_ Medical Care Pharmacists Could Boost Drug Adherence By Sondra Forsyth article Community pharmacists can dramatically help their patients stick to their prescription regimens, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. The findings, published on August 4th 2014 in Health Affairs, suggest also that greater adherence to medications can lead to a reduction in emergency room visits and hospital admissions, thereby lowering health care costs for a variety of chronic conditions including diabetes and asthma.
_ Pain Management Six Truths About Pain By Jane Farrell article If youΓÇÖve ever wanted to speak up about your pain but didnΓÇÖt quite dare because you didnΓÇÖt want to ΓÇ£complain,ΓÇ¥ or wondered whether it was normal, the experts at the National Institute on Aging have want to shatter some pain myths. Here are a few of the untruths about pain ΓÇô and what the reality actually is: Most people don't have to live with pain. There are pain treatments that work for most people. If your doctor has not been able to help you, ask to see a pain specialist.
5 Surprising Reasons a Good Relationship Is the Best Stress Reliever in the World By blog The stress response was our secret weapon for success through most of human history. It saved our lives, making us run from predators and enabling us to take down prey. The problem is that we are no longer responding to a wild animal attack that might occur once every six months, but instead we are dealing with hundreds of stresses every day. Human beings are turning on the same life-saving physical reaction to cope with aging parents, unhappy teenagers, costly gasoline, increasing food prices, traffic jams, and job insecurity.
_ Healthy Diet & Nutrition Dehydrated? These 7 Foods Will Satisfy Your Thirst and Hunger By Sondra Forsyth article By Kristin Kirkpatrick, MS, RD, LD When heat and humidity soar, keeping your body hydrated matters more than ever. Did you know you can hydrate with whatΓÇÖs on your plate ΓÇö not just whatΓÇÖs in your cup? The following foods are heavy on the water content, according to the U.S. Department of AgricultureΓÇÖs nutrient database. In several cases, theyΓÇÖre also full of nutrients that will help you fight disease. So eat up, and beat the heat with your fork. 1. Cucumbers
_ Loud Noise Can Affect Your Brain By Jane Farrell article A lot of loud noise may do more than damage your hearing: It actually alters the way the brain processes speech, neuroscientists say. Researchers from the University of Texas at Dallas said that could eventually lead to difficulty in distinguishing speech sounds hearing loss. The investigatorsΓÇÖ findings were published in the journal Ear and Hearing.
_ Vision Health How to Know You Need Bifocals or Progressives By Sondra Forsyth article A gradual loss of the ability to see well up close is a natural part of aging. The condition is called presbyopia, from the Greek for ΓÇ£elder eyeΓÇ¥. If you already wear glasses or contact lenses for distance vision because you have myopia, the medical term for nearsighted, youΓÇÖll need to switch to a new prescription. Options include bifocals, vari-focals, and progressives. For contacts, you could also choose monovision in which one eye is corrected for distance and the other is corrected for close work.
_ Exercise 5 Exercise Myths Debunked By Sondra Forsyth article By Brett Osborn M.D. As a neurosurgraon and an avid bodybuilder, I know that you will do more harm than good if youΓÇÖve bought into some of the myths and ΓÇ£conventional wisdomΓÇ¥ about exercise that is simply wrong. HereΓÇÖs the truth about are those misconceptions:
_ Aging Well Senior Health Longer Lives, Fewer Age-Related Illnesses By Sondra Forsyth article Living long and well may eventually be more possible, thanks to a surprise result of the work of scientists at The Wistar Institute in Philadelphia. While developing a new cancer drug, the researchers discovered that mice lacking a specific protein live longer lives with fewer age-related illnesses. The mice, which lack the TRAP-1 protein, demonstrated less age-related tissue degeneration, obesity, and spontaneous tumor formation when compared to normal mice. The teams findings could change how scientists view the metabolic networks within cells.
