News by Subject Medicine & Health

Although hot flashes are the most commonly reported problem associated with menopause, between 20 percent and 45 percent of women also complain of sexual and urinary issues. There is good news. A recent study documents that vaginal estrogen is not only effective but also safe for the treatment of the genitourinary syndrome of menopause. The study results have been published in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).

Cartilage in our joints contains collagen which behaves a bit like the liquid crystals on a smart phone screen, according to researchers at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL).

A new University of Liverpool study, published in Brain and Behaviour, identifies simple measures that could substantially improve the quality of life of stroke survivors with visual impairments.

In this issue of JCI Insight, researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center adapted a noninvasive retinal imaging approach to characterize amyloid-β deposition, the pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, in the retinas of patients and healthy controls. This imaging enabled detection and quantification of amyloid-β, revealing increased deposits in Alzheimer's patients compared to controls. These results demonstrate the feasibility of this approach as a tool for earlier Alzheimer's diagnosis and intervention.

A recent paper published in Age & Ageing, the scientific journal of the British Geriatrics Society, finds that current smoking in older people increases the risk of developing frailty, though former smokers did not appear to be at higher risk.

Simple odor identification tests may help track the progression of Alzheimer's disease before symptoms actually appear, particularly among those at risk.

Women who have gone through menopause and who have been using a vaginal form of estrogen therapy do not have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer than women who have not been using any type of estrogen.

Older people receiving electroconvulsive therapy for their depression likely will need an additional treatment if insomnia is one of their symptoms, researchers report.

The use of new technologies in geriatric psychiatry shows promise for advancing personalized medicine and improving patient care. A new study in The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry describes the successful adaptation of an integrated medical and psychiatric self-management intervention to a smartphone application for middle-aged and older adults with serious mental illness.