Over a romantic candlelit dinner, the eyes may be the windows to the soul. In a more prosaic light, they’re windows to the heart, according to the March issue of the Harvard Heart Letter. A look into the eye can reveal the silent damage wrought by high blood pressure and diabetes and reflect the risk of a future stroke or heart attack.
Although statin drugs successfully lower LDL cholesterol for most people, a small subset of patients don’t respond well to these medications or need to stop taking them because of side effects. “All told, the statins are the safest and best tolerated of all cholesterol-lowering medications, but the second- and third-choice drugs can have first-rate benefits, either alone or together,” says Dr. Harvey Simon, editor of the Harvard Men’s Health Watch.
Warts, also called verrucas, are small growths caused by human Papilloma viruses. The viruses invade skin cells and encourage them to multiply thus creating thickened areas of skin. Warts usually occur on the hands or feet and are generally harmless. However, some types affect the genitals and are more serious. Thus the source of infection is other infected individuals. These occur both in adults and children.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved a new device that is intended to prevent ruptures of descending thoracic aneurysms by making a new path for blood flow. The GORE TAG Endoprosthesis System is the first endovascular grafting system approved to treat aneurysms of the thoracic aorta, the main artery that carries blood in the body.
Mice that lack a protein made by the PCSK9 gene have only half the “bad” cholesterol of normal mice, which researchers say may lead to new drugs for humans.
More than 2 out of 5 infertile women would use technology that enables them to choose the sex of their unborn babies if it were freely available, a survey shows.
Gerontology is the study of old age, stressing the social and behavioral looks of aging. Although aging is a lifelong process and changes in its effects on individual people, old age has been generally stated as beginning at the age of 65.
New York researchers suggest preventing gum disease might significantly improve a person’s chances of avoiding vascular problems.
Mom may have been right when she said breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A small study suggests that skipping that morning meal may be a bad move for the heart, and possibly the waistline.
Blockages in cellular pathways called axons appear to occur much earlier in those with Alzheimer’s disease than once thought, researchers report in a new study.