_ Pain ManagementSedation Not Always Necessary Before Diagnostic Procedure By Jane Farrell articleWhen it comes to treating chronic pain, sedation may not always be the best choice before the actual procedure, according to new research. “Sedation doesn’t help, but it does add expense and risk,” says study leader Steven P. Cohen, M.D., a professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. “In some places, every patient is being sedated. Our research shows it should be used very sparingly.”
_ A New Way to Zap Hot Flashes By Jane Farrell articleA newly developed program can help women fight obesity and reduce health risks in just five visits, according to a new study. The finding was published in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS). The pilot program, called WAIPointes (WAI stands for "who am I"), is also reimbursed by insurance. The authors of the article said WAIPointes, which lasts six months, helped women stay engaged with their goals of reducing menopausal symptoms and maintaining healthy lifestyle changes.
_ ExerciseHow to Do Yoga the Right Way By Jane Farrell articleEditor’s Note: Yoga, once practiced by only a few people, is a growth industry in the U.S. According to recent statistics, 15 million American adults practice yoga, a mind-body technique that combines physical and mental aspects. It can be beneficial in a number of ways, including increasing flexibility, battling lower back pain and providing peace of mind.
Vision HealthExercise Could Help with Age-Related Macular Degeneration By Jane Farrell articleHere’s an additional benefit of being active: Moderate aerobic exercise could help slow the progression of retinal degenerative diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The results of the animal study were published in The Journal of Neuroscience. One of the leading causes of blindness in older people, AMD is caused by the death of light-sensing nerve cells in the retina called photoreceptors.
Breast CancerThe Mammogram Controversy Continues By Jane Farrell articleAnnual mammograms for women aged 40-59 don’t reduce the death rate from breast cancer, according to a new study. The study, published on bmj.com, also said that 22 percent of breast cancers detected via mammogram were over-diagnosed—meaning that the cancers that were found were ones that would not cause symptoms or death. The findings are fueling an ongoing debate about the benefits of mammograms.
_ Adding Up Empty Calories By Jane Farrell articleMost of us have heard the phrase empty calories. We know that they’re not a good thing, but how much do you know about what empty calories are, exactly, and how many are in foods you may eat daily? Here, from the experts at the site choosemyplate.gov, a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is what you need to know: Solid fats and added sugars add calories to food but few or no nutrients. For this reason, the calories from solid fats and added sugars are often called empty calories.
_ Lactic Acid May Help Crucial Brain Functions By Jane Farrell articleResearchers have uncovered a previously unknown mechanism in the body that regulates a hormone that is essential for a number of crucial functions, including the control of blood pressure.
Fatigue Helps You Make Good Health Decisions By Jane Farrell articleResearchers say there might be one good thing about being fatigued: we make better health-care decisions when we’re feeling tired and run down. “We proposed that people are more motivated to engage in healthful behavior when they are depleted and perceive their safety to be at stake,” write authors Monika Lisjak, of Erasmus University, and Angela Y. Lee, of the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.
The Best Nutrition for Cancer Patients By Jane Farrell articleNutritional support for cancer patients is more crucial than many of us realize. In fact, an estimated 20 to 40 percent of cancer patients die from malnutrition-related causes. In some ways, that is unfortunately not surprising, given the side effects that usually occur with chemotherapy or radiation. But, according to the Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), even just a 5 percent weight loss in a month can decrease a patient’s tolerance for treatment, or can alter their treatment plan.
_ In-home Caregiving Extends Patient's Life By Jane Farrell articleAn in-home program that provided elderly people with counseling and resources increased the time they lived successfully at home, even with dementia and other memory disorders. Most of the participants in the study said they preferred to stay at home. The pilot program, conducted by researchers from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, focused on elderly Baltimore residents over a period of 18 months.
_ Hemp Oil Could Be Used for Cooking By Jane Farrell articleResearchers are well on the way to making hemp oil good for cooking. The experts, from the University of York in the UK, have developed hemp plants with a substantially increased content of oleic acid. That development means hemp oil can now be a cooking oil similar to olive oil. The new oil has a much longer shelf life and can be used for industrial as well as domestic purposes. The research was published in Plant Biotechnology Journal.
_ Men's HealthTestosterone Therapy Not Always Good for Older Men By Jane Farrell articleExperts are calling for a full evaluation of the risks and benefits of hormone therapy for older men with declining levels of testosterone. The statement by the Endocrine Society was prompted by recent studies, one from the Veterans Health Care System and the other from the National Institutes of Health, that have raised concerns about the risks of testosterone therapy for older men with a history of heart disease.
_ Age-Related Decline in Motor Skills May Not be Inevitable By Jane Farrell articleResearchers have pinpointed a source of age-related motor decline, and that could lead to targeted treatments to deal with the condition. The investigators, from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, discovered evidence that so-called “set points” in the nervous system are not inevitably determined during development but can be “reset” with age.
_ Heart HealthNew Guidelines for Preventing Stroke in Women By Jane Farrell articleFor the first time, researchers have developed guidelines for preventing women from having strokes. "If you are a woman, you share many of the same risk factors for stroke with men, but your risk is also influenced by hormones, reproductive health, pregnancy, childbirth and other sex-related factors," said Cheryl Bushnell, M.D., M.H.S., author of the statement published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke. The guidelines outline stroke risks for women women and provide recommendations on how o treat them, including:
_ Heart HealthSpousal Supportiveness = Better Heart Health By Jane Farrell articleSupportiveness from a spouse can help people fare better in their overall cardiovascular health, according to a new study. The findings, by researchers from the University of Utah, show that when partners perceive the support they get from each other as ambivalent – sometimes helpful, sometimes stressful – their levels of coronary artery calcification (CAC) tend to be high. The findings were published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
_ Living with Chronic Kidney Disease By Jane Farrell articleYou've been told that you have chronic kidney disease (CKD). What does that mean? And what does it mean for your health and your life? Here, the experts from the National Kidney Disease Education Program, part of the National Institutes of Health, offer expert tips on living with the condition. First, the basics: Your illness affects your two kidneys. Each is about the size of your fist. They filter wastes and excess water from your blood to make urine. They also help control blood pressure, and they manufacture hormones.
_ Women's Health and WellnessNew Clues to Endometriosis By Jane Farrell articleResearchers have taken a step toward better diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis by discovering a pattern of molecules and cellular activity linked to the painful condition. Endometriosis, the invasion of uterine tissue into surrounding organs, including the peritoneal cavity and the ovaries, affects an estimated 10 percent of women. It can cause severe pain and infertility. It’s also difficult to diagnose because symptoms may disappear for years at a time, and very little is known about its cause.
_ Heart HealthKnowing Your "Heart Age" Leads to Healthier Behavior By Jane Farrell articlePeople who know their “heart age” are likelier to engage in healthier behavior, according to a new study.