Healthline

THIS ON HOLIDAY ZEN from Karen Milo, assistant professor of clinical psychology at the University of South Florida College of Medicine:

"We all think the holidays should be warm and fuzzy. We have expectations of how our families should act. We are less likely to get upset if our expectations are realistic."

How to tell if you're being unrealistic?

"Compare (the expectation) to past experiences."

Then give everyone a break. Make allowances. And remind yourself that the season lasts but so long.

MORE THAN 21-MILLION Americans are affected by a condition often mistaken for heartburn, GERD, or gastroesophageal reflux disease. An abnormal backflow, or reflux, of stomach acid into the esophagus occurs because the muscle between the two organs does not close properly.

The challenge is distinguishing between common heartburn and GERD, which can be treated with medication, says the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders.

A medical evaluation is suggested for people who have heartburn more than once a week; severe heartburn; heartburn that interrupts sleep; painful swallowing; sour or bitter-tasting fluid from the throat; nausea, or frequent burping.

For more information, visit the foundation's Web site at www.iffgd.org.

CALL IT BRAIN FOG, that loss of memory and clarity that strikes tens of thousands of patients after open-heart or other major surgery.

Now doctors are studying whether giving patients certain drugs before surgery can prevent mental decline by protecting patients' brain cells.

For decades, doctors didn't know what to make of patient complaints that in getting their hearts fixed, something hurt their brains. One study found that 42 percent of heart bypass patients suffer significant drops in mental sharpness that can last months or even years.

Those at risk may be people with partially clogged vessels in the brain. During surgery, the heart-lung machine that circulates blood may dislodge bits of fat, blood clots or air bubbles that then flow to the brain. Or the mental decline may occur with inflammation and postsurgery fever.

Scientists are studying whether injecting patients with lidocaine, magnesium or the experimental drug pexelizumab before surgery can block cell damage.

Meanwhile, patients are advised to ask their anesthesiologist to rewarm their cooled bodies more slowly after the operation, a step believed to lower risk to the brain.

-- Compiled by SUSAN ASCHOFF from staff and wire reports

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