U.S. Panel Backs Routine Lung CT Scans for Older, Heavy Smokers

Yearly testing will prevent some lung cancer deaths, experts conclude WebMD News from HealthDay By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter MONDAY, Dec. 30, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- A highly influential government panel of experts says that older smokers at high risk of lung cancer should receive annual low-dose CT scans to help detect and possibly prevent the spread of the fatal disease. In its final word on the issue published Dec. 30, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) concluded that the benefits to a very specific segment of smokers...

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Unhealthy Cholesterol Levels Might Raise Alzheimer's Risk

Keeping cholesterol under control may help brain as well as heart, study suggests WebMD News from HealthDay By Mary Elizabeth Dallas HealthDay Reporter MONDAY, Dec. 30, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- Keeping "bad" cholesterol in check and increasing "good" cholesterol is not only good for your heart, but also your brain, new research suggests. A study from the University of California, Davis, found that low levels of "bad" (LDL) cholesterol and high levels of "good" (HDL) cholesterol are linked to lower levels of so-called amyloid plaque in the brain....

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Savvy Styling That Won't Harm Your Hair

You work hard to make your hair look fabulous. So make sure the steps you take -- like styling and coloring -- aren't working against you. Heat from blow dryers, curling irons, and flat irons can make hair brittle and cause breakage. Chemical processing -- think color and straightening treatments -- can rob hair of natural moisture, leaving it dry and frizzy. These gentler styling techniques will help you get the look you want while warding off damage. Treat Wet Hair Tenderly Go easy on your hair when it’s wet. Wrap it in a towel. Don’t rub it dry....

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Conquering Changes in Hair Texture

The hair texture you grow up with becomes part of your identity. You learn to style it in a way that flatters you and fits your lifestyle. It can be unsettling if it changes. Over time, your hair may become curly, straight, thin, or coarse. Many things can make hair change texture. Some you can't control. Others you may cause without knowing it.   Read on to see why your hair texture may be changing and what you can do to make the best of it.   The Cause: Graying Gray hair grows when hydrogen peroxide builds up in your hair follicle....

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Am I Ready to Date After My Divorce?

By Lisa Fields WebMD Feature Reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD If you’re divorced, or have ended a long-term relationship, well-meaning relatives and friends may encourage you to start dating again soon. But how will you know when you're ready for a new relationship? “This wildly varies from person to person,” says Judith Sills, PhD, a Philadelphia-based psychologist and author of Getting Naked Again: Dating, Romance, Sex, and Love When You've Been Divorced, Widowed, Dumped, or Distracted. “Everyone ends a relationship by grieving the emotional investment....

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FDA Rejects MS Drug Lemtrada

By Kathleen Doheny WebMD Health News Reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD Dec. 30, 2013 -- The FDA has rejected the new multiple sclerosis drug Lemtrada, saying the drugmaker didn’t show the drug's benefits outweigh some serious risks. The agency asked the maker, Genzyme, to test the drug in more clinical trials. The drug was to be used for relapsing-remitting MS, the most common type. MS affects about 400,000 people in the U.S. Blurred vision, balance problems, slurred speech, and memory problems of MS can be disabling. Genzyme says in a news release...

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Federal Health Insurance Marketplace Reports Surge in Enrollments

By Karen Pallarito HealthDay Reporter SUNDAY, Dec. 29, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- After a disastrous introduction back in October, the federal government's HealthCare.gov insurance coverage website saw a surge of enrollments in December, government officials said Sunday. More than 1.1 million people enrolled in a qualified health plan through the federally operated marketplace, or exchange, from Oct. 1 through Dec. 24. More than 975,000 of those enrollments came in December, Marilyn Tavenner, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services,...

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Peer Pressure May Influence Your Food Choices

Researchers found people were more likely to eat what they thought others were eating WebMD News from HealthDay By Mary Elizabeth Dallas HealthDay Reporter MONDAY, Dec. 30, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- Peer pressure might play a part in what you eat and how much you eat, a new review suggests. British researchers said their findings could help shape public health policies, including campaigns to promote healthy eating. The review was published Dec. 30 in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. "The evidence reviewed here is consistent...

