remedies and Lifestyle There aren’t any home remedies that will treat VHL or the tumors that it causes....

According to research from the RAND Corporation, nearly half of adults in the United States reported delaying dental care because of the pandemic in May and June of 2020. Key Takeaways Nearly half of adults in the United States delayed dental care at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.Safety measures like pre-screening surveys, masking, and capacity limits are being used to control the spread of infection and protect staff and patients....

Meniscal tears are common knee injuries. Most often, you hear about athletes who experience meniscal tears, but any individual at any age can tear a meniscus. What Is the Meniscus? Three bones come together to form your knee joint: the femur (thighbone), tibia (shinbone), and patella (kneecap). Between the femoral and tibial components of the knee, there are two wedge-shaped pieces of cartilage—each one is called a meniscus. Each tough and rubbery meniscus serves to cushion the knee joint and stabilize it....

Molars are rounded, flat teeth in the back of the mouth. They include your wisdom teeth. Also called molar teeth, molars can vary in size and shape but are the largest teeth in the mouth. Their role is to grind food into pieces that are easy to swallow, while the smaller, sharper front teeth are used for biting and tearing food. This article looks at the types of molars you have, why you have wisdom teeth, and problems that can develop in them....

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are common in the United States. Around 20% of people in the United States had an STD on a given day in 2018. The most common STD is human papillomavirus (HPV). STIs are also called sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The difference lies in whether an infection progresses to disease. Most of the time, STIs never move to the disease stage because they are treatable. However, the terms are used interchangeably....