Category Health/Medical

For most women, the body begins to change dramatically in their 40s or 50s. This transition, known as menopause, is defined as 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period, marking the end of the reproductive years. While researchers are aware of the functions the ovaries perform during active reproductive years, what happens to the organ after menopause is largely a mystery.

A recent study in Molecular Human Reproduction investigated what happens to the ovary in mice after it stops producing eggs, a period known as the post-reproductive stage, similar to menopause in humans.

Researchers found th...

Forgetting the name of a loved one may be one of the first signs people notice of dementia, but it’s rarely the first warning sign your brain gives. Changes in the brain that lead to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia start showing up decades before symptoms arrive, and the chemicals at work inside the body can often tip us off to these changes well ahead of time.

A recent study found that a blood protein called GDF15, which is released when cells are under stress, could serve as one of the earliest warning signs of dementia. After tracking more than half a million people for 15–25 years, researchers discovered that those with higher GDF15 levels before age 55 were significantly more likely to develop dementia later in life...

Almost everyone will deal with back pain at some point in their lives. Most recover quickly—but for about 20% of people, acute pain becomes a chronic condition that interferes with daily life and keeps them out of the workforce.

Low back pain is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide, and more money is spent managing it in the United States than any other health condition. Despite that, the most effective way to prevent a short-term episode from becoming a long-term problem has not been clear—especially for people who are most at risk.

“Chronic low back pain prevention is a public health issue,” said Michael Schneider, D.C., Ph.D...

Eating your greens could be the secret to breathing easier, with a new study from Edith Cowan University (ECU) revealing that people who eat more vitamin K1-rich foods such as leafy green vegetables may lower their risk of chronic lung disease. The paper is published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Researchers from ECU’s Nutrition and Health Innovation Research Institute looked at the two main forms of vitamin K in our diet: K1, found in foods like spinach, kale and broccoli, and K2, found in meat, eggs and dairy.

They discovered that those who ate the most vitamin K1 were less likely to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Almost half a million Australians have COPD, a life-threatening, worsening lung condition that makes it hard to breathe.