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A recent study shows that hibernating animals activate brain-protective mechanisms that doctors can simulate in Alzheimer's patients.Alzheimer's is a debilitating and progressive brain disorder that damages and eventually destroys your brain cells. This damage leads to loss of memory, brain function, and cognition. According to the Alzheimer's Association, more than five million Americans are living with this disease, and it is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S. Doctors, researchers, and scientists have been working tirelessly to find a way to slow progression and discover potential cures. What is the latest Alzheimer's study? When animals hibernate, their body temperature drops to abnormal levels, which can cause brain cell connections to be lost. However, after hibernation and while the animal's body begins to warm up, these brain cell connections are restored. Hypothermia in humans does the same thing, and even though it can cause damage to other parts of your body, your brain is often unaffected. Scientists at Medical Research Council reduced body temperature of healthy mice to 16-18 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes (temperatures similar of small mammals that hibernate). Researchers then repeated the experiment with mice that carried features of Alzheimer's. They found the regeneration disappeared as the disease progressed, and noted the loss of RBM3. When the mice's RBM3 was artificially boosted, it was enough to protect brain cell depletion and reduced memory loss. What does this mean for the future treatment of Alzheimer's? Dr. Mike discusses the latest study on Alzheimer's and what this means for the future treatment options.

Flu vaccinations not only protect your child, but also help to protect the whole neighborhood.Anyone can get the flu, but the risk of getting the flu is highest among children. Flu can make some people much sicker than others. These people include young children, those aged 65 and older, pregnant women, and people with certain health conditions, such as heart, lung or kidney disease, nervous system disorders, or a weakened immune system. Flu vaccination is especially important for these individuals, and anyone in close contact with them. Kathryn M. Edwards, MD, discusses the flu season and how important it is to get the vaccine for you and your children.

A measles outbreak that began at Disneyland in California has grown to more than 50 confirmed cases in multiple states.   Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease that spreads easily through the air or on infected surfaces. It causes rash, high fever, cough, runny nose and red watery eyes. People who are infected with measles can spread the virus up to four days before they develop symptoms. Vaccines are one of the most important ways parents can protect their children from very real diseases that exist in our world. Kathryn M. Edwards, MD, discusses this latest measles outbreak and just how important it is for you to get your child vaccinated.

News of the week, toxic dangers, and helpful health tips. You don't want to miss this! Straight talk from You Doc, Michael Roizen, MD. Dr. Mike and co-host Joe Galuski discuss more of the most prevalent health news you need to know from the past week. Plus, find out "What's Toxic & What's Not" from toxicologist and regular contributor, Gary Ginsberg. More from RealAge Say "Thank You" for Better Health

Think the winter blues are all in your head? Think again.Think the winter blues are all in your head? Think again. Short days, cold weather and the long stretch between the holidays and spring can do a number on your mood. Dr. Colleen Carney, director of the Sleep and Depression Lab at Ryerson University in Toronto, shares proven strategies to keep your spirits up all season long, including how to ease wintertime fatigue and set realistic expectations. Tune in as Dr. Carney joins Dr. Roizen and find out if the dark days of winter have you down in the dumps. Bonus! Eat the Fruit, Skip the Juice

Join Dr. Roizen and his expert guests for the latest health news, wellness advice and most up-to-date research from around the world. World-renowned physician, Dr. Michael Roizen, MD, continues to update your understanding of the meaning of health by providing an in-depth review of the most impactful health headlines. Joined by his co-host, Joe Galuski, they discuss the health news that matters most to you. The duo is later joined by Dr. Colleen Carney, director of the Sleep and Depression Lab at Ryerson University in Toronto. She discusses the phenomenon of the "winter blues" and shares proven strategies to keep your spirits up all season long, including how to ease wintertime fatigue and set realistic expectations. Bonus! Real Age Tip Is Soda Making You Old?

