Brain 'Zap' Might Rejuvenate Aging Memory

MONDAY, April 8, 2019 -- It's common for folks to become less sharp as they age, taking a little longer to do math in their heads or work out a knotty problem. But scientists might have a potential solution.

Brain stimulation using extremely weak electrical current might be able to reverse this and restore youthful vigor to aging minds, a new laboratory study suggests.

Blacks Live Longer, Not Necessarily Better, With ALS

FRIDAY, April 5, 2019 -- Black Americans with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) tend to live longer than whites with the disease because blacks are more likely to have a procedure called a tracheostomy, a new study shows.

But that may not always be a good thing, the researchers noted.

Fewer Excess Pounds May Mean Fewer Migraines

SATURDAY, March 23, 2019 -- For people who carry too much weight and suffer from migraines, dropping some pounds might help ease their pain, new research shows.

"When people lose weight, the number of days per month with migraine decreases, as does pain severity and headache attack duration," said lead researcher Dr. Claudio Pagano. He is associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Padova in Italy.

Too Much TV Might Dull the Aging Brain

THURSDAY, Feb. 28, 2019 -- The old saying, "TV rots your brain," could have some validity for folks as they age.

In a new study, middle-aged people who watched television for more than 3.5 hours a day experienced a decline in their ability to remember words and language over the next six years, British researchers found.

Rate of U.S. Deaths Tied to Dementia Has More Than Doubled

THURSDAY, March 14, 2019 -- Dementia is now one of the leading killers in the United States, with the rate of deaths linked to the disease more than doubling over the past two decades.

"Overall, age-adjusted death rates for dementia increased from 30.5 deaths per 100,000 in 2000 to 66.7 in 2017," say a team of researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Are Soccer Pros at Higher Risk for ALS?

THURSDAY, Feb. 28, 2019 -- Professional soccer players may be vulnerable to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a new study suggests.

The Italian researchers also found that soccer players may develop the neurodegenerative disease at a much younger age than people in the general population.