_ Menopause Toolkit to Diagnose Menopause By Sondra Forsyth article The ΓÇ£Practitioner Toolkit for Managing the MenopauseΓÇ¥, designed to guide physicians in the management of menopausal conditions for women from the age of 40 has been designed by researchers at Monash University in Australia. The kit, which includes a diagnostic tool as well as a compendium of approved hormone therapies, was published on July 6th 2014 in the journal Climacteric.
_ Making the Best Decisions With Your Doctor By Jane Farrell article Talking with a doctor about a health-care decision is crucial - and can be an intimidating process. Here, from the experts at the National Institute on Aging, are some ways to get the most out of it: Giving and getting information are two important steps in talking with your doctor. The third big step is making decisions about your care.
Healthy Diet & Nutrition Senior Health Nutrition Screenings for Older Adults By Sondra Forsyth article As older adults typically have one or more chronic health conditions that can affect dietary intake, malnutrition has been identified as a serious for this population. For this reason, nutrition screenings should be a mandatory part of the comprehensive geriatric analysis (CGA), according to a review article published on July 3rd 2014 in the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition's (A.S.P.E.N.) Nutrition in Clinical Practice journal.
_ A Declaration Of Independence From Tobacco By Jane Farrell article July 4th is a great time to celebrate freedom and independence of all kinds. Why not make it an occasion to declare your own independence ΓÇô from tobacco? The federal Centers for Disease Control has made July 4th its focal point for its program on freeing yourself from nicotine addiction. Anyone whoΓÇÖs ever quit can tell you itΓÇÖs a tough process, but understanding why itΓÇÖs so tough may help you deal with those moments when you feel you canΓÇÖt go one moment longer without a cigarette. Here are some insights from the CDC:
_ Alternative Health St. John's Wort & Drug Interactions By Sondra Forsyth article St. John's wort is the most frequently used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatment in the U.S. for depression and similar psychiatric disorders. The many commonly prescribed medications that St. John's wort can interact withΓÇösometimes with serious consequences such as life-threatening ΓÇ£serotonin syndromeΓÇ¥ or heart diseaseΓÇöare reviewed in the July 2014 issue of The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine and on the web site.
_ Menopause Menopause Brain: What You Need to Know Beat the Odds By Sondra Forsyth article By Soriyya Bawa As if hot flashes and irritability werenΓÇÖt enough to handle, women going through menopause also worry about the risk of memory loss. Some of the common cognitive concerns relating to memory loss that are reported by women going through menopause include trouble with routine mental tasks and remembering what was once easily retrievable information. A lot of research has delved into evaluating the link between menopause and memory loss, and weΓÇÖre now beginning to understand even more.
_ AD Drug to Prevent Brain Blood Clots By Sondra Forsyth article Experiments done in Sidney Strickland's Laboratory of Neurobiology and Genetics at Rockefeller University in New York have identified a compound that might halt the progression of Alzheimer's by interfering with the role amyloid-╬▓, a small protein that forms plaques in Alzheimer's brains, plays in the formation of blood clots. This work is highlighted in the July 2014 issue of Nature Reviews Drug Discovery.
_ Coming Next Week! June 30th ΓÇô July 4th 2014 By Sondra Forsyth article HereΓÇÖs a sneak preview of the articles, slideshows, and blogs weΓÇÖll be posting during the coming week on ThirdAge, the biggest and best site for ΓÇ£boomer and beyondΓÇ¥ women since 1997. As always, weΓÇÖll bring you the latest information from top experts about maintaining a healthy body, mind, and spirit as you navigate both the challenges and the joys of being a ThirdAger.
