_ 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.
_ Healthy Diet & Nutrition Eating Out = Poorer Nutrition By Sondra Forsyth article Eating at both fast-food and full-service restaurants is associated with significant increases in the intake of calories, sugar, saturated fat, and sodium, according to a study published August 7th 2014 online in Public Health Nutrition. The researchers found that on days when adults ate at a restaurant, they consumed about 200 additional total daily calories whether they ate at fast- food restaurants or at full-service restaurants.
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.
_ Menopause What to Expect and How to Prepare for Menopause By Sondra Forsyth article By Marni Andrews There are a record number of North American women now entering a new period of their lives, menopause, which marks the official end of their reproductive period. Women are born with a finite number of eggs in their ovariesΓÇöby the time they reach their 50s, the number of fertile eggs has dropped significantly. When the remaining eggs are released, or hormones in the body can no longer stimulate their release, the body enters menopause. This generally happens between the ages of 45 and 55, with the average age being around 51.
_ 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.
_ The Mathematics of Happiness By Jane Farrell article Scientists have developed a mathematical model to measure happiness, and that may eventually lead to better treatments for mood disorders. Researchers from University College London used the equation to analyze the happiness of more than 18,000 people worldwide. As a result, they found that moment-by-moment happiness is due not only to how well things are going but whether they are going better than a person expected.
_ Interval Walking Best for Diabetics By Sondra Forsyth article Research done by by Dr. Thomas Solomon, and colleagues at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and published in August 2014 in Diabetologia suggests that training with alternating levels of walking intensity, known as interval training, could be better than walking at a constant speed to help manage blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes.
_ 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.
_ 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.
_ Prostate cancer Prostate Cancer Risk Calculator Online By Sondra Forsyth article A free updated calculator to help men and their doctors assess their risk of prostate cancer is available online. Developed at the University of Texas Health Science Center, the tool has had a major upgrade in order to enhance how men and their physicians better understand a man's risk of prostate cancer. A description of the update's needs and benefits is described by the Health Science Center authors in a viewpoint published online August 4th in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
_ Lung Cancer Lung Cancer Diagnosis Tool Safe for Older Patients By Sondra Forsyth article A 2014 study done at the University Hospital of South Manchester in the UK has found that a procedure to take tissue samples from lung cancer patients can be used safely in the elderly, allowing doctors to make a more accurate diagnosis and to choose appropriate treatment. The results were published their results in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology.
_ 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.
_ Exercise 5 Exercise Myths Debunked By Sondra Forsyth article By Brett Osborn M.D. As a neurosurgraon and an avid bodybuilder, I know that you will do more harm than good if youΓÇÖve bought into some of the myths and ΓÇ£conventional wisdomΓÇ¥ about exercise that is simply wrong. HereΓÇÖs the truth about are those misconceptions: