ArcaMax

In young adults, heart disease can sneak into the heart, neck and leg arteries quietly, causing what's called silent atherosclerosis. It doesn't trigger symptoms and evaluating your risks for heart woes based on blood pressure, cholesterol and lifestyle factors usually misses it. But a new study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine,...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: Have you ever discussed prion disease in your column? It afflicts one in 1 million people, swiftly kills its victims in a matter of days, and is incurable. People commonly know it as "mad cow disease." I recently lost a great friend to a prion disease, and she truly was one in a million. It's a nightmare to endure. -- R.

...Read more

It's estimated that around 8 million Americans age 65 or older have mild cognitive impairment (7.4 million of them are undiagnosed) and almost that many may have full-blown Alzheimer's disease. But it's been hard to pin down when their cognition problems started.

Until now. A new study in Cerebral Cortex used MRIs to track how your brain's ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a very healthy and active 74-year-old woman, and I'm also quite proactive with my health. I get bone scans done every two years and have osteopenia in both my hips and spine. But because of a T12 fracture in 2018, which was followed by a kyphoplasty, I was recently recommended to see a specialist for more extensive blood ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I've been on Zepbound for about eight months. I've had fantastic results as far as weight loss, and I'm building muscle back. The problem is that I've constantly had to push back on increasing my dose. I started at 2.5 mg, then 5 mg, then 7.5 mg. My body couldn't handle 7.5 mg, so I asked to go back to 5 mg. My weight loss ...Read more

This year in the U.S., there will be more than 333,000 new cases of prostate cancer and more than 36,000 men will die from the disease. It's not a young man's problem; the average age at which guys are diagnosed is 67 -- many of them after a lifetime of eating ultra-processed foods.

That's the finding of a new study published in the American ...Read more

DR. ROACH WRITES: A recent column on congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV, a herpes virus that is similar to EBV -- the virus that causes classic mononucleosis) stated that pregnant women who've had CMV are protected from further infections. But an expert on CMV -- Dr. Sallie Permar, MD, PhD -- wrote in to say that it's possible to reacquire CMV ...Read more

You may know that a plant-based Mediterranean diet lowers your risk of major cardiovascular events by 30% compared the benefit of a low-fat diet. Its positive impact comes from eating plenty of extra-virgin olive oil and nuts, using animal protein as a side dish (no processed red meat, please) and not consuming highly processed foods.

And you'...Read more

The number of Americans who are pursuing their lives childfree is growing. The reasons include greater reproductive autonomy, higher costs of living and shifting social norms. More people are prioritizing values like personal freedom, career goals and mental health over having kids -- god bless 'em.

But these childfree folks are not evenly ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: My 82-year-old husband is unable to smell or taste. This has been the case since 2024, when he was hit by a car while out for a walk. He sustained a compression fracture to his spine. While he wasn't knocked out, he did get thrown backward and sustained some trauma to his head. Since then, he's had no sense of smell or taste. ...Read more

The two-dose shingles vaccine, Shingrix, slashes the risk of developing the painful skin/nerve disorder by 91% in folks age 50 and older -- and offers even more benefits. In high-risk older people, it lowers the risk of being diagnosed with dementia over four years by 24% compared with those not vaccinated. Even the original shingles vaccine, ...Read more

Cross off another speculative cause of autism recently voiced by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who claimed infant circumcision doubles the rate of autism, speculating without proof that the use of post-procedure acetaminophen (Tylenol) as a painkiller was part of the reason.

Kennedy alluded to a pair of ...Read more

Rocketing into the heavens comes with a lot of glory and positive returns, but there is one well-known problem for astronauts in space: constipation. It's not something you'll find on a NASA brochure.

Researchers wanted to know why and examined blood samples from 52 astronauts who had participated in monthslong missions to the International ...Read more

Dollar stores aren't classified as traditional grocery stores and so aren't usually included in studies comparing access to healthy foods with customers' health. But they do sell food, mostly stuff with long shelf lives.

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, looked at the distribution of dollar stores (there are more than 34...Read more

Homeopathy is a natural form of medicine that has been used for centuries to treat a wide variety of health problems, including those affecting the nose and throat. By using small doses of natural substances, homeopathy stimulates the body's own healing processes and can help alleviate symptoms of various conditions. Here are some homeopathic...Read more

Respiratory problems can range from mild allergies to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). While conventional treatments are effective, some individuals seek alternative therapies, such as homeopathy, to manage their respiratory symptoms. Homeopathy is a natural approach that uses highly diluted substances to stimulate the body's ...Read more

It's estimated that roughly 15% of Americans have trouble falling asleep, and 18% say they struggle to stay asleep. Innerbody, a health and wellness platform, crunched federal data and other sources to identify the top five most sleep-deprived cities in the U.S.

1. Norfolk, Virginia

2. New Orleans, Louisiana

3. Detroit, Michigan

4. Toledo,...Read more

Addiction is a complex disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. While conventional treatments such as counseling, medications, and support groups can be effective, some people may also turn to alternative therapies such as homeopathy for relief. Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine that uses highly diluted substances to ...Read more