_ Mental & Emotional HealthHow to Cultivate Contentment By Jane Farrell articleBy Mayo Clinic StaffDo you know how to be happy? Or are you waiting for happiness to find you?
_ OsteoporosisOxidative Stress Predicts Hip Fracture By Sondra Forsyth articleOxidative stress -- a disruption in the balance between the production of free radicals and antioxidants -- is a significant predictor for hip fracture in postmenopausal women, according to research led by University of Cincinnati epidemiologists and published online ahead of print in August 2014 in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.
_ Brain HealthDigital Literacy Reduces Cognitive Decline By Sondra Forsyth articleCongratulations, ThirdAge fan! The fact that you are at your computer reading this means that you are among the digital literati – and that accomplishment promises to lower your risk of cognitive decline as you age.Researchers led by Andre Junqueira Xavier at the Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina in Brazil have found that the ability to engage, plan, and execute digital actions such as web browsing and exchanging emails can improve memory. The results were published in July 8th 2014 in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Medical Sciences.
_ Anxiety (Panic Disorders, Phobias) Mental & Emotional Health Spiritual HealthPrayer Eases Anxiety for Some, But Not All By Sondra Forsyth articleFor many people with anxiety-related disorders, prayer doesn't ease the symptoms. That’s the finding of research done at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. What seems to matter is the type of attachment a person feels toward God. According to the Baylor study, those who prayed to a loving and supportive God whom they thought would be there to comfort and protect them in times of need were less likely to show symptoms of anxiety-related disorders such as irrational worry, fear, self-consciousness, dread in social situations, and obsessive-compulsive behavior.
_ OsteoporosisProgress in Preventing Osteoporosis By Jane Farrell articleResearchers are progressing in the development of a more effective treatment of osteoporosis, a widespread and serious health problem in the U.S.The investigators, from the UCLA School of Dentistry, are working on a treatment that both slows down the destruction of bone and promotes bone formation.The researchers found that a growth factor, Wnt4, which is secreted in the bone marrow, prevented bone loss in mice with osteoporosis. Wnt4 does that by blocking a signaling pattern that would otherwise promote inflammation.
_ Women's Health and WellnessToward Tx for Interstitial Cystitis By Sondra Forsyth articleA search for biomarkers is aimed at improving treatment of the painful bladder condition called interstitial cystitis (IC). Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem North Carolina are taking advantage of technology that can analyze tissue samples and measure the activity of thousands of genes at once.
_ PneumoniaRespiratory Rate in Pneumonia Often Overlooked By Sondra Forsyth articlePneumonia, a severe lung infection, is the most common disease calling for hospital admission. More than one out of ten pneumonia patients die of the disease. Thus it is vital to predict accurately and to closely monitor the clinical course. Measuring the respiratory rate – the number of breaths a person takes in a minute – provides valuable information. However, far too little use is still being made of this vital sign in clinical practice, according to Richard Strauß and co-authors a study published in August 2014 in Deutsches Ärzteblatt.
_ Highly Drug Resistant Pathogen in Ohio By Sondra Forsyth articleA team of clinician researchers has discovered a highly virulent, multidrug resistant form of the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa in patient samples in Ohio. Their investigation suggests that the particular genetic element involved, which is still rare in the United States, has been spreading heretofore unnoticed, and that surveillance is urgently needed. The research, which was done at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, was published ahead of print in August 2014 in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.
_ Women's Health and WellnessWhat's Your Bladder Telling You About Your Health? By Jane Farrell articleHow your bladder functions every day can tell you a lot about your overall health. How often you urinate during the day and during the night, the color of your urine and whether you can “hold it” all provide clues to health conditions that don’t involve your urinary system. “Eighty percent of the causes of bladder problems are related to conditions outside of the bladder,” says urologist Raymond Rackley, MD. These can include problems with the nervous or cardiovascular systems, Rackley says. So what should you look out for?
