Senior Citizen Health & Medicine
Inherited Gene Found to Increase Melanoma Risk
About 7,910 Americans are expected to die of
melanomas during 2006
June 30, 2006 The most common cancer is skin
cancer melanoma. Although about half of all cases occur in people
older than 56, it is unusual for a cancer to appear in so many younger
people. New research by the National Cancer Institute has found a link
between inherited and acquired genetic factors that dramatically
increase the chance of developing a very common type of melanoma. It is
information that may be of particular interest to senior citizens that
need to alert their children and grandchildren.
Read more...
Taking Medicine Regularly (Even Placebo) Lowers
Death Risk
June 30, 2006 - People who take their medicine
regularly, even dummy placebo medicine, have a lower risk of death than
those with poor adherence, finds a study in this weeks British Medical
Journal (BMJ).This intriguing finding supports the concept of the
healthy adherer effect, whereby adherence to drug treatment may be a
marker for overall healthy behavior, say the authors.
Read more...
New
Guide Makes It Easier to Use Diet to Lower High Blood Pressure
June 29, 2006 - If youre one of the 65 million
American adults, one in three, with high blood pressure, you have probably
heard the advice, watch your diet, cut back on salt. But how? Figuring out
what to eat and how much to eat is not always simple. A new guide by the
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute may be what the doctor ordered.
Read more...
Coffee Link to Lower Diabetes Risk is Good News for Senior Citizens
Findings may carry high public health significance
June
27, 2006 - Drinking coffee, especially when it is decaffeinated, may be
associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, and this study, the
authors conclude, may have "high public health significance," due to the
popularity of coffee among senior citizens, who also have high rates of
diabetes.
Read
more...and more stories on benefits of coffee.
Senior Citizens Most Likely to Suffer from
Dehydration
Latest in series "A New Look at the Old" highlights
risks for seniors
June 27, 2006 The latest article in the series "A
New Look at the Old," features studies on the serious problems that can
develop for senior citizens that become dehydrated, including higher
risk of coronary heart disease. Age-related changes make older adults
more vulnerable to shifts in water balance that can result in
over-hydration or, more frequently, dehydration.
Read more...
Women Surviving Cardiovascular Disease Treatment in
Hospitals at Higher Rates
40% lower mortality in the best compared to
poorest performing hospitals
June 26, 2006 - American hospitals improved women's
survival rates for treatment of heart disease and stroke by an average
of 9.54 percent from 2002 through 2004, according to the third annual
HealthGrades Women's Health Outcomes in U.S. Hospitals study, released
today.
Read more...
Men Found with Prostate Cancer Rush to Judgment on
Treatment
June 26, 2006 Fear and uncertainty usually drive
the initial treatment decisions by men diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Seeking rapid results they make emotionally driven treatment decisions
influenced by anecdote and misconception rather than consideration of
clinical trial evidence, and they have no time for second opinions,
indicates the new study in the August issue of CANCER, journal of the
American Cancer Society.
Read more...
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm is Big Killer of Older Men
and Drawing New Attention
Race
against the clock as Medicare approves screening for rapidly aging
population
June 23, 2006 It is a condition many older men
may not have even heard of, but it is at least the 10th leading killer
in the U.S. and primarily affects men over age 55. Now, with the aging
of the baby boomers and the mushrooming of the number of older men,
abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is getting more attention, including a
new screening procedure approved by Medicare that may soon tell many men
that they have a killer condition that they can do little or nothing
about.
Read
more...
Generic of the Statin Drug Zocor Approved by
FDA after Court Refuses Delay
Cholesterol
drug cost to drop $14 million a year, says HealthPartners
Fourth generic approved this week; one for men's
hair loss
June
23, 2006 Hailing the action as an important step in the Food and Drug
Administration's effort to increase the availability of lower-cost
generic medications, the agency today approved the first generic version
of the statin Zocor (simvastatin). Last minute efforts by the drug
company Novartis to temporarily block the Simvastatin release, to allow
time to introduce its own generic version, was denied by a federal judge
earlier today. (Read the story on HealthPartners selling simvastatin
today below this report.)
Read more...
