healthy living for women + their families
Medicare Patients And Low-risk Medicare patients who are getting home health care appear to benefit from medication management therapy conducted via phone, but that procedure doesn’t work for higher-risk patients, a new study shows.
The study, conducted by researchers from Purdue University, aimed to see which patients benefit the most from medication management via telephone.
Researchers have found that the snack food ingredient olestra speeds up toxin removal from the body.
The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Cincinnati’s medical school, was published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry.
Olestra is a zero-calorie fat substitute found in low-calorie snack foods such as Pringles. Researchers said it could reduce the levels of serum polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in people who had been exposed to PCBs.
High PCB levels have been linked to hypertension and diabetes.
What causes “good” brown fat to turn into “bad” white fat? Boston University researchers say the unfortunate transformation happen when you eat too many high calorie foods. They found that this habit not only leads to an increase in white fat cells (the type prominent in obesity) but that it also makes brown fat cells (the type that generate heat and burn energy) “whiten”. The results were published in April 2014 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Having some senior moments? The upside is that you may be at a lower risk for dying of cancer. A study done at the University Hospital in Madrid and in the April 9th 2014 online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found that older people who are starting to have memory and thinking problems but do not yet have dementia may have a lower risk of dying from cancer than people who have no memory and thinking problems.
Here's another addition to our Third Age video collection. Press play to start learning.
Sometimes it seems as if entire supermarket aisles are devoted to high-fiber, protein-packed, multi-grain or whole-grain foods. The grain issue can be especially complicated. Whole grains are crucial for nutrients such as zinc, magnesium, B vitamins, and fiber.
But, according to the federal program choosemyplate.gov, you need to carefully evaluate foods that make grains claims. Here, the experts tell you how to get the best possible whole-grain nutrients.
New research from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City shows that an antidepressant nasal spray can become effective within 24 hours – an unusually rapid amount of time.
The ketamine spray was well-tolerated by patients who have treatment-resistant major depressive disorder.
Of 18 patients who took ketamine or the placebo saline for two days, eight responded to ketamine within 24 hours, while one responded to saline.
A new model of coordinated brain care improves treatment and outcomes for patients with cognitive impairment.
Researchers from the Regenstrief Institute, Eskenazi Health and Indiana University Center for Aging Research, who developed the Healthy Aging Brain Center care model, said the new program also produces substantial cost savings.
In the program, patients have an initial cognitive assessment, including neuropsychological testing, brain imaging, a medication review and structured neurological and physical evaluations.
By Ron Cummings
The Good
A historic release of data gives Medicare beneficiaries an unprecedented look at the medical services physicians provide and how much they are paid.On Arpil 9th 2014, as part of the Obama administration’s work to make our health care system more transparent, affordable, and accountable, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the release of new, privacy-protected data on services and procedures provided to Medicare beneficiaries by physicians and other health care professionals.
Current and recent use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, may be linked to a heightened risk of an irregular heartbeat, atrial fibrillation, among older adults. That is the finding of a large population study done in Rotterdam, The Netherlands and published in the online in April 2014 in thejournal BMJ Open.
In the creation of lists by specialty societies of medical services deemed least beneficial, the "Choosing Wisely" initiative, inclusion was often justified by evidence suggesting no additional benefit with higher risk, higher cost, or both, compared with other options, according to a study in the April 9th 2014 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.
Experts at Newcastle University in the UK are investigating Google Glass, the next generation of wearable computing, as an assistive aid to help people with Parkinson's retain their independence for longer.
The device has been likened to the kind of technology fictionalized in the Hollywood Blockbuster “Minority Report”. At first glance, Google Glass appears to be no more than a pair of designer glasses. But the system works like a hands-free smartphone, displaying information on the lens. The technology is voice-operated and linked to the Internet.
Editor’s Note: For patients, cancer is frightening in a lot of ways. Beyond the physical risk to a patient’s health, there are mental effects as well. After surgery, people often find they suffer from memory and nervous systems problems as well as chronic pain. The changes, which can be caused by side effects of treatment, can be overwhelming if a patient doesn’t understand why they’re happening. Here, from the experts at NIHSeniorHealth, is an explanation:
Memory
From the Mayo Clinic
Over 100,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for an organ donation. Unfortunately, many may never get the call saying that a suitable donor organ — and a second chance at life — has been found.
The growing incidence of Alzheimer’s raises many question beyond diagnosis and, eventually treatment. As a society, we also need to think about the ethical and policy choices we are faced with, an expert says.
Researchers have developed a painless method to test for prostate cancer, and that could help millions of men avoid a grueling diagnostic exam.
If a blood test turns up signs of prostate cancer, physicians usually remove samples of tissue through the anus, using 12 large biopsy needles. The procedure has been called “barbaric.”
That technique could be replaced thanks to researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), together with AMC Amsterdam. Research team leader Massimo Mischi at TU/e said the new procedure uses existing ultrasound scanners.
When elderly patients with advanced dementia are hospitalized, the specialties of the doctors at their bedside have a lot to do with whether the patients will end up with a gastric feeding tube — a practice that some medical organizations recommend against for frail, terminal patients. That is the finding of a study done at Brown University and published in the April 2014 edition of the journal Health Affairs,
