_ Stroke Fewer Stroke Deaths Over Past 2 Decades By Sondra Forsyth article Fewer Americans are having strokes and those who do have a lower risk of dying from them according to a a study led by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers and is published in the July 16th 2014 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
_ New Hope for Alzheimer’s Treatment By Sondra Forsyth article A relatively frequent genetic variant turns out to provide significant protection against Alzheimer's disease and can delay the onset of the disease by as much as four years. That is the finding of research done by Judes Poirier, PhD, C.Q., and colleagues at the Douglas Mental Health Institute and McGill University in Montréal. The discovery opens new avenues for treatment against this devastating disease. Dr. presented the study at the annual Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Copenhagen in July 2014.
_ Medical Care Antibiotic Use Prevalent in Hospices By Sondra Forsyth article The use of antibiotics is still prevalent among terminal patients who have chosen hospice care as an end-of-life option, despite little evidence that the medications improve symptoms or quality of life, and sometimes may cause unwanted side effects. That is the finding of a study done at Oregon State University and the Oregon Health & Science University and published on July 14th 2014 in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.
_ Distractions Can Hurt Memory By Jane Farrell article Older people are much likelier to suffer memory and cognitive impairment when theyΓÇÖre presented with ΓÇ£environmental distractionsΓÇ¥ such as material thatΓÇÖs irrelevant to the task at hand. The finding, by psychologists from Rice University and Johns Hopkins University, is the first to convincingly demonstrate impairment from environmental distractions, such as irrelevant speech, during tasks.
_ Senior Health Older Adults Can Safely Donate Kidneys By Sondra Forsyth article Previous studies linking older age with kidney and heart disease have raised concerns about the safety of living kidney donation among older adults. However, in the first study to look closely at this issue, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report that older kidney donors (55 years and above) enjoy similar life expectancy and cardiovascular health as very healthy older people who did not donate their kidneys.
_ Skin Skin Health Help for Eczema Sufferers By Jane Farrell article Scientists have developed a new medicine that may eventually give significant relief to people who suffer from eczema, the most common skin disorder. The study was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.
_ Patients Are Helping Doctors Do Research By Jane Farrell article PatientsΓÇÖ participation in health-care research is becoming more active thanks to ΓÇ£big dataΓÇ¥ research projects that use many people to provide real-time information on symptoms, side effects and results. An analysis published in the journal Health Affairs said that new technologies such as electronic health records and monitoring devices are playing an increasing part in major studies.
A New Cancer Treatment for Dogs By Jane Farrell article A cancer therapy that was until now only available for humans has been developed for dogs. Scientists from the Messerli Research Institute of the Vetmeduni Vienna, the Medical University of Vienna, and the University of Vienna have developed a way to use cancer immunotherapy on dogs. Almost half of dogs ten years or older develop cancer.
_ Brain Health Sleep Health A Good NightΓÇÖs Sleep Boosts Brain Power as We Age By Sondra Forsyth article A University of Oregon-led study published in the June 2014 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that middle-aged or older people who get six to nine hours of sleep a night think better than those sleeping fewer or more hours. The study reaffirms numerous small-scale studies in the United States, Western Europe and Japan, but it does so using data compiled across six middle-income nations and involving more than 30,000 subjects for a long-term project that began in 2007.
_ Exercise Sitting Pretty: How to Stay Fit Even If You Have a Desk Job By Sondra Forsyth article By Sondra Forsyth
_ 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.
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.
_ Meditation Doesn't Have To Be A Marathon By Jane Farrell article If youΓÇÖd like to meditate but are overwhelmed by the thought of lengthy training and practice, take heart: you can get the stress-reducing benefits from just 25 minutes. New research from Carnegie Mellon University is the first to show that brief mindfulness meditation practice ΓÇö 25 minutes for three consecutive days ΓÇö alleviates psychological stress. " the study investigates how mindfulness meditation affects people's ability to be resilient under stress.
_ Skin Skin Health Fear Of Illness Can Be A Good Thing By Jane Farrell article When it comes to skin cancer, many people are influenced by fear, not statistics, to use sunscreen. ΓÇ£Most health behavior studies donΓÇÖt account for the more visceral, emotional reactions that lead people to do risky behaviors, like eat junk food or ignore the protective benefits of sunscreen,ΓÇ¥ says Marc Kiviniemi, lead researcher and assistant professor of community health and health behavior in the University of BuffaloΓÇÖs School of Public Health and Health Professions.
_ Pancreatic Cancer Thunder God Vine Helps Kill Pancreatic Ca Cells By Sondra Forsyth article A diagnosis of pancreatic cancerΓÇöthe fourth most common cause of cancer death in the U.S.ΓÇöcan be devastating. Due in part to aggressive cell replication and tumor growth, pancreatic cancer progresses quickly and has a low five-year survival rate of less than 5 percent.
_ Aging Well Testing Competency of Aging Drivers By Sondra Forsyth article As the American population continues to age, using tests to evaluate competency behind the wheel is critical. However, research done at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver found ΓÇ£significant barriers to evaluations important to the continued safety and competency of older driversΓÇ¥ according to a release from the university. The study was published 2014 in the journal Occupational Therapy in Health Care.
_ Heart Health Women and Heart Disease: A New RIsk By Jane Farrell article Hormonal changes during menopause could increase a womanΓÇÖs risk of heart disease, researchers have found. The study, by investigators from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, was done by using an advanced method to analyze ΓÇ£cholesterol carriersΓÇ¥ in the blood. The researchers found that during the transition to menopause, the quality of those carriers degrades. Investigators said the study showed that the quality of cholesterol carriers could be as important as cholesterol numbers.
Breast Cancer Some Cancers Respond to Anti-Inflammatory Drugs By Sondra Forsyth article Research done at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis raises the possibility that some cancer patients with aggressive tumors may benefit from a class of anti-inflammatory drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. The investigators published their findings in a 2014 issue of the journal Cell Reports.