_ Food Allergies & Intolerance New Tx for Food Allergies By Sondra Forsyth article For some people, an allergic reaction to common foods such as peanuts, milk, or eggs can cause a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction. At present no effective treatment for food allergy exists, and strict dietary avoidance of known food triggers is the only preventive option available. However, ongoing trials are exploring options for oral immunotherapy (OIT) for desensitization in the treatment of Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated food allergy, as described in a Review article in Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology,
_ How Private Is Your Mental-Health Information? By Jane Farrell article Whatever you think of the Affordable Care Act (and there are many different and heated opinions) thereΓÇÖs no doubt that itΓÇÖs expanded mental health and substance use disorder benefits and protections to 62 million Americans. Leon Rodriguez, Director of the Office for Civil Rights, Department of Health and Human Services, wrote in a federal blog that the c hange represents ΓÇ£the largest expansion of behavioral health coverage in a generation and will help make treatment more affordable and accessible.ΓÇ¥
_ It's Never Too Late to Quit By Jane Farrell article When it comes to quitting smoking, older people may be faced with some especially discouraging issues. Maybe theyΓÇÖve tried to quit ΓÇô more than once. Maybe they think theyΓÇÖre too old and that the damage has been done. But according to experts, itΓÇÖs never too late to stop smoking, and to do it successfully. ItΓÇÖs not that older smokers donΓÇÖt want to quit. Many of them do, knowing that being smoke-free would have a number of positive results, from the avoidance of serious diseases like stroke and heart disease, to the likelihood of having more money and more energy.
What Are Cataracts? Cataract Awareness Month By blog June is Cataract Awareness Month - but what exactly are cataracts and what causes them? Cataracts are a clouding over of the eye - they can happen in one or in both and they are often associated with aging, but they can also occur in younger people and for reasons other than aging. Estimates by the U.S. National Eye Institute are that at least half of people who are 80 years old have either had a cataract or have one.
_ Food Allergies & Intolerance EpiPens Not Used Often Enough By Sondra Forsyth article Sudden allergic reactions can be fatal. The most common triggers of such reactions, also known as anaphylaxis, are wasp and bee venoms, legumes (pul, animal proteins, and painkiller. The incidence of anaphylaxis is age-dependent. Although epinephrine administered by injection is a know effective antidote, the treatment is not used often enough – at least not in German=speaking countries -- , according to a study published in the June 2014 issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International.
_ Skin Skin Health Endorphins and Sun Addiction By Sondra Forsyth article Why do sun lovers eagerly flock to the beach every summer in spite of widespread awareness of the risk of skin cancer? A study published June 19th 2014 in the journal Cell may have the answer. The research, done at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, reveals that chronic exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation causes the release of feel-good hormones called endorphins, which act through the same pathway as heroin and related drugs and lead to physical dependence, tolerance, and addiction-like behavior.
Coming Next Week! June 23rd to June 27th By Sondra Forsyth article HereΓÇÖs a sneak preview of the articles and blogs weΓÇÖll be posting during the coming week on ThirdAge, the biggest and best site for ΓÇ£boomer and beyondΓÇ¥ women since 1997. As always, weΓÇÖll bring you the latest information from top experts about maintaining a healthy body, mind, and spirit as you navigate both the challenges and the joys of being a ThirdAger. In addition, be sure to come back every morning to check out the ThirdAge Exclusives, We write them after culling the most important new academic and government studies from around the world that are making news that day.
_ Aging Well Memory Loss Stress Management Stress-Free Living Stress Linked to Memory Loss as We Age By Sondra Forsyth article Research done at the University of Iowa reports a potential link between stress hormones and short-term memory loss in older adults. The study, published in June 2014 in the Journal of Neuroscience, found that prolonged high levels of cortisol can lead to memory lapses as we age.
_ Breast Cancer Many Elderly BC Patients Are Taking Hormone Therapy By Jane Farrell article Women over 65 with non-metastatic breast cancer are likely to follow recommendations for preventive hormone treatment. But non-white women were much less likely to have that therapy. The women who had the therapy suffered from estrogen-positive breast cancer and were given either an aromatase inhibitor or tamoxifen. Those hormones prevent tumors from using estrogen to fuel growth. The study was reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
_ Menopause Are You Setting Off Your Hot Flashes? By Sondra Forsyth article By Gary Elkins If you start taking note of your hot flashes, you may recognize some events, emotions, or activities that actually seem to contribute to, or ΓÇ£trigger,ΓÇ¥ the onset of a hot flash. Scientifically speaking, while the physiology of hot flashes is associated with a decrease in estrogen level or an increase in gonadotropin concentrations, the actual physiological mechanism of hot flashes is not known.