Pay It Forward with Random Acts of Kindness By blog A couple of weeks ago, I walked into my office after a long morning meeting and found my favorite cup of coffee waiting for me by my computer. It was perfect timing, and such an unexpected treat! This small gesture had just made my day so much brighter. If you have complicated grief, seek treatment. It can help you come to terms with your loss and reclaim a sense of acceptance and peace.
_ Medical Care ΓÇ£Lab Developed TestsΓÇ¥: FDA to Ensure Reliability By Sondra Forsyth article On July 31st 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took important steps to ensure that certain tests used by health care professionals to help diagnose and treat patients provide accurate, consistent and reliable results.
_ 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.
_ Complicated Grief: When Sorrow Is Overwhelming By Jane Farrell article Losing a loved one is one of the most distressing and, unfortunately, common experiences people face. Most people experiencing normal grief and bereavement have a period of sorrow, numbness, and even guilt and anger. Gradually these feelings ease, and it's possible to accept loss and move forward. For some people, feelings of loss are debilitating and don't improve even after time passes. This is known as complicated grief. In complicated grief, painful emotions are so long lasting and severe that you have trouble accepting the loss and resuming your own life.
_ Breast Cancer Acupuncture Helps Breast Ca Patients By Sondra Forsyth article Use of electroacupuncture (EA) ΓÇô a form of acupuncture where a small electric current is passed between pairs of acupuncture needles ΓÇô produces significant improvements in fatigue, anxiety and depression in as little as eight weeks for early stage breast cancer patients experiencing joint pain related to the use of aromatase inhibitors (AIs). That is the finding of a randomized, placebo-controlled trial examining the intervention led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and published online in July 2014 in the journal Cancer.
_ Kidney Disease Drug Halves Risk of Kidney Transplant Rejection By Sondra Forsyth article Oxford University scientists in the UK have shown that a powerful drug given at the time of a kidney transplant operation not only halves the early risk of rejection, but that it also allows a less toxic regimen of anti-rejection drugs to be used after the operation.
_ Brain Health Surprising Mechanism Behind Neurodegeneration By Sondra Forsyth article A research team led by Professor Susan Ackerman, Ph.D. at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Mane has pinpointed a surprising mechanism behind neurodegeneration in mice, one that involves a defect in a key component of the cellular machinery that makes proteins, known as transfer RNA or tRNA.
Blended By blog Are you an Adam Sandler fan? We are all fans here in our house. One year for Christmas, [my late husband] Tim got me every Adam Sandler movie he had made so far. I love most of his stuff, but I donΓÇÖt really ever buy videos because I keep things simple when I can. I appreciated the thoughtful gesture, though. My favorite duo is Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.
_ Medical Care Debunking Myths About Robotic Surgery By Sondra Forsyth article By Keith Chisholm, MD Robotics-assisted surgery has become enormously popular, with physicians around the world performing 1.5 million procedures from hysterectomies to heart valve repairs in 2011.
_ Exercise Does Air Pollution Make Outdoor Exercise Risky? By Sondra Forsyth article By Edward R. Laskowski, M.D. While aerobic activity is one of the keys to a healthy lifestyle, air pollution and exercise can be an unhealthy combination. This is especially true if you have asthma, diabetes, heart or lung conditions, or lower respiratory disease. Even when you're not exercising, exposure to air pollution can cause health problems. But with the combination of air pollution and exercise, the potential health problems are increased.
_ Alcohol and Aging By Jane Farrell article Although we often associate drinking too much with younger people (parties, bars, spring break vacations), alcohol abuse is a problem at any age. And while itΓÇÖs true that younger people drink more than older people, alcohol abuse presents some age-specific issues for seniors. Here, from the SeniorHealth division of the National of Health (NIH), is an explanation of the damaging effects, and how you or a loved one can get help if itΓÇÖs needed.
Functional Foods Give A Boost to Your Wellness By blog What we eat plays a key role in keeping us healthy and protecting from major diseases, such as cancer and heart disease. Researchers are studying how certain foods can help enhance health and prevent illness.
_ Medical Care Update on Telehealth By Sondra Forsyth article By Miles E. Drake, Jr., MD ΓÇ£TelehealthΓÇ¥ or ΓÇ£telemedicineΓÇ¥ have been used more or less interchangeably over the past 50 years to describe the provision of health care services and exchange of health information by electronic means. The initial concept of telephonic and later computer-based medical interaction and education was defined by the Institute of Medicine as ΓÇ£the use of electronic information and communications technologies to provide and support health care when distance separates participantsΓÇ¥.
_ Breast Cancer Breast Ca Screening for Older Women = High Cost But No Benefit By Sondra Forsyth article Medicare spending on breast cancer screening increased substantially between 2001 and 2009 but the detection rates of early stage tumors were unchanged, according to a study done at Yale and published July 16th 2014 in the JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
_ Breast Cancer Marginal Benefit from Prophylactic Mastectomy By Sondra Forsyth article The choice of contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) by women with breast cancer (BC) diagnosed in one breast has recently increased in the US but may confer only a marginal life expectancy benefit depending on the type and stage of cancer, according to a study published July 16th 2014 in the JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
_ Losing Your Sense of Smell By Jane Farrell article Many older people are not even aware that they have a problem with their sense of smell because the changes occur gradually over several years. They may not even notice that they are experiencing a loss of smell until there is an incident in which they don't detect food that has spoiled or the presence of dangerous smoke.
_ The Latest on Gluten-Free Foods By Jane Farrell article WeΓÇÖve heard a lot about gluten-free foods; most supermarkets even have a gluten-free section. But what does it mean, and how do you tell if you should be eating gluten-free food? Here, from the federal Food and Drug Administration, are some answers as well as information on the new labeling thatΓÇÖs going into effect right now: What is it? Gluten means the proteins that occur naturally in wheat, rye, barley, and crossbreeds of these grains. Why can it be a problem?
Aging Well Senior Health WhatΓÇÖs Really Keeping You From Aging Well? By Sondra Forsyth article By Dr. Kevin J. McLaughlin During my experience as a health care provider, I have realized that, when it comes to aging well, many older women are worried about developing cancer, especially breast cancer, more than any other age-related diseases.