_ How to Fight Prediabetes By Jane Farrell article Type 2 diabetes is one of the most serious chronic illnesses in existence; it puts people at risk for everything from heart and kidney disease to amputation of limbs. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), it is shockingly widespread 29.1 million Americans have the illness. And the ADA estimates that 86 million more Americans have prediabetes, a condition that indicates a high risk of developing the illness. Here, from the federal National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse and the ADA, is what you need to know about prediabetes:
_ Aging Well Life Expectancy Gains Threatened By Sondra Forsyth article A study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health finds that the more ailments you have after retirement age, the shorter your life expectancy. The analysis, one of the first to examine the burden of multiple chronic conditions on life expectancy among the elderly, may help explain why increases in life expectancy among older Americans are slowing. A report on the findings, based on an analysis of 1.4 million Medicare enrollees, appears in the August 2014 issue of the journal Medical Care.
_ Heart Health Niacin Linked to Death Risk By Sondra Forsyth article Niacin has been a mainstay of cholesterol therapy for 50 years, but Northwestern Medicine preventive cardiologist Donald Lloyd-Jones, M.D. maintains that the drug should no longer be prescribed for most patients due to potential increased risk of death, dangerous side effects, and no benefit in reducing heart attacks and strokes. His editorial was published in the July 17th 2014 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
_ Stroke Fewer Stroke Deaths Over Past 2 Decades By Sondra Forsyth article Fewer Americans are having strokes and those who do have a lower risk of dying from them according to a a study led by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers and is published in the July 16th 2014 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
_ Kidney Health Supplements & OTCs May Hurt Your Kidneys By Sondra Forsyth article How well are your kidneys working? Unless youΓÇÖve had problems in the past, you probably take for granted that your kidneys are working as they should. But more than one in 10 adults in the United States has kidney disease, and most people who have it donΓÇÖt know it.
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.
_ Caregiving Professional Post-Stroke Care From Head to Toe By Sondra Forsyth article By Marki Flannery At the end of nurse Lorraine Williams' recent home care visit to Professor Samuel Kaplan, he walked her to the apartment's front door. "I was so surprised," she marvels. Only a year earlier, the 70-something professor had a stroke and couldn't walk.
_ Exercise Sitting Pretty: How to Stay Fit Even If You Have a Desk Job By Sondra Forsyth article By Sondra Forsyth
_ A Declaration Of Independence From Tobacco By Jane Farrell article July 4th is a great time to celebrate freedom and independence of all kinds. Why not make it an occasion to declare your own independence ΓÇô from tobacco? The federal Centers for Disease Control has made July 4th its focal point for its program on freeing yourself from nicotine addiction. Anyone whoΓÇÖs ever quit can tell you itΓÇÖs a tough process, but understanding why itΓÇÖs so tough may help you deal with those moments when you feel you canΓÇÖt go one moment longer without a cigarette. Here are some insights from the CDC:
_ Your Television May Be Killing You By Jane Farrell article Watching too much TV can be fatal: Adults who indulge for three or more hours each day may double their risk of premature death, according to new research. Researchers, who published their findings in the Journal of the American Heart Association, said that watching television is one of many bad lifestyle habits on the rise.
_ Mental & Emotional Health Anger Management: Your questions Answered By Sondra Forsyth article By Mayo Clinic Staff Anger itself isn't a problem ΓÇö it's how you handle it. Consider the nature of anger, as well as how to manage anger and what to do when you're confronted by someone whose anger is out of control. What is anger?
_ High blood pressure / hypertension Lower BP Not Always Better By Sondra Forsyth article For decades, common medical wisdom has been "the lower the better" in treating the approximately one in three people in this country who have high blood pressure. But does that approach result in reduced risk for dangerous heart events? Not necessarily, according to research done at Wake Forest Baptists Medical Center in Winston Salem, North Carolina, and published in the June 16th online edition of JAMA Internal Medicine.
_ Exercise What You Need to Know About Exercise As You Get Older By Sondra Forsyth article By Soriyya Bawa While exercise and weight loss are both important elements of any anti-aging regimen, many seniors worry that the risks outweigh the potential benefits. Exercise at an older age means risking serious injury due to falling, injuring the ligaments of the knee, and other forms of musculoskeletal injuries; the risk is even greater if the person is obese. However, a recent study has found that the benefits from exercise at an older age, and the subsequent weight loss, far exceed any possible risk of injury.
_ Gene Variants Identified As Source of Deadly Illnesses By Jane Farrell article Two widely carried gene variants that lead to longer chromosome caps also increase the risk of developing the brain cancers known as gliomas. The researchers, led by scientists from the University of California, San Francisco, found that the variants lead to longer telomeres, the caps on chromosome ends that are thought to protect cells from aging. The genetic variants, in two genes known as TERT and TERC, are respectively carried by 51 percent and 72 percent of the general population.
_ How Obesity-Induced Diabetes Begins By Jane Farrell article Scientists from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered the sequence of early cellular responses that can ultimately lead to obesity-induced insulin resistance and diabetes. The cells respond, the investigators said, to a high-fat diet. ΓÇ£WeΓÇÖve described the etiology [cause] of obesity-related diabetes. WeΓÇÖve pinpointed the steps, the way the whole thing happens,ΓÇ¥ said Jerrold M. Olefsky, MD, associate dean for Scientific Affairs and Distinguished Professor of Medicine at UC San Diego.
_ Metformin Lengthens Lifespan By article Metformin, the world's most widely used anti-diabetic drug, slows aging and increases lifespan. That is the finding of Wouter De Haes and colleagues at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium and reported in June 2014 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. According to a release from the university, the researchers teased out the mechanism behind metformin's age-slowing effects: the drug causes an increase in the number of toxic oxygen molecules released in the cell and this, surprisingly, increases cell robustness and longevity in the long term.
Aging Well Seniors Have Roomies, Too By Jane Farrell article By Judy Santamaria, MSPH Most of us know that loneliness isn't good for us -- but as we age, many of us find our circle of friends and family diminishing in size for various reasons. Sometimes consciously, sometimes not, loneliness can creep in, and begin to affect our spirits in a less-than-healthy way. Recently, I've been hearing about some really interesting ways seniors are stacking the deck in their own favor to combat loneliness associated with aging, and I wanted to share a few of them with you here.