Preventing Dementia Many people are scared of death, but often tell me they’re more frightened of dementia. “I can’t face that,” one patient told me, “I can’t do that to my family.” So how to stop it? One Swedish study shows a way. It includes a follow up of 44 years. Persistence can pay off. In […]
Defending the Right to Walk
Why is it acceptable that walking is dangerous? Sarasota, where I live and walk, is a pleasant place, but ranks tenth among American municipalities in pedestrian deaths. That’s not unusual, for eight of the top ten most dangerous cities for walkers are in Florida. Every work day I walk to my office located two blocks from the main […]
When Sleep Is Not Enough
When You Can’t Sleep Like depression, insomnia used to be treated as a symptom of “something else.” Not anymore. At this year’s national sleep meetings in Denver, it became clearer how big a national and international problem insomnia is – as well as how to fix it. As insomnia researcher Charles Morin pointed out, the […]
Secrets of Statins (6/6/13)
More Secrets Statins are portrayed as the “wonder drugs” of the last two decades. Officially HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, their ability to decrease heart attack and stroke was originally laid down to their ability to decrease cholesterol synthesis. They did lower cholesterol. But that was not the main reason they worked. Statins, like many drugs, were […]
Sugar Coating Aspirin (12/18/12)
Aspirin Resistance? Aspirin is back in the news. Recently the science of “aspirin resistance” has taken a big knock. And once again calls for “aspirin for everyone” – at least everyone middle aged – are being pushed as “the” heart disease and cancer preventive. What we really learn from these debates is what runs the […]