Even minimal physical and mental exercises can improve cognitive function in older adults, according to a study from JAMA Internal Medicine. Researchers examined 126 adults in their 70s who didn't regularly exercise and who had felt that their cognitive skills had declined recently. They randomly assigned participants to one of four groups: one ...

U.S. physicians routinely prescribe potentially harmful drugs to older patients, particularly in the South, according to a study from The Journal of General Internal Medicine. By analyzing data, researchers found that more than one in five seniors on Medicare in the South received prescriptions for medications that doctors have been advised to ...

Eating walnuts may reduce the risk for Type 2 diabetes in women, according to a study from The Journal of Nutrition.    By studying dietary and health data on 138,000 women participating in a large continuing study, researchers collected data on walnut consumption, and followed the women for the next 10 years. They found 5,930 ...

More evidence suggests that overuse of antibacterial products may actually cause more sickness and that some germs and dirt are necessary to stay healthy, according to an article from The Washington Post. Epidemiologist David P. Strachen first proposed this hygiene hypothesis in 1989, after analyzing data from 17,414 British children and finding ...

Three experimental treatments may help patients with Parkinson's disease cope with symptoms and related problems, new research suggests, according to a HealthDay News article on MSN.com. To read more about the research findings, which will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting in San Diego, click here for the ...

Federal officials recently warned that ''nightmare bacteria'' are becoming increasingly resistant to even the strongest antibiotics, and represent a growing threat to hospitals and nursing homes nationwide, according to this article from The Washington Post. At a news conference, Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and ...

The Mediterranean diet slightly reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, and strokes, in particular, according to a new study from The New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers compared three different diets in people at heightened risk for cardiovascular disease. All of the diets were very different from the typical American diet, ...

Being physically fit in middle age may lower the risk of dementia in old age, according to a study from The Annals of Internal Medicine. Researchers examined 19,458 healthy adults younger than age 65 who took a treadmill fitness test as part of a broader health examination between 1971 and 2009. Researchers then followed the subjects' Medicare ...

Penn State Live's Medical Minute recently released an article on the non-surgical treatment of osteoarthritis. Treatment options include the following: exercise aquatic therapy oral medications supplements joint injections. For a detailed look at each option, click here for the full article.

Doctors are now using Botox to treat female incontinence, according to an article from Penn State Live. While Botox isn't a first treatment choice, it is FDA approved for patients who have urge incontinence caused by an overactive or neurogenic bladder. The procedure works like this: Doctors place a scope inside the patient's bladder, thread a ...