Hot MedFax

I've always shied away from those Internet quizzes that make you answer questions to determine how old you are, not chronologically but healthwise.  Some of my half-century friends get in the 30s but I still stay away. Now how would you like to know when you'll die?  I can't imagine anything more gruesome! I've always lived my life based on serendipity -- you know, the things you never expect to happen but do, like meeting my husband after talking to a woman on a boat in the Bahamas who happened to live near me and going out on singles' weekends with her, then up to the Catskills to meet a husband for her, only I met mine. Those kinds of things. But a new study purports that a computer can tell you how old you will be when you die. I'd kind of like it to be a surprise. Maybe because I've fought cancer twice, death doesn't scare me so much (okay, maybe it's that I've been cancer-free for almost 10 years that does it).  But statisticia...

Great.  Now I have to worry about my cholesterol medicine making me fat. A new study has found that people who take statins tend to eat more calories and fat than those who do not. According to newswise.com, "p eople who take statin drugs to lower their cholesterol appear to have developed a false sense of security that could lead to heart disease and other obesity-related illnesses." That's because a  new UCLA-led study suggests that people who took statins in 2009–2010 were consuming more calories and fat than those who used statins 10 years earlier. There was no similar increase in caloric and fat intake among non–stain users during that decade, researchers said. In 1999–2000, statin users were consuming fewer calories and less fat than individuals who didn't take these medications, the Web site reports, but that is no longer the case. "Increases in body mass index — a measure of obesity that considers body weight and height — were greater for statin-u...

In the past, men faced a daunting challenge.  Lower your cholesterol and downgrade your risk of a heart attack or stroke.  Or see your sexual health diminish.  Life, or sex?  Tough choice. But a new study gives men hope.  According to newswise.com, they may no longer have to make the choice.   Statins, the very medication that slashes your cholesterol levels, and prevents sudden cardiac death, may also improve your health in the bedroom.  “Older men who have poor cardiovascular health, diabetes or metabolic syndrome often experience erectile dysfunction (ED) and the prevalence of these diseases is expected to increase,” the Web site quotes John B. Kostis, MD, professor of medicine, director of the Cardiovascular Institute at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the study’s principal investigator. “Our research indicates that statins not only improve cardiovascular health and reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack, but also improve erectile ...