Â鶹ŮÓÅ

Nearly 1 in 9 Ohioans age 45 or older reported increased confusion or memory loss over the previous 12 months, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But fewer than half talked to their doctors about their concerns, despite the benefits of early detection. Of the Ohioans surveyed, nearly 52 percent said their worsening memory interfered with work or social activities or caused them to give up activities, cooking, cleaning or paying bills. Almost 36 percent said they needed assistance with daily activities. (Pyle, 1/23)

The devastating impact of Alzheimer's disease on his own mother — and on his father, who struggled to care for her — first prompted Gerry Richman to take a hard look at the disease. As vice president of national productions at Twin Cities Public Television, he was the mastermind behind a 2004 Emmy-winning documentary called "The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer's." Now, Richman is back with another eye-opening film on the subject. (Shah, 1/23)

Researchers say they are cautiously optimistic about a small study that showed that fecal transplants improved both gastrointestinal and behavioral symptoms in children with autism disorders. Over several weeks, children experienced an improvement of about 80 percent in gastrointestinal symptoms and an improvement of about 25 percent in behavioral symptoms, said Ann Gregory, one of the study's authors and a microbiology graduate student at Ohio State University. Improvements remained even after treatment was stopped. (Viviano, 1/24)

Sleep apnea is on the rise in the US, as the obesity epidemic puts more people at risk of the condition. And tests for sleep apnea are big business, having helped an industry of thousands of sleep clinics sprout up across the country. But the first randomized trial on the subject adds to the growing evidence that at-home testing may be just as good as the laboratory kind, and at a cheaper cost. That’s great news for insurers, but it might spell more pain for for-profit sleep centers around the country. (Sheridan, 1/23)

A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control offers a stark example of the declining power of medicine’s most important weapons against infectious disease. The CDC noted that a patient who died at a Nevada hospital last year had an infection that was resistant to 26 different antibiotic treatments. That’s essentially the entire antibiotic arsenal doctors had. (Gillespie, 1/23)

Turns out that sitting too much is not only linked to a number of ailments, including obesity and diabetes, but a new study shows being a couch potato also ages your cells faster. The study, which focused on women, found that those who didn’t meet the recommended 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily and spent more time sedentary (about 10 hours or more sitting around) were aging at a quicker rate than those who, well, got on their feet and made something happen. (Veciana-Suarez, 1/23)

It seems many people tend to equate carbohydrates with weight gain and try to avoid them like the plague. Studies tell us that fatigue and a decrease in performance are associated with low-carbohydrate diets. When it comes to exercising, carbohydrates are considered to be the most efficient source of energy of all the nutrients. When the body does not receive adequate carbohydrates, it is forced to get fuel for exercising from protein, which can be broken down to create glucose to produce energy. However, the main role of protein is not to supply fuel for energy, but to build and repair muscles. (Anderson, 1/23)