Listen in as Dr. Mike provides the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions.Here you'll find the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions posed by Healthy Talk fans. Listen in because what you come to know helps ensure healthy choices you can actually live with. Today on Healthy Talk, you wanted to know: How far apart should I take antacids from my medication? When you take certain medications, you change the pH in your small intestine and stomach, which can cause heartburn. Usually, your doctor might tell you to steer away from antacids altogether, or wait a few hours. However, if you're suffering from heartburn (which some medications can cause), Dr. Mike suggests waiting 30 minutes to take an antacid after you've taken your medication. However, Dr. Mike wants to make a note that you shouldn't be taking antacids like candy. If you're someone who consumes four to five antacids a day, you may have a separate issue going on. You may want to try D-Limonene, a supplement for digestion. Life Extension published an interesting study on Vitamin D in HIV patients. The conclusion said that it can improve immunological parameters. What are those parameters? People with HIV often have vitamin D deficiency. In the study, researchers looked at HIV patients taking high doses of Vitamin D and looked at their standard immunology profile. They looked at T-cells, CD4 cells, and noticed three significant changes. First, naive T-cells went up significantly, CD4 cells also increased, and viral low decreased. Vitamin D was helping these patients' immune systems and providing some kind of inhibition on viral replication. Do you think it's safe to use topical silver for open wounds? Silver has been used for centuries as an antimicrobial agent. Silver has many benefits such as acting as an antibacterial and antiviral. Silver is now is available to be taken orally and topically (as a gel). There are some studies done that show positive benefits associated with using silver to help MRSA, a contagious antibiotic-resistant staph infection that can lead to other dangerous, life-threatening infections. Dr. Mike suggests talking to your primary physician before using silver on yourself or anyone else. Can you explain the difference between laboratory studies and clinical studies? A laboratory study is when you use a petri dish, put some cells in there, add in some kind of test material and you see what kind of change happens to the cell. A clinical study is measuring the safety and effectiveness of a new treatment or medication in people. If you have a health question or concern, Dr. Mike encourages you to write him at askdrmikesmith@radiomd.com so he can provide you with support and helpful advice.

A therapist's journey with schizophrenia.Schizophrenia is a serious, chronic and disabling brain disorder. If you have schizophrenia, it can distort the way you think, your emotions, the way you perceive reality and your overall quality of life. You may experience hearing voices, have delusions, or other psychotic experiences. You may also not be able to function at your job, school of in any of your relationships. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), schizophrenia affects more than 21 million people worldwide. Health professionals often have the experience of working with clients who battle mental illness, but how many therapists actually know what it's like to live with schizophrenia? Therapist James Hickman was diagnosed with schizophrenia in college and has spent his whole life on a journey to recovery while helping others along the way. His personal story is deeply emotional and sheds light on a subject close to many people. Join Dr. Mike and James Hickman as he discusses his personal experience with schizophrenia, and how he's trying to help those battling the disease.

If you suffer from sleep apnea, breathing "retraining" can give you the tools to help you breathe, feel, and sleep better.If you've ever missed out on sleep due to a loud snorer next to you, it can make you want to shove your head into a pillow and scream. Or, if you've ever been told how loud you snore, you may not think of it as a big deal. But, you could be suffering from sleep apnea, and it could be causing some serious health damage. Sleep apnea occurs when your breathing repeatedly stops and starts, causing you to snore loudly while also often gasping for breath. Sleep apnea is a serious and dangerous condition that affects an estimated 22 million Americans. Unfortunately, 80 percent of the cases of moderate and severe obstruction sleep apnea go undiagnosed. What is breathing retraining and how can it help treat sleep apnea? Tess Graham author of, Relief from Snoring and Sleep Apnea, a step-by-step guide to restful sleep and better health through changing the way you breathe, shares insights into how breathing restraints can be damaging to your health. Through the book, online breathing course, media interviews and workshops, Tess debunks myths and misinformation about breathing and gives people tools to help them begin to breathe better, feel better and sleep better straight away. Graham joins Dr. Mike to discuss Breathing Retraining for people with sleep apnea.

