_ Osteoarthritis Knee Surgery No Help for Mild OA By Sondra Forsyth article A new study indicates that there is no apparent benefit to arthroscopic knee surgery for age-related tears of the meniscus in comparison with nonsurgical or sham treatments. The study, published August 25th 2014 in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), provides evidence that middle-aged or older patients with mild or no osteoarthritis of the knee may not benefit from the procedure.
_ Caregiving 5 Questions About Long-Distance Caregiving By Sondra Forsyth article What is long-distance caregiving? It can be helping Aunt Lilly sort through her medical bills or thinking about how to make the most of a weekend visit with Mom. It can include checking the references of an aide whoΓÇÖs been hired to help your grandfather or trying to take the pressure off your sister who lives in the same town as both your aging parents and her aging in-laws. Here, from the National Institute on Aging, are the answers to five key questions about long-distance caregiving:
_ Sex The Talk That Can Jump-Start Your Love Life at Any Age By Sondra Forsyth article By Eve Marx How long has it been since you and your partner made love? Six weeks? Six months? Six years? You may be surprised to know that many committed couples in seemingly happy relationships have not engaged in sex with each other in a very long time.
_ Medical Care Second Opinions: Necessary or Not? By Sondra Forsyth article How important is that second opinion? For some medical insurance companies, second opinions are so important they are required before treatment. Are second opinions as valuable as our insurance companies make them seem? Neurosurgeon Jack Maniscalco M.D. clears up the inconsistency. ΓÇ£Second opinions are important for a number of reasons. If you, as a patient, do not feel as though your doctor is comprehensively addressing your questions or concerns, seek out another physician. If you feel uncomfortable with your diagnosis or suggested treatment, find a doctor who will listen and understand your apprehension with the previous recommendation.ΓÇ¥
_ Medical Care Medical Research How Lizards Grow New Tails By Sondra Forsyth article The secret of how lizards regenerate their tails could offer hope that researchers may be able to develop ways to stimulate the regeneration of limbs in humans. A team of researchers from Arizona State University in Phoenix is one step closer to solving that mystery. The scientists have discovered the genetic "recipe" for lizard tail regeneration, which may come down to using genetic ingredients in just the right mixture and amounts.
_ Vision Health Vision Loss Increases Risk of Death By Sondra Forsyth article Vision loss can adversely affect the ability of older adults to perform instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), such as using the telephone, shopping and doing housework, which are all measures of an individual's ability to live independently, and that subsequently increases the risk for death. That is the conclusion of Sharon L. Christ, Ph.D., of Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., and colleagues. The study was published online August 21st 2014 in JAMA Ophthalmology.
_ Overactive Bladder (OAB) & Incontinence Urinary Health Local Body Clock & Overactive Bladder By Sondra Forsyth article Researchers at the University of Surrey in the UK have discovered that the local biological clock and its control are weakened in aging bladders. The study, which explains how the receptors responsible for contractions in the bladder regulate the body's clock genes, was published August 21st 2014 in The FASEB Journal. The team found that this clock activity in turn regulates the cycle of all cells in the body.
_ Alzheimer's Disease and other Dementias Brain Health Pomegranate Tx for AD, PD, & RA By Sondra Forsyth article The onset of Alzheimer's disease can be slowed and some of its symptoms curbed by a natural compound that is found in pomegranates, according to the findings of a two-year project headed by scientist Dr. Olumayokun Olajide, at the University of Huddersfield in the UK. Also, the painful inflammation that accompanies illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis and Parkinson's disease could be reduced by the pomegranate drug. The study was published in August 2014 in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research.
