Tips to manage holiday stress

The holiday season is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but it can be stressful sometimes. It often brings extra social and financial obligations; a breakdown of healthy eating and exercise habits; and can leave you feeling lonely or depressed. A recent study by the American Academy of Neurology found a correlation between impaired memory and stress. Middle-aged adults with higher levels of cortisol—a hormone linked to stress—performed worse on memory and other cognitive tasks than peers of the same age with average cortisol levels. “The faster pace of life today probably means more stress, and when ...Read More >

How determination made fish oil an FDA-approved medicine for babies

Dr. Cynthia Blanco’s passion to save premature babies was instrumental in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent approval of Omegaven, a lifesaving fish oil treatment for babies with gastrointestinal complications. Blanco’s study followed the outcomes of babies treated with fish oil in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at University Hospital. “Overall, since 2011, we have had more than 50 patients enrolled in our long-term study and their survival without liver transplant increased dramatically ― to better than 90 percent,” she said. Omegaven is a fish oil-based solution that is used to provide nutrition to critically ill patients. It has ...Read More >

Do I have a fatty liver?

A disease you may never have heard of is slowly damaging the health of a quarter of Americans. In San Antonio and the Valley, fatty liver disease affects nearly half the population, including up to 20 percent of children and adolescents – about twice the national average. What does it mean when you have a fatty liver? Fatty liver disease causes fat cells to infiltrate the liver. While it can be caused by continued abuse of liquor, it also affects 50 to 60 percent of obese people, and 60 to 70 percent of patients with Type II Diabetes. Liver inflammation ...Read More >