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TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH: Biologicals for pain have major side effects

Lifestyles

DEAR DR. ROACH: I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but my rheumatologist hasn’t been helpful in finding a medication that I’m not allergic to for alleviating joint pain. I’m only 68. I saw the term “biological” medication for RA in one of your recent columns. What is this, and do you have any advice? — B.R. ANSWER: RA is an autoimmune disease that may affect other organs besides the joints, including the heart and lungs. While initial treatment for RA may include powerful conventional medicines against the immune and inflammatory system, a “biological” ...

HINTS FROM HELOISE: Figure out which diet works best

Lifestyles

DEAR HELOISE: I’m trying to lose some weight before my son’s wedding in December. There’s so much controversy about what to stop eating and which diet plan is best. At 61, with bad knees, I am not going to the gym, not running in a marathon and wouldn’t last on a diet that would starve a gerbil. Any hints for a chubby woman in her 60s? — Patty W., in River Falls, Wisconsin Patty, please make it your first priority to see a doctor and get a clean bill of health, as well as suggestions for a diet that you can stick to without spending a small fortune. Most diets that use ...

The pesky pollinator

Lifestyles

As temperatures climb and we approach the midpoint of summer, gardens throughout the Mahoning Valley are buzzing with activity. However, there is one type of species buzzing around, the Xylocopa Virginica, more commonly referred to as the carpenter bee, which homeowners have mixed feelings about. Arriving in April to early May, carpenter bees are welcome visitors in our gardens for their pollinating purposes, but can become unwelcomed guests when the females begin to bore holes into wooden structures to build their nests. Carpenter bees resemble and are often mistaken for bumblebees. ...

DEAR ANNIE: Americans in Italy aren’t looking to cause stir

Lifestyles

DEAR ANNIE: My wife and I are Americans living in a small village in Italy, in an area popular with tourists. Recently, I contacted my sister and her husband from the states and expressed our interest in having them visit us and stay at our house, since we haven’t seen them for many years. We’re all retired, they easily have the means to make the trip, and our house has plenty of room. Her reply caught me unprepared. She said that they were expected by their church to do a mission outside the U.S. and, based on my invitation, they were requesting Italy as an assignment. I am a ...

Paramount delays closing Warner buyout

National News

NEW YORK — Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have agreed to delay closing their $81 billion merger well into next year, a stunning move that arrives as a judge continues to consider a challenge from 12 states seeking to block the deal altogether. Paramount said in a filing Friday that ...

Make sure you are looking at the bigger picture

Lisa Resnick Column

There is so much in life that we are constantly striving for. We chase goals. We build businesses. We train for races. We join organizations and committees. We pour our time and energy into making an impact, hoping to leave things a little better than we found them. Maybe it looks like running a marathon. Maybe it looks like building a company that employs 500 people and solves a problem that desperately needs solving. Maybe it looks like being part of an organization that fills a gap while larger, flashier successes are happening all around it. Humankind has always been in pursuit ...