_ Free Radicals May Be Good Guys After All By article Free radicals, the sometimes-toxic molecules produced by our bodies as we process oxygen, have received a lot of bad press claiming that they are they are the culprits behind aging. Yet a number of studies have found evidence that the opposite may be true. Most recently, researchers at McGill University in Montreal have shown that free radicals promote longevity in the roundworm C. elegans. Surprisingly, the team discovered that free radicals – also known as oxidants – act on a molecular mechanism that, in other circumstances, tells a cell to kill itself.
_ Breast Cancer Misguided Fear of Radiation from Mammograms By article Misinformation and misunderstanding about the risks associated with ionizing radiation have created heightened public concern and fear that may result in women avoiding mammograms that can detect early cancers, according to the American Roentgen Ray Society(ARRS), a radiology society was founded in 1900 in Leesburg, VA.
_ Parenting Virtual Reality Helps Autistic Adults Get Jobs By article If you’re the parent of a grown or teenage child on the autism spectrum, you may have concerns about your offspring’s possibilities for employment and independent living. (See our ThirdAge article entitled “My Adult Son Has Asperger’s Syndrome.”) Now researchers at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago have created a new interactive computer program using human-based simulation that gives autistic adults repeated practice and feedback on their interviewing skills.
Why Seniors Get Addicted to Drugs By Jane Farrell article For older people who have chronic conditions or find themselves in a lot of pain temporarily, medicine can be a godsend that vastly improves quality of life. But senior citizens may find it all too easy to abuse prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Just because such medicines are bought in drugstores rather than on the street, say, doesn’t mean that they are any less dangerous. Overuse of drugs can lead to additional health problems, family problems, and even fatalities.
_ Vision Health A Dry-Eye Discovery By Jane Farrell article Researchers are working toward an understanding of the distribution of tears in the eye, and the discoveries they’re making could lead to better treatment or even a cure for dry eye disease. The newest study was published in the journal Physics of Fluids. Dry eye disease afflicts millions of people worldwide, with symptoms such as pain, dryness, redness, reduced visual sharpness, and feelings of grittiness. Eye drops can help, but over time, dry can damage the cornea and lead to permanent reduced vision.
One Lump or Two By blog I just recently turned 63. Not much different than turning 53, give or take a whole lot of wrinkles that have turned from surface lines to trenches. But mentally I don’t feel all that much older.
_ Aging Well Hand Grip Reveals the Speed of Aging By article A hand grip test shows wide differences between the rates of aging among different population groups, according to new research by demographers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria. The study was published on May 7th 2014 in the journal PLOS ONE
_ Medicare Reforms Save Money By article Reforms to Medicare regulations identified as unnecessary, obsolete, or excessively burdensome on hospitals and other health care providers will save nearly $660 million annually, and $3.2 billion over five years, through a rule issued on May 8th 2015 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services (CMS).
_ For Older Adults, Complex Frailty Score Predicts Post-Op Outcomes By article More than half of all operations are performed on patients 65 years and older in the United States. Frail elderly patients who undergo surgery are more likely to have postoperative complications. But tools to estimate operative risk have their limitations because they often focus on a single organ system or solitary event. In geriatric medicine, the comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) is widely used to detect disabilities and conditions associated with frailty.
_ Age Discrimination Worse Than Sexism or Racism By Jane Farrell article People who believe they are a victim of age or weight discrimination are linked to worse health than those older adults who are the targets of racism and sexism, according to a new study. The findings, by researchers from the Florida State University College of Medicine, were published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
_ Regular Doc Visits Help Prevent Skin Cancer Deaths By article The risk of dying from, melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer is significantly reduced with regular doctor visits, according to a study done in Detroit at Henry Ford Hospital. The researchers believe that this is the first study to link melanoma mortality with routine health care use.
_ Positive Self-Talk To Reduce Stress By Jane Farrell article Is your glass half-empty or half-full? How you answer this age-old question about positive thinking may reflect your outlook on life, your attitude toward yourself, and whether you're optimistic or pessimistic — and it may even affect your health.
_ Living Well With Hepatitis C By Jane Farrell article By Jane Farrell Hepatitis C, an inflammation of the liver caused by a virus, is a discouraging, debilitating condition. It affects an estimated 3.2 million Americans, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The illness is usually caused by receiving donated blood that is infected, having had a bad organ transplant, or sharing a needle or having sex with a person who is contaminated with the virus.
_ Access to E-Health Records Could Improve Care By article Unlike medical records kept in paper charts, electronic health records (EHR) provide numerous access points to clinicians to review a patient's medical history. A multi-university study published in the May 2014 issue of Health Affairs has found that access to electronic health records in acute care situations may influence the care given to that patient, and in some cases, failure to review the EHR could have adversely affected the medical management.
_ A Possible Cause of Age-Related Memory Decline By article Research done at the Lieber Institute for Brain Development in Baltimore, MD and the National Institute of Mental Health suggests that one cause of age-related memory decline is a protein called KIBRA and the gene responsible for its production is WWC1. KIBRA is known to play a role in human memory. The study was published in the May 2014 issue of Biological Psychiatry.
_ 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.
_ A Plan for Better Heart-Patient Care By Jane Farrell article Mayo Clinic researchers have found that a uniform method to treat lower-risk cardiac surgery patients can improve outcomes, reduce time in the hospital and lower patient cost by 15 percent. The study was published in the journal Health Affairs. Despite their findings, researchers didn’t discount a remaining need for care that doesn’t necessarily adhere to their model.