_ Grandparenting Kid's & Teen Health Mental & Emotional Health ParentingCan Fiction Heighten Empathy? By Sondra Forsyth articleIf you read stories to your grandchildren and also read fiction for your own pleasure, you may be improving the ability of both the children and yourself to understand what other people are thinking or feeling. That’s the finding of a study presented on August 7th 2014 at the American Psychological Association's 122nd Annual Convention in Washington D.C. by psychologist Raymond Mar from York University in Canada.
Coming Next Week! August 18th to August 22nd 2014 By Sondra Forsyth articleHere’s a sneak preview of the articles, slideshows, and blogs we’ll be posting during the coming week on ThirdAge, the biggest and best site for “boomer and beyond” women since 1997. As always, we’ll bring you the latest information from top experts about maintaining a healthy body, mind, and spirit as you navigate both the challenges and the joys of being a ThirdAger.
_ OsteoarthritisNewfound Cause of Osteoarthritis By Sondra Forsyth articleA mechanism of joint destruction caused by a natural material that grinds away healthy cartilage and worsens osteoarthritis has been identified in human hip joints for the first time by University of Liverpool scientists in the UK.The scientists, with Professor Alan Boyde and colleagues from Queen Mary University of London, were studying the hip of a man with a rare genetic condition, alkaptonuria (AKU). This is a metabolic disease in which a substance called homogentisic acid accumulates in joint cartilage, causing changes to its physical properties.
_ Vision Health“Seeing'” Through Virtual Touch By Sondra Forsyth articleSurprising results from University of Cincinnati research could lead to new ways to help the visually impaired better navigate everyday life. Visual impairment comes in many forms, and it's on the rise in America. The University of Cincinnati experiment aimed at this diverse and growing population could spark development of advanced tools to help all the aging baby boomers, injured veterans, diabetics, and white-cane-wielding pedestrians navigate the blurred edges of everyday life.
_ Breast CancerActive Lifestyle Decreases Breast Ca Risk After Menopause By Sondra Forsyth articlePostmenopausal women who in the past four years had undertaken regular physical activity equivalent to at least four hours of walking per week had a lower risk for invasive breast cancer compared with women who exercised less during those four years, according to data published in August 2014 inCancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
_ Breast CancerScientists Zeroing In on Third Breast-Cancer Gene By Jane Farrell articleResearchers have discovered more about a breast-cancer gene that could be as important as the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in determining a woman’s likelihood of getting breast cancer.An international team of 17 researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, said that the gene, PALB 2, could be a candidate to be “BRCA 3.” They said that women with the gene have an average one in three chance of developing breast cancer by the age of 70.The findings were reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.Although it’s been known for a while that PALB2 was l
_ Dental Health Oral HealthMixed Messages About How to Brush Teeth By Sondra Forsyth articleAdvice on how we should brush our teeth from dental associations and toothpaste companies worldwide is “unacceptably inconsistent”, according to research done at the University College London and published in August 2014 in the British Dental Journal.The study looked at the brushing advice given by dental associations across ten countries, toothpaste and toothbrush companies, and in dental textbooks. The team found a wide range of recommendations on what brushing method to use, how often to brush, and for how long.
_ Mental & Emotional HealthHow We Form & Change Habits By Sondra Forsyth articleMuch of our daily lives are taken up by habits that we've formed over our lifetime. An important characteristic of a habit is that it's automatic-- we don't always recognize habits in our own behavior. Studies show that about 40 percent of people's daily activities are performed each day in almost the same situations. Habits emerge through associative learning. "We find patterns of behavior that allow us to reach goals.
_ Alzheimer's Disease and other Dementias Brain Health Mental & Emotional HealthDepression & Cognitive Decline = Faster Brain Aging By Sondra Forsyth articlePeople who develop depression and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) after age 65 are more likely to have biological and brain imaging markers that reflect a greater vulnerability for accelerated brain aging, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The findings were published online in Molecular Psychiatry.