_ The Right Treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome By Jane Farrell article Irritable Bowel Syndrome affects an estimated 3 to 20 percent of the population, according to the federal National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC). According to the NDDIC, IBS is a collection of symptoms, not a condition. It’s been known by a number of other names in the past, including colitis and spastic colon.
Celebrate the Season of Rebirth By blog Spring is an opportune time to clear away everything that is outmoded in your life to make room for what is new and fresh. For inspiration, look around you at nature’s eternal message of renewal: the trees, plants and flowers bursting forth from winter’s hibernation with joyful abandon. You don’t see nature holding itself back from blooming because it is programmed for change. Similarly, you are programmed to blossom. However, unlike trees, you are also programmed to fear the unknown, the chief barrier to growth.
Mental & Emotional Health Counterintuitive Tx for Depression By article Could ratcheting up the activity of neurons in the brain known to be involved with stress-induced depression have the counterintuitive effect of banishing the blues and helping people bounce back?. Yes, say researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City who published their study online April 18th 2014 in the journal Science.
_ Go Green With Eco-Friendly Spring Cleaning Tips By article Freshen Up Your Home the Natural, Non-Toxic Way By Robert Nickell
_ Mental & Emotional Health Anxiety Medications as You Age By article Anxiety medications can affect you differently as you age. The National Institutes for Health Senior Health Portal alerts you in to possible problems: The research on treating anxiety disorders in older adults is limited. However, most disorders can be treated with medication or psychotherapy. For some people, a combination of medication and psychotherapy may be the best treatment approach. Antidepressants
Alzheimer's Disease and the Early-Onset Colombian Connection By blog I’m a huge fan of the CBS news show Sunday Morning. It’s 90 minutes of quality programming that I look forward to every week.
_ Heart Health Developing A Safer NSAID By Jane Farrell article Researchers are drawing closer to a safer alternative to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that relieve pain but can cause heart attacks, strokes and even sudden cardiac death. Investigators from the University of Pennsylvania built on previous work to further explore the role of an enzyme, mPGES-1, in delaying the development of atherosclerosis. Their findings were reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
_ Why You Should Get Creative with Your Food! By article By Jon Yaneff People show their creativity in different ways. You may sing, dance, rap, paint, sculpt, design, direct, write, cook, or go with the flow with something else and give it your own unique spin. Your canvas can be anything that you desire, including your plate.
_ National Park Service Updates Service Animals Rule By article Just in time for National Parks Week, April 19th t0 27th 2014, the National Park Service (NPS) invites public comment on a proposed rule to revise regulations governing service animals in national parks. Last amended in 1983, federal statutes governing accessibility for persons with disabilities, as well as the use of service animals, have changed significantly.
Love Your Gums! By article One in every two adults age 30 and older suffers from periodontal disease, commonly referred to as gum disease. The American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) is calling for Americans to Love the Gums You’re With and take better care of their gums. To learn more, take a brief quiz on perio.org/loveyourgumsto evaluate the current state of your gum health, learn the signs and symptoms of periodontal disease, and receive tips on how to properly care for their gums.
_ Ground-Breaking ΓÇ£Brown FatΓÇ¥ MRI Scan By Jane Farrell article The first MRI scan to show “brown fat” in a living adult could prove to be an essential step towards a new wave of therapies to aid the fight against diabetes and obesity. Researchers from Warwick Medical School and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust in the UK used a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based method to identify and confirm the presence of brown adipose tissue in a living adult. The study was published on April 17th 2014 in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Detecting Diabetes Eye Damage Early By article Indiana University researchers have detected new early-warning signs of the potential loss of sight associated with diabetes. This discovery could have far-reaching implications for the diagnosis and treatment of diabetic retinopathy, potentially impacting the care of over 25 million Americans. The study was published in April 2014 in the journal Biomedical Optics Express.
_ Internet Use Could Help With Depression By Jane Farrell article Internet use by elderly people can sharply reduce the likelihood of depression, a common ailment among older Americans, research shows. The finding comes from Michigan State University researchers, who followed the lives of thousands of older Americans for six years. They concluded that Internet use by elderly people can reduce the risk of depression by more than 30 percent.
_ Dementia Drugs Not Always Necessary By Jane Farrell article Experts say a team-based approach to handling undesirable behaviors in dementia patients could lead to a reduction in the use of psychiatric drugs. The approach is known as DICE – Describe, Investigate, Evaluate and Create. The researchers said they hope that using the DICE approach will create better teamwork among people who care for dementia patients at home, in hospitals and clinics and in residential facilities. The panel of experts published their analysis in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
_ Can God Cure Your Break-Up Blues? By article Researcher Kristin Laurin of the Stanford Graduate School of Business has explored how faith in God helps people cope with the threat of romantic rejection. A release from the university notes that “God stands in for other relationships in our lives when times are tough”. The study was published on April 17th in Social Psychological and Personality Science,
_ More Effective Kidney Stone Treatment By article Researchers in France have hit on a novel method to help kidney stone sufferers ensure they receive the correct and most effective treatment possible. Kidney stones represent a major medical problem in the Western and developing world. If left untreated, apart from being particularly painful, they can lead to renal failure and other complications. In many patients treated successfully, stone recurrence is also a major problem. Clearly a more effective pathological approach to diagnosis and treatment needs to be identified to ensure successful eradication of stones.
The "A-to-F" Guide To Self-Acceptance By blog Aging gracefully is difficult when it comes to our changing bodies. It is almost like some alien force takes over and brings with it extra weight, a slower metabolism and “curves” where they never existed before. Here‘s my “A-to-F” guide to accepting your body, and your value, in life after 50.
_ Getting Rid of Bad Memories By Jane Farrell article When it comes to bad or embarrassing memories, it’s better for you to focus on the whole picture rather than only on what you did, a new study shows. “Sometimes we dwell on how sad, embarrassed, or hurt we felt during an event, and that makes us feel worse and worse. This is what happens in clinical depression—ruminating on the negative aspects of a memory,” said psychology professor Florin Dolcos of the Cognitive Neuroscience Group, Beckman Institute, University of Illinois.