ArcaMax

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a 75-year-old woman who is active in many ways. I did the swimming leg for a triathlon female relay team, which was 2-3 miles in the open ocean. So, I am baffled by my recent diagnosis of myasthenia gravis (MG)! Reading as much as possible for a clue, I found a (nonvalid) study stating that seniors who began taking statins ...Read more

You know that feeling of being, well, not right? You're always tired, you think you might be getting sick, and you feel generally off your game. That's called malaise and it's more common than you might think. That's because it can be associated with a wide array of lifestyle habits, infections, chronic diseases, certain medications and ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I was diagnosed with several liver cysts over 15 years ago. My primary doctor and I follow the growth of the cysts by ultrasound, and one is increasing in size. We did an MRI with and without contrast to take a look at the cyst. The radiologist stated that the cyst looked "complex" and, for a lack of a better word, unusual.

A ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 5 feet, 1 inch tall, weigh 200 pounds, and have found it next to impossible to lose weight, even though I'm active. I swim, walk, or do yoga almost every day. I avoid most processed foods and stick to organic vegetables and pasture-raised eggs and meat.

My doctor put me on metformin; I lost 7 pounds ,but that was it. I do...Read more

Did you know that in the first five years of life, a child's brain makes over a million neural connections every second -- influencing their future behavior, health and ability to learn? No wonder early nutrition is so important -- as is protection from environmental pollution.

One review of 40 studies found reports that there are striking ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have venous insufficiency and have a laser procedure by a vein specialist coming up in a couple of weeks. I don't know much about the procedure and wondered if you can expound on it. I am 79 but get told that I look 14 or more years younger. I exercise a lot (aerobics/weights, Pilates), eat well, and usually stay in good ...Read more

When Riley Clemmons sings, "You can't have my headspace/Won't let you in my safe place," she's talking about defending herself from a toxic relationship. But she could just as well have been singing about the newly identified headspace in your brain that helps clear out toxic metabolic waste like tau proteins and amyloid, which are associated ...Read more

The extended lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in significant adverse mental health effects for teens who necessarily attended school remotely for months or even years. It may have also physically affected their brains.

Researchers conducting a longitudinal study of teens found that the brains of teen girls aged 4.2 years more ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: My brother, who was extremely active and athletic in his younger years, is now in his early 70s. His decision to have both of his knees replaced several years ago was not due to any general pain, but to an inability to bend his knees more than 90 degrees. It was limiting his mobility and affecting his quality of life. Afterward...Read more

Americans are (unfortunately) crazy for sweet-tasting beverages. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that 63% of adults down at least one sugar-sweetened soda, sweetened fruit drinks, sports/energy drink, or sweetened coffee/tea drink a day.

Every year, around 610,000 folks have their first stroke.

What do these two facts have ...Read more

When you get your high blood pressure under control, the pressure is off. You can relax a bit about increased cardiovascular risks associated with a blood pressure (BP) reading of more than 110/75 and an increased risk for dementia that's related to a reading of 125/85 or higher. But the pressure can be off in another way -- because of your arm ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: In March 2023, my 94-year-old mother had a shingles episode on the right side of her neck, head, ear and (to a lesser degree) right cheek. The active blisters lasted about three weeks. Since then, she's been experiencing continued neuropathy that involves itchiness, a sense of desperation, and some pain. She's been prescribed ...Read more

Gambling is a $40 billion-a-year business in the U.S., and that doesn't include the $50 billion that was spent last year on weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy.

Those drugs are a gamble, too. It's not because they don't work, they do! But because when you go off them, to cut expenses, avoid side effects, or you think, "Mission ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am an 81-year-old man in reasonably good health. When I had trouble falling asleep, I would take a swig of Zzzquil, which worked perfectly every time. However, since then, my cardiologist told me to stop taking such products, so I turned to 5-mg tablets of melatonin in the evening to help induce drowsiness. Sometimes it worked,...Read more

Belly fat is not good. It can increase the risk of many health issues, such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, stroke, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, dementia, metabolic disorders, kidney problems and joint and back pain.

But it turns out that maybe not all belly fat is equally bad. Researchers studied belly fat from people who had a long...Read more

As part of a study on hybrid immunity to SARS-CoV-2, University of Texas at Austin researchers say they've discovered and isolated a broadly neutralizing plasma antibody, called SC27, from a single patient.

The researchers obtained its exact molecular sequence, opening the possibility of manufacturing it on a larger scale for future ...Read more