Older Women Find Little Leeway on Drinking Alcohol
Narrow gap
from healthful to harmful - Harvard
Women's Heart Watch
June 23, 2006 - Various studies suggest that
moderate drinking helps prevent cardiovascular disease and lowers the
risk for dementia. What hasn't made the headlines are the downsides of
alcohol for women. The July issue of Harvard Women's Health Watch
reports on the risks of alcohol, and why women, especially older women,
are particularly vulnerable to them.
Read more...
Potential of Prostate Cancer Spread Detected Early
by New Test
Test works even if surrounding lymph nodes
initially appear negative
June 21, 2006 - A new prognostic test can help
determine whether a prostate cancer patient will go on to have a
recurrence of the disease, even if surrounding lymph nodes initially
appear negative for cancer, according to a study by University of
Southern California researchers.
Read more...
Tiny Worm is Newest Weapon to Discover
Cancer-Causing Compounds in Household Products
Helps detect virtually any potential cancer-causing
chemical
June 21, 2006 A little worm has enabled scientist
to detect action that blocks "cell suicide," and causes chemical
compounds in household products, like mothballs and air fresheners, to
become possible cancer-causing agents. It is the first systematic way
to screen virtually any potential cancer-causing chemical that may
affect humans, according to the study spearheaded by the University of
Colorado at Boulder.
Read
more...
Very Early Signs of Atherosclerosis Signaling Future
Heart Failure Detected by MRI Tagging
Early coronary artery disease could be
producing blood flow problems causing heart muscle damage, even though
the patients don't feel symptoms
June
21, 2006 - Middle-age and older people who feel healthy, but who have
early signs of atherosclerosis, are more likely to exhibit subtle
changes in heart function, detectable through a special MRI technique,
which may signal the beginning of heart failure, according to a new
study in the June 20, 2006, issue of the Journal of the American College
of Cardiology.
Read
more...
COX-2, NSAID Can Spell DEATH for Recovering Heart
Attack Patients
After heart attack people
may be more
vulnerable to the harmful effects
June 20, 2006 - After a heart attack, patients may
be at higher risk of death if they are treated with pain killers in a
drug class known as COX-2 inhibitors or with high doses of other
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), according to a large
review published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart
Association.
Read more...
New Expensive Treatment for Atrial Fibrillation May
Pay Off for Many
Left Atrial Catheter Ablation (LACA) getting attention as new option
June 20, 2006 - A new procedure that stops the most
common form of irregular heartbeat is expensive, but it may pay off in
the long run for many patients, new research suggests. That means its
important for doctors to choose carefully who receives it, and to
perform further research on its long-term benefit, the authors say.
Read more...
Older Women Have Far Fewer Mammograms Than They
Report
By Joel R. Cooper, Contributing Writer
Health Behavior News Service
June 20, 2006 - What older American women say about
receiving regular mammograms and what they actually do are two different
things, suggests a new study.
Read more...
Colon Cancer Treatment Improved by Targeted Exam of
Lymph Node
June 19, 2006 Colon cancer is the second most
common cause of cancer death in the U.S. but the accuracy of determining
the cancers progress can be improved by examining the lymph notes to
which colorectal cancer is most likely to have spread. This can also
spare some patients the cost and toxicity of chemotherapy, according to
a report in the June issue of the Archives of Surgery, one of the
Journal of the American Medical Association journals.
Read more...
Changing Therapy Sequence does not Improve Survival
for Inflammatory Breast Cancer
June 19, 2006 The survival rates of those with
inflammatory breast cancer, an aggressive and deadly form of cancer,
have improved by combining surgery and various therapies. But a new
study tested when the surgery should be done in this process before or
after other treatments - and found it makes no difference in survival
rates, which remain poor.
Read more...
FDA Approves First Drug Treatment for Late-Stage
Cervical Cancer
Follows approval earlier this month of first
vaccine to prevent it
June 17, 2006 The war against cervical cancer a
deadly disease that primarily strikes older women has received two big
boosts from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This week it approved
a combination of Hycamtin (topotecan hydrochloride) and cisplatin for
use as the first drug treatment for women with late-stage cancer of the
cervix when a physician determines that surgery or radiation therapy are
unlikely to be effective. Early this month the agency approved Gardasil
as the first vaccine developed to prevent cervical cancer.
Read more...
AMA Wants a Delay in Advertising New Drugs, No
Actors Playing Doctors
Survey says only one-third are interested in drug
advertising
June 15, 2006 The American Medical Association
yesterday voted at their annual meeting to propose a temporary ban on
all advertising of new drugs by pharmaceutical companies. It is a move
many senior citizens, often confused by the counter claims of drug
advertising, will support. The physicians want the chance to learn about
the drugs before their patients are inundated with advertising about
them. They also want the rule to apply to implantable medical devices.
Interestingly, a new survey released yesterday said only about one-third
of people are interested in drug advertising.
Read more...
Studies of Manual vs. Automated Chest Compression
for Cardiac Arrest Conflict
June
14, 2006 Cardiac arrest that occur outside of hospitals claim hundreds
of thousands of lives every year, a large number of the victims being
senior citizens. Two new studies have come up with conflicting opinions
in trying to determine if an automated chest compression device works
better than manual chest compression. An editorial in the same issue of
the Journal of the American Medical Association tries to reconcile the
differences.
Read
more...
Galvus Oral Diabetes Compound Shows Significant
Blood Sugar Reduction
Senior
citizens showed A1c drop of 2.3% from mean A1c baseline of 8.4%
June 13, 2006 - Galvus (vildagliptin), seeking to
become a new once-daily oral treatment option for type 2 diabetes, has
demonstrated impressive efficacy, especially in patients with poor
glycemic control, as well as weight loss benefits in obese patients,
according to a Phase III study reported today at the 66th Scientific
Sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) meeting in
Washington, DC.
Read more...
Pancreatic Cancer Surgery Can Help Those Even Over
80
More than 70% with
pancreatic cancer are seniors over age 65
June 13, 2006 A new study of pancreatic surgery
during the last 35 years at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore has
found that contrary to what many both in and out of medicine may
believe, major pancreatic cancer surgery can successfully be performed
on patients in their 80s, 90s and even older. It is welcome news for
senior citizens, aware that 70 percent of those found with this deadly cancer
are over age 65.
Read more...
Coffee Drinking Associated with Lower Risk for
Alcohol-Related Liver Disease
If coffee prevents cirrhosis, senior citizens
should be safe, since most prefer coffee to sex
June 13, 2006 Most senior citizens should be safe
from developing the liver disease alcoholic cirrhosis. New research says
coffee may reduce the risk of cirrhosis. An old study says senior
citizens had rather give up sex than their coffee. The new report is in
the June 12 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the
JAMA/Archives journals.
Read more...
Meditation May Improve Cardiac Risks in Patients
with Coronary Heart Disease
June 13, 2006 - A relaxation technique known as
transcendental meditation may decrease blood pressure and reduce insulin
resistance among patients with coronary heart disease, according to a
report in the June 12 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, one of
the JAMA/Archives journals.
Read more...
Death Risk Jumps by Nine from not taking Medicine
after Drug-Eluting Stent
Old age, low education, no
spouse, cost seen as factors for skipping drugs
June 12, 2006 Heart attack patients who stopped
taking antiplatelet drugs (which help prevent blood clots) within 30
days of receiving a drug-coated stent had nine times the risk of death
compared to patients who followed doctors orders. Shockingly, about 15
percent of those studied, who were supposed to take the medicine for
months, had stopped within the first month.
Read more...
Catch 22: Implantable Defibrillators Reduce
Deaths but Increase Heart Failure
More
attention needed to prevent heart failure in those who get ICD
June
12, 2006 Is there a Catch 22 with implantable cardioverter
defibrillators? These ICDs do reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death
but they may increase the risk of heart failure in those who live
longer. A new study says more attention must be paid to heart failure
prevention in those who get ICDs.
Read more...
Older Men Unaware of Erectile Dysfunction Link to
Problems Such as High Blood Pressure
'Check Men's Facts' campaign
urges men see doctor
June 9, 2006 - A new national survey of U.S. men
ages 35 and older showed that approximately 8 of every 10 men who have
high blood pressure (hypertension or HTN) (82%) were not aware of its
connection to erectile dysfunction (ED), and many were unaware of the
connection between ED and other medical conditions that commonly affect
men, such as high cholesterol (86%) and diabetes (73%).
Read more...
