Urinary incontinence Archive

Tumors that spread, or metastasize, in the body shed cells into blood that doctors can scrutinize for insights into what a patient’s cancer might do. Analyzing these so-called circulating tumor cells (CTCs) isn’t part of routine care yet, in part because they’re so hard to pick out of the millions of normal cells in a […]

It might seem like retirement is a time to take it easy and devote yourself to gardening, golfing, and napping. But don't take it too easy, say Harvard experts. For optimal well-being, you need to stay engaged — with your own interests as well as with other people.

Making the change

Newly retired men face some typical difficulties. One is creating a new routine after leaving behind the nine-to-five grind. "During that phase of going from a lot of structure to almost no structure, men can exhibit the same signs as someone who is overworked," explains Dr. Randall Paulsen, a psychiatrist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

It might be surprising to learn that parents can help fight childhood obesity by taking good care of themselves. A new study found that when mothers follow five healthy lifestyle habits, their kids are much less likely to become obese.

Back in 2012, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) took aim at the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening test for prostate cancer with a blanket recommendation against it for all men. This was a big deal. The Task Force is widely seen as the top expert panel on cancer screening in the United States, and […]

A specialized type of diagnostic MRI scan can reduce the number of invasive prostate biopsies by nearly a third, according to results from a newly published international study. An MRI machine uses a very large magnet, a radio-wave transmitter, and a computer to construct detailed pictures of structures inside the body. The new study relied […]

Surprising new normal, healthy blood pressure for men by age 

What's good blood pressure for men by ages? As many as three-quarters of men over 65 have high blood pressure. Many end up taking medication to prevent heart attacks, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure, and erectile dysfunction.

For most people with blood pressure clearly in the red zone, getting their numbers below 140/90 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) is a reasonable goal. However, in December 2013, a panel of experts convened by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a recommendation that people over age 60 with high blood pressure could settle for a goal of 150/90—not the more stringent standard of 140/90—and still get health benefits. The American Heart Association rejected the idea, and five of the 17 members on the NIH panel later publicly dissented with the majority opinion. The debate continues.

In the journals

Only a biopsy can determine for certain whether prostate cancer is present, but a new study suggests that using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can help to better identify patients who are more likely to need a biopsy versus those who aren't.

The study, published online Feb. 22, 2018, by JAMA Oncology included 651 men screened for prostate cancer with blood tests and digital rectal exams. Everyone underwent three procedures: an MRI scan, a biopsy guided by transrectal ultrasound (TRUS), and a biopsy guided by both MRI and TRUS.

Why sleep is important to your health and how to repair sleep deprivation effects.

If sleep were a credit card company, many of us would be in deep trouble.

Medical evidence suggests that for optimum health and function, the average adult should get seven to nine hours of sleep daily. But more than 60% of women regularly fall short of that goal. Although each hour of lost slumber goes into the health debit column, we don't get any monthly reminders that we've fallen in arrears.

Do these heavily promoted hormones justify the claims made for them?

"Bioidentical" hormones have been promoted as safer and more effective than FDA-approved hormones. The exaggerated claims go beyond relief of menopausal symptoms, suggesting they are a veritable fountain of youth.

It's understandable that women would be interested in a different approach now that long-term use of conventional hormone therapy (HT) does not prevent cardiovascular disease as researchers had hoped.

Research we're watching

Doctors may be more likely to dismiss heart attack symptoms as not heart-related in women younger than age 55, according to a study published online Feb. 20, 2018, by Circulation. This may be the case because women often report other symptoms in addition to chest pain, said the study's authors.

The researchers interviewed more than 2,000 women and 976 men ages 18 to 55 who were hospitalized for a heart attack — what doctors call acute myocardial infarction (AMI) — at 100 hospitals that are participating in a study. They found that both men and women reported chest pain and pressure, but women were more likely to have other symptoms as well, such as pain in the jaw, neck, and arms; indigestion; or shortness of breath. In addition, women were more likely than men to tell their doctors that they thought the symptoms might be stress-related.