_ Task Force: Impairment Screening Shouldn't Be Routine By Jane Farrell article The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has issued a recommendation against routine cognitive-impairment screening for older adults who do not have symptoms. The task force said there isn’t enough evidence to determine the effectiveness of screening all older adults. [The evidence] “is insufficient at this time,” said Task Force co-vice chair Al Siu, M.D., M.S.P.H.
40 Steps to Making a Bed... And Other Lessons in Caregiving By blog One recent morning, a clinical manager who helps train aides at the home care agency where I work, shared with me a lighthearted comment that she'd overheard from one of her newest trainees. "Who knew making a bed was so complex?" the aide had said. That got me thinking -- and counting.
_ Money Matters Is It Smart To Buy A Condo? By Jane Farrell article Editor’s Note: As we get older, many of us think about downsizing from a house to a condo, because it’s easier to manage our lives in a simpler place. And we’d like to save as much money on home repairs as possible, because fixed incomes and Medicare don’t cover all essential expenses. Sometimes, though, the decision to buy or lease a condo isn’t as clear-cut as you’d like. Here, from a top expert, are some smart questions to ask yourself before making a move.
_ Brain Cell Malfunctions Could Be Stopped By Jane Farrell article Scientists have discovered a way to possibly halt the progression of dementia that’s caused by the malfunctioning of the protein tau. In many forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s, tau goes awry. Instead of performing its normal cellular functions, it begins accumulating and interfering with cell-to-cell communications.
_ Depression and Lifestyle Changes By Jane Farrell article Discussing healthy eating habits with a nutrition coach was as effective as talk therapy in preventing major depression among older adults with mild symptoms of mood disorder, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Maryland. The findings, published in the journal Psychiatric Services, examined both black and white adults.
Monitoring Reactions to AD Risk Status By article A new clinical trial will begin soon at the University of Pennsylvania to test whether early medical intervention in people at risk for Alzheimer's can slow down progression of disease before symptoms emerge. As part of the overall prevention trial, Penn Medicine neurodegenerative ethics experts will monitor how learning about their risk of developing Alzheimer's impacts trial participants. The trial was outlined in March 2014 in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
_ Weight Loss Weight Loss Program in Sign Language Helps the Deaf By article A group of deaf adults using American Sign Language in a healthy lifestyle program successfully lost weight, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology & Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity & Metabolism Scientific Sessions in March 2014 in San Francsico.
_ Vision Health Exercise & Light Drinking = Better Vision By article Get moving and raise a glass now and then if you want to stave off the kind of vision problems that can’t be corrected with lenses. That’s what the results of a study done at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health suggest. The team found that a physically active lifestyle and occasional drinking are associated with a reduced risk of developing visual impairment. The article was published online in March 2014 in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
_ Video-Game Technique May Help Avoid Patients' Falls By Jane Farrell article A device using technology similar to that found in video games may eventually help health care practitioners monitor and even prevent falls among hospital patients. Between 700,000 and 1 million people each year fall in U.S. hospitals, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. All patients are at higher risk of falls because they are sick or injured. Falls are especially serious for older patients.
_ The Aging Brain Needs REST By article Researchers at the Harvard Medical School have discovered that a gene regulator called REST, which is active during fetal brain development, switches back on later in life to protect aging neurons from stresses including the toxic effects of abnormal proteins. The team also showed that REST is lost in critical brain regions of people with Alzheimer's and mild cognitive impairment.
_ Heart Health Maybe Saturated Fats ArenΓÇÖt So Bad After All By article A study led University of Cambridge in the UK and published March 18th 2014 in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine raises questions about current guidelines that generally restrict the consumption of saturated fats and encourage consumption of polyunsaturated fats to prevent heart disease.
_ Post-Op Cognitive Dysfunction in the Elderly By article Older people in particular tend to suffer from memory lapses and other types of cognitive impairment after undergoing surgical procedures. The condition is call postoperative cognitive dysfunction, or POCD. Surgery has been performed on older patients much more commonly in recent years than ever before, and their pre- and postoperative care has become an important matter.
Five Questions to Ask Your Surgeon Before An Operation By Jane Farrell article From the Mayo Clinic The news that you will need surgery can prompt many questions and a lot of anxiety. Beyond details about your medical condition and treatment options, what should you ask your surgeon before the operation? Whatever you need to ask to be comfortable with the decisions you make about your care, says Robert Cima, M.D., a colon and rectal surgeon and chair of Mayo’s surgical quality subcommittee.
_ Mental & Emotional Health Suppressing Unwanted Memories By article Researchers at the University of Cambridge and the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in the UK have shown that suppressing unwanted memories reduces their unconscious influences on subsequent behavior. The team has also shed light on how this process happens in the brain.
Heart Health 5 Common Questions About Sex and Your Heart By Jane Farrell article By Steven Nissen, MD Cleveland Clinic Patients often ask me: Is sex good for your heart? The question seems simple. The answer is complicated, in part because of the limits of what research can tell us. But we do have a strong sense that sex fits in with a heart-healthy lifestyle. Below are answers to five common questions. 1. Is sex exercise?
A Sharp Drop in Deaths From Colon Cancer By Jane Farrell article Colon cancer screenings have led to a 30 percent drop in cases for people aged 50 and older, the American Cancer Society reports. Death rates have also declined. The drop was measured over the last ten years. The researchers who conducted the study said the decrease was due to more people getting recommended screening tests. And even more deaths could be avoided if everyone got their screening tests on time.
Tracking a SuperbugΓÇÖs Evolution By Jane Farrell article Using genome sequencing, National Institutes of Health scientists and their colleagues have tracked the evolution of the antibiotic-resistant bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae sequence type 258 (ST258), an important agent of hospital-acquired infections. While researchers had previously thought that ST258 K. pneumoniae strains spread from a single ancestor, the NIH team showed that the strains arose from at least two different lineages.
_ Caregivers and Exercise By Jane Farrell article According to Sherri Snelling, ThirdAge contributor and founder of The Caregiving Club (www.caregivingclub.com), there are 65 million family caregivers in the United States. It’s no surprise that many of them, alone with that emotionally and physically draining task, become depressed. In turn, that can lead to unhealthy lifestyle choices such as failure to exercise, bad eating habits and tobacco and alcohol use.