RD201904

Using a new MRI

technique, a team

controls. They found

that individuals with

MS had higher iron lev-

els in the basal ganglia,

which control move-

ment, and lower levels

in the thalamus, which

helps process signals

from the senses. (The

more iron you have in

your body, the more

you are likely to have

in your brain, but that

doesn’t necessarily

mean you will develop

MS.) These findings

could one day help

doctors better identify

which MS patients are

at high risk for develop-

ing severe disability,

including symptoms

such as loss of vision,

tremors, and paralysis.

Reduce Risk for

Alzheimer’s

Researchers have

long been puzzled

by the relationship

and skin cancer:

People with basal

carcinomas—two

of the less deadly

forms of the disease—

have a lower rate of

Alzheimer’s. Now a

new study of nearly

83,000 patients with the

more dangerous malig-

nant melanoma has

found that they, too,

got Alzheimer’s disease

at a lower rate—61 per-

cent lower than people

who didn’t have mela-

noma. Researchers

aren’t sure whether the

connection is neuro-

logical, biological (do

the skin cancer cells

somehow protect the

brain?), or both, but

they hope that this

additional study show-

ing the connection

between the two dis-

eases will lead to more

in-depth research.

HELP YOUR

HEART

A study of 873 men

and women between

the ages of 60 and 76

showed that those who

took at least five hot

baths (with tempera-

tures over 105.8°F)

every week had signifi-

cantly lower markers

of atherosclerosis, the

hardening and narrow-

ing of the arteries that

can lead to heart at-

tacks and strokes. More

research is needed to

determine exactly how

baths help your heart,

but it’s possible that

the benefits are due

to lower stress levels

and decreased blood

pressure.

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