Poor Phineas Gage. In 1848, the supervisor for the Rutland and Burlington Railroad in Vermont was using a 13-pound, 3-foot-7-inch rod to pack blasting powder into a rock when he triggered an explosion that drove the rod through his left cheek and out of the top of his head. As reported at the time, the rod was later found, "smeared with blood and brains...

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Common variants of the ApoE gene are strongly associated with the risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease, but the gene's role in the disease has been unclear. Now, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have found that in mice, having the most risky variant of ApoE damages the blood vessels that feed the brain...

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Obama's healthcare goals have been controversial at best, and although anti-smoking campaigns and other public health and safety awareness drives have been successful, it's always somewhat dubious when government starts creating grand plans and lofty goals...

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A new study from the Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University has found that, at time of death, individuals with dementia are more likely to be living at home than in a nursing home. This contradicts the commonly held view that most individuals with dementia in the United States eventually move to nursing homes and die there...

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Accredited nursing homes report a stronger resident safety culture than nonaccredited facilities, according to a new study published in the May 2012 issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. The study shows that senior managers at more than 4,000 facilities across the U.S...

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Patients suffering with end-stage renal disease could increase their survival chances by undergoing intensive dialysis at home rather than the conventional dialysis in clinics. A new study by Lawson Health Research Institute shows the potential of more intensive dialysis completed in a home setting...

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