_ Women's Health and Wellness Female Boomers with Asthma Face Challenges By Sondra Forsyth article An article published in the August 2014 issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the scientific publication of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), outlines the challenges faced by older women in treating asthma, and offers practical solutions to improve their care.
_ Complicated Grief: When Sorrow Is Overwhelming By Jane Farrell article Losing a loved one is one of the most distressing and, unfortunately, common experiences people face. Most people experiencing normal grief and bereavement have a period of sorrow, numbness, and even guilt and anger. Gradually these feelings ease, and it's possible to accept loss and move forward. For some people, feelings of loss are debilitating and don't improve even after time passes. This is known as complicated grief. In complicated grief, painful emotions are so long lasting and severe that you have trouble accepting the loss and resuming your own life.
_ Breast Cancer Acupuncture Helps Breast Ca Patients By Sondra Forsyth article Use of electroacupuncture (EA) ΓÇô a form of acupuncture where a small electric current is passed between pairs of acupuncture needles ΓÇô produces significant improvements in fatigue, anxiety and depression in as little as eight weeks for early stage breast cancer patients experiencing joint pain related to the use of aromatase inhibitors (AIs). That is the finding of a randomized, placebo-controlled trial examining the intervention led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and published online in July 2014 in the journal Cancer.
Five Trials Are Targeting Alzheimer's By Jane Farrell blog Recently I noticed a tweet from TIME magazine about some new research trials focusing on AlzheimerΓÇÖs disease. Intrigued, I visited their website to learn more. The headline - ΓÇ£5 Groundbreaking Drugs are Testing Ways to Prevent AlzheimerΓÇÖs - is what caught my attention. I love the words ΓÇ£groundbreakingΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£preventΓÇ¥ ΓÇö especially when they are used in connection with AlzheimerΓÇÖs disease or another type of dementia.
_ Investigators Discover a Glucose-Controlling Enzyme By Jane Farrell article Researchers have zeroed in on a neural mechanism that is key to sensing and controlling blood glucose levels. The investigators, from the Yale School of Medicine, said that the finding could eventually lead to new treatments for diabetes.
_ Kidney Disease Drug Halves Risk of Kidney Transplant Rejection By Sondra Forsyth article Oxford University scientists in the UK have shown that a powerful drug given at the time of a kidney transplant operation not only halves the early risk of rejection, but that it also allows a less toxic regimen of anti-rejection drugs to be used after the operation.
_ Medical Care $15 Billion Physician Training System Needs Overhaul By Sondra Forsyth article The U.S. should significantly reform the federal system for financing physician training and residency programs to ensure that the publicΓÇÖs $15 billion annual investment is producing the doctors that the nation needs, says a new report release in July 2014 by the Institute of Medicine. Current financing -- provided largely through Medicare -- requires little accountability, allocates funds independent of workforce needs or educational outcomes, and offers insufficient opportunities to train physicians in the health care settings used by most Americans, the report says.
_ Trees Save Lives, Especially in Cities By Sondra Forsyth article In the first broad-scale estimate of air pollution removal by trees nationwide, U.S. Forest Service scientists and collaborators calculated that trees are saving more than 850 human lives a year and preventing 670,000 incidences of acute respiratory symptoms. The researchers valued the human health effects of the reduced air pollution at nearly $7 billion every year in a study published recently in the journal Environmental Pollution.
_ 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:
_ The Latest Approach to Anti-Aging By Jane Farrell article Instead of fighting chronic diseases one by one as they develop, researchers suggest, medicine should focus instead on preventing several of these illnesses at once. That approach, the investigators say, could help extend healthy lifespans.
_ Are You A Stress Eater? By Jane Farrell article From the Mayo Clinic EditorΓÇÖs note: Whether youΓÇÖre trying to lose some weight, or maintain the weight you have, stress-related eating can be one of the most discouraging obstacles. For many people, stress-related eating can happen out of the blue, making you feel out of control. Here, Edward T. Creagan, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., offers some strategies for dealing with stress-related eating.
_ New Clue to Development of Diabetes By Jane Farrell article Researchers have discovered a mechanism that can eliminate excess quantities of a harmful protein in people with Type 2 diabetes. The discovery sheds light on the accumulation of the protein called islet amyloid polypeptide, or IAPP. That accumulation is linked to the loss of pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin. Researchers from UCLA appear to have found why that happens.
_ 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.
_ Warm-Weather Food Safety By Jane Farrell article ItΓÇÖs the height of picnic and barbecue season, but these festivities can quickly go sour if your food isnΓÇÖt safe. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), each year about 1 in 6 Americans get sick from tainted foods. Most foodborne illnesses last only a short time. At the same time, foodborne diseases kill about 3,000 people nationwide each year. Those especially at risk include infants, older people, and people with weakened immune systems.
Functional Foods Give A Boost to Your Wellness By blog What we eat plays a key role in keeping us healthy and protecting from major diseases, such as cancer and heart disease. Researchers are studying how certain foods can help enhance health and prevent illness.
_ Medical Care Update on Telehealth By Sondra Forsyth article By Miles E. Drake, Jr., MD ΓÇ£TelehealthΓÇ¥ or ΓÇ£telemedicineΓÇ¥ have been used more or less interchangeably over the past 50 years to describe the provision of health care services and exchange of health information by electronic means. The initial concept of telephonic and later computer-based medical interaction and education was defined by the Institute of Medicine as ΓÇ£the use of electronic information and communications technologies to provide and support health care when distance separates participantsΓÇ¥.
Pain Management How To Avoid Ulcers By Jane Farrell article Over the counter pain relievers may seem harmless enough, but take enough of a certain type and you could find yourself with a peptic ulcer, a potentially serious abdominal disorder.
_ Exercise Six Tips to Avoid Germs at the Gym By Sondra Forsyth article ItΓÇÖs frustrating when youΓÇÖre going to the gym regularly, doing a great job at healthy living, and then you get sick ΓÇô and youΓÇÖre pretty sure the elliptical machine is the culprit. Your local 24-hour fitness center is like a daycare for adults: Like any enclosed space full of people, it can be a breeding ground for viruses and bacteria. Fortunately, we can tell you how to live a healthy lifestyle while youΓÇÖre working out. ItΓÇÖs not as hard as you think, and worth the extra effort!