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Participating in a medical study may benefit your health and perhaps that of millions of others.

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If you've ever considered donating your body to science—or granting science a temporary loan—now's the time to do it. Researchers are always recruiting patients for studies of new treatments and preventive strategies for diseases ranging from Alzheimer's to zoster (shingles). In the simplest terms, these studies compare existing approaches to newer ones in similar groups of people and determine which is more effective.

"Clinical trials are the vehicle by which we transfer things that we think into things that we know or don't know," says Dr. Jeffrey Drazen, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and editor in chief of The New England Journal of Medicine.

The odds of beating the bug are increasing as another new vaccine for seniors debuts.

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The flu season is upon us. Like that other season—winter—it can be unpredictable. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is doing its best to see that we're informed and as prepared as possible for whatever is in store. For updates throughout the flu season, check the CDC website, www.cdc.gov/flu.

How well does the flu shot work?

Vaccines for seniors

Women who used Tät, a smartphone app, did more pelvic floor exercises and had greater reductions in episodes of stress incontinence.

Raynaud's phenomenon—an extreme reaction to cold—can be annoying, or it may signal a serious chronic condition.

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If you live in the northern latitudes, you may have already had an episode in which your fingers froze or your nose, toes, or earlobes grew cold, pale, and numb. And if you're a southerner, you might have neighbors who migrated to avoid such episodes. While some people with chilly fingers just have cold sensitivity, others—especially women—may have Raynaud's phenomenon.

What is Raynaud's?

Living with Raynaud's

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The best time to get an annual flu shot is in mid-October. However, it’s not too late to get the shot in December, since people are still at risk of getting flu for several more months.

When a person develops heart failure without a good explanation for the underlying cause, a heart catheterization to check for blockages in the coronary arteries may be appropriate.

Heart murmurs can occur when people are young and then return in older age. There are three main causes in adults: increased volume or speed of blood flowing through a normal heart, a stiff heart valve, or a leaky heart valve. Most do not lead to heart problems, but a change in the murmur’s intensity or the appearance of symptoms like shortness of breath, light-headedness, or chest pain would prompt a further medical evaluation.

Don't be intimidated about screening tests. The latest guidelines suggest you can choose from multiple strategies.

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Colon cancer continues to be the country's second leading cause of cancer-related deaths and the third most common cancer in men, according to the CDC.

It almost always develops from precancerous polyps (abnormal growths). Screening tests, which are recommended for men ages 50 to 75, help find and sometimes aid removal of polyps before they become cancer. (Men older than 75 may still benefit, depending on their health.)

A range of choices may help you get a better night's sleep.

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When the doctor says you have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), you'll likely hear about the gold standard in treatment: continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which uses forced air, pushed through a tube connected to a face mask, to keep your airway unblocked. Yet many people have trouble adjusting to a bulky CPAP mask. "We often see people who say they tried CPAP and didn't like it, and now it's been years since they've had treatment," says Dr. Stuart Quan, the Gerald E. McGinnis professor of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School.

You may be able to adjust to CPAP by trying relaxation exercises, practicing wearing the mask during the day, and gradually increasing CPAP pressure. But if it doesn't work out, you do have alternatives.

Poor blood flow in the brain can chip away at thinking skills.

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Just like in the rest of your body, advancing years can take a toll on your brain function. Much of this slowing down is predictable and can be chalked up to normal aging. However, when thinking skills become increasingly fuzzy and forgetfulness gets to be a way of life, an early form of dementia known as mild cognitive impairment may be setting in (see "Normal aging vs. mild cognitive impairment").

Often, the first reaction is to attribute these changes to the beginning of Alzheimer's disease. But blood flow problems may be to blame, as well. "An estimated one-third of all cases of dementia, including those identified as Alzheimer's, can be attributed to vascular factors," says Dr. Albert Hofman, chair of the department of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.