An estimated 1.3 million Americans suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, an inflammation of the joints that can leave patients disabled and suffering in severe pain, sometimes with terrible morning stiffness that can last for hours. But while older patients tend to have a more advanced form of the disease, it seems they are less likely to receive the latest, most effective and safer drug therapies than their younger peers, according to a study presented at the American College of Rheumatology meetings in Washington last week.

There s been a big rise in diabetes cases, especially in the South and Appalachian states, a disheartening new study reports. It s not much consolation, but at least we can also report that there s a new treatment on the horizon for diabetic retinopathy, one of the most common causes of visual impairment among American adults, and can lead to blindness.

Oh those crazy oxytocin researchers! German researchers have been doping men with the so-called cuddle hormone not to be confused with oxycodone, the addictive painkiller and introducing them to an attractive woman who moves closer and closer to them.

Maybe public health researchers should have to apply for a permit before spouting bad ideas? A professor in Australia has proposed requiring smoking licenses that would force addicted smokers to seek permission from the government and get educated about the dangers of smoking before they could legally buy cigarettes no more than 50 sticks a day.

It s the American Cancer Society-sponsored 37th annual Great American Smokeout today an appropriate day to take a moment to spare a thought for the 44 million Americans in the grip of a deadly addiction, ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross writes in the pages of the American Spectator. Over half of all smokers tried to quit last year, and an estimated 443,000 died from cigarette-related illness.

It s an odd coincidence that s good news for Alzheimer s research. Two groups of researchers using vastly different approaches have independently identified a genetic mutation that increases one s odds of developing the brain disease and perhaps foreshadows how drugs could one day be used to stave it off.

Lyme s disease is usually contracted through the bite of an infected deer tick during a summer stroll through the underbrush. It can last a week or a month, occasionally longer, causing fever, fatigue, arthritis and even neurological problems. It can be treated highly successfully with a combination of antibiotics for 3-6 weeks. Rarely, a second course of treatment is necessary.

This may sound scary, but researchers say it s actually reassuring: Women who suffer migraines are more likely to have brain lesions (hyperintense areas) detectable on an MRI.
The fact that there is no evidence of cognitive loss among these women is good news, says Dr. Linda Porter, pain health science policy adviser in the Office of the Director at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

An estimated one in every 15 hospital patients receive more than the safe daily dose of the common pain-reliever acetaminophen, according to a new study.

Body mass index (BMI) may provide better accuracy than cholesterol levels when used in a prediction algorithm to estimate cardiovascular disease risk, according to a recent Swiss study.