Comstock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- New research suggests we may still be a long way from understanding how the anti-cancer drug bexarotene works in Alzheimer's patients, if at all.

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University last year reported in a study that bexarotene improved memory and quickly cleared amyloid plaques from the brains of mice with Alzheimer’s. Since the drug is already approved for use in T-cell lymphoma, a number of doctors began treating their Alzheimer’s patients with the $14,000-per-year drug in an off-label use. But new mouse research that attempts to replicate the results of last year’s study has failed to show similar results.

Out of four mouse studies, three showed no improvements in memory or in the clearance of amyloid plaques. In a fourth mouse study, conducted at the University of Pittsburgh, mice treated with the drug were able to perform as well cognitively as their non-Alzheimer’s counterparts within 10 days after initiation of treatment. Still, this study did not show the same affects on amyloid plaques as the study from last year.

Given the results of the new research, FDA approval of bexarotene in humans with Alzheimer's may be further off than initially thought.

Copyright 2013 ABC News

Thinkstock Images/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Trans fatty acids -- they're in many of our favorite comfort foods. But nutrition and diet experts will likely tell you to cut back on foods high in trans fats to maintain healthy cholesterol levels and cut heart disease risk. According to a new study, manufacturers of popular food brands could be doing a better job of cutting back on fatty acid content.

Researchers report that progress on eliminating trans fats in processed foods has stalled following years of food manufacturers reformulating products to reduce or eliminate these artery-clogging fats. The rate of reduction in trans fats fell from 30 percent in 2007 to 2008 to 12 percent in 2008 to 2010, and down to three percent in 2010 to 2011.

Even low levels of these fats can promote heart disease by raising LDL (bad) cholesterol and lowering HDL (good) cholesterol. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends limiting trans fat consumption to less than one percent of your total daily calories. In other words, if you need 2,000 calories a day, "no more than 20 of those calories [less than 2 grams] should come from trans fats," AHA says.

The majority of trans fats in the food industry come from produced partially hydrogenated oil, found in foods like French fries, heavily buttered or seasoned popcorn, pies and margarines.

Researchers from the Center for Science in the Public Interest studied 270 brand-name products with at least half-gram trans fat from 2007 to 2011 to track their trans fat content. By 2011, they found two-thirds of the products had reduced their trans fat content, but half the reformulated products still contained some partially hydrogenated oil.

In all products studied, the average trans fat content decreased by about half from 1.9 to 0.9 grams per serving.

So how can you tell whether you're staying within the daily recommended amounts of fatty acids?  The AHA suggests you start by reading the nutritional facts panel on foods when grocery shopping and replacing trans fats in your diet with monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Ingram Publishing/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- Nearly one in five Americans suffers from acid indigestion, or gastroesophageal reflux disease, at least once a week, according to the National Institutes of Health. And while for most Americans acid reflux really is just a little heartburn, for those with frequent symptoms, it could mean more.

In a study out Thursday, which looked at more than 600 cancer patients, researchers found that people with frequent acid reflux had a 78-percent increased risk of throat or voice box cancer.

But, according to the study's findings, paying attention to your heartburn may make a difference. Researchers also found that taking non-prescription antacids had a protective effect -- lowering the risk of throat and vocal cord cancers by 41 percent.

And there are also a few simple things you can change in your lifestyle to help with reflux, such as avoiding late meals and eating a healthy diet without greasy and fatty foods. You can also try propping yourself up while sleeping, or try sleeping on your left side at night.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Dr. Besser does the crow yoga pose to prove you don't have to be flexible to do yoga. (ABC News)

By ABC's Dr. Richard Besser

(NEW YORK) -- I always thought that of yoga as something only done by young, lithe ballet enthusiasts. It was definitely not something practiced by uncoordinated, middle-aged guys who can’t touch their toes. Put me in the latter category and add to that that I’m nearly six-and-a-half feet tall and have had two back operations.

But my wife, Jeanne, is nothing if not persistent when it comes to me and exercise.  Twenty years ago she convinced me to try step aerobics, eventually persuading me that it was okay to be the only guy in a class of women who seemed to have stepped from a chorus line. I hid in the back row where it didn’t matter that I was often a beat behind everyone else. And, over time, I learned the moves, got a great workout and improved my sense of timing.

Seven years ago, Jeanne decided that I should try yoga. I’ve had lower back issues since I was a teenager (while extreme height is great for seeing over crowds, it does put strain on the lower lumbar vertebrae), and in my mid-thirties, I blew a couple of disks and ended up having two back operations.  What little flexibility I once had pretty much vanished.  On a good day, I could touch my knees. But my toes? Well, I could see them, but to touch them I’d have to sit down.

I agreed to try a yoga class and came away totally discouraged. I couldn’t do anything! Then Jeanne got me one of the best birthday gifts I’ve ever received: a six-class pass for a workshop called, “Yoga for the Stiff Guy.”  It was taught by two women who could double as stand-up comics, and the class was full of guys like me: tight hamstrings and a lot of pride.

The instructors eased our entry into the world of yoga with laughter as we learned down dog, up dog, mountain and tree. We focused on learning how to breathe and listen to our bodies. We learned to put aside the drive to compete with others and shift the focus to our inner selves.

I took the workshop three times before I felt comfortable launching myself into a class with the flexibly-gifted.  Now, I continue to practice yoga. I’m still in the back row where I won’t distract others, and I use a bunch of blocks and straps to modify the poses I have difficulty with. But my back has never felt better and remarkably, my toes are getting a little bit closer.

There is increasing research demonstrating the health benefits of yoga.  This week in our twitter chat, #abcDrBchat, we explored the science of yoga and meditation. Check it out here! And maybe I’ll see you in the back row of a yoga class.

“Tell Me the Truth, Doctor” is a weekly column written by ABC News’ chief health and medical editor Dr. Richard Besser. Look for Dr. Besser’s book in stores now!

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- Patients usually have to wait several years before undergoing face transplant surgery, but after a work accident left a 33-year-old Polish man mauled and at risk for life-threatening infections, doctors needed to act fast.

The man, identified only as Grzegorz, got a new face three weeks after a stone-cutting machine damaged his face so severely that it couldn't be reattached. His jaw was crushed, and his condition was deteriorating so rapidly that doctors said they had no choice other than to give him a face transplant right away.

"Usually, the recipients have to wait between one and seven years," said Dr. Adam Maciejewski, who headed the team of surgeons at the Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology in Gliwice, which is the only facility in Poland licensed to perform face transplants. "For obvious reasons, we had to act much faster, as we were saving this man's life."

Earlier this month, Carmen Blandin Tarleton spoke publicly for the first time since her February face transplant. It came six years after her estranged husband attacked her with lye, blinding her and leaving her disfigured.

Charla Nash, a Connecticut woman who was mauled by a Chimpanzee in 2009, got her face transplant surgery in 2011.

Maciejewski said Grzegorz's surgery was the first transplant undertaken to save a patient's life.

The May 15 operation took 27 hours and also included a bone transplant. Grzegorz needed reconstruction of his face, jaws, palate and the bottom of his eye sockets.

He is still at risk for infection but is expected to recover and live a normal life.

Although post-operation photographs show stitches from above his right eye, under his left eye and around the face to the neck, Grzegorz was able to give photographers a thumbs up six days after surgery.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio