Mental & Emotional HealthCounterintuitive Tx for Depression By articleCould ratcheting up the activity of neurons in the brain known to be involved with stress-induced depression have the counterintuitive effect of banishing the blues and helping people bounce back?. Yes, say researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City who published their study online April 18th 2014 in the journal Science.
_ Mental & Emotional HealthAnxiety Medications as You Age By articleAnxiety medications can affect you differently as you age. The National Institutes for Health Senior Health Portal alerts you in to possible problems: The research on treating anxiety disorders in older adults is limited. However, most disorders can be treated with medication or psychotherapy. For some people, a combination of medication and psychotherapy may be the best treatment approach. Antidepressants
_ Heart HealthDeveloping A Safer NSAID By Jane Farrell articleResearchers are drawing closer to a safer alternative to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that relieve pain but can cause heart attacks, strokes and even sudden cardiac death. Investigators from the University of Pennsylvania built on previous work to further explore the role of an enzyme, mPGES-1, in delaying the development of atherosclerosis. Their findings were reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
_ Mental & Emotional HealthWatch: 10 Ways Your Mind Plays Tricks on You By articleHere's another addition to our ThirdAge Video Collection. Press play to start learning!
_ Pain ManagementRelief from Chemo Pain By articleScientists have identified new pain relief targets that could be used to provide relief from chemotherapy-induced pain. Researchers at King's College London made the discovery when investigating how pain occurs in nerves in the periphery of the body. A release from the Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council quotes Dr Marzia Malcangio a saying, "We have been investigating and identifying mechanisms underlying pain generation and our findings could help chemotherapy patients who suffer pain related side effects."
_ Mental & Emotional HealthChildhood Bullying Still Hurts at 50+ By articleWere you bullied as a child? You may still be feeling the negative social, physical and mental health effects. A studydone at King's College London and published in April 2014 in the American Journal of Psychiatry is the first to look at the effects of bullying beyond early adulthood. The findings come from the British National Child Development Study that includes data on all children born in England, Scotland, and Wales during one week in 1958. The 7,771participants were then followed up until the age of 50.
_ Mental & Emotional HealthUnderstanding Bipolar Disorder By Jane Farrell articleEditor’s Note: Bipolar disorder is often talked about, but sometimes misunderstood. The story of days-long manic episodes followed by prolonged depressed periods is a familiar one. But that isn’t the only form this disorder takes. And if someone you love has a variation on classic bipolar disorder, it’s important to recognize the condition and seek diagnosis and treatment. The experts at the National Institute of Mental Health offer the distinctions between the different types of bipolar disorder:
Heart HealthPredicting Heart Disease in Low-Risk Patients By articleWith growing evidence that a measurement of the buildup of calcium in coronary arteries can predict heart disease risk, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) researchers found that the process of "calcium scoring" was also accurate in predicting the chances of dying of heart disease among adults with little or no known risk of heart disease. Matthew J. Budoff, MD and Rine Nakanishi, MD, PhD presented the in March 2014 findings at Acc.14, the annual scientific session of the American College of Cardiology, in Washington D.C
Pain ManagementAlternative Healing for Chronic Pain and Fatigue By articleBy Janet Komanchuk The numbers involved in America’s problem with chronic pain are staggering and probably larger than most realize. More than 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, costing nearly $600 billion annually in medical treatments and lost productivity, according to the Institute of Medicine, which adds that the total surpasses that of all people affected by heart disease, diabetes, and cancer combined.
Skin Skin HealthSkin Disorders and Aging By Jane Farrell articleYour skin changes with age. It becomes thinner, loses fat, and no longer looks as plump and smooth as it once did. Your veins and bones can be seen more easily. Scratches, cuts, or bumps can take longer to heal. Years of sun tanning or being out in the sunlight for a long time may lead to wrinkles, dryness, age spots, and even cancer. But there are things you can do to protect your skin and to make it feel and look better. Here are tips from the National Institute on Aging: Dry Skin And Itching
_ Breast CancerDoubling “Progression-Free Survival” of Breast Ca Patients By articleThe amount of time patients with hormone-receptor–positive breast cancer were on treatment without their cancer worsening, which is called "progression-free survival", was effectively doubled in women with advanced breast cancer who took the experimental drug palbociclib. That was the result of the final clinical trials conducted by researchers from the Revlon/UCLA Women's Cancer Research Program at Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles.
_ Heart HealthIrrational Health Beliefs & Skipped Cardiac Rehab By articleHeart patients with beliefs about health that aren’t based on medical evidence are more likely to skip sessions of cardiac rehabilitation, according to a study done at Ohio State Univeristy and available online in April 2014 in the journal Health Psychology and slated to be published in a future print edition. Among the irrational beliefs assessed were the following: *Doubting the preventive power of the flu vaccine
_ Heart Health10 Ways To Resist Tobacco Cravings By Jane Farrell articleFor most tobacco users, tobacco cravings or urges to smoke can be powerful. But you're not at the mercy of these tobacco cravings. When an urge to use tobacco strikes, remember that although it may be intense, it will be short-lived, and it probably will pass within a few minutes whether or not you smoke a cigarette or take a dip of chewing tobacco. Each time you resist a tobacco craving, you're one step closer to stopping smoking or other tobacco use for good. But it can be difficult.
_ Heartburn/GERDGERD: Help For Heartburn And Other Woes By Jane Farrell articleUgh…heartburn again? If that’s your mantra after meals or as you fall asleep, you may have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). In GERD, the valve between your lower esophagus and stomach weakens. This sometimes lets food and stomach acids back up into your esophagus. The result is usually a burning sensation behind the breastbone, or heartburn. But GERD can also cause other symptoms: hoarseness, chest pain, a dry cough, the sensation that food is caught in your throat. A Problem For All Ages
_ Sleep HealthThe Dangers of Sleep Disorders By Jane Farrell articleThe doctor will then perform a physical examination, looking for signs of illnesses that can affect sleep, including Parkinson’s and heart disease. If your doctor feels more information is needed, he or she may refer you to a sleep center for more testing.
_ Sleep HealthWatch: Are There Gender Differences In Dreaming? By Jane Farrell articleHere's another addition to our Third Age video collection. Press play to start learning.
_ Heart HealthNSAIDs May Raise Afib Risk as We Age By articleCurrent 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.