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Aerobic exercise could give older adults a boost in brainpower, according to a recent review of studies from the Netherlands. "Aerobic physical exercises that improve cardiovascular fitness also help boost cognitive processing speed, motor function and visual and auditory attention in healthy older people," said the lead review author. Around age 50, even healthy older adults begin to experience mild declines in cognition, such as occasional memory lapses and reduced ability to pay attention.

Compared to older drugs for Parkinson disease, a newer class of medications called dopamine agonists might be better at preventing some of the disabling muscle control problems associated with the disease and its treatment, a new review concludes. However, patients who take the new drugs suffer from an increase in numerous side effects, and are more likely to drop out of treatment.

Pregnancy rates could be doubled for couples undertaking certain fertility treatments, thanks to a revolutionary project currently being trialled. Researchers have devised a new formula to significantly improve embryo implantation rates and reduce pregnancy complications in assisted reproductive technology (ART).

Based on observations of more than 4,000 infants, researchers have identified several factors that influence an extremely low birth weight infant's chances for survival and disability. The findings offer new information to physicians and families considering the most appropriate treatment options for this category of infants.

Chronic cough can cut into children's sleep and fray parents' nerves. Although antihistamines can alleviate cough, possible side effects outweigh their benefits, say authors of a new review of studies from Australia.

A drug that targets the cell surface receptors that play an important role in many types of cancer can bring about significant tumor regression in breast cancer after only six weeks of use. Cancer researchers said that the work demonstrated for the first time that the tyrosine kinase inhibitor lapatinib could decrease tumor-causing breast cancer stem cells in the primary breast cancers of women receiving neoadjuvant treatment.

A new vaccine under development may provide protection against highly pathogenic bird flu and its evolving forms, according to researchers who discovered the new preventative drug and have tested it in mice.

Chronic inflammation triggers bone marrow-derived blood cells to travel to the brain and fuse with a certain type of neuron up to 100 times more frequently than previously believed.

Scientists have identified for the first time a sensitive method for testing and assessing the efficacy of treatments for Chagas' disease. The study could lead to new treatments for long-term sufferers of a disease that can be fatal.

A genetic variation, found predominantly in African Americans, protects some people with heart failure, enabling them to live longer than expected. Researchers found that the genetic variation acts just like beta-blockers, a class of drugs used to treat chronic heart failure. The researchers say their discovery adds to the accumulating evidence that genetic differences contribute to the way people respond to medications.