Discovery Could Lead to Treatment of Age-Related
Macular Degeneration
Bone Marrow may restore
eye cell damage that
causes AMD
June 9, 2006 - University of Florida scientists
conducting experiments with mice have found evidence that the body
naturally replenishes small amounts of cells in the eye essential for
healthy vision. The finding may shatter the belief that a cell
layer vital for eyesight called the retinal pigment epithelium, or RPE,
is a nonrenewable resource. It is damaged RPE that causes age-related
macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in senior citizens.
Read more...
Half of COPD Patients Were Misdiagnosed as Having
Asthma
70% of those with this leading cause of
disability are senior citizens
June 8, 2006 - COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease) - a progressive condition that leads to a worsening of
respiratory symptoms, a decline in lung function and increased
disability - tends to be under-diagnosed and under-treated. More than
half of patients with COPD, for example, may be misdiagnosed as having
asthma. Estimates are that almost three-fourths of COPD patients are
senior citizens.
Read
more...
Heart Attack, Bypass Patients Less Fit than
Previously Thought
Most women have
the aerobic fitness of a person with
life-threatening chronic heart failure
June 7, 2006 People entering cardiac
rehabilitation after a heart attack or bypass surgery are not as fit as
has been assumed especially women. Women typically have the aerobic
fitness of a person with life-threatening chronic heart failure. Men in
the 2,896-patient study were more aerobically fit than women
participants but their average fitness level also proved lower than
expected.
Read more...
Prostate Cancer a Booming Market for New Therapies
3.4% annual sales growth and success of Taxotere
fuel new therapies
June 7, 2006 - A sustained annual growth of more
than 3.4% in sales of prostate cancer therapies from 2005 to 2015 will
be driven primarily by new entries to the market that will add to,
rather than replace, existing therapies. The rapidly increasing older
population, too, will certainly increase the need for treatment, since
over 75% percent of cases are diagnosed in men over age 65. The average
age at the time of diagnosis is 70 and the disease if extremely rare in
men under 40.
Read more
& prostate facts...
Tamoxifen and Raloxifene Both Guard Against Invasive
Breast Cancer, But
Raloxifene the rising star says editorial in JAMA
June 5, 2006 - Raloxifene and tamoxifen are both
effective in reducing the risk of invasive breast cancer, but each has
potential disease and quality of life side effects that women and their
physicians will need to consider, according to two reports and an
editorial published online June 5 by JAMA.
Read more...
Older Women with Early Breast Cancer have Better
Survival with Aromasin
Company says 17% less deaths when
switched from tamoxifen
June 3, 2006 - New data from the Intergroup
Exemestane Study (IES) showed for the first time today that hormone
sensitive postmenopausal early breast cancer patients who switched to
Aromasin after 2 to 3 years of tamoxifen were 17% more likely to be
alive and were 25% less likely to have their cancer return than patients
who continued on tamoxifen for a full 5 years of therapy. The news was
issued by the company.
Read more...
Better Palliative Care Access, National Health Care
Plan Recommended by HHS Working Group
Citizens' Health Care Working Group wants core health care for all by
2012
June 3, 2006 A basic national health program was
the key recommendation in a report released yesterday by the Citizens'
Health Care Working Group, which was created by the 2003 Medicare
Modernization Act. That is earthshaking news but, as most
recommendations by government working groups, it will probably not
create many waves. Senior citizens, already covered by a national health
plan, will be more interested in a recommendation to restructure the way
palliative care, hospice care and other end-of-life services are
financed and provided, so people in need have increased access to these
services.
Read
more...
Is There Pain Relief for Senior Citizens Beyond COX2
and NSAIDS
British Medical Journal writers examine options for older patients
June 2, 2006 Finding a relief from pain may be a
more popular quest for senior citizens than the search for the fountain
of youth. When seeking either, however, it is probably the dream of
ending incessant pain that fuels the effort. Getting old is not for
sissies. COX 2 inhibitors and NSAIDS, including aspirin, have been
popular resources for older people seeking relief, but both have been
targets of research saying they increase cardiovascular risks. Tomorrow
the British Medical Journal will publish the latest research on this
subject but also, which may be more interesting, an editorial exploring a
broader approach to pain in older patients.
Read more...