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Tips for a Better Sleep Temperature

By Alice Lesch Kelly WebMD Feature Reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD You've followed every tip known for how to sleep better. Relaxing bedtime routine? Check. Dark room? Check. Complete quiet? Check. Then you get in bed and realize the temperature is causing you to toss and turn. Here are answers to common questions about the best temp to snooze. Recommended Related to Sleep Disorders Better in Bed: Do You Need a Sleep Makeover? By Ying Chu Insomnia plagues more than 50 million Americans - but can we ditch the fast-fix meds in favor of...

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Peer Pressure May Influence Your Food Choices

Researchers found people were more likely to eat what they thought others were eating WebMD News from HealthDay By Mary Elizabeth Dallas HealthDay Reporter MONDAY, Dec. 30, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- Peer pressure might play a part in what you eat and how much you eat, a new review suggests. British researchers said their findings could help shape public health policies, including campaigns to promote healthy eating. The review was published Dec. 30 in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. "The evidence reviewed here is consistent...

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What Yoga Can and Can't Do for You

Sure, it's a stress-buster, but it also helps with anxiety, depression, insomnia, back pain and other ills, experts say WebMD News from HealthDay By Serena Gordon HealthDay Reporter MONDAY, Dec. 30, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- Chances are that you've heard good things about yoga. It can relax you. It can get you fit -- just look at the bodies of some celebrities who sing yoga's praises. And, more and more, yoga is purported to be able to cure numerous medical conditions. But is yoga the panacea that so many believe it to be? Yes and no, say the...

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The New Heart Tests: Which Ones Should You Have?

By Renee Bacher WebMD Feature Reviewed by James Beckerman, MD, FACC Researchers are developing new ways to check your heart health. Two tests are available now; an interesting third is on the horizon. Corus CAD test (or CardioDx) This blood test checks 23 genes to suggest whether or not you have heart disease. It may help doctors need fewer tests with more risks, including angiograms, one study shows. It takes 3 days to get your results. Who should have it? In research studies, people with chest pain and without diabetes were tested. It's...

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Counselors Give Smokers Best Chance to Quit: Study

Nicotine replacement treatment alone doesn't improve odds of kicking the habit, researchers found WebMD News from HealthDay By Mary Elizabeth Dallas HealthDay Reporter FRIDAY, Dec. 27, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- Smokers who work with a counselor specially trained to help them quit -- along with using medications or nicotine patches or gum -- are three times more likely to kick the habit than smokers who try to quit without any help, a large new study finds. Over-the-counter nicotine-replacement products have become more popular than smoking cessation...

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Achieve Health Goals With Optimism/Positive Thinking

By Sara Reistad-Long WebMD Feature Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD You're working hard to quit smoking, eat healthy, or exercise more. You're truly committed. Then you make one tiny misstep and the temptation to give up pokes at you -- hard. How you talk to yourself in those moments can help you stay on course or take a discouraging detour. Consider this study: One group of water polo athletes used positive self-talk while they learned a new task. Another group didn't. Recommended Related to Mind, Body, Spirit Make a Midlife Crisis Work...

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Make Healthy 'Me Time' a Priority

By Karen Asp WebMD Feature Reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD Say it loud, and say it proud: Me, me, me! OK, maybe you don't want to shout it, but it is that important. Fitting in time for yourself is essential to do your healthy habits. Take charge of your health and happiness, and you'll lower your stress, become more productive, and have more energy. Recommended Related to Mind, Body, Spirit Managing Stress Naturally By Kathryn Drury Feeling tense? Let these natural techniques help you relax and rejuvenate.   If you've been feeling...

