@Getty Images The Food and Drug Administration is pulling Avandia from retail pharmacy shelves due to the diabetes drug’s cardiovascular threat to patients.æ A 2007 analysis conducted by the Cleveland Clinic cardiologist Steven Nissen, M.D., found that those with type 2 diabetes who took Avandia had a 40% increase in...
Archives: May 2011
Next Generation Not Prepared for Retirement Either
A new study indicates that while the Baby Boomer generation isn’t ready for retirement, the next generation of seniors isn’t planning that well either. Studies have shown that many Baby Boomers donäó»t have enough in savings to sustain them at the level of living they expect or to withstand long-term...
Hoarding Worse As You Grow Older – Depression not OCD Partly to Blame
A Kaiser Health News article reports that according to several studies presented at the annual conference of the American Society on Aging, hoarders are more likely to be depressed, anxious or have social phobias than to have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It could be a by-product of growing older and being...
Thyroid Drugs May Increase Risk for Fractures
According to a Health Day News article, seniors may be at increased risk for fractures because they take “excessive” doses of drugs used to treat thyroid problems. It suggests that regular dose monitoring of thyroid drugs is essential into older age. Researchers examined the link between fractures and levothyroxine, widely...
Generation Alzheimer’s – New Report New Facts – Funding Needed
A new report from the Alzheimer’s Association called Generation Alzheimer’s sheds yet more light on the disease. “Alzheimeräó»s äóñ with its broad ranging impact on individuals, families, Medicare and Medicaid – has the power to bring the country to its financial knees,” said Robert J. Egge, vice president of Public...
Best of the Web Produces Valuable Resource Guide for Caregivers
I served as a judge for SeniorHomes.com Best of the Web awards this past year. As a result of the resources they uncovered they have produced a comprehensive senior living guide to transform contest results into a tangible, useful format for consumers.I have reviewed it and it is quite comprehensive....
HHS Outlines Five Steps for Reducing Healthcare Disparities
The Department of Health and Human Services has outlined goals, strategies and actions it will take to reduce health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities.æææ The define a health disparity as a particular type of health difference that is closely linked with social, economic, and/or environmental disadvantage. Racial and ethnic...
Elderly Heart Failure Patients Face Poorer Outcomes if Nursing Home Care Needed
Elderly heart failure patients who need skilled nursing care after discharge from the hospital face a higher risk of poor outcomes and even death, according to the American Heart Association.Researchers from the University of Colorado-Denver School of Medicine analyzed data from 15,459 Medicare patients, with an average age of 80,...
Physicians Too Aggressive in Ordering Prostate Screenings Could Do More Harm Than Good
Many elderly men may be undergoing unnecessaryäóîand perhaps complicatingäóîprostate cancer screenings, according to a study on the use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening methods in the United States. Researchers reported that nearly half of men in their seventies underwent PSA screening in the past year, almost double the screening rate...
Threats of Nursing Home Lawsuits Do Not Improve Care
Nursing homes with high quality ratings are sued almost as often as lower performing nursing homes, according to a new study published by the New England Journal of Medicine. And researchers found litigation or its likelihood does not necessarily result in better care.æ Researchers analyzed information about nursing home lawsuits...