It's always a good idea to really think about why you want to set a goal in the first place.Even if you're comfortable with how your life is going, it's never a bad thing to set goals or New Year's resolutions. However, it's always a good idea to really think about why you want to set a goal in the first place. You may make resolutions and goals with the best intentions; but even if you're the most disciplined and motivated person, you might have difficulty keeping them. Instead of overloading your list, you may want to focus on small, realistic goals. Even though you may want to see immediate results, it's important to understand any changes you wish to make are not going to happen overnight. You may also want to reward yourself throughout your progress; this can encourage you to keep going. Is there a way you can follow through with the goals and resolutions you've made? Listen in as Dr. Mike and Jephtha Tausig-Edwards share how to make reasonable resolutions... resolutions you can actually keep and that can improve your life.

Why we age is far from resolved, but researchers have developed some pretty compelling theories.You might have been told that the aging process is inevitable and you can't do anything to escape its course. But, what if what you've been told has been all wrong? Even though you can't actually stop the aging process, according to Dr. Mike, you might be able to slow it down. According to a blog posted on Life Extension, Dr. Mike suggests how you can manage the aging process by focusing on these five theories of aging: Restore your hormones Reduce oxidative stress (Incorporate pomegranate) Ease chronic inflammation (Incorporate omega-3 fatty acids, turmeric, ginger) Preserve cell energy (Incorporate CoQ10) Reverse your biological clock (Incorporate kiwi, oranges) We all age, but do we all have to age quickly and sickly? Dr. Mike discusses the five leading theories of aging and how you can manage them and age in a healthier, more vibrant manner.

Are you interested in having a child or perhaps avoiding pregnancy? What are your best options for either?The following is a transcript of an interview between host Christopher Springmann and guest, Dr. Alyssa Dweck... Christopher Springmann:  I’m Christopher Springmann and you’re listening to Body Language. Are you interested in having a child or perhaps avoiding pregnancy? Both are attainable, sustainable and worthy goals;  however, the ideal to time consider the alternatives and consequences is right now, before you dive into your lover’s... heart.  Our next guest has had this discussion on a daily basis with her patients and their partners; she is Dr. Alyssa Dweck, OB/Gyn, obstetrician and gynecologist. Speaking of health literacy, Dr. Dweck – and thank you for joining us again on Body Language. I learned something today. Well, I learn something every time I read your book, V is for Vagina: Your A-Z Guide to Periods, Piercings, Pleasures, and So Much More.  I learned today, in your chapter on birth control, which is quite extensive, that a woman’s cervix feels like the tip of your nose.  I had… Well, obviously, I had no idea. Dr. Alyssa Dweck, MD:  Right, this is correct. And you know, so many women will come in, and they might be doing a little self-exploration, and feel inside the vagina, and they panic, thinking that perhaps they have a lump or a mass, or something really scary on the inside. And it turns out that it’s really just their cervix they’re feeling. So, often, I will try to reassure someone, and tell them, “This will feel like the tip of your nose. It’s that same cartilaginous type of tissue.”   CS: I am reading “Chapter D as in Diaphragm, Ring, Pill, Patch, Sponge, Condom, Cap, IUD, Abstinence and All That Stuff About Birth Control,” in V is for Vagina. You say in the beginning that you often speak to ladies about birth control. Since you’re an OB/GYN, that probably happens all the time. And you hear a heap of horror stories. Everything from broken condoms to a surprise trip to “Baby-ville . . . ”  Most of us, Doctor, who need, want, and just gotta have birth control, want the safest, easiest, and most fool-proof method in the whole wide universe. Is that too much to ask? Is that too much to ask, Dr. Dweck? AD: I don’t think so. I don’t think so at all. We’re very lucky that we have a lot of different choices at our disposal, and I like to try to individualize different forms of birth control for different people, and their needs at different times in their lives. CS: And their lifestyle choices.  Well, let’s discuss the barrier method. The whole plan there is to avoid or evade having the sperm transcend the cervix, migrate into the uterus, and go up even further to the fallopian tube, where that sperm – or perhaps all of them – may meet up with an egg that has migrated down from the ovary. Is that a fairly accurate description of what we’re trying to avoid? AD: I think that’s exactly what we’re trying to avoid, and the barrier methods are typically very easy. They don’t generally need a prescription, and they’re accessible to many. So, condoms, of course, are your most common barrier method. Easy to use – this is the male condom that I’m talking about – and they are reasonably priced in most cases, and oftentimes will be given away in… CS: In cereal boxes? (laughs) AD: … in clinics.  (laughs) Haven’t seen them in cereal boxes yet. CS: Actually, they should be in cereal boxes, and candy bars, too. AD: Not a bad idea. But these work very well. I’d say they have about a 15% failure rate with good use, and so they’re not perfect, but they do certainly serve the purpose. They’re very helpful for people who want to avoid hormones. And the other benefit that we always have to bring up is the prevention of STDs that they afford, because many of the other birth control methods will not prevent sexual infections. CS: I’m happy to offer some free advice here. One way to assure that your partner is wearing a condom is