The Mini-Cog, A Memory Assessment Tool By blog Have you heard of the ΓÇ£Mini-CogΓÇ¥? I had read about it several years ago but a recent front page feature in the Star Tribune, our major daily newspaper in the Twin Cities, piqued my interest. The story focused on Dr. Michael Rosenbloom, clinical director of the HealthPartners Center for Memory and Aging, in St. Paul, Minnesota. Rosenbloom and his colleagues believe that primary-care physicians are frequently missing signs of cognitive issues in their age 55 and over patients. Instead of relying solely on observation and a short conversation during patient appointments, Dr.
Coming Next Week! August 4th to August 8th 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.
_ Hope for Accurate Diagnosis of Memory Problems By Sondra Forsyth article More accurate tests could be created to diagnose diseases such as Alzheimer's or memory problems stemming from head injuries. These tests could lead to earlier intervention, according to findings from the University of East Anglia in the UK published July 30th 2014 in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.
_ Stress-Free Living Not Wild about Your Backyard Wildlife? By Sondra Forsyth article By Diane Blum A variety of wildlife routinely exists in many neighborhood backyards. Homes that are near open space, hills, natural water sources, meadows and the like are known as an urban or suburban interface. In these areas in particular, people not only will see deer and other small animals, but sometimes more dangerous wildlife may move in. Hillside development may destroy previously wild habitat. Drought can also cause bears, mountain lions, and other predators to move in to residential areas.
Exercise 5 Steps To Establish a Workout Routine for Better Health By Sondra Forsyth article By Andrea Warshaw-Wernick There aren't many guarantees in life but working out can be one. By working out, you can see and control your results. And with summer in full swing, thereΓÇÖs no better time to hit the gym and start integrating exercise into your every day life.
_ Cosmetic Surgery Beware of Claims About Cosmetic Stem Cells Procedures By Sondra Forsyth article Advertising claims for cosmetic procedures using stem cells are running far ahead of the scientific evidence for safety and effectiveness, according to a review in the August 2014 issue ofPlastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). Dr. Michael T. Longaker of Stanford University Medical Center and colleagues wrote: "Stem cells offer tremendous potential, but the marketplace is saturated with unsubstantiated and sometimes fraudulent claims that may place patients at risk."
Five Trials Are Targeting Alzheimer's By Jane Farrell blog Recently I noticed a tweet from TIME magazine about some new research trials focusing on AlzheimerΓÇÖs disease. Intrigued, I visited their website to learn more. The headline - ΓÇ£5 Groundbreaking Drugs are Testing Ways to Prevent AlzheimerΓÇÖs - is what caught my attention. I love the words ΓÇ£groundbreakingΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£preventΓÇ¥ ΓÇö especially when they are used in connection with AlzheimerΓÇÖs disease or another type of dementia.
_ Medical Care $15 Billion Physician Training System Needs Overhaul By Sondra Forsyth article The U.S. should significantly reform the federal system for financing physician training and residency programs to ensure that the publicΓÇÖs $15 billion annual investment is producing the doctors that the nation needs, says a new report release in July 2014 by the Institute of Medicine. Current financing -- provided largely through Medicare -- requires little accountability, allocates funds independent of workforce needs or educational outcomes, and offers insufficient opportunities to train physicians in the health care settings used by most Americans, the report says.
_ Sex Restarting Your Sex Life By Jane Farrell article Normal aging brings physical changes in both men and women. These changes sometimes affect the ability to have and enjoy sex. A woman may notice changes in her vagina. As a woman ages, her vagina can shorten and narrow. Her vaginal walls can become thinner and also a little stiffer. Most women will have less vaginal lubrication. These changes could affect sexual function and/or pleasure.
_ Trees Save Lives, Especially in Cities By Sondra Forsyth article In the first broad-scale estimate of air pollution removal by trees nationwide, U.S. Forest Service scientists and collaborators calculated that trees are saving more than 850 human lives a year and preventing 670,000 incidences of acute respiratory symptoms. The researchers valued the human health effects of the reduced air pollution at nearly $7 billion every year in a study published recently in the journal Environmental Pollution.