(JAMA) Among patients with early stages of breast cancer, those whose hearts were more directly irradiated with radiation treatments on the left side in a facing-up position had higher risk of heart disease, according to research letter by David J. Brenner, Ph.D, D.Sc, of Columbia University Medical Center, New York,...
Author Archives: anthony
Holiday Visits to Elderly Relatives – Be on the Lookout
The following is reprinted with permission. I urge you to read it and pass it along. As you make your way home for the holidays here is what to look for during visits to elderly relatives. “Home for the Holidays” What to look for during your annual visit to elderly...
BP Drugs May Cut Alzheimer’s Dementia by 50%
(From McKnight’s Long-Term Care News and Assisted Living) Seniors who take certain blood pressure medications might be at a dramatically reduced risk for developing dementia associated with Alzheimer’s disease, according to findings published in the journal Neurology. A team led by a researcher from the Johns Hopkins University School of...
Are You Getting a Good Night’s Sleep? Less Sleep, Poor Quality Sleep May Have Alzheimer’s Link
(From JAMA) Getting less sleep and poor sleep quality are associated with abnormal brain imaging findings suggesting Alzheimer disease (AD) in older adults, according to a report published by JAMA Neurology, a JAMA Network publication. Deposits of ë_-Amyloid (ëÔë_) plaques are one of the hallmarks of AD. Fluctuations in ëÔë_...
Are You Being Over-Diagnosed?
(From JAMA) Cancer screenings can find treatable disease at an earlier stage but they can also detect cancers that will never progress to cause symptoms. Detection of these early, slow-growing cancers can lead to unnecessary surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. This begs the question: Are You Being Over-Diagnosed? A survey finds...
Turning Caregiving from Burden to Opportunity ÛÒ Free E-Book
IÛªve created a free 55-page e-book entitled The Caregiver Sur-Thrival Guide. If you want to know how to turn caregiving from a burden to an opportunity, download this guide now. It’s not about surviving caregiving. It’s about thriving! As a reader of my blog, you have benefited from great information...
American Postponing Retirement, Have Saved Little and Are Experiencing Workplace Age Bias
Wow. All good news! Yikes. The Associated Press – NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released the results of a new survey exploring the views of older Americans about their plans for work and retirement. ÛÏThe survey illuminates an important shift in AmericansÛª attitudes toward work, aging, and retirement,Û said...
Half Not Taking Medications Properly
The National Council on Patient Information and Education released a sobering report ÛÏAccelerating Progress in Prescription Medicine Adherence: The Adherence Action Agenda that shows that half of the estimated 187 million Americans who take one or more prescription medicinesÛÓor up to 93.5 million patientsÛÓdo not take these drugs as prescribed....
Pill for Alzheimer’s May Slow/Stop Disease
It worked in the lab. A British study shows that a pill for Alzheimer’s could treat the disease by halting the death of neurons. However it could be a decade or more before any medicine is developed. The Medical Research Council (MRC) team focused on abnormally shaped proteins that stick...
More Evidence that a Flu Shot is Good for You
An increased dose of influenza vaccine stimulates a greater immune response than the standard dose in long-term care residents older than 65 years, according to a new study from Richard Zimmerman, MD, from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. According to MedScape, Fluzone, a high-dose influenza vaccine, was approved by...