_ Healthy Diet & Nutrition Caffeine Lowers Incidence of Tinnitus By Sondra Forsyth article Researchers at Brigham and WomenΓÇÖs Hospital in Boston found that higher caffeine intake is associated with lower rates of tinnitus, often described as a ringing or buzzing sound in the ear when there is no outside source of the sounds, in younger and middle-aged women. This study was published in the August 2014 issue of the American Journal of Medicine.
_ Medical Care Many Hospitals Missed E-health Deadline By Sondra Forsyth article Many of the nation's hospitals struggled to meet a federally mandated electronic health records deadline, and as a result could collectively face millions of dollars in reduced Medicare payments, according to a study done at the University of Michigan published online August 7th 2014 and slated to be published in the September print issue of the journal Health Affairs.
_ Aging Well Brain Health Right Brain Stays Youthful as We Age By Sondra Forsyth article At least one part of the human brain appears to be able to process information the same way in older age as it does in the prime of life, according to research conducted at the University of Adelaide in Australia and presented at the 12th International Cognitive Neuroscience Conference in Brisbane in July 2014.
_ Lack of Vitamin D May Mean High Dementia Risk By Jane Farrell article A deficiency in Vitamin D has been linked to a high risk of AlzheimerΓÇÖs and dementia in older people, according to new research. An international team of investigators studied 1,658 elderly Americans who participated in the Cardiovascular Health Study. They concluded that the participants who were severely deficient in Vitamin D were 125 percent likelier to develop dementia of any kind. People who were moderately deficient in Vitamin D had a 53 percent higher risk. The subjects were followed for six years after the initial assessment.
Prescription Drugs prescription medicines Safety Concerns About New Drugs By Sondra Forsyth article The authors of a study published in the August 2014 issue of Health Affairs contend that when the FDA approval process for medications changed in 1992 with the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), which allowed the FDA to collect fees to expedite drug approvals, the new process may have led to the release of drugs before they could be adequately evaluated for safety issues.
_ Hep C Could Become a Rare Disease By Sondra Forsyth article Newly implemented screening guidelines and improved, highly effective drug therapies could make hepatitis C a rare disease in the United States by 2036, according to the results of a predictive model developed at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. The results of the analysis, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and performed with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, were published in the August 5th 2014 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
_ Doctors Often Don't Talk to Patients about Aspirin By Jane Farrell article Although the health benefits of aspirin have been proven, there arenΓÇÖt many doctors recommending it to patients at risk of heart attack or stroke. Researchers from the University of Rochester based that conclusion after studying a national sample of more than 3,000 middle-aged patients, both men and women. Most of the participants said they couldnΓÇÖt recall their doctor telling them to take aspirin.
_ Medical Care For-Profit Home Care: Higher Costs, Lower Quality By Sondra Forsyth article For-profit home health agencies are far costlier for Medicare than nonprofit agencies, according to a nationwide study done at the City University of New York School of Public Health and published Monday, August 4th 2014 in the August issue of the journal Health Affairs. Overall cost per patient was $1,215 higher at for-profits, with operating costs accounting for $752 of the difference and excess profits for $463. Yet the quality of care was actually worse at for-profit agencies than at non-profits, and more of the patients required repeat hospitalizations.
_ Breast Cancer Mammography Benefits Women Over 75 By Sondra Forsyth article Mammography-detected breast cancer is associated with a shift to earlier stage diagnosis in older women, subsequently reducing the rate of more advanced, difficult-to-treat cases, according to a study published online in the journal Radiology in August 2014. The researchers said the findings lend support to regular mammography screening in women ages 75 and older.
_ Rituals Help With Asthma Med Adherence By Sondra Forsyth article Storing asthma medications in the bathroom and establishing taking the drugs as part of a daily routine may be helpful advice that doctors can give their older asthmatic patients who struggle to remember to stick to their medication schedule. ThatΓÇÖs the finding of a study done at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York City, which discusses how elderly asthmatics cope with taking their inhaled corticosteroid medication as prescribed. The report was published August 5th 2014 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
_ Medical Care Pharmacists Could Boost Drug Adherence By Sondra Forsyth article Community pharmacists can dramatically help their patients stick to their prescription regimens, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. The findings, published on August 4th 2014 in Health Affairs, suggest also that greater adherence to medications can lead to a reduction in emergency room visits and hospital admissions, thereby lowering health care costs for a variety of chronic conditions including diabetes and asthma.
_ Is It A Sore Throat - or Strep? By Jane Farrell article If youΓÇÖre not sure whether youΓÇÖve got strep throat ΓÇô or just a sore throat ΓÇô the experts at the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have some answers. Sore throats, which can be either mild or severe, have a variety of causes. Some of them, the CDC experts say, include viruses, bacteria, allergens, irritants, post-nasal drip and fungi. But whatever the reason, the result is the irritating and painful condition known as sore throat. Most cases will heal without treatment. But others, including strep throat, may need antibiotics.
_ Chili Peppers and Colorectal Tumors By Jane Farrell article Capsaicin, a substance already known to relieve pain associated with shingles, may also ultimately reduce the risk of colorectal tumors, according to new research. Investigators from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine said that capsaicin, which is the active ingredient in chili peppers, activates a receptor on the intestinal cells of mice. Their findings were published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
_ Obesity Clue to Curbing Obesity By Sondra Forsyth article Preventing weight gain, obesity, and ultimately diabetes could be as simple as keeping a nuclear receptor from being activated in a small part of the brain, according to a study done by Yale School of Medicine researchers andp ublished in the August 1st 2014 issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI).
_ Healthy Diet & Nutrition Fish Really Is Brain Food! By Sondra Forsyth article Eating baked or broiled fish once a week is good for the brain, regardless of how much omega-3 fatty acid it contains, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The findings, published online in 2014 the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, add to growing evidence that lifestyle factors contribute to brain health later in life.
_ Loud Noise Can Affect Your Brain By Jane Farrell article A lot of loud noise may do more than damage your hearing: It actually alters the way the brain processes speech, neuroscientists say. Researchers from the University of Texas at Dallas said that could eventually lead to difficulty in distinguishing speech sounds hearing loss. The investigatorsΓÇÖ findings were published in the journal Ear and Hearing.
_ Obesity Hope for the Overweight & Diabetics By Sondra Forsyth article Researchers in Germany and at Harvard have succeeded in distinguishing the various types of fat cells in the body on the basis of their surface proteins. This discovery is raising hope for a new method to treat those suffering from obesity and diabetes. The team was headed by Dr. Siegfried Ussar from the Institute for Diabetes and Obesity (IDO) at the Helmholtz Diabetes Center/ Helmholtz Zentrum M├╝nchen, partner of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), and Professor C. Ronald Kahn from the Joslin Diabetes Center and Harvard Medical School.
Digestive Health Diverticulitis Patients Suffer Symptoms Long After Attack By Sondra Forsyth article Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles interviewed people with diverticulitis and confirmed that many suffer psychological and physical symptoms long after their acute illness has passed.