Study Finds Hearing Aids are Underused by Senior
Citizens that Need Them Most
Upwards of 50 percent of hearing aid users are
not satisfied
June
2, 2006 Hearing loss increases with age and affects approximately 31.4
percent of senior citizens over age 65 and 40 to 50 percent of people
75 and older. In nursing homes, this number is believed to be 70 to 90
percent. Yet, only one in five Americans who could benefit from a
hearing aid has one and just one-third of those use them.
Read more...
Diabetes Epidemic Faces Patient-Physician Disconnect
Experts say survey points to need for team
approach to treatment
May 31, 2006 - Limited understanding of diabetes
progression and frustration with disease management contribute to the
clinical challenge of meeting the rising type 2 diabetes epidemic in
America, according to the Diabetes Roundtable. The group calls for the
medical community to take a more collaborative approach to caring for
people with type 2 diabetes as a way to improve both disease management
and outcomes. More than 20 million Americans suffer with diabetes and
about half of these are senior citizens age 60 and over.
Read more...
Zostavax Shingles Vaccine
Approved for Senior Citizens
FDA says it is for those
age 60 and older who are most at risk
May 26, 2006 - The Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday licensed Zostavax, a new vaccine
to reduce the risk of shingles (herpes zoster) for use in people 60
years of age and older.
Read more...
Heart Disease Risk Lowered for Men by Drinking
Daily, Women Once a Week
Beneficial effect probably confined to middle
aged or older people
May 26, 2006 - Men who drink alcohol every day have a lower risk
of heart disease than those who drink less frequently, suggests research
in this weeks BMJ. The same is not true for women. But, women who
drank alcohol on at least one day a week had a lower risk of coronary
heart disease than women who drank alcohol on less than one day a week.
The authors noted "the beneficial effect of alcohol is probably confined
to middle aged or older people."
Read more...
More than One in Five Senior Citizens Has Diabetes
Nearly 40% of seniors have pre-diabetes
impaired fasting glucose
May 26, 2006 A new study has found that 22
percent of senior citizens age 65 and older have diabetes and nearly 40
percent suffer with a form of pre-diabetes called impaired fasting
glucose (IFG), which becomes more common with age. The study also found
the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes in U.S. adults age 20 and older has
risen from about 5.1 percent to 6.5 percent.
Read more...
Low Literacy Equals Poor Health for Senior Citizens
Study finds 25% of
elderly between 70 and 79 had limited literacy
May 26, 2006 - People aged 70 years and older with
limited literacy skills are one and one half to two times as likely to
have poor health and poor health care access as people with adequate or
higher reading ability, according to a study led by researchers at the
San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San
Francisco.
Read more...
Senior Citizens Were 33 Percent of Hospital
Admissions in 2003
Elderly also
accounted for close to half (44%) of hospital charges
Although only 12 percent of the U.S. population was
age 65 and older in 2003, they accounted for one-third of all patients
admitted to the nations community hospitals in that year over 13
million hospital stays, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research.
The most common treatment for senior citizens were blood transfusions.
Read more...
Colonoscopy Very Effective But Maybe Used Too Often
Little value for those over 80; Second
test not needed for 10 years
May 23, 2006 Two studies reported in today's
Journal of the American Medical Association suggest that colonoscopy may
be used too often. One of the studies says in does little for those over
80, and the second says those who pass a colonoscopy test probably do
not need another for ten years.
Read more...
A Shot of Botox May Help Men with Enlarged Prostate
Botox is not just for smoothing wrinkles anymore
May 23, 2006 - Enlarged prostate is one of the most
common diseases affecting men as they age. More than half of all men
over the age of 60, and 80 percent by age 80, will have enlarged
prostates. And, these old guys may soon be turning to Botox not to
smooth their wrinkles but to ease the pain with an injection in their
prostate.
Read more...
Virtual Colonoscopy Makes Progress Detecting Polyps,
Studies Say
Studies find broad value and ease of CTC for
average risk patients
May 23, 2006 - With more than 100,000 people in the
U.S. diagnosed each year with colon cancer, doctors are working to
improve screening techniques through more accurate technologies and more
comfortable procedures. In research presented today at Digestive Disease
Week 2006 (DDW), studies suggest that virtual screenings may be just as
effective as standard colonoscopy at detecting colon polyps in
average-risk individuals.
Read more...
