_ Heart Health Are Relaxed BP Guidelines Safe? By Jane Farrell article Relaxed guidelines about hypertension could lead to 5.8 fewer million adults taking blood pressure medicine, according to an analysis by Duke Medicine researchers. That finding is the first peer-reviewed study the impact of guidelines announced in February by the Eighth Joint National Committee, an expert panel. The committee changed the blood pressure goal in adults 60 years and older to 150/90, instead of the previous goal of 140/90. Goals were also eased for adults with diabetes and kidney disease.
_ Aging Well Spiritual Health Well-being Religion + Spirituality = Healthier Aging By article Religion and spirituality have distinct but complementary influences on health as we age, according to research done at Oregon State University and published in March 2014 in the journal Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. A release from OSU quotes gerontology professor Carolyn Aldwin, director of OSU’s Center for Healthy Aging Research, as saying, “Religion helps regulate behavior and health habits, while spirituality regulates your emotions, how you feel.”
Marriage Marriage Not as Heart-Healthy at 50+ By article People who are married have lower rates of several cardiovascular diseases compared with those who are single, divorced or widowed, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session in March 2014 in Washington D.C. However, Boomers and Beyond take note: The relationship between marriage and lower odds of vascular diseases is especially pronounced before age 50. For people aged 50 and younger, marriage is associated with 12 percent lower odds of any vascular disease.
_ Women's Health and Wellness Diet Drinks May Be Risky for Older Women By article Healthy postmenopausal women who drink two or more diet drinks a day may be more likely to have a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular problems, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session in March 2014 in Washington D.C..
Modified Medical Devices Should Be Re-Evaluated By article The U.S. Food and Drug Administration should require that clinical data be submitted as part of a more rigorous re-evaluation of medical devices that are modified after approval, according to University of San Francisco physicians in a commentary published online March 24th 2014 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
_ Women's Health and Wellness Recurrent UTIs: Hope For A Cure By Jane Farrell article Scientists may be edging closer to a permanent cure for recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs). Researchers led by microbiologists from the University of Utah have shown the efficacy of a compound called chitosan when it’s used in combination with antibiotics. Chitosan is already approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for pharmaceutical and agricultural uses.
_ Surgical Residents And Patients Benefit From 24-Hour Shifts By Jane Farrell article Limiting the number of working hours for surgical residents hasn’t improved patient outcomes and may actually have increased patient complications. Additionally, shorter hours seem to lead to higher failure rates on certification exams. The finding, by researchers from St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, was published in the journal Annals of Surgery.
ΓÇ£White Coat EffectΓÇ¥ on BP Is True By Jane Farrell article Doctors routinely record blood pressure levels that are significantly higher than levels recorded by nurses, according to the first thorough analysis of scientific data on the so-called “White Coat Phenomenon”. The study was done at at the University of Exeter Medical School in the UK and published in March 2014 in the British Journal of General Practice.
_ A More Effective Form Of Chemotherapy By Jane Farrell article Researchers have developed a drug that can manipulate the body’s signaling systems, triggering an attack and shutdown of deadly cancer cells. The finding was published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition. The drug, called ZL105, is a compound based on the metal iridium. The study, by researchers from the University of Warwick in the UK, has found ZL105 could potentially replace currently used anticancer drugs. Those drugs become less effective over time, have a number of side effects and damage both healthy and cancerous cells.
Pain Management Natural Migraine Prevention Tips By article By Romie Mushtaq M.D. Headaches are fifth-leading cause of emergency room visits among all Americans, according to a 2013 National Institutes of Health report that calls headaches a major public health problem. The key to preventing headaches is, of course, to figure out what’s triggering them. While migraine and stress headaches can both be triggered by stress, migraines have many other possible triggers and they vary from one individual to the next.
Mentally Challenging Job = Sharp Mind After Retirement By article A mentally demanding job may seem stressful but data from the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study show that you’re probably doing you brain a favor in the long run.
_ Gout Drug May Lower the Risk of Death By article In a study slated to be published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine found that the use of the drug allopurinol was associated with a reduced risk of death in patients with gout. The research suggests that the overall benefit of allopurinol on survival may outweigh the impact of rare serious adverse effects.
_ Immune Booster Halts Lethal Sepsis By article A breakthrough study done at the University of Leicester in the UK has shown that low dose injections of artificial properdin provide substantial protection against septic diseases in mice. The paper was published on March 24th 2014 in the online early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
_ Brain Cell Malfunctions Could Be Stopped By Jane Farrell article Scientists have discovered a way to possibly halt the progression of dementia that’s caused by the malfunctioning of the protein tau. In many forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s, tau goes awry. Instead of performing its normal cellular functions, it begins accumulating and interfering with cell-to-cell communications.
_ Mental & Emotional Health Nasal Spray Treats Depression By article A nasal spray that delivers a peptide to treat depression holds promise as a potential alternative therapeutic approach, according to research done at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. The study, led by CAMH's Dr. Fang Liu, is published online in Neuropsychopharmacology.
_ The Unconscious Mind Can Detect a Liar By article When it comes to detecting deceit, your automatic associations may be more accurate than conscious thought in pegging truth-tellers and liars, according to research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The findings suggest that conscious awareness may hinder our ability to detect whether someone is lying, perhaps because we tend to seek out behaviors that are supposedly stereotypical of liars, like averted eyes or fidgeting. But those behaviors may not be all that indicative of an untrustworthy person.
_ Salivary Biomarkers of Gingivitis By article On March 21st 2014 during the 43rd Annual Meeting & Exhibition of the American Association for Dental Research in Charlotte, North Carolina, Craig Miller, University of Kentucky, Lexington presented research showing that salivary biomarkers for gingivitis reveal important information personalized treatment of this gum disease
Caregiving Adult Day Care A Boon for Caregivers By article Family caregivers show an increase in the beneficial stress hormone DHEA-S on days when they use an adult day care service for their relatives with dementia, according to researchers at Penn State and the University of Texas at Austin. A release from Penn explains that DHEA-S controls the harmful effects of cortisol and is associated with better long-term health.