_ The Newest IBS Medicines By Jane Farrell article Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is an often misunderstood and underdiagnosed condition that affects about 15.3 million people in the United States. No one remedy works for all patients, so thereΓÇÖs a great medical need to develop new therapies for IBS, Andrew Mulberg, M.D., a gastroenterologist with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said in one of the agencyΓÇÖs ΓÇ£Consumer UpdateΓÇ¥ articles.
_ Heart Health Good Neighbors May Curb Heart Attack Risk By Sondra Forsyth article Although some studies suggest that the factors such as area violence and noise can negatively affect cardiovascular health, few studies have looked at the potential health enhancing effects of positive local neighborhood characteristics. This prompted the authors of an article published in 2014 in BMJ to track the cardiovascular health of over 5000 US adults with no known heart problems over a period of four years, starting in 2006. Their average age was 70, and almost two thirds were women and married (62%).
_ Heart Health Mayo Clinic Challenges Cholesterol Guideline By Sondra Forsyth article A Mayo Clinic task force has challenged some recommendations in the updated guideline for cholesterol treatment that was unveiled by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA) in 2013. The task force concludes, based on current evidence, that not all patients encouraged to take cholesterol-lowering medications such as statins may benefit from them and that the guideline missed some important conditions that might benefit from medication.
_ Breast Cancer Scientists Zeroing In on Third Breast-Cancer Gene By Jane Farrell article Researchers have discovered more about a breast-cancer gene that could be as important as the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in determining a womanΓÇÖs likelihood of getting breast cancer. An international team of 17 researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, said that the gene, PALB 2, could be a candidate to be ΓÇ£BRCA 3.ΓÇ¥ They said that women with the gene have an average one in three chance of developing breast cancer by the age of 70. The findings were reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. Although itΓÇÖs been known for a while that PALB2 was l
_ Aging Well Genes That Protect Against Frailty By Sondra Forsyth article Frailty is a common condition associated with old age, characterized by weight loss, weakness, decreased activity level and reduced mobility, which together increase the risk of injury and death. Yet, not all elderly people become frail. Some remain vigorous and robust well into old age. The question remains: Why?
_ 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.
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.
_ Skin Skin Health Indoor Tanning Ups Melanoma Risk By Jane Farrell article If you or your teenage children or grandchildren believe that getting an indoor tan will prevent burns from outdoor sun exposure, youΓÇÖre courting the deadliest form of skin cancer. ThatΓÇÖs the finding of researchers at the University of Minnesota who published their study May 29th 2014 in the JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The team reports that indoor tanning raises the risk of developing melanoma even if a person has never had burns from either indoor or outdoor tanning.
Pain Management 6 Myths About Painkillers By Jane Farrell article By Richard W. Rosenquist, MD , Chairman of Pain Management at Cleveland Clinic When it comes to prescription pain medications, thereΓÇÖs a lot of misinformation out there.
_ Breast Cancer Double Mastectomy DoesnΓÇÖt Increase Survival By Sondra Forsyth article Many women diagnosed with cancer in one breast undergo a contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) to remove both breasts. Yet removing the unaffected breast has not been shown to increase survival, according to a study done at the University of Michigan and published online May 21st 2014 in Jama Surgery.
_ New Cancer Tx Raises Blood Pressure By article The upside of new cancer therapies that block vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling is that these agents have improved the outlook for patients with some cancers and are now used as a first line therapy for some tumors. However the downside is that almost 100% of patients who take VEGF inhibitors (VEGFIs) develop high blood pressure, and a subset develops severe hypertension. That is the finding of a study done at the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow.
_ Vitamin D and Aggressive Prostate Cancer By Jane Farrell article Researchers say that Vitamin D deficiency is an indicator of aggressive prostate cancer risk in middle-aged men who underwent a biopsy. Adam B. Murphy, M.D., MBA, assistant professor in the Department of Urology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said that the finding affected European-American and African-American men, although the link between Vitamin D deficiency andaggressive prostate cancer was stronger in African-Americans.
Heart Health Predicting Heart Disease in Low-Risk Patients By article With growing evidence that a measurement of the buildup of calcium in coronary arteries can predict heart disease risk, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) researchers found that the process of "calcium scoring" was also accurate in predicting the chances of dying of heart disease among adults with little or no known risk of heart disease. Matthew J. Budoff, MD and Rine Nakanishi, MD, PhD presented the in March 2014 findings at Acc.14, the annual scientific session of the American College of Cardiology, in Washington D.C
_ Heart Health Irrational Health Beliefs & Skipped Cardiac Rehab By article Heart patients with beliefs about health that aren’t based on medical evidence are more likely to skip sessions of cardiac rehabilitation, according to a study done at Ohio State Univeristy and available online in April 2014 in the journal Health Psychology and slated to be published in a future print edition. Among the irrational beliefs assessed were the following: *Doubting the preventive power of the flu vaccine
Esophageal Cancer Month, April 2014 By article April is Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month and ECAN, the Esophageal Cancer Action Network, is urging Americans to get the facts about this deadly disease, which usually isn’t detected until it’s too late. Some basic facts about Esophageal Cancer in the U.S. *Most cases of esophageal cancer in the United States are caused by the effects of GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease), where acid from the stomach moves back into the esophagus. The most common symptom of GERD is heartburn.
_ Heart Health Learn the True Age of Your Heart By article A new method of heart disease risk assessment developed by the Joint British Societies lets you learn the true age of your heart so that you can take preventive steps to lower your risk of cardiovascular disease. The calculator is available online here: JBS3 risk calculator.
_ Osteoporosis Osteoporosis and Strength Training By Jane Farrell article By Neil Short, Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach Osteoporosis is called the “silent disease” and for good reason. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), more than 50% of women over the age of 50 have it, and few will know until they fall and break a bone. And it doesn’t stop there. The NOF estimates that a full 20% of seniors who break their hip will die within one year from complications due to surgery or recovery, and most end up in nursing homes well before their time.
_ Protect Yourself Against Colon Cancer By Jane Farrell article Colon cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer death in the United States, is often preventable and highly curable. March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and it’s important to find out all about the illness that overwhelmingly affects people 50 and older. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than 90 percent of people with the illness fall into that age category.