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FDA Warns Consumers Against Body-Building Supplement

Agency says Mass Destruction is linked to case of liver failure WebMD News from HealthDay By Mary Elizabeth Dallas HealthDay Reporter FRIDAY, Dec. 27, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- Consumers should not use Mass Destruction, a dietary supplement used to stimulate muscle growth, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Monday. The body-building product, available in retail stores, fitness gyms and online, contains potentially harmful synthetic steroids and anyone currently using it should stop immediately, the FDA said. The warning was prompted by...

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Couples With Different Parenting Styles Can Learn to Agree

By Lisa Fields WebMD Feature Reviewed by Arefa Cassoobhoy, MD, MPH Do you worry how you and your partner’s different parenting styles will affect your kids? Relax. It doesn’t have to be a bad thing. You can raise well-adjusted kids with your different styles, as long as you both regularly discuss your positions, decisions, and concerns.  “I like to talk about having parents being on the same chapter, because being on the same page is a little much to ask,” says Kyle Pruett, MD, clinical professor of child psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine...

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H1N1 Flu Spreading in South-Central U.S.

This flu strain tends to hit younger adults harder than older adults, CDC says WebMD News from HealthDay By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter THURSDAY, Dec. 26, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- This year's flu season may be off to a slow start nationwide, but infection rates are spiking in the south-central United States, where five deaths have already been reported in Texas. And the predominant strain of flu so far has been H1N1 "swine" flu, which triggered the pandemic flu in 2009, federal health officials said Thursday. "That may change, but right...

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Concussions Linked to Alzheimer's Risk in Study

Brain scans found seniors with both poor memory and prior head injury have more plaque buildup WebMD News from HealthDay By Kathleen Doheny HealthDay Reporter THURSDAY, Dec. 26, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- Older adults with memory problems and a history of concussion have more buildup of Alzheimer's disease-associated plaques in the brain than those who also had concussions but don't have memory problems, according to a new study. ''What we think it suggests is, head trauma is associated with Alzheimer's-type dementia -- it's a risk factor," said...

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Surgery With Follow-Up Radiation Best for Tongue Cancer: Study

Patients who started with chemotherapy had worse response, researchers say WebMD News from HealthDay By Mary Elizabeth Dallas HealthDay Reporter THURSDAY, Dec. 26, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- People with tongue cancer who undergo surgery before receiving radiation treatment fare better than those who start treatment with chemotherapy, according to a small new study. Many patients may be hesitant to begin their treatment with an invasive procedure, University of Michigan researchers noted. But advanced surgical techniques can improve patients' chances...

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Study Questions Value of Common Knee Surgery

Procedure to repair a torn meniscus worked no better than a fake one to ease lingering pain WebMD News from HealthDay By Brenda Goodman HealthDay Reporter THURSDAY, Dec. 26, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- Improvements in knee pain following a common orthopedic procedure appear to be largely due to the placebo effect, a new Finnish study suggests. The research, which was published Dec. 26 in the New England Journal of Medicine, has weighty implications for the 700,000 patients who have arthroscopic surgery each year in the United States to repair a torn...

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When Your Mom Sides With Your Ex

By Marianne Wait WebMD Feature Reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD Breaking up is hard to do, as the old song goes. But some of the stress can come from an unexpected source: the loved ones you still want in your life. When Lee (who asked that only her middle name be used), a mother and health care communications specialist from Williamsburg, VA, split from her husband, she nearly lost her mom in the process. She and her mother didn’t always get along, says Lee, but after the divorce, her mom’s ties with her ex added extra strain. Though it happened...

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Clearing Away MS Brain Fog: Understanding It, Learning to Focus

By R. Morgan Griffin WebMD Feature Reviewed by Arefa Cassoobhoy, MD, MPH If you have MS, you may have had bouts of brain fog. You’re having a conversation, and suddenly you can't remember the right word -- or the wrong words come tumbling out of your mouth. You're cooking dinner, the timer's going off, but you can't remember why you set it. When brain fog clouds your thinking, you're bound to feel frustrated and maybe embarrassed. With your doctor's help and some new techniques, you can learn ways to work around it. 4 Brain Fog Basics Brain fog...

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