Obesity Linked to All Types of Breast Cancer in
Older Women
Risk for spread of disease increased for all women
who gained weight
May 22, 2006 - According to a new study, women who
gain weight in adulthood face a higher lifetime risk of all types of
breast cancer even if they do not take hormone replacement therapy after
menopause. The study of postmenopausal women is the first to investigate
the relationship between weight gain and type of breast cancer.
Read more...
New Sepsis Treatment May Come from Discovery of
Protein Biomarker
Older people are frequent victims of this massive,
vicious killer
May 19, 2006 New research indicates that the
vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein is a key biomarker for
sepsis, a severe inflammatory response that develops from bacterial
infection. Senior citizens are the most frequent victims of this disease
that is the leading cause of death in intensive care units and takes
more lives than breast, colon/rectal, pancreatic, and prostate cancer
combined.
Read
more...and more information on sepsis...
New Drug Approved by FDA to Fight Parkinson's
Disease
Azilect offers new hope for thousands of senior
citizens
May 17, 2006 - The Food and Drug Administration
today approved Azilect (rasagiline), a new molecular entity, for the
treatment of Parkinson's disease. It's good news for senior citizens
aware that the average age of onset for Parkinson's is about age 60.
Both prevalence and incidence increase with advancing age - the rates
are very low in people under 40 and rise among people in their 70s and
80s. Read more...
Acetaminophen May Help Pain but Not Heart after
Heart Attack
Sold as Tylenol it is
also found in Excedrin Extra Strength, Excedrin Migraine and Vanquish
May 16, 2006 Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is safe to
use as a pain reliever and fever reducer after a heart attack, but it
does not protect the heart muscle, a new study using sheep and rabbits
concluded.
Read more...
Statins Reduce Risk of Glaucoma, Macular
Degeneration, Eye Problems
Cholesterol-lowering
drugs improve circulation in the eye
May 9, 2006 The increasing numbers of senior
citizens being advised to take cholesterol-lowering medications known as
statins may get an extra benefit. A new study says the drugs also
improve circulation in the eye, potentially reducing the risk of
glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration and other eye conditions.
Read more...
Cancers Cured in Mice by Blood Cell Transfers from
Immune Mouse
Also
offered protection for the lifespan of the recipient mouse
May 9, 2006 - White blood cells from a strain of
cancer-resistant mice cured advanced cancers in ordinary laboratory mice
and appears to have made them immune from new cancers, researchers at
Wake Forest University School of Medicine reported yesterday.
Read more...
Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Information Updated by
Cancer Institute
Breast Cancer Risk
Assessment Tool available online
May 8, 2006 The National Cancer Institute has
recently updated its Web page on "Estimating Breast Cancer Risk," which
is a question-and-answer dialogue about the risk of most frequently
diagnosed non-skin cancer in American women and also promotes the use of
their online Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool. An estimated 213,000
American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, many of
them senior citizens, since the risk of breast cancer increases as women
get older.
Read
more...
Latest Stroke Research Provided Free on New Website
Commemorates May as American Stroke Month;
seniors most a risk
May 8, 2006 Senior citizens the people most at
risk of a stroke can find free information and the latest research
information on strokes at a new Internet site named Stroke Trails
Registry. The information also targets families dealing with stroke,
medical professionals and researchers. The risk of a stroke increases
with age. Read more...
New Guidelines Issued to Prevent Stroke
American Heart Association/American Stroke
Association scientific statement
May 5, 2006 - Healthy habits and appropriate
treatments help prevent stroke, according to graded, evidenced-based
recommendations issued today by the American Heart Association and it's
division, the American Stroke Association. Stroke is the third leading
cause of death and a major source of disability in the United States.
Every year about 700,000 people in the United States suffer a stroke,
most are senior citizens, resulting in nearly 158,000 deaths. From
19932003, the stroke death rate fell 18.5 percent, but the actual
number of stroke deaths declined only 0.7 percent, according to 2006
association statistics.
Read more...
Women Have High Expectations of Mammography
Screening
May 4, 2006 A study that included women up to 83
years old found a substantial proportion of women have beliefs about
their personal risk of breast cancer, and expectations about the
performance of mammography that are abnormally high or unrealistic.
The survey was conducted at University of Michigan Health Systems
in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Read
more