Now, the Food and Drug Administration(FDA) has approved two drugs that may slow the cognitive decline destroying the lives of millions of Alzheimer’s patients.

But both approvals are highly controversial. They were only based on the drugs’ ability to remove plaques (斑块), which were thought to be the underlying cause of the disease. Also, the drugs are expensive, can cause adverse side effects, and may have modest benefits. Some experts argue that the treatment benefits don’t clearly outweigh the risks.

For years, getting rid of plaques has been the primary focus of researches and drug development. But the approvals have aroused a debate over whether this is the best way to attack the disease. Many scientists note that the result so far is just two drugs with limited efficiency, and they have called for far more funding to look for other theories.

The drug the FDA approved last week, known as Lecanemab, is the first to show evidence of slowing cognitive decline in clinical trials. The other drug, known as Aducanumab, was shown to remove plaques, but was not proven to arrest the loss of cognitive ability. But Lecanemab’s promise has been clouded by the death of three patients in an extension of the study.

Matthew Schrag, a neurologist, thinks that the benefits are modest at best. The researchers used an 18-point clinical dementia rating scale to assess a patient’s memory and problem solving skills among other aspects of cognitive and functional performance; the higher the score, the worse the dementia. Those on Lecanemab scored 1.21 whereas those taking the placebo(安慰剂) averaged 1.66, which shows that those taking the drug experienced 27 percent less cognitive decline.

“The question is whether the average patient in a clinic would notice that benefit,” Schrag says. “I don’t think they would.” More importantly, it’s the drug’s safety that concerns him. “I think we’re just beginning to see the tip of the iceberg with the risks.” Schrag and others are not convinced they are central to delaying or arresting disease progression.

The West is full of fast food and large amounts of food which contribute to many women’s being fat.While many are fat thin women are admired and seen as healthier.This has led to a culture of gym-going strange dieting methods and frequently eating disorders.In the East women tend to be smaller and many women take pills to keep their slim figures as they get older.However you’re mistaken if you think thinness is the beauty standard all over the world.The BBC reports that in Mauritania Africa the opposite is true.

In Mauritania mothers force their daughters to eat a lot of food so that they get as fat as possible.The fatter they are the more likely they are to marry well.Fat is also considered healthy because in a country where HIV/AIDS is a very real problem thin people are often sick and dying.However “healthy” fat women are suffering from some problems of their own and many are dying in their 40s of weight-related diseases.

The Mauritanian government is trying to warn its people of the dangers of being overweight but it’s not easy to change cultural views.Many women worry that if they lose weight their husbands will leave them for fatter more attractive women.

It seems that while education about the dangers of being too thin and too fat is very important what the world really needs is to become less pre-occupied with the size shape and weight of women’s bodies.The promotion of healthy practices is easy but changing cultural beauty standards takes more time imagination and effort.

Holding a cell phone against your ear or storing it in your pocket may be dangerous to your health. This explains a warning that cell phone manufacturers(制造商) include in the small   print (印刷字体) that is often ignored when a new phone is bought. Apple, for example, doesn't want iPhones to come closer to you than 1.5 centimeters; Research In Motion, Black Berry, a manufacturer, recommends 2.5 centimeters.

If health issues arise from cell phone use, the possible effects are huge. Voice calls Americans chat on cell phones 2.26 trillion(万亿)minutes annually earn $109 billion for the wireless carriers.

Devra Davis, an expert who has worked for the University of Pittsburgh, has published a book about cell phone radiation, “Disconnect”. The book surveys scientific research and concludes the question is not settled.

Brain cancer is a concern that Ms.Davis examines. Over all，there has not been an increase in its incidence since cell phones arrived. But the average masks an increase in brain cancer in the 20 to 29 age group and a drop for the older population.

“Most cancers have multiple causes,” she says，but she points to laboratory research that suggests low energy radiation could damage cells that could possibly lead to cancer.

Children are more vulnerable(易受伤的)to radiation than adults, Ms.Davis and other scientists point out. Radiation that penetrates only five centimeters into the brain of an adult will reach much deeper into the brains of children because their skulls are thinner and their brains contain more absorptive fluid(易吸收的液体). “No studies have yet been completed on cell phone radiation and children,” she says.

Henry Lai, a research professor in the bioengineering department at the University of Washington, began laboratory radiation studies in 1980 and found that rats exposed to radiation had damaged DNA in their brains.

Ms.Davis recommends using wired headsets or the phone's speaker. Children should text rather than call, she said, and pregnant women should keep phones away from the abdomen(腹部)．