This Week's Top Health Stories

Can a lack of sleep shrink your brain?A new study in the journal Neurology seems to suggest that.Researchers scanned 147 participants' brains. Then about three-and-a-half years later, scanned them again.Those who slept poorly had a more rapid decline in brain volume especially in participants over 60.------------------------------------------------------------------A new study suggests pre-emptive double mastectomies will not improve survival odds for patients battling early-stage cancer in one breast.The study looked at nearly 200,000 women.It found nearly identical 10 year survival rates for those who either chose a double mastectomy or chose removal of the tumor and radiation in the cancerous breast insteadBut the study also found that those who elected a single mastectomy had a slightly lower survival rate.The research appears in this week's journal of the American Medical Association.-------------------------------------------------------------------The number of Ebola cases in West Africa has now surpassed 3,500.The World Health Organization says more than 240 of them are medical staff, so why do they keep getting sick?Many health professionals say they just don't have enough protective gear, and sometimes it isn't used properly.The Ebola virus is spread through direct or indirect contact with bodily fluids from an infected patient, which means taking off contaminated protective gear correctly is just as important as putting it on.