Doctors go through a re-certification process. But is the "industry" of medicine asking too much of them?The following is a transcript of an interview between host Christopher Springmann and guest, Dr. Danielle Ofri... Christopher Springmann: Dr. Ofri, it’s a joy to have you on Body Language again.  Thank you. Dr. Danielle Ofri: It’s a pleasure to be here. Thank you. CS:  Oh, you're getting the program down.  You are the author of the wonderful book What Doctors Feel: How Emotions Affect the Practice of Medicine.  You're going through an emotional time these days, as you're preparing for your once a decade review of your Boards.  What am I talking about, and what’s going on with you? DO: Well, you're talking about the process that’s called recertification.  So back in the day you did your medical school.  You did residency.  You took a licensing exam that every medical student took.  And then, once you completed your residency training in your field, be it surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, you would take a Board Exam to be board certified in that field.  And this exam was administered by the specialty organization, for me, the American Board of Internal Medicine, or for someone else, the American Board of Surgery.  You took it; you're board certified and that’s it.  You put down your number two pencils and never look at a fill in the blank test again, but you're right. CS: Well let’s back up just a little bit.  Why is it important to be board certified?  What does that mean to your career and your employability? DO: Well it should acknowledge that you have a high level knowledge of your specialty.  That if you are a surgeon, you have taken a very rigorous test in surgery, and the same for nephrology, infectious disease.  So many institutions won’t hire you if you're not board certified. CS: Ah ha.  So there’s money involved there. DO: Yeah.  And many patients rightly would like to know that their internist has a good working knowledge of internal medicine. CS: Well all that sounds very reasonable.  So what’s the problem, Doctor?  Why are you having difficulty preparing for this test, which seems to me as a civilian, as a patient,  a pretty mandatory thing? DO: Well and so initially, as I was saying, you took the test once, you were board certified for life.  But obviously medicine changes.   CS: Ah ha. DO: I think we all recognize that.  So in 1990, they changed the requirement.  You had to re-take the test every 10 years.  Now of course if you were lucky enough to certify before then you got grandfathered in.  So older physicians did not have to take it.  They could if they wanted and some did.  But everyone else every 10 years had to retake the test.   CS: Now this also is a great big business isn’t it?  It’s become an industry that drives a huge financial gain for the folks who do the testing and the certification. DO: Well that’s the flip side.  If you just take the test per se, I think most of us feel it’s completely reasonable to have some reevaluation periodically, because medicine does change.  And the things I learned as a medical student, many of them are different or completely opposite.  So most of us agree that a one-time acknowledgement doesn’t guarantee that you keep up to date for life.  The question as you say is in the details.  So a few things have come up.  One is that it’s a very expensive process, thousands and thousands of dollars and much time to prepare.  And then for me, I’m spending a year preparing for the test, so enormous numbers of hours.  Many people will take days off from work and take a course . . . CS: Well as you said, Doctor, in the New York Times article, some parts of this recertification process are useful.  The practice… DO: Yeah.  I think the knowledge base is definitely helpful.  And there’s also a second part to the—there’s been a bit of mission creep in recertification.  So in addition to the every 10-year test, you now have to do what’s called Maintenance of Certification al

Well-made, quick to install modular housing can accelerate the process of getting people off the streets.The following is a transcript of an interview between host Christopher Springmann and guest, Stuart Emmons... Christopher Springmann: I'm Christopher Springmann and you're listening to Body Language. Affordable housing equates to healthier families, a safe, secure setting for children, victims of domestic violence, and people with chronic medical conditions who sleep in door ways or in cars. I spoke with architect Stuart Emmons about those issues... and how well-made, quick to install modular housing can accelerate the process of getting people off the streets, while giving them a sense of dignity and a place to call home. Thank you, Stuart, for joining us today on Body Language. Stuart Emmons: Thank you, Christopher. Nice to be here. CS: You continue to have a distinguished career as an architect. However, you also focus on several areas that relate directly to healthy housing, homes for seniors, homeless children and adults, and you're also involved in Portland, Oregon, with remodeling schools to bring them up to current earthquake standards to make them safer and healthier for all the kids and the folks who work there. First of all, let's discuss your work with schools and health issues surrounding the construction. But also, something you mentioned to me called couch surfers. What is a couch surfer? SE: Couch surfers are essentially homeless youth who don't have a place to call home. They don't have a bedroom, and a couch surfer is somebody who stays with friends on their couch for short amounts of time and then moves to another place. CS: Now how did you become aware of this working with the schools? SE: I became aware of it through a Native American organization that has a lot of homeless youth in their high school, their special high school. CS: And some of these kids are also sleeping in cars too. Is that correct? SE: Yeah. They could be sleeping on the street or in cars. CS: This all ties into your interest in modular housing. First of all, what is modular housing? Because I know some sort of image pops into the heads of folks who are listening. SE: Well, modular housing to me five years ago was essentially a very cheaply built house or a trailer or something like that. But it was – I would equate it with something that was very temporary or very poorly built. Modular to me now can be a higher quality housing and school product than what's built on site. It's built in a factory and made into transportable blocks. So something that you could put on a truck or even a train and build it in a factory and move it to a site. CS: Typically, homeless housing consists of what are called SROs. Single room occupancy. Or some people have said standing room only, with a bathroom down the hall. However, your concept of modular housing includes a bath, a toilet in every room, which you call dignity as a baseline experience. Tell us about that idea and why it's important for folks. SE: Well, I worked on an SRO down in downtown Los Angeles that had just that. It was just rooms with bathrooms, or toilets and showers down the hallway. In Portland, Oregon, most of the time our homeless housing has bathrooms attached to the rooms. I've been concerned about unit costs. My goal is to build as many housing units as possible and get the number down so we can build, say, two units for every one unit that we used to build. CS: Let's talk about the basic economics of modular housing, and that two to one ratio. Typically, what does modular housing cost? And what is your financial goal? SE: So I'm really looking at dense, urban areas that would stack housing up to four, five stories or so. So my goal is to be at about $100,000 all in per door with land cost and all installation costs. And that compares to what we're seeing now, which is over $200,000 per unit. CS: The governor of Oregon just announced a proposed budget that the state of Oregon

If you're under the assumption that being skinny is the only way you can be healthy, think again.Many people are under the assumption they have to look like a model and wear a size 3 before they are considered a healthy weight. Erika Katz joins To Your Good Health Radio to share how being a healthy weight does not necessarily mean you have to be skinny. Don't miss this segment for tips on how to become your healthy weight... not skinny.