Vascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, and obesity  may cause the brain to age faster, possibly 10 years faster, according to a study published Monday in the journal Neurology.   Researchers found people with these risks factors had smaller brains and had diminished brain function later in life.

"Vascular risk factors affect our brain's and our ability to think even in middle life and we need to focus on treating these things if we are going to have a healthy mind and body," says study author Dr. Charles DeCarli.  Eating healthy and exercising are important but if you develop hypertension and if you develop diabetes, the most important thing is to treat them, he adds.

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Frogs might be cute to look at but they might be hazardous to your children's health, which is why The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  is warning parents to keep young kids away from water frogs and their habitats.

At least 241 people in the United States were sickened after being infected with Salmonella from African dwarf frogs.  More than two-thirds of the ill were under age 10,  and 30 percent of those infected were hospitalized, according to the CDC.  Health officials say these frogs are not safe pets for children under 5 years old.

"People need to be aware that these water frogs as well as other amphibians and reptiles can carry salmonella that can make people sick," says Dr. Casey Barton Behravesh, an epidemiologist at the CDC. "In this particular outbreak there is a unique strain that has been linked with African frogs associated with a single facility," she adds.

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Patients with aggressive non-invasive bladder cancer aren't getting the care they need, according to a study published Monday in the online journal Cancer.

Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center found 99% of patients with high-grade bladder cancer that had not reached the muscle weren't getting the recommended follow-up care.

According to medical billing records from 4,545 patients, only one patient got the recommended cancer care says Dr. Karim Chamie, lead author of the study.  He says he considered every recommended treatment regimen and was very lenient and inclusive as to how doctors interpreted specific treatment and surveillance options.
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In the Human Factor we profile people who have overcome the odds against them. Confronting a life obstacle – injury, illness or other hardship –- they tapped their inner strength and found resilience they didn’t know they possessed.   On Sunday, J.R. Hildebrand would have been the 9th rookie to win the Indianapolis 500, had he not crashed in the final turn of the race. He was passing another rookie, Charlie Kimball, at the time. Kimball ended up in 13th place but that's not the end of  his story.  This week , Kimball shares how his life has changed since he was diagnosed with diabetes.   Here is his story in his own words.

I have the greatest job in the world!

While I am definitely pumped to get up each morning and go to the “office” and do what I do – mainly driving a race car – there is another side of my job that brings me great joy and that is having the honor of meeting members of the global diabetes community each time I go to work.

The diabetes community is a group of men, women and children who I didn’t even know existed before I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2007.  There are 24 million of us in the U.S. alone and the connection among people living with diabetes is stronger than I think anyone realizes.

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Researchers say a new genetic test for breast cancer patients may indicate whether standard chemotherapy treatments will work. Their study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests the key to treating breast cancer may lie in predicting whether a patient will respond to standard therapy based on his or her genetics or the genes in the tumor itself.

The test could lead to more personalized medicine and prevent patients from being treated with drugs that their bodies will not respond to. "With this type of research and genetic analysis available we're getting to the point where we will be able to make better treatment decisions for our patients," says Dr. Ruth O'Regan, a breast cancer specialist at Emory University not affiliated with the study.

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In the Human Factor, we profile survivors who have overcome the odds. Confronting a life obstacle – injury, illness or other hardship –- they tapped their inner strength and found resilience they didn’t know they possessed.   This week Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to an opera singer from Shanghai who followed her dreams to the U.S.  Then, two years ago, she learned she had lung cancer, even though she never smoked. But Zheng Cao never lost hope or her desire to sing.  And today she wants to use that voice to help others.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first  melanoma  drug in 13 years. The new drug, ipilimumab, which will be sold under the brand name Yervoy and manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb, is designed to stop the cancer cells from growing by stimulating the immune system to recognize the cancer cells as something to attack.

"Late-stage melanoma is devastating, with very few treatment options for patients, none of which previously prolonged a patient's life," Richard Pazdur, M.D., director of the FDA's Office of Oncology Drug Products said in a press statement."Yervoy is the first therapy approved by the FDA to clearly demonstrate that patients with metastatic melanoma live longer by taking this treatment."

"It's good solid base hit, but it's not a home run," says Tim Turnham, executive director of the Melanoma Research Foundation. "The response rates are in the low 20% rate, so three-fourths of the people who take it won't benefit from it," Turnham says. "It's pretty clear we still have a long way to go."

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In the Human Factor, Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces you to survivors who have overcome tremendous odds. Confronting a life obstacle – injury, illness or other hardship – they tapped their inner strength and found resilience they didn’t know they possessed. Today, meet Anthony Robles of Arizona State University. On Saturday night reached the pinnacle of college wrestling by winning the NCAA title in the 125-pound weight class. Hear from him  how he was able to win despite being born without his right leg and hip bone.

I was born without a right leg, but that has never stopped me. Many My parents raised me just like my siblings. My siblings and friends treated me as I was no different. I played sports and didn't let being born this way affect how I lived my life.

My parents taught me that if I wanted to do something, I could set my mind to it and go do it. I have carried that way of living throughout my life and throughout my career. Because of this, I became a national champion.

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In the Human Factor, Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces you to survivors who have overcome the odds. Confronting a life obstacle - injury, illness or other hardship –- they tapped their inner strength and found resilience they didn’t know they possessed.  A run by the ocean almost cost elite runner Toby Tanser his life when he was attacked for his shoes.  The incident left Tanser with a new focus that helped him work through his hardships in a most unusual way. Here is his story in his own words.

As a kid I sat and watched Live Aid, I got the perception I should donate money and stay away from Africa.  Wow - disease, famine, sad music playing, flies in the eyes… What can you do?

I wish I could show my Africa to everyone. If I only could I would be out of a job.  Well a volunteer position.  I never wanted to do what I do today. I hunted money, and comfort… but then I was dumb enough to go on holiday to Kenya.

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Scientists say they have found another clue to solving the puzzle that causes the slow loss of vision in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) as seen in the image above.  University of Miami genetic researchers have identified a new gene  that causes this form of blindness. People who suffer from this condition experience impaired night vision, a loss of peripheral vision and eventually lose their central vision too.

"Identification of this gene is yet another tiny step in identifying the specific cause of retinal disorders in all people who have them," says Dr. Richard Lewis,  a ophthalmologist at the Baylor College of Medicine and a spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology.   He says the gene discovery offers insight into a mechanism or defect that doesn't function properly or normally but he adds this is just one of all retinitis pigmentosas and there are at least 167 known genes for hereditary retinal diseases.

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