By , Globe Staff

With Memorial Day traffic expected to be even higher this weekend than last year, dealing with road rage from aggressive, angry drivers -- you know who you are -- may be a bigger problem than usual. Even if you’re not the first to get angry, rage often begets rage. So how do you chillax (as my teenage daughter would say) and keep yourself in check, especially when you know you’re in the right?

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

It’s been a decade since postmenopausal women were warned off hormone replacement therapy after a large randomized trial called the Women’s Health Initiative found that the combination of synthetic estrogen and progesterone caused more heart attacks and strokes than it prevented -- in addition to raising breast cancer risks. But follow-up studies have since indicated that the benefits of hormone therapy outweigh the risks for healthy women in their 50s when it comes to relieving hot flashes and night sweats.

By David Abel, Globe Staff

An additional 150,000 or more Americans could die by the end of this century due to excessive heat caused by climate change, according to a report released Wednesday by the Natural Resources Defense Council. The New York-based advocacy group, which based its findings on other studies, projects that Midwestern cities will bear the brunt of hotter summers. The report estimates an additional 5,715 people will die in Boston by the end of the century because of the increased heat.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

The US Food and Drug Administration has received about 900 reports from dog owners and veterinarians in recent months about severe illnesses and even deaths in dogs that have been linked to chicken jerky pet treats from China. Which treats have been named most frequently?

By Deborah Kotz and Globe Staff,

Massachusetts scored decently in among states for injury prevention, in a national ranking released Wednesday by the non-profit groups Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The state has the third lowest rate of injury-related deaths with 41.1 per 100,000 people dying from fatal injuries every year, compared with a national rate of 57.9 per 100,000.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

A government panel recommended on Monday against screening healthy men for prostate cancer with the PSA blood test, concluding that harm from the widely used test outweighed its benefits in all age groups. The US Preventive Services Task Force determined that based on evidence from two large randomized trials, the lifesaving benefits of screening were “at best very small” and were offset by overdiagnosis and overtreatment of non-lethal cancers.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

For the first time, the government is urging all baby boomers to get a blood test to see if they’re infected with hepatitis C, according to draft recommendations issued on Friday by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One in 30 Americans born from 1945 through 1965 has been infected with hepatitis C, but most don’t know whether they carry the virus, which can cause liver cancer. This week’s challenge: talk to you doctor about testing.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Here are some of the best comments that I received from readers this week.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

In a finding sure to re-ignite the debate over the harms of saturated fat, researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital published a study Friday suggesting that the kind of fat found in red meat and full-fat dairy products causes the brain to age more rapidly than other kinds of fat. Olive oil, avocado, and other monounsaturated fats appear to slow brain aging. But the study only shows an association and doesn’t prove that dietary fats alter brain function.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Have you been to Starbucks yet today? Even if you’re not a coffee drinker, you may have been tempted to grab a cup of java this morning after hearing the news that drinking coffee may help you live longer. The study, conducted by government researchers and published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, found a very modest association between drinking coffee and a longer lifespan. But don’t change your coffee consumption based on these findings.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

For the second time in less than three months, an expert panel convened by the US Food and Drug Administration voted to recommend approval of a prescription weight loss drug that had previously been rejected because of safety concerns: Lorcaserin (Lorqess) was approved Thursday by an 18 to 4 vote with 1 abstention for its ability to help overweight people shed pounds with few apparent side effects.

By Carolyn Y. Johnson and Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Raising levels of “good” cholesterol may not be so good for you after all. A study published Wednesday by Boston-area scientists challenges the long-held idea that HDL cholesterol actively protects against heart disease, finding that people with genes that boosted their HDL did not have a lowered risk of heart attacks. In the study appearing in the medical journal The Lancet, researchers examined the health of more than 100,000 people, some of them with genetic variations that elevated their levels of HDL, and found that these genetic variations did not protect against heart attacks.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Consumers who purchased Skechers Shape-ups or other toning shoes made by the company will be eligible for a partial refund from a $40 million settlement that the company made with the Federal Trade Commission and 42 states with class action lawsuits. The settlement is being finalized Wednesday in a federal court in the Northern District of Ohio, according to the FTC.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Two things amazed me about a new sleepwalking study published Monday in the journal Neurology. The first: just how common sleepwalking -- or nocturnal wandering as its known scientifically -- really is. The second: that no one ever bothered to do a large survey of Americans before this to determine the prevalence of sleepwalking, er, nocturnal wandering.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

We’ve been hearing a lot about the terrifying case of Aimee Copeland -- a 24-year-old graduate student from Georgia who contracted flesh-eating bacteria several days ago and remains in critical condition after having her leg amputated. While the infection is very rare, the case underscores the importance of properly treating wounds to keep germs at bay.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

A new method of performing virtual colonoscopy using a CT scan -- which doesn’t involve the dreaded laxative preparation to clear the colon the night before -- may be about as effective as a standard colonoscopy at identifying the large polyps most likely to become cancerous, according to new research. If the finding is confirmed, the technique could eventually serve as a first-line screening tool for colon cancer, especially for the many people who avoid screening altogether.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Obesity, once seen as a failure of personal responsibility and lack of willpower, has been repackaged in a four-part HBO documentary airing tonight through Thursday as a complicated phenomenon that’s largely resulting from societal pressures that make it far easier for us to commute by car rather than by bike and to eat McDonald’s rather than steamed vegetables with tofu.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

I’m challenging myself this week to work on achieving more self-respect. That’s separate from self-esteem or self-confidence. Self-respect is about gaining peace of mind from knowing who you are and liking yourself, warts and all. How will you cultivate self-respect this week?

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

I reported previously on the increased risk of blood clots in certain forms of birth control pills -- such as Yasmin and Beyaz -- that contain the progesterone drospirenone. But it turns out non-oral hormonal contraceptives may pose even higher risks. A study published Thursday indicates that the skin patch and vaginal ring are the most likely to cause dangerous blood clots and that some women may benefit from switching to the pill or non-hormonal contraception.

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

After writing my weekly challenge on protecting yourself against Lyme Disease, I received a poignant and important essay from a reader who has been suffering from a case of Lyme Disease that was originally misdiagnosed and not treated for years after her original tick bite. What her experience can teach the rest of us.