Keep yourself and your loved ones fit and well by checking out health expert Dr Hilary Jones's tips every week.
As well as tackling a different health issue, the family GP will answer some of the hundreds of emails and letters sent in by readers.
BRAIN ABOUT TO FAIL? USE SPARE PART!
WOULDN'T it be great if we all had a spare brain?
A reserve we could tap in for buried memories, help with that crossword puzzle...or raid for the forgotten name of the acquaintance we've just bumped into.
Well, scientists have made the startling discovery that we just might have such an unused part of our mind. Which could be great news for sufferers of dementia.
It could delay the onset of the condition, and it's FREE—for in the cash-strapped NHS, money and resources to treat dementia are scarce.
For years experts have known that keeping an active mind can help ward off dementia's early stages. Now it seems this also helps open up unused sectors of the brain—your "spare mind".
Brain specialists have carried out scans which show areas of the brain lighting up when they are used—and have discovered that people who keep their brains active can access parts of it never utilised before.
With 20 per cent of people over 80 having dementia, and with the figure set to rise as the population ages, it's an important breakthrough. It means that by keeping the mind active —staying mentally busy through reading, having hobbies, doing crosswords and puzzles—we can delay the onset of dementia.
Anyone who has cared for a relative affected by it will know all too well the condition's cruel and terrible consequences. From at first being forgetful, victims become so confused they are unable to carry out everyday tasks, until eventually their whole personality changes.
Injuries
Dementia is not just a disease of old age, either. There are 18,000 victims under 60...and no one is immune.
Improving your brain power —developing what scientists call your "cognitive reserve"—can also enhance recovery from other conditions, such as strokes, Parkinson's disease and head injuries.
Stopping smoking, drinking in moderation, cutting down on stress, eating healthily and exercising regularly also benefit your brain.
And along, with regular mental gymnastics, these will help you become a clever old thing.
UP to 600,000 people have rheumatoid arthritis—a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the whole body. Severe pain, swelling and stiffness often results, leading to joint destruction and disability.
Fortnightly Humira injections, together with methotrexate, relieves symptoms dramatically and brings about disease remission in more than 20 per cent of cases.
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