_ Medical Research Women's Health and Wellness Females Ignored in Medical Research By Sondra Forsyth article Research done at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago has found that surgical researchers rarely use female animals or female cells in the research for their published studies, despite a huge body of evidence showing that gender differences can play a crucial role in medical research. The study was published August 28th 2014 in the journal Surgery. A "60 Minutes" segment aired in February about the problem of overlooking sex differences in biomedical research featuring Northwestern Medicine scientists Melina Kibbe M.D. and Teresa Woodruff.
_ Sleep Health 4 Simple Steps to Get You Back to Sleep Fast By Sondra Forsyth article WeΓÇÖve all been there. You are wide awake at 3 a.m., your mind racing with a rising sense of panic about the difficult day ahead if you donΓÇÖt fall back to sleep. What youΓÇÖre experiencing is a type of insomnia, says sleep disorders specialist Harneet Walia, MD, DABSM, of Cleveland ClinicΓÇÖs Sleep Disorders Center. Many underlying health problems such as chronic pain, sleep apnea or acid reflex can cause insomnia. But if your difficulty in sleeping is not due to health problems, here are some tips that can help you get back to sleep.
_ Mental & Emotional Health 7 Tips to Maintain Class and Control Through Any Life Challenge By Sondra Forsyth article By Sherrie Campbell PhD We all have moments when we don't love how we responded to a situation or how we acted. When you are grounded in who you are, you have a certain essence where people can feel that not much can shake you. To be elegant essentially means that you know who you are and are grounded and comfortable in that person. Many of us are emotionally out of control, lacking presence of mind, allowing life to take us on an emotional roller coaster where we feel crazy and at the mercy of our life situations, people, and emotions.
When It's Time to Change By blog At the age of 97, she sat by her window watching the moving men place, onto one truck, the few pieces of life she was able to take with her. The cleaning company filled the second, much larger one with possessions she had to discard. ΓÇ£Fifty years in this house, and all the things I accumulated,ΓÇ¥ she said to the workers. ΓÇ£Are you sure no one can use an electric can opener?ΓÇ¥ The moving-van driver, with tears in his eyes, said, ΓÇ£I can use it.ΓÇ¥
Schmoozing with S'mores By blog Camp Deer Run on Lake Winnipesaukee, NH was abuzz with friends meeting friends for the 50th Camp Reunion. People (I might add much younger appearing than I am), folks I didn't even know, came up to me and congratulated me on being there. Um, in contrast to what, being dead? But their intent was good so I let my sarcastic self lay low. Eventually I figured out how so many people recognized me. I had been in a video shot five years prior. They knew me from the video. Okay, with that mystery solved I was a wee bit sad that people didn't actually remember me by how I looked 50 years ago.
_ Coming Next Week! September 1st to September 5th 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.
_ Wii Balance Board Helps MS patients By Sondra Forsyth article The Nintendo Wii Balance Board video game console can help people with multiple sclerosis (MS) reduce their risk of accidental falls, according to research done at Sapienza University in Rome and published online August 26th 2014 in the journal Radiology. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans showed that use of the balance board system appears to induce favorable changes in brain connections associated with balance and movement.
_ Heart Health New Statin Guidelines an Improvement By Sondra Forsyth article New national guidelines can improve the way statin drugs are prescribed to patients at risk for cardiovascular disease, a Yale University study has found. The research, published August 25th 2014 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, also showed the new guidelines produce only a modest increase in the number of patients being given the drugs.
_ The Bug Battle Isn't Over Yet By Jane Farrell article EditorΓÇÖs note: Although most of us think of ticks and mosquitoes as primarily summer pests, sadly, theyΓÇÖre not. According to the University of Rhode Island Tick Encounter Center, some species of ticks, such as deer ticks, remain active as long as the temperature is above freezing. Still other kinds of ticks, such as the American dog tick and the Lone Star tick, just arenΓÇÖt active in the cold weather, the Encounter Center experts say.
_ Digestive Health Hope for New Crohn's Disease Tx By Sondra Forsyth article Genetic changes that occur in patients with a type of inflammatory bowel disease called Crohn's disease could hold clues to fighting the illness, according to research led by the University of Edinburgh in the UK and published August 26th 2014 in the journal Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Currently, there is no way to prevent Crohn's disease and therapy is focused on treating the symptoms, which may include abdominal pain, diarrhea and severe weight loss.
_ Healthy Diet & Nutrition Medical Care Change in Tube Feeding Boosts Nutrition By Sondra Forsyth article While the importance of enteral nutrition (EN), or feeding patients through a tube, in an intensive care unit is well understood, underfeeding is still common. A practice of a certain amount of feeding per hour can be interrupted by tests, procedures, or emergencies. Changing to a volume-based system, which calls for a certain nutrition volume per day, could reduce underfeeding, according to a quality improvement audit published in the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition's (A.S.P.E.N.) Nutrition in Clinical Practice journal on August 26th 2014.
_ Pain Management Chronic Pain & Painkillers: Why You ΓÇ¿Should Consider AlternativesΓÇ¿ By Sondra Forsyth article By Dr. Frank King Roughly 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain lasting more than six months, according to a report from the Institute of Medicine. Throughout the past decade, the use of painkillers such as Vicodin, Percocet and OxyContin has soared by 300 percent. For many ΓÇô 17,000 people per year, or 46 each day ΓÇô the treatment is worse than the pain. ThatΓÇÖs the number of users who die from the medicine, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
_ Exercise Could Prevent Cognitive Decline By Jane Farrell article Cardiovascular exercise, which has been shown to help our bodies, may also protect our minds, according to new research.
_ Aging Well Why Our Word Choices Matter As We Age By Sondra Forsyth article By Roger Landry MD Have you ever considered how the words we use impact the culture around us? How do those words reflect our own attitudes, beliefs, and values? Furthermore, for those among us who work in the aging profession, how does what we say affect both how we perceive older adults to be, and how they self-identify? How Our Brains React to the Words We Say
_ Pain Management Blocking the Chili Pepper Receptor By Sondra Forsyth article Biting into a chili pepper causes a burning spiciness that is irresistible to some, but intolerable to others. Scientists exploring the chili pepper's effect are using their findings to develop a new drug candidate for many kinds of pain that can be caused by inflammation or other problems. They reported their progress on the compound, which is being tested in clinical trials, in the American Chemical SocietyΓÇÖs Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.
_ 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¥
Energy Therapies Offer Support in Healing for Cancer Survivors By blog Reiki and Healing Touch are two energy therapies designed to support and nurture your body, mind, spirit and emotions. For cancer survivors, energy therapies work in harmony with your standard medical care and treatment. Reiki is a touch therapy that promotes relaxation and enhances healing within the body. Reiki therapy is done in a relaxed setting (seated or lying) by gentle touch on specific areas of the body.
_ Weight Loss Back to Basics: Counting Calories By Jane Farrell article Despite all the diet strategies out there, weight management still comes down to the calories you take in versus those you burn off. Fad diets may promise you that avoiding carbs or eating a mountain of grapefruit is the secret to weight loss, but it's really all about calories. CALORIES: FUEL FOR YOUR BODY Calories are the energy in food. Your body has a constant demand for energy and uses the calories from food to keep functioning. Energy from calories fuels your every action, from fidgeting to marathon running.