A new vision screening device, already shown to give an early warning of eye disease, could give doctors and patients a head start on treating diabetes and its vision complications, a new study shows. The instrument, invented at the U-M Kellogg Eye Center, captures images of the eye to detect metabolic stress and tissue damage that occur before the first symptoms of disease are evident.

Nearly one-third of women reported pronounced asymmetry between their breasts after breast cancer surgery, and that perceived disfigurement greatly affects a woman’s quality of life after treatment, according to a new study.

Loss of concentration, difficulty remembering, difficulty thinking clearly – all are signs of a phenomenon cancer patients call "chemo brain." Now researchers are looking at the cognitive changes that occur in the brain during chemotherapy to determine what causes chemo brain and how patients can compensate for these challenges.

Lasers have been effective tools used in eye surgeries for decades. But now a super-fast and high-tech laser developed for use in eye surgery at the U-M Kellogg Eye Center is changing the face of corneal eye transplant surgery. The Femtosecond Laser is being widely used to create more accurate cuts for corneal transplants, allowing patient to have better vision and a faster recovery.

Are you having a hard time stretching your grocery dollars during the current economic downturn? You’re not alone. But before you stop buying fresh fruit, meat, vegetables and other items often perceived as costing a lot, check out these tips from a University of Michigan Health System dietitian. Make your own coffee, buy fruits and vegetables that are in season, occasionally replace meat with protein sources like eggs and beans, and, no matter how tempting it is, skip the fast-food drive-thru window.

Activated vitamin D protects the heart against avoid overwork and enlargement, two of the hallmarks of heart failure, U-M studies in animals show. The results, the first to show vitamin D can prevent the damaging effects of heart failure, add heart health to the growing list of vitamin D’s benefits.

Millions of tweens will be left home alone this summer, despite their parents’ concerns that they may not have the knowledge and skills they need to stay safe at home. According to the U-M C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health, many parents worry about weather, home appliance, gun and Internet safety when leaving kids home alone.

Heart transplants save the lives of more than 2,100 Americans every year. But many more patients are still waiting for a new heart to become available, and hundreds will die without ever getting a second chance at life. Could technology be the solution – whether temporary, or permanent – for many of these people? Could heart transplants ever become a thing of the past? The answers are yes — and perhaps, says a U-M heart surgeon.

The number of baby boomers who are opting for knee replacement surgery earlier in life is growing at an exponential rate - in just 10 years, experts estimate there could be as many as 3.2 million annual knee replacement surgeries. While knee replacements do have a positive impact on a patient’s quality of life, U-M orthopaedic surgeons worry that the demand for new knees will far outpace the availability of surgeons trained to perform the procedure.

A study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center is offering new insight into one of the reasons why African Americans with rectal cancer have a much higher mortality rates than white Americans who suffer from this disease.

Researchers estimate that about 20 percent of all strokes are caused by atrial fibrillation, a chaotic electrical heart rhythm that occurs in as many as 2.2 million Americans. Fortunately, there are many treatment options available for people with AF, including a new device under investigation at the U-M Cardiovascular Center.

Laughter yoga - part of a growing trend in parts of the United States, India and other countries – can really make a difference in your overall health. While it shouldn’t replace other types of exercise, laughter yoga is fun and it can help to reduce stress, enhance the immune system, and even tone muscles, say U-M experts.

Like horses running down the long stretch of a race track, two different artery-opening treatments appear to be running neck-and-neck when it comes to preventing stroke among people with clogged neck arteries and other health problems.