Melatonin: Is This Natural Hormone One of the Keys To Slowing Brain Aging?

Melatonin is best known as a sleep hormone because of its action controlling the circadian cycle. But melatonin also has antioxidant properties, and may have an important anti-aging role. A recent study looked at artificially aged mice to determine the effects of melatonin on aging.  Such mice are used as a model to study the… Read More »

Oklahoma governor signs 3 anti-abortion bills into law

Loading the player… Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed three anti-abortion bills into law on Monday, including ones to criminalize the procedure in certain cases and cost providers their medical licenses for performing them. The Republican-controlled Senate passed measures requiring physicians who perform abortions to be certified in obstetrics and gynecology, adding performing an abortion to the list… Read More »

Crowded parties and coronavirus concerns keep high schoolers from returning to the classroom

Their study, published last Thursday in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, found a statistically significant increase in clinic and hospital visits by patients who reported respiratory illnesses as early as the week of December 22. The first known case of Covid-19 in the US was thought to be a patient in Washington who had… Read More »

Caffeine and Pregnancy: How Much is Safe?

Many women ask about the safety of drinking caffeinated beverages during pregnancy. A recent study looked at this question, analyzing data from the NICHD Fetal Growth Studies–Singletons, which included a group of 2,055 nonsmoking women at low risk for fetal growth problems.  Caffeine consumption was evaluated using plasma concentrations of caffeine and paraxanthine (a metabolite… Read More »