Could an unhealthy diet increase the risk of developing dementia later in life?
That is the question that led neurodegeneration researcher Jeffery Keller from the Sanders-Brown Institute on Aging in Lexington, Ky., to the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in July to study dementia.
“We saw our work in dementia moving toward understanding how nutrition, obesity and diabetes are emerging as risk factors in dementia and the elderly,” Read the rest of this entry »

Conventional wisdom tells us that advancing age slows down memory.
But some researchers suggest the brain is plastic and, with the right training, you can keep it up to speed no matter how old you are.
The University of Southern California is studying a computerized brain fitness program.
‘Brain fitness’ is based on neuroplasticity – the science that suggests the brain is plastic and can physically change and rejuvenate at any age.
That Read the rest of this entry »

to build a proposed $151 million hospital in Olive Branch, Miss. has been introduced in the Mississippi Legislature and is making its way through the committee system.
Mississippi state Sen. Merle Flowers (R-Southaven) is the bill’s sponsor and he introduced it when the legislature convened earlier this month. The bill has passed the Senate’s Public Health and Welfare Committee and has been referred to the Appropriations Committee.
Read the rest of this entry »

, which owns Overland Park-based
, in a cash-and-stock deal valued at roughly $68 billion.
The transaction’s effect on Fort Dodge Animal Health is unclear. Fort Dodge spokeswoman Kelly Goss said Tuesday that the company has about 200 Kansas City-area employees.
, Fort Dodge Animal Health postponed plans for a new $40 million research and development facility in Olathe’s Kansas Bioscience Park, citing “the significant economic Read the rest of this entry »

Many Americans are starved for sleep, and experts said the results may be showing up on your scale.
Numerous studies suggest not getting sufficient sleep makes it more difficult to lose weight or keep it off. Experts said restful sleep raises the level of a hormone that regulates hunger, but not getting enough sleep increases a hormone that stimulates the appetite.
Sleep experts Michael Breus, Ph.D. and Steven Lamm, M.D., created a “Sleep Diet” Read the rest of this entry »

NEW YORK, NY –
Hospital acquired infections (HAI) are
exacting a significant toll on human life, ranking among the top ten
leading causes of death in the United States. With an estimated 5%-10%
hospital patients acquiring an infection, about two million cases each year
and about 90,000 deaths, there is a huge associated financial burden which
a new report from Kalorama Information, “Nosocomial Infections: Market
Assessment for Diagnostics and Therapeutics,” Read the rest of this entry »

Health care coverage for all West Virginians has long been the Holy Grail of health policy in the state, and if the optimism of advocates and policymakers is any guide, 2009 could see them advance closer to that goal.
With a governor pledging to find coverage for all working residents and a legislative effort to devise a “road map'' for a restructured health care system kicking off in January, the battered national economy and an uncertain Read the rest of this entry »

The Food and Drug Administration is warning people who may want to lose weight in the new year. WFMZ’s Melissa Batulis has more on a list of what may be hidden in your diet plan.
  REPORTER: They’re weight loss products that claim to be herbal or healthy. But it’s what they don’t say that has federal regulators and doctors worried. 
BANEY: At worst, could kill you. 
REPORTER: The FDA released a list of 25 weight loss pills including 7 Day Read the rest of this entry »

Posted: Jan. 25, 2009 11:55 p.m.
Gov. Jim Doyle’s proposal to tax hospital revenue in Wisconsin would attract nearly a billion dollars in federal matching funds in its first three years, including nearly $300 million for hospitals in the Milwaukee area alone, according to state projections.
Every health care system with hospitals in Milwaukee County would come out ahead, the projections show.
“There’s no other part of the state that will benefit Read the rest of this entry »

A year ago today, the
that federal law bars lawsuits “challenging the safety or effectiveness of a medical device,” as long as the device is marketed in a form approved by the FDA.
The ruling, in a case called
, relied heavily on a federal law that regulates medical devices; now, some key congressional players are looking to change the law, this morning’s
reports.
Democrats Henry Waxman and Frank Pallone plan to introduce Read the rest of this entry »