Men's Health A Molecule That Could Cure Prostate Cancer By Jane Farrell article Researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center may have discovered a way to potentially shut down the growth of prostate cancer cells. Dr. Ralf Kittler, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, studies ERG, a protein that facilitates the transformation of normal prostate cells into cancer cells. He and fellow investigators found that a molecule called WP1130 can ultimately lead to the destruction of ERG. “We now have a target that we could potentially exploit to develop a drug for treatment,” Kittler said in a statement.
_ "Reading" Others' Emotions Is Often Inaccurate By Jane Farrell article If you think you’re good at reading peoples’ faces, you might want to think again. Lisa Feldman Barrett, Northeastern University Distinguished Professor Psychology, has concluded that the widespread belief in universal emotions – i.e. you can read someone from a Third World country just the same as you would someone from the is simply wrong. “Emotions are not universally perceived, “ Barrett says. Everything that’s predicated on that is a mistake.”
_ Memory Loss Could Someday Be Reversed By Jane Farrell article Researchers have made a discovery that may make age-related memory loss a thing of the past. The drug can’t be used by humans yet, but scientists from the University of Florida are developing compounds that could eventually help adults who have memory trouble but are not suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia.
_ The Internet & Our Health By article The last decade has seen a remarkable shift in how people use the Internet in relation to their health. This revelation probably won’t come as a surprise to you, given that you’re no doubt a regular visitor to ThirdAge.com and perhaps to other health sites as well. Professor Sue Ziebland, Director of the Health Experiences Research Group at the University of Oxford in the UK presented her findings at the South West Society for Academic Primary Care meeting at the University of Bristolin the UK on March 6th 2014.
_ Protect Yourself Against Colon Cancer By Jane Farrell article Colon cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer death in the United States, is often preventable and highly curable. March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and it’s important to find out all about the illness that overwhelmingly affects people 50 and older. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than 90 percent of people with the illness fall into that age category.
_ Aging Well Over 65? High Protein Diet Is Protective By Sondra Forsyth article This morning a news release from the University of Southern California entitled “Meat and cheese may be as bad as smoking” hit my inbox. Since then, numerous sites around the web have picked up the eyeball-grabbing headline and the accompanying story. If you encountered any of those posts and you’re over 65, don’t be alarmed and don’t cut back on the percentage of protein you eat.
_ Vision Health Goodbye to Reading Glasses? By Jane Farrell article A new finding by researchers could help improve vision for adults who are lost without their reading glasses. Middle-aged people who suddenly need reading glasses, patients with traumatic brain injuries, and people with visual disorders such as "lazy eye" likely have one thing in common — "visual crowding." That’s the inability to recognize individual items surrounded by multiple objects.
_ Chemo at End of Life Ups Risk of Dying in ICU By article The use of chemotherapy in terminally-ill cancer patients in the last months of life is associated with increased risk of undergoing resuscitation and dying in an intensive care unit, suggests a paper published on bmj.com today. The researchers suggest that end-of-life discussions may be particularly important for patients receiving chemotherapy and suggest that caregivers should ensure that patients are aware of their prognosis, likely outcomes of treatment and that their choices are aligned with their end-of-life values.
_ Pain Management Minimally Invasive Back Surgery By article Research done at the Beaumont Health Systems in Royal Oak, Michigan and published in the February 2014 online issue of the journal Spine has shown that patients who have a low back surgery called minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion end up better off in many ways than patients who have more invasive surgery to alleviate debilitating pain.
_ Weight Loss Food and Exercise for Weight Control By article By Jana Klauer MD A large study, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, surveyed diet and exercise patterns of U.S. men and women over a 20-year period. The participants were evaluated at 4-year intervals for diet, physical exercise, and body weight. Here’s what the researchers found about diet: Higher amounts of vegetables and fruit, whole grains (instead of refined grains), nuts and yogurt protect against weight gain.
_ Mental & Emotional Health Can Skype Make You Happier? By article By Hilary Young Loneliness and depression are not uncommon within the senior community. While the Centers for Disease Control reports that “depression is a true and treatable medical condition, not a normal part of aging,” the CDC also acknowledges that older adults do face a higher risk than other age groups of experiencing depression and anxiety. According to the CDC, about 80 percent of older adults are living with at least one chronic health problem, which could play a major role in the development of depression.
Heart Health Blood Test to Detect Heart Attacks Quickly By article A new blood test can detect heart attacks hours faster than the current gold-standard blood test, according to a study led by Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine researchers and published in 2014 in the American Journal of Physiology – Heart and Circulatory Physiology.
_ Women More Competitive Than Men By article True or false: Men are very competitive while women have a tendency to nurture relationships with others. The surprise answer, according to researchers at Harvard and the University of Quebec, is false. Co-authors Richard Wranghamand Joyce Benenson showed that within academic departments, women of different social or professional ranks cooperate with each other less well than men do. The paper was published March 3rd 2014 in the journal Current Biology.
_ Experts Have Overlooked Binge-Drinking Patterns By Jane Farrell article Studies linking moderate drinking to potential health benefits may have failed to take into account the issue of binge drinking among older “moderate” drinkers, a new study shows. Previous research, the investigators say, has focused on average drinking levels rather than drinking patterns. And that, the investigators say, hides underlying factors such as heavy episodic or weekend binge drinking.
_ How Mood Influences Food Choice By article Do you have a tendency to reach for junk food or sweets instead of healthy options when you’re down in the dumps? If so, you’re not alone. Researchers at the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab Previous, armed with previous research that found that emotions affect eating, set out ot find out why this happens. Their paper will be published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology.
_ Medicare Part D Saved $1.5 Billion a Year By article Good news about Medicare Part D from a study done by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Illinois at Chicago: The prescription coverage saved expenditures totaling $1.5 billion annually for the first four years and also significantly reduced hospital admissions. The data were published in March 2014 by the National Bureau of Economic Research
_ A New Treatment for Diabetic Ulcers By Jane Farrell article A tissue repair drug could help heal dangerous foot ulcers in diabetics, according to a new study. The study, accepted for publication in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), involved two groups of people with who had the ulcers.
_ Breast Cancer Stopping Aggressive Breast Cancer By Jane Farrell article The chance of breast cancer spreading beyond the initial tumor may be decreased by lowering the level of a protein, according to new research. A team of investigators from The Ohio State University found that mice implanted with breast cancer cells without the protein, myoferlin, developed self-contained tumors whose cells did not spread beyond the original site. In contrast, mice implanted with cancer cells containing the protein developed larger, irregular masses and showed signs that cancer cells had invaded the surrounding tissue.