Health Problems

Predicting frailty, disability and death

Movement is a part of daily life that most people rarely spend time contemplating, but changes in such movements can portend disease and decline. Watch-like devices known as actimetry sensors, which can be worn on the wrist or ankle, allow researchers to collect information about a subject’s motor activity. In a study led by investigators […]

Health Problems

Banned trans fats linked to higher dementia risk

A diet high in trans fats could put you at increased risk for dementia, a new study suggests. Most trans fats were banned in the United States last year. But foods with less than a half-gram of trans fats can be labeled as containing zero, so some foods still contain them. The new study included […]

Health Problems

Poor evidence cannabis improves mental health: study

People with psychiatric disorders may want to pass on the joint—at least until further research is done, a new Australian study suggests. The paper, published Monday in The Lancet Psychiatry, looked at 83 previous studies conducted over almost four decades on medical cannabinoids, including products from the cannabis plant, such as leaves, buds and oils. […]

Health Problems

Which came first: Brain size or drinking propensity?

For years, researchers have observed that alcohol consumption is associated with reduced brain volume and concluded that drinking can literally shrink the brain. But new research turns that theory on its head, suggesting that reduced brain volume may represent a genetically-conferred predispositional risk factor for heavier alcohol consumption. “Our results suggest that associations between alcohol […]

Health Problems

Teen marijuana use may have next-generation effects

Substance use at any age has consequences. Studies frequently cite the negative impacts—and occasionally tout some benefits of limited consumption—of alcohol and marijuana. What is less known is how patterns of alcohol or marijuana use in one phase of life can affect the next generation, even long after an individual has stopped using. A new […]

Health Problems

Babies understand counting years earlier than believed

Babies who are years away from being able to say “one,” “two,” and “three” actually already have a sense of what counting means, Johns Hopkins University researchers have discovered. The findings reveal that very early on, years earlier than previously believed, babies who hear counting realize that it’s about quantity. “Although they are years away […]