_ Stroke ThirdAge Health Close-Up: ΓÇ£I Felt Like I Was Buried AliveΓÇ¥ By Sondra Forsyth article As told to Sherry Amatenstein, LCSW On October 17, 2010 shortly after her 49th birthday Allison OΓÇÖReilly didnΓÇÖt feel like herself. The McLean, Virginia author of Out of Darkness explains, ΓÇ£My left arm hurt all day. I took Advil. That night the room started spinning, my ears were ringing, and I felt really sick.ΓÇ¥
_ Epidemics and the Global VillageΓÇ¿ By Sondra Forsyth article By Bill Miller ΓÇ¿MD The agitating Ebola emergency has captured headlines. There are some who undoubtedly assume that this kind of epidemic is unusual. However, localized epidemic disease has been a part of the biological system of the planet since the origin of life. Pandemics in which the spread of disease can encompass a continent or the world are just as ancient a process. ΓÇ¿
Coming Next Week! August 25th to August 29th 2014 By Sondra Forsyth article HereΓÇÖs a sneak preview of the articles, slideshows, and blogs weΓÇÖll be posting during the coming week on ThirdAge, the biggest and best site for ΓÇ£boomer and beyondΓÇ¥ women since 1997. As always, weΓÇÖll bring you the latest information from top experts about maintaining a healthy body, mind, and spirit as you navigate both the challenges and the joys of being a ThirdAger.
_ Mental & Emotional Health Smartphone-Loss Anxiety By Sondra Forsyth article The smart phone has changed our behavior, sometimes for the better because we are now able to connect and engage with many more people than ever before, but sometimes for the worse in that we may have become over-reliant on the connectivity with the outside world that these devices afford us. Either way, there is no going back for the majority of users who can almost instantaneously connect with hundreds if not thousands of people through the various social media and other applications available on such devices as well as through the humble phone call.
_ Sleep Health Why the Elderly Have Trouble Sleeping By Sondra Forsyth article As people grow older, they often have difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, and tend to awaken too early in the morning. In people with Alzheimer's disease, this common and troubling symptom of aging tends to be especially pronounced, often leading to nighttime confusion and wandering.
_ Breast Cancer Perspectives on Breast Reconstruction By Sondra Forsyth article Less than 42 percent of women underwent breast reconstruction following a mastectomy for cancer, and the factors associated with foregoing reconstruction included being black, having a lower education level and being older. That is the finding of Monica Morrow, M.D., of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and colleagues who published their results online August 20th 2014 JAMA Surgery.
_ Staying Smoke Free After Hospital Discharge By Sondra Forsyth article Smokers admitted to U.S. hospitals canΓÇÖt smoke during their stay and could use this time as an opportunity to quit, but few are able to stay smoke-free after returning home. Now a study done at Massachusetts General Hospital and published in the August 20th 2014 issue of JAMA describes a program that increased the proportion of hospitalized smokers who successfully quit smoking after discharge by more than 70 percent.
_ Healthy Diet & Nutrition Seafood Substitutions High In Mercury By Sondra Forsyth article New measurements from fish purchased at retail seafood counters in 10 different states show the extent to which mislabeling can expose consumers to unexpectedly high levels of mercury, a harmful pollutant. Fishery stock "substitutions"ΓÇöwhich falsely present a fish of the same species, but from a different geographic originΓÇöare the most dangerous mislabeling offense, according to research by University of Hawai'i at M─ünoa scientists and published in August 2014 in PLOS One.
_ Sex Love Makes Sex Better for Most Women By Sondra Forsyth article Love and commitment can make sex physically more satisfying for many women, according to research done by at Penn State Abington, a commonwealth campus of the Pennsylvania State University.
_ Medical Care Outpatient Urology Surgery Ups Deaths Risk By Sondra Forsyth article As hospitals have shifted an array of common urological surgeries from inpatient procedures to outpatient, potentially preventable deaths have increased following complications. Those were the primary findings of a study led by Henry Ford Hospital researchers in Detroit. The paper was published online in August 2014 by BJUI, the official journal of the British Association of Urological Surgeons. The investigators initially expected that improved mortality rates recently documented for surgery overall would also translate to commonly performed urologic surgeries.