_ Preventing Any Strain of the Flu By article Researchers led by scientists at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland have developed a novel treatment that could protect against any strain of the flu. The team hopes that the findings has the potential to guard against current, future, and even pandemic strains of the virus. The study was published in the April 15th 2014 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Silly Putty the Key to Stem Cell Therapies? By article Could a component of Silly Putty, the childhood classic from the 1950s that your grandkids probably play with today, help embryonic stem cells turn into working spinal cord cells? Yes, say researchers at the University of Michigan in Ann who published their study online at Nature Materials on April 13th 2014.
Facebook And The Doctor's Office By Jane Farrell blog I like a lot of things about Facebook. It allows me to see pictures and videos of my nephews and niece and of friends’ children, it quickly lets me know when something big (either happy or sad) is going on in people’s lives, it lets me know what people are thinking about, and it gives me the opportunity to share my own news, thoughts, pictures, or occasional videos with others.
_ Pets Do Therapy Animals Really Help Patients? By article While many people have an opinion on whether animals can help to improve wellbeing and care for patients in hospitals, does anyone really know whether there are benefits both for the patients and the animals themselves?
_ Don't Be Confused By Organ-Donation Myths By Jane Farrell article From the Mayo Clinic Over 100,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for an organ donation. Unfortunately, many may never get the call saying that a suitable donor organ — and a second chance at life — has been found.
_ Grandparenting Watching Grandkids Once a Week Keeps Grandmas Sharp By article Taking care of grandchildren one day a week helps keep grandmothers mentally sharp, according to a study from the Women's Healthy Aging Project in Australia, published online April 8th 2014 in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS). That's good news for women after menopause, when women need to lower their risks of developing Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive disorders.
_ Grandparents Could Be Factor in the "Baby Blues" By Jane Farrell article For some new mothers, living with baby’s grandparents may not be a good thing. A study by researchers from Duke University indicates that living with the new baby’s grandparents either lessens or increases the rate of post-partum depression, depending on the mother’s marital status. Both married and single mothers suffer depression when they live in multi-generational households during their baby’s first year of life. But unmarried women who live with their romantic partner in a multi-generational household show lower rates of depression.
_ How You Can Help a Spouse With Cancer By article By Nurse Practitioner Jamie Kabat, BSN, MSN, CNP and Clinical Nurse Specialist Josette Snyder, RN, MSN, AOCN One of the most frequent – and touching – questions we get on the Cleveland Clinic’s Cancer Answer Line is from people whose spouses or partners have been newly diagnosed with cancer. They want to know how they can help and support their spouses through this life-changing diagnosis and the ensuing treatment.
How to Love an Angry Man Part 4: Understanding Male Shame, Depression, and Dependency By blog For most of my life I haven’t understood my anger or why it was so often directed at the women in my life. I’ve been married three times. My first marriage lasted 10 years and ended in an acrimonious divorce. My second marriage began with extreme attraction and passion and luckily ended before one of us killed the other. I’m not talking metaphorically here.
_ This Is Your Brain on Meditation By article Brown University researchers have intergrated mindfulness meditation with brain imaging and neural signal data to form testable hypotheses about the science of the practice, and the reported mental health benefits. The investigators maintain that their method of coding the reports meditators provide about their mental experiences can be “rigorously correlated with quantitative neurophysiological measurements”.
_ Stroke Risk Higher after Shingles By article Here’s another reason to get your shingles vaccination: Patients' risk of stroke is significantly increased following the first signs of the telltale rash. However, antiviral drugs appear to offer some protection, according to a study published online in April 2014 in Clinical Infectious Diseases. As you probably already know the painful rash that is typical of shingles is caused by the same virus, herpes zoster, that gave you your childhood bout of chicken pox. The virus stays with you for a lifetime and is sometimes reactivated as shingles.
_ Sleep Health Night-Owl People Bigger Risk Takers Than Early Risers By Jane Farrell article Women who are night owls are as likely as men to be risk-takers. They’re also liable to be single or have short-term romantic relationships. Research by a professor from the University of Chicago suggests that night owls are different from early risers in very important ways. The research suggests that sleep patterns are linked with important character traits and behavior.
_ Six Surprising Facts About You and Your Microbes By article By Bill Miller M.D. “I'm so nervous, my stomach is all in a knot.”
_ Why It May Be More Than "The Blues" By Jane Farrell article Everyone feels blue now and then. It’s part of life. But if you no longer enjoy activities that you usually like, there may be a more serious problem. Feeling depressed without letup can change the way you think and the way you experience emotions. Doctors call this clinical depression.
_ Urban Gardeners Must Know More About Soil By Jane Farrell article People growing food in urban gardens need to know more about soil contamination, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF). Although consuming food from urban gardens can have health benefits, a lack of knowledge about soil contamination could pose potential problems for both consumers and producers.
_ Caregivers for Wounded Veterans By article More than 1.1 million spouses, parents, and friends are caring for the injured and disabled who have served in the U.S. military since Sept. 11, 2001, often doing so without a formal support network and putting their own well-being at risk, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
_ Mobile Tools Boost Smoking Cessation Counseling By article Smartphones and tablets may hold the key to getting more clinicians to screen patients for tobacco use and advise smokers on how to quit. Even though tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the U.S., clinicians often don't ask about smoking during patient exams.
The Power of Validation Techniques In Caring For Dementia Patients By blog Editor’s Note: Last spring, Rita Altman, Sunrise Senior Living's Vice President of Memory Care and Programming, spoke with the Washington Post, discussing her experiences caring for Sunrise residents diagnosed with advanced dementia. We thought the article that followed their conversation with Rita included some good tips on communication tactics with family members and friends who may be suffering from cognitive impairment, as did the blog shared by Sunrise. We've posted both below.