_ Successful Approaches to Stopping HRT By article Many women will try to stop using hormone pills and patches intended to control menopausal symptoms but fail because the symptoms return, according to Katherine Newton, PhD at the University of Washington and colleagues. The team’s article, published online in the January 20th 2014 issue of Journal of Women’s Health. The researchers identified key characteristics of hormone therapy cessation that can increase the likelihood of success.
Juggling Points to Better Prostheses & Tx for Ataxia By article A study led by Johns Hopkins engineers has used the skill of juggling to gather critical clues about how vision and the sense of touch help control the way humans and animals move their limbs in a repetitive way, such as in running. The findings eventually may aid in the treatment of people with neurological diseases and could lead to prosthetic limbs and robots that move more efficiently. The study has been published online by the Journal of Neurophysiology and will be the cover article for the journal's March 2014 print edition.
_ Your Right to Your Lab Reports By article As part of an ongoing effort to empower patients to be informed partners with their health care providers, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has taken action to give patients or a person designated by the patient a means of direct access to the patient’s completed laboratory test reports.
The Best Nutrition for Cancer Patients By Jane Farrell article Nutritional support for cancer patients is more crucial than many of us realize. In fact, an estimated 20 to 40 percent of cancer patients die from malnutrition-related causes. In some ways, that is unfortunately not surprising, given the side effects that usually occur with chemotherapy or radiation. But, according to the Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), even just a 5 percent weight loss in a month can decrease a patient’s tolerance for treatment, or can alter their treatment plan.
_ Exercise Better Design for Running Shoes on the Horizon By article If running is your exercise of choice, you may soon have the option of wearing dramatically improved shoes when you train. A study of how foot muscles support the arch of the foot, led by researchers at t he University of Queensland in Australia used retro-reflective skin markers for three-dimensional motion capture on the right foot of each participant. The results were published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface on January 29th 2014.
_ Men's Health Testosterone Therapy Not Always Good for Older Men By Jane Farrell article Experts are calling for a full evaluation of the risks and benefits of hormone therapy for older men with declining levels of testosterone. The statement by the Endocrine Society was prompted by recent studies, one from the Veterans Health Care System and the other from the National Institutes of Health, that have raised concerns about the risks of testosterone therapy for older men with a history of heart disease.
_ Age-Related Decline in Motor Skills May Not be Inevitable By Jane Farrell article Researchers have pinpointed a source of age-related motor decline, and that could lead to targeted treatments to deal with the condition. The investigators, from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, discovered evidence that so-called “set points” in the nervous system are not inevitably determined during development but can be “reset” with age.
_ Breast Cancer Best Tx for Advanced Breast Cancer By article The first large-scale study of whole-genome testing is aimed at identifying the best treatment for women with advanced breast cancer.
Women's Health and Wellness Go Red for Women 2014 By article In 2003, the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute created National Wear Red Day to raise awareness about the fact that heart disease was claiming the lives of nearly 500,000 American women each year. The event is held annually on the first Friday in February. Today, February 7th 2014, why not wear red to participate in the effort to make sure we realize that, especially as we age and reach postmenopause, heart to heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women?
_ Women's Health and Wellness New Clues to Endometriosis By Jane Farrell article Researchers have taken a step toward better diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis by discovering a pattern of molecules and cellular activity linked to the painful condition. Endometriosis, the invasion of uterine tissue into surrounding organs, including the peritoneal cavity and the ovaries, affects an estimated 10 percent of women. It can cause severe pain and infertility. It’s also difficult to diagnose because symptoms may disappear for years at a time, and very little is known about its cause.
Simulated Blindness Sharpens Hearing By article Researchers at the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University have overturned the long-held belief that adult brains can’t be re-wired to improve hearing by simulating vision loss. The findings, published February 5th in the journal Neuron, may lead to treatments for people with hearing loss or tinnitus, according to lead author Patrick Kanold and his research partner Hey-Kyoung Lee.
Mental & Emotional Health Mental Health Care Scarce for Rural Women By article Women living in rural communities are less likely than urban-dwelling women to receive sufficient mental health care, in large part due to limited access to services and societal stigma, according to a study dome at Penn State College of Medicine and published in the journal Mental Health in Family Medicine.
_ Sleep Health Sleep: Myths vs. Facts By Jane Farrell article How much do you know about one of life’s most important activities? Here, the experts from the National Center on Sleep Disorder Research, a division of the National Institutes of Health, separate the facts from the myths and misunderstandings: Sleep is a time when your body and brain shut down for rest and relaxation
_ Nerve Block Eases Hot Flashes By article Injecting a little anesthetic near a nerve bundle in the neck cut troublesome hot flashes significantly, according to a study done at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Chicago and published in the journal Menopause. the a new randomized, controlled trial published online today in Menopause,
_ Heart Health Patients, Have a Statin Discussion with Your Doctor By Jane Farrell article Patients and physicians should work together to decide on individualized treatments based on new statin guidelines, according to a commentary by three Mayo Clinic doctors. The guidelines, issued last year by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association, called for caregivers to prescribe statins to healthy patients if their 10-year cardiovascular risk is 7.5 percent or higher.
_ Pain Management Beating Pain with Mindfulness Training By article A new intervention called Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement, or MORE, trains people to respond differently to pain, stress and opioid-related cues University of Utah researcher Eric Garland developed the treatment, which has been shown to not only lower pain but also decrease prescription opioid misuse among chronic pain patients. The study was published published online February 3rd 2014 in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
Exercise Video Improves Post-Stroke Exercise Results By article About 80% of stroke survivors experience a condition called hemiparesis that causes weakness or the inability to move one side of the body. Core stabilization exercise to improve postural stability and independent walking in chronic hemiparetic stroke patients could be enhanced by real-time video feedback, according to research done at Sahmyook University in the Republic of Korea and published in the journal Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience.
Determining Severity of Rotator-Cuff Injuries By article About 90 percent of people over 60 years old have rotator-cuff disease. A new ultrasound probe that has been developed at Clemson University in South Carlina could take some of the guesswork out of determining the severity of rotator-cuff injuries, making it easier for doctors to decide whether patients need surgery. Rotator-cuff injuries are the second highest-costing disease in the country, behind only back injuries.