_ Weight Loss Weight Loss Program in Sign Language Helps the Deaf By article A group of deaf adults using American Sign Language in a healthy lifestyle program successfully lost weight, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology & Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity & Metabolism Scientific Sessions in March 2014 in San Francsico.
Caregiving Caregiving Challenges: Bathing and Personal Hygiene By article By Diane Blum As Alzheimer’s progresses, poor hygiene can often become more than just an unpleasant issue. It can have medical consequences, such as bacterial infections including UTIs. Gastroenteritis and other health issues can also occur, some quite serious to an immune system weakened as Alzheimer’s progresses.
_ The Aging Brain Needs REST By article Researchers at the Harvard Medical School have discovered that a gene regulator called REST, which is active during fetal brain development, switches back on later in life to protect aging neurons from stresses including the toxic effects of abnormal proteins. The team also showed that REST is lost in critical brain regions of people with Alzheimer's and mild cognitive impairment.
_ Exercise Get Fit For Free By Jane Farrell article Getting and staying fit can be intimidating, especially if you don’t want to go to gyms that might make you self-conscious and cost a lot of money. Even at-home equipment can be costly. But you can have an enjoyable fitness routine without spending anything. Experts from the Go4Life fitness program of the National Institutes of Health have some great suggestions:
Five Questions to Ask Your Surgeon Before An Operation By Jane Farrell article From the Mayo Clinic The news that you will need surgery can prompt many questions and a lot of anxiety. Beyond details about your medical condition and treatment options, what should you ask your surgeon before the operation? Whatever you need to ask to be comfortable with the decisions you make about your care, says Robert Cima, M.D., a colon and rectal surgeon and chair of Mayo’s surgical quality subcommittee.
_ Mental & Emotional Health Suppressing Unwanted Memories By article Researchers at the University of Cambridge and the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in the UK have shown that suppressing unwanted memories reduces their unconscious influences on subsequent behavior. The team has also shed light on how this process happens in the brain.
_ Stretchable Antenna for Wearable Health Monitors By article Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new, stretchable antenna that can be incorporated into wearable technologies such as health monitoring devices to keep track of blood pressure, oxygen in the blood, and pulse rate. The paper is published online in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
_ Smart Tag Flags Spoiled Food & Meds By article A color-coded smart tag could tell consumers whether a carton of milk has turned sour or a can of green beans has spoiled without opening the containers, according to researchers at Peking University in Beijing, China. The tag, which would appear on the packaging, also could be used to determine if medications and other perishable products were still active or fresh. The report on the color-changing food deterioration tags was presented on March 17th 2014 as part of the 247th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society in Dallas.
_ Heart Health "Bendopnea" = Heart Failure Symptom By article University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center cardiologists have defined a novel heart failure symptom in advanced heart failure patients: shortness of breath while bending over, such as when putting on shoes. The cardiologists dubbed he condition “bendopnea”, which is pronounced “bend-op-nee-ah”/ The easily detectable symptom can help doctors diagnose excessive fluid retention in patients with heart failure, according to the findings published in a March 2014 edition of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Heart Failure.
_ Keeping Your Kidneys Healthy By Jane Farrell article According to the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), 26 million Americans have chronic kidney disease (CKD), and millions more are at risk. Kidney disease, in which the kidney fails to eliminate wastes from the body, is extremely serious, since it can lead to failure of this vital organ.
Heart Health 5 Common Questions About Sex and Your Heart By Jane Farrell article By Steven Nissen, MD Cleveland Clinic Patients often ask me: Is sex good for your heart? The question seems simple. The answer is complicated, in part because of the limits of what research can tell us. But we do have a strong sense that sex fits in with a heart-healthy lifestyle. Below are answers to five common questions. 1. Is sex exercise?
_ Deer HuntersΓÇÖ Trick Can Help Diabetics By Jane Farrell article The scent of a human alerts deer to a hunter’s presence so scientists developed sprays for suppressing the telltale odor. Now, in an unexpected twist, researchers at Mississippi State University have discovered that the work of those scientists could help develop an electronic device to do the work of “diabetes alert dogs”. The team presented the findings at the 247th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in March 2014 in Dallas.
Continuity of Care for Elderly Patients Needed By article Older patients with chronic illnesses often have care that is poorly coordinated. They may see many different health care providers working in multiple clinical locations, and poor communication between provider and patient is common. These factors can lead to higher use of health services and poorer outcomes. Improving the coordination of care for elderly patients with chronic diseases trims costs, reduces use of health services, and cuts complications. Those are the finding of a study done by the RAND Corporation and published online in March 2014 by JAMA Internal Medicine.
Moving My Feet By blog Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward." A Facebook friend recommended a workout fitness tracking bracelet called fit-bit. I received mine for Christmas, and I LOVE it!! I think the quote above should be their slogan, or at least I made it mine while I am working out.
_ Caregivers and Exercise By Jane Farrell article According to Sherri Snelling, ThirdAge contributor and founder of The Caregiving Club (www.caregivingclub.com), there are 65 million family caregivers in the United States. It’s no surprise that many of them, alone with that emotionally and physically draining task, become depressed. In turn, that can lead to unhealthy lifestyle choices such as failure to exercise, bad eating habits and tobacco and alcohol use.
How to Love an Angry Man: Part 3 ΓÇô Help Him by Helping Yourself By blog I’ve been writing about angry men for some time now. That’s because I recognized how destructive anger can be in our relationships, but also how common it is. In my book, Stress Relief for Men: How to Use the Revolutionary Tools of Energy Healing to Live WellI describe the experiences that many people have living with an angry and abusive male:
Focus and Manifestation By blog I learned far too late in life that what I focus on grows! When I start really looking for something I usually find it. Not always in the form that I expected, but these days I can usually manifest what I decide is a priority for me. Why is this? Because focus leads to creativity. Finding the courage to make a solid commitment to any goal, focuses your mind and body. Because you have found a focus, your mind and body will now seek out solutions everywhere. Our minds are amazing that way!
_ Doctors Prescribe Medicines that May Not Be Best for Patients By Jane Farrell article When it comes to choosing which medications to prescribe, patients may have as much influence as physicians, a study has found. Researchers said that that patient requests for specific medications—often spurred by direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising—have a substantial impact on doctors' prescribing decisions. "A patient request for a specific medication dramatically increases the rate at which physician s prescribe that medication," said lead researcher John B. McKinlay, PhD, of New England Research Institutes, Watertown, Mass.