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When we slather up with sun tan lotion, most of us bypass our lips.  We coat our arms, our legs, our foreheads and noses with a suitable SPF -- but putting lotion on the lips is a non starter. And few people use a separate protective lip balm.  In fact, a recent study out of Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas found that fewer than 25 percent of Americans protect their lips from the sun.

That's a big problem, because our lips are among the most vulnerable places on our bodies -- exceptionally prone to cancers and aging damage.  According to dermatologist Christine Brown, "When skin cancer occurs on the lower lip, it has the potential to be much more aggressive and metastasize to surrounding lymph nodes."

A new study of 1256 elderly people affirmed that people who have a positive outlook suffer from far less memory loss than their worried peers.  At the initiation of the study, all participants completed surveys about their negative emotions. Then, every year for 12 years, they were assessed for cognitive impairment.  At the conclusion of the study, the subjects who tended to maintain a negative outlook had more memory loss than the more optimistic subjects. In fact, those indicating the highest degree of distress at the outset were 48 percent more likely to develop memory loss than those subjects who were the most positive.

Question:

I've had hand tremors for the last five years, but within 72 hours of taking your carnosine/acetyl-l-carnitine/dmae formula for the first time, the tremors completely stopped. Is that possible? Could this fomula do that? If so, how did it happen?

First let me explain that my carnosine/acetyl-l-carnitine/dmae formula was not designed as an anti tremor formula and is not sold to treat tremors -- or any other medical condition for that matter. It was designed to protect the body against the ravages of sugar and aldehydes in the bloodstream and to nutritionally extend the life of cells. And in that regard, it does a spectacular job. Nevertheless, over the years, I've had a number of people relate similar experiences to yours using variations of this formula. How can this be? There is an answer.

A new study out of Duke University recently found that approximately 5.2 million seniors -- or 22 percent of those over age 71 -- showed symptoms of mental decline.  Although the subjects did not have full-blown dementia, they did have difficulty remembering things, making decisions, and communicating. If you add to these numbers to the 3.1 to 4.5 million people who either have fully developed dementia or Alzheimer's, then at least 34 percent of the aged population suffers from mental deterioration.

A new British study out of King's College in London makes clear that people who stay physically active in their free time also stay younger biologically. The research team, led by Lynn F. Cherkos, examined the DNA of 2,401 twins, observing the length of "telomeres-repeated sequences" at the end of the chromosomes in their white blood cells (leukocytes).  These sequences tend to shorten with age. The study found that those who exercised heavily -- 199 minutes a week -- had, on average, 200 more nucleotides than those who exercised a mere 16 minutes a week, meaning that the exercisers were "biologically" 10 years younger than the non-exercisers. These results remained consistent even after adjusting other factors such as smoking, amount of physical activity at work, socioeconomic status, and body-mass index.

Researchers presenting yesterday at the International Conference on the Prevention of Dementia in Washington DC announced, “We face a looming global epidemic of Alzheimer’s disease as the world’s population ages.”

It is thought that 26 million people are living with Alzheimer's disease throughout the world today.  Yesterday’s announcement indicated that could quadruple to more than 106 million by 2050.  The biggest rise in cases, the study warned, would occur in Asia, where 48 percent of sufferers live. There, prevalence will grow from 12.65 million in 2006 to 62.85 million in 2050, accounting for 59 percent of all cases.

Premature ovarian failure (POF), at one time called premature menopause, describes a stop in the normal functioning of the ovaries in a woman younger than age 40. Symptoms can include irregular periods, hot flashes and night sweats, decreased interest in sex, pain during sex, drying of the vagina, and/or infertility. One of the main markers used to identify POF is the FSH/LH ratio (Follicle Stimulating Hormone to Lutenizing Hormone ratio).

A study published online on January 14th in Nature Genetics magazine has been getting considerable press play over the last few days. The essence of the article is that scientists have identified a gene that increases the risk for late-onset Alzheimer's.

The gene -- SORL1 -- is significant because it's been tested in four ethnic groups, and a form of it seems to confer a risk in all of them -- including North Europeans, Caribbean Latinos, African Americans, and Israeli Arabs.

In his State of the Union address this week, President Bush proposed solutions to our health care crisis.

And what crisis would that be?

When it comes to going bald there are several things to keep in mind:

• Maintaining proper ratios of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acids is important. The proper ratio helps control both systemic inflammation and insulin resistance, which can both play a role in hair loss.
• Preventing the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone is also key.