Heart Health Misdiagnosed Strokes Common For Women And Minorities By Jane Farrell article ER doctors overlook or minimize early signs of stroke in tens of thousands of patients, especially with minorities, women and people under 45 – often in the week before they suffered the debilitating incident. A report on the research, from a team led by a Johns Hopkins specialist, was published in the journal Diagnosis. In analyzing federal health care data, the investigators said that younger people in the study were nearly seven times more likely to be given an incorrect diagnosis and sent home without treatment despite such symptoms.
_ Does a Junk Food Diet Make You Lazy? By article A University of California, Los Angeles psychology study provides evidence that being overweight makes people tired and sedentary — not the other way around, according to a UCLA release written by Stuart Wolpert. The research is online and will be published April 10th 2014 in the print edition of the journal Physiology and Behavior.
Vision Health Folate May Lower Glaucoma Risk By article Exfoliation glaucoma (EG), caused by exfoliation syndrome, a condition in which white clumps of fibrillar material form in the eye, is the most common cause of secondary open-angle glaucoma and a leading cause of blindness and visual impairment. Elevated levels of homocysteine, a non-protein a-amino acid, may increase exfoliation material formation. Research studies have demonstrated that high intake of vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and folate is associated with lower homocysteine levels.
_ Surge in Joint Replacements Predicted By article A new study appearing in the April 2014 issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery showed that the economic downturns in the 2000s did not substantially influence the national growth trends for hip and knee arthroplasty in the United States. The current data support the authors' existing projections, made in 2007, that predicted a significant surge in demand for total joint replacement through 2030.
_ Stroke Risk Higher after Shingles By article Here’s another reason to get your shingles vaccination: Patients' risk of stroke is significantly increased following the first signs of the telltale rash. However, antiviral drugs appear to offer some protection, according to a study published online in April 2014 in Clinical Infectious Diseases. As you probably already know the painful rash that is typical of shingles is caused by the same virus, herpes zoster, that gave you your childhood bout of chicken pox. The virus stays with you for a lifetime and is sometimes reactivated as shingles.
_ Why It May Be More Than "The Blues" By Jane Farrell article Everyone feels blue now and then. It’s part of life. But if you no longer enjoy activities that you usually like, there may be a more serious problem. Feeling depressed without letup can change the way you think and the way you experience emotions. Doctors call this clinical depression.
Marriage Marriage Not as Heart-Healthy at 50+ By article People who are married have lower rates of several cardiovascular diseases compared with those who are single, divorced or widowed, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session in March 2014 in Washington D.C. However, Boomers and Beyond take note: The relationship between marriage and lower odds of vascular diseases is especially pronounced before age 50. For people aged 50 and younger, marriage is associated with 12 percent lower odds of any vascular disease.
_ More Research Needed On Aging-Related Genes By Jane Farrell article More Research Needed On Aging-Related Genes Although there is still no definitive way for scientists to control genes associated with aging, research into the subject could lead to preventive treatment that would prolong lifespan, according to a new analysis of global research. The research is also paving the way for possible treatment of illnesses relating to aging, according to professor Alexey Moskalev, PhD, DSc, of the Russian Academy of Sciences and at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.
_ Women's Health and Wellness Diet Drinks May Be Risky for Older Women By article Healthy postmenopausal women who drink two or more diet drinks a day may be more likely to have a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular problems, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session in March 2014 in Washington D.C..
Caregiving Adult Day Care A Boon for Caregivers By article Family caregivers show an increase in the beneficial stress hormone DHEA-S on days when they use an adult day care service for their relatives with dementia, according to researchers at Penn State and the University of Texas at Austin. A release from Penn explains that DHEA-S controls the harmful effects of cortisol and is associated with better long-term health.
_ Mental & Emotional Health Reducing Anxiety? ThereΓÇÖs an App for That. By article Playing a science-based mobile gaming app for 25 minutes can reduce anxiety in stressed individuals, according to research done at Hunter College in NYC and the City University of New York and published in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The study suggests that "gamifying" a scientifically-supported intervention could offer measurable mental health and behavioral benefits for people with relatively high levels of anxiety.
_ Stretchable Antenna for Wearable Health Monitors By article Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new, stretchable antenna that can be incorporated into wearable technologies such as health monitoring devices to keep track of blood pressure, oxygen in the blood, and pulse rate. The paper is published online in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
_ Tx Guidelines for MRSA Skin Infections By article Cases of skin infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have increased greatly since the early 2000s. Skin abscesses such pus-filled boils or pimples with discharge characterize these infections, according to a March 12th 2014 release from the University of California, Los Angeles written by Rachel Champeau. She reports the more virulent form of the infection can result in potentially lethal conditions including necrotizing pneumonia, fasciitis, and sepsis.
_ Heart Health Anger and Heart Attacks By Jane Farrell article For some people, anger could literally be a killer. A new study has found that there’s a nearly fivefold increase in heart attack risk in the two hours following an outburst. “There has been a lot of research on anger; we already know it can be unhealthy, but we wanted to quantify the risk, not just for heart attack, but for other potentially lethal cardiovascular events as well,” said lead author Elizabeth Mostofsky, MPH, ScD, a post-doctoral fellow in the cardiovascular epidemiological unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Heart Health Blood Test to Detect Heart Attacks Quickly By article A new blood test can detect heart attacks hours faster than the current gold-standard blood test, according to a study led by Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine researchers and published in 2014 in the American Journal of Physiology – Heart and Circulatory Physiology.
_ Women More Competitive Than Men By article True or false: Men are very competitive while women have a tendency to nurture relationships with others. The surprise answer, according to researchers at Harvard and the University of Quebec, is false. Co-authors Richard Wranghamand Joyce Benenson showed that within academic departments, women of different social or professional ranks cooperate with each other less well than men do. The paper was published March 3rd 2014 in the journal Current Biology.
_ Breast Cancer 14 Questions About Your Breast Cancer Diagnosis By article prognosis and medical choices.
Caregiving Peace of Mind for Long-Distance Caregivers By article By Marki Flannery Every Sunday, Donna placed a call from her home in Washington D.C. to her Aunt Catherine, to check up on her. At age 87, Catherine lived alone in her longtime Lower Manhattan apartment and, except for an attack of angina a couple years ago, was in relatively good health. Donna asked, as she usually did, about her aunt's weekend and was heartened to hear she had gotten out with friends. "My neighbor's daughter took us to the Metropolitan Museum," Catherine said, sounding uplifted.