Kristen Fischer

3 days ago | health.com | Kristen Fischer |Julia Landwehr |Nick Blackmer

Cris Cantón / Getty ImagesA recent study linked some hormonal birth controls to higher stroke and heart attack risk. Vaginal rings, skin patches, and the pill containing both estrogen and progestin had the highest risk. Cardiovascular risk from birth control is low overall, but experts recommend talking to a healthcare provider to pick the safest option for you. Several forms of hormonal birth control could come with a higher risk for ischemic stroke and heart attack, recent research found.

1 week ago | mcknights.com | Kristen Fischer

People taking drugs for HIV and hepatitis B are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study. UVA Health investigators now would like clinical trials to examine the potential of the HIV medications as a means to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. The report was published Thursday in Alzheimer’s & Dementia. Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) are antiretroviral drugs used to prevent the HIV virus from replicating inside the body.

1 week ago | mcknights.com | Kristen Fischer

People who eat more ultra-processed foods like cold breakfast cereal, cookies and hot dogs are more likely to have early signs of Parkinson’s disease compared to those who eat less of those foods, a new study finds. Authors of the report, which was published Wednesday in Neurology, noted that the findings don’t show that ultra-processed foods cause Parkinson’s disease — only an association. Researchers evaluated data from 42,853 people who were, on average, 48 years old.

1 week ago | mcknights.com | Kristen Fischer

Systemic inflammation partially plays a role in obesity and depression, a new report published Monday in BMC Psychiatry finds. Investigators combed data from 11,324 people from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). They explored the associations between obesity, systemic inflammation and depression.

1 week ago | mcknights.com | Kristen Fischer

Report: Higher life satisfaction linked to less mental health problems … Researchers use pulse rate to detect faster cognitive decline, study shows … Music helps Parkinson’s patients walk more, at higher intensity, study finds … Report: Mushroom compound can boost motor symptoms, mood and cognition in people with Parkinson’s … Study explores using frailty scale to improve geriatric assessments