_ The ΓÇ£Golden HourΓÇ¥ for Surviving a Stroke By Jane Farrell article An 8-year trial at the University of California-Los Angeles found that with the help of paramedics in the field, intravenous medications can frequently be administered to stroke victims within the "golden hour" during which they have the best chance to survive and avoid debilitating, long-term neurological damage. However, the same study found that giving stroke patients intravenous magnesium within an hour of the onset of symptoms does not improve stroke outcomes. Dr.
_ Marriage Happy Couples Can Resolve Fights By Jane Farrell article Just in time for Valentine’ s Day 2014, Baylor University psychologist Keith Sanford, Ph.D. reports that being critical, angry, and defensive isn't always a bad thing for couples having a big disagreement — provided they are in a satisfying relationship. In that case, they likely will have a "big resolution" regardless of how negative they were during the discussion, according to his study, published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.
Pain Management Restless Sleep & Pain as You Age By article Non-restorative sleep is the strongest independent predictor of widespread pain onset among adults over the age of 50, according to a study done at Keele University in Staffordshire UK and published the journal Arthritis & Rheumatology. The researchers also report that anxiety, memory impairment, and poor physical health among older adults may increase the risk of developing widespread pain.
_ Pain Management Sedation Not Always Necessary Before Diagnostic Procedure By Jane Farrell article When it comes to treating chronic pain, sedation may not always be the best choice before the actual procedure, according to new research. “Sedation doesn’t help, but it does add expense and risk,” says study leader Steven P. Cohen, M.D., a professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. “In some places, every patient is being sedated. Our research shows it should be used very sparingly.”
Laughter as a Catharsis for Grief By Jane Farrell blog Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards — Søren Kierkegaard Even when we are grieving, there are some things in life that can make us laugh. I’ve listened to clients who have a sense of guilt if they are having fun or are laughing rather than crying. Both crying and laughing are a catharsis for our emotions, all of which need to be expressed so that we heal.
_ A New Way to Zap Hot Flashes By Jane Farrell article A newly developed program can help women fight obesity and reduce health risks in just five visits, according to a new study. The finding was published in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS). The pilot program, called WAIPointes (WAI stands for "who am I"), is also reimbursed by insurance. The authors of the article said WAIPointes, which lasts six months, helped women stay engaged with their goals of reducing menopausal symptoms and maintaining healthy lifestyle changes.
_ Exercise How to Do Yoga the Right Way By Jane Farrell article Editor’s Note: Yoga, once practiced by only a few people, is a growth industry in the U.S. According to recent statistics, 15 million American adults practice yoga, a mind-body technique that combines physical and mental aspects. It can be beneficial in a number of ways, including increasing flexibility, battling lower back pain and providing peace of mind.
Vision Health Exercise Could Help with Age-Related Macular Degeneration By Jane Farrell article Here’s an additional benefit of being active: Moderate aerobic exercise could help slow the progression of retinal degenerative diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The results of the animal study were published in The Journal of Neuroscience. One of the leading causes of blindness in older people, AMD is caused by the death of light-sensing nerve cells in the retina called photoreceptors.
Breast Cancer The Mammogram Controversy Continues By Jane Farrell article Annual mammograms for women aged 40-59 don’t reduce the death rate from breast cancer, according to a new study. The study, published on bmj.com, also said that 22 percent of breast cancers detected via mammogram were over-diagnosed—meaning that the cancers that were found were ones that would not cause symptoms or death. The findings are fueling an ongoing debate about the benefits of mammograms.
Natural Ingredients to Replace Synthetic Ones in Food By article The food industry is making a major shift in response to the fact that label-conscious grocery shoppers are increasingly shunning synthetic ingredients and food additives such as Blue No. 1, BHT, and aspartame. Extracts from algae, rosemary and monk fruit could soon replace those substances, according to reports in Chemical & Engineering News in 2014.
_ Mindfulness & Making Up Your Mind By article One 15-minute focused-breathing meditation may help people make better decisions, according to new research from a team at INSEAD -- a graduate business school with campuses in France, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi -- and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The findings are published in the February 2014 issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
_ Weather Changes Linked to Strokes By article Stroke hospitalization and death rates may rise and fall with changes in environmental temperature and dew point, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2014 in San Diego.
Aging Well CareBox to Help You Age in Place By article A highly sensitive alarm unit called the CareBox, which will be available toward the end of 2014, can immediately call family members, neighbors, or caregivers by telephone, cell phone, or the Internet when someone in the home falls or is otherwise in need of assistance. A release from Fraunhofer, the German research company that created the device, notes that an estimated 30 percent of people over 65 years of age lwho live at home fall at least once a year. For those over 80 years old, more than 40 percent take a tumble annually.
_ Will Brain Training Make You Smarter? By article By Deane Alban Last year over $1 billion was spent on brain training programs, making this an exploding new industry. But do brain training programs live up to the hype? Are they worth the time and money spent? Do the benefits gained translate to better overall brain function?
_ Adding Up Empty Calories By Jane Farrell article Most of us have heard the phrase empty calories. We know that they’re not a good thing, but how much do you know about what empty calories are, exactly, and how many are in foods you may eat daily? Here, from the experts at the site choosemyplate.gov, a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is what you need to know: Solid fats and added sugars add calories to food but few or no nutrients. For this reason, the calories from solid fats and added sugars are often called empty calories.
_ Lactic Acid May Help Crucial Brain Functions By Jane Farrell article Researchers have uncovered a previously unknown mechanism in the body that regulates a hormone that is essential for a number of crucial functions, including the control of blood pressure.
_ Successful Approaches to Stopping HRT By article Many women will try to stop using hormone pills and patches intended to control menopausal symptoms but fail because the symptoms return, according to Katherine Newton, PhD at the University of Washington and colleagues. The team’s article, published online in the January 20th 2014 issue of Journal of Women’s Health. The researchers identified key characteristics of hormone therapy cessation that can increase the likelihood of success.
Juggling Points to Better Prostheses & Tx for Ataxia By article A study led by Johns Hopkins engineers has used the skill of juggling to gather critical clues about how vision and the sense of touch help control the way humans and animals move their limbs in a repetitive way, such as in running. The findings eventually may aid in the treatment of people with neurological diseases and could lead to prosthetic limbs and robots that move more efficiently. The study has been published online by the Journal of Neurophysiology and will be the cover article for the journal's March 2014 print edition.