Do you catch yourself yawning during the day and yearning for an afternoon nap? You could be at more risk for Alzheimer's disease. A recent study published in JAMA Neurology found a potential link between excessive daytime sleepiness and the memory loss disease. Researchers took a look at imaging scans of the brains of several hundred patients ...Read more

According to Dr. Tarek Khalife, a Mayo Clinic Health System OB-GYN physician, ectopic pregnancies are rare. However, he says in the off chance an ectopic pregnancy is discovered, it's a situation that must be taken seriously. Often, patients have questions and are looking for answers to understand this condition.

"Ectopic pregnancy occurs when ...Read more

Uterine fibroids are common. Approximately 80 percent of black women and 70 percent of white women will develop fibroids in their lifetimes. Dr. Ebbie Stewart, a Mayo Clinic OB-GYN, says research has been scarce, and this may be one reason why myths about the condition exist.

Stewart says fibroids are noncancerous growths of the uterus.

...Read more

Overweight patients are often told that extra pounds are bad for their hearts.

It turns out the heart itself may be "talking" to fat.

That is the thrust of ongoing research by cardiologist Walter J. Koch, a professor at Temple University's Katz School of Medicine.

Koch was awarded a $1 million grant from the American Heart Association this ...Read more

ATLANTA -- While public safety commissioner Bull Connor's police dogs in 1963 attacked civil rights protesters in Birmingham, Ala., leaders in Martin Luther King Jr.'s hometown of Atlanta were burnishing its reputation as "the city too busy to hate."

Yet 50 years after the civil rights leader was killed, some public health leaders here wonder ...Read more

Most Americans are happy with the insurance they buy on the individual market, yet those same people think the markets are collapsing before their eyes.

A poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation, released this week, found that 61 percent of people enrolled in marketplace plans are satisfied with their insurance choices and that a majority say they...Read more

Tech startups and giants such as Google and Facebook may provide employees with all the healthful coconut water and seaweed snacks they can handle, but if their employees are reaching past the good stuff and just scarfing down corn chips and Diet Coke at their desks all day, all is not well. Garbage in, garbage out?, ?as the programmers say.

...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS -- UnitedHealth Group is joining forces with a rival health insurer and one of the nation's largest lab testing companies to see if blockchain technology can improve health care data.

On Monday, UnitedHealth announced the pilot project in conjunction with Kentucky-based Humana, New Jersey-based Quest Diagnostics and a New York firm ...Read more

Dear Mayo Clinic: What is the best way to eliminate insomnia? For almost a year, I've had trouble getting much sleep. I've tried over-the-counter medications, but they aren't very effective.

A: Although sleep medications may be useful when you have occasional trouble sleeping, they aren't meant for long-term use. A better approach is to change ...Read more

Researchers at Mayo Clinic are closer to answering the question, why does one colon polyp transform to cancer while another seemingly identical polyp does not? A colon polyp is a small clump of cells that forms on the lining of the colon. While most colon polyps are harmless some can develop into colon cancer, which can be fatal if found too ...Read more

The birth control pill is surrounded by misinformation. Get the facts on common concerns and questions about taking the pill. If you take the birth control pill (oral contraceptive), you're probably happy with its convenience and reliability. Still, you may have questions about how birth control pills could affect your health, the benefits and ...Read more

Whether it's from a sawing accident, a car crash or a gunshot wound, when blood starts pouring, saving a life starts with stopping the bleeding.

Gwen Meyer, a Mayo Clinic trauma nurse, says stopping the bleed comes down to "A," "B" and "C."

Meyer says "A" stands for alert somebody.

"If you come upon a scene and see something, call 911," Meyer...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Heart and brain activity are routinely measured through the skin with adhesive electrodes. But diagnosing gastric diseases may require patients to endure a tube stuck through the nose, down the throat and into the stomach.

Scientists led by UC San Diego researchers say they have a better option for these patients. They've invented ...Read more

Summer is coming and you're thinking about trying on swimsuits and launching a new healthy living kick. Pronto. Especially the diet part.

If you are trying to get fit fast, you are likely moving more and eating less -- and grappling with the nagging feeling that you can't seem to stop feeling hungry. Am I right?

Don't worry, you are not alone....Read more

Jackie Sapko and her husband spent the first five years of their son Colton's life trying to keep him away from anything with peanuts.

Colton's peanut allergy was so severe that even a tiny taste could send him to the emergency room. EpiPens, nut-free preschools and carting his own cupcakes to birthday parties became routine parts of life.

So ...Read more

Dear Mayo Clinic: Is frozen shoulder always improved with physical therapy, or are there sometimes other measures that must be taken? How long should it take to heal?

A: In many cases, physical therapy is all that's needed to treat frozen shoulder. It can take time, however. Even with treatment, it may be six months to a year before full ...Read more