Published January 4, 2018

Researchers identified nearly 40,000 cancer patients who had received opioid prescriptions following surgery intended to eradicate the cancer. Doctors generally expect patients to take these drugs for no more than two weeks after surgery. But the study found that three months after surgery, 10% of the patients were continuing to take high levels of opioids. Those who received chemotherapy after the surgery had an even greater risk, with 15% to 21% continuing to take high doses longer than recommended.

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Published January 2, 2018

Researchers examined national registry data to look for correlations between warfarin use and cancer incidence and found that using warfarin was associated with a lower risk of prostate, lung, and breast cancer, three of the most common forms of the disease. The risk was actually lowest of all for the people using warfarin for a heart condition.

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Published December 30, 2017

Researchers looked at 53 men and women who were complaining of memory problems. The researchers divided them into three groups. One group started using a smart-phone-based application called SMART (Smartphone-based brain Anti-aging and memory Reinforcement Training). Another group used a smart-phone application called Fit Brains®. And the third group didn’t use the apps. The men and women used the programs for 15-20 minutes per day, five days per week for eight weeks. Total working memory and auditory-verbal working memory “increased significantly in the smart phone groups, but not in the control groups.”

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