Articles

Train Your Brain

Your body needs exercise to stay healthy, and so does your brain. Some research shows that when you exercise your mind, your brain creates new connections between brain cells. This helps keep your brain healthy and working at its best. It may also help prevent cognitive decline and memory loss. A great way to challenge your brain—and have fun—is by playing memory games. These games help your brain practice storing and retrieving information. So when it’s tested with a real-world task (like...

Create an Adult Vaccinations Checklist

Download the Adult Vaccinations Checklist Use this tool to help start a conversation with your healthcare provider about adult vaccinations. Many adults are behind on their vaccinations. Are you staying up-to-date? It’s important that you speak with your doctor or healthcare provider about the benefits of the vaccinations recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). To learn more about which vaccinations are right for you and how often you should receive them, use this...

Metabolic Syndrome: What's Your Risk?

Learn about the risk factors for this serious health condition and how to discuss your personal risk with your doctor Metabolic syndrome is a combination of health-related risk factors that, when they occur together, increase your risk for cardiovascular disease. The more of these risk factors you have, the higher your chances of developing serious health issues such as heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a person who has metabolic...

The Phases of a Clinical Trial

Understanding the Phases of Clinical Trials Prescription drugs don’t just show up on pharmacy shelves one day. Each one is first subjected to thorough scientific testing during what are known as clinical trials. Clinical trials are conducted in phases, each of which is designed to assess a treatment or drug’s safety as well as answer different questions researchers may have about a drug or treatment. Clinical trial phases range from phase 0 to phase 4.

Living With Hemophilia

There are currently around 20,000 males in the United States who are living with hemophilia. (Women, who are genetic carriers of the disease, very rarely experience any of the condition’s symptoms.) "Hemophilia comes in several shades of gray, and not everyone who has the condition will be affected in the same way,” says Bartholomew J. Tortella, MD, Medical Director on Pfizer’s Hemophilia team.  That said, most boys and men with hemophilia, and those caring for them, will face similar...

Diabetes: Controlar el azúcar en la sangre

Tips to Eating Well

Download the Tips to Eating Well Checklist PDF The foods you eat can affect your health, so it’s important to make smart food choices. Healthy eating will help you control: Weight Blood pressure Blood sugar (if you have diabetes)

Differences Can Make a Big Difference

People from different racial and ethnic groups have different biological responses to both diseases and their treatment. Whether we are talking about liver cancer in Asians, asthma and stroke in African-Americans, or diabetes in Hispanics, these are just a few of the devastating chronic diseases that affect different groups at different rates. Scientists and doctors argue about "cause and effect" here — how much is genetic and how much is a result of diet and other factors. One thing is for sure...

Is it Sore Joints—or RA?

We often think of arthritis as general joint pain or loss of mobility that comes along as we get older. Arthritis is an umbrella term for more than 100 different diseases and can impact young people as well as old. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the most common types. Read on to learn more. What is RA? RA is a chronic, systemic autoimmune disease that can be painful and disabling. An estimated 1.5 million people in the United States have RA, and nearly three times as many women as men...

Finding Quality Health Information Online

The Internet puts a large amount of health and wellness information at your fingertips. But if that information is outdated, incorrect or downright dangerous, it could cause more harm than good. So which websites should you trust? Follow these basic rules for evaluating health information websites and start feeling better about finding health information online: 1. Know who sponsors the site. If the website doesn’t disclose who sponsors the site, ignore it. Most credible sites — like those...

What’s Your Risk? The Five People Who Need Vaccines Most

Some people are more likely than others to develop infectious diseases. Want to know if you or someone you care for is at an increased risk of getting the flu or another vaccine-preventable disease? Check to see if you or the person you care for fits into any of the following five groups of higher risk individuals. People who are at higher risk should speak with their doctor about any needed immunizations to help keep their immunizations up-to-date. Children Infants and young children do not...

Breast Self-Exams: Should You Do Them?

For many years, we women were told to examine our breasts at least monthly to check for signs of breast cancer. In medical school, my fellow students and I learned how to teach our patients to examine their breasts. It’s a multi-step process that takes several minutes – checking your breasts in the shower, in the mirror, lying on your back (maybe you’ve seen diagram-heavy brochures -- still a staple in many college and community health centers). But in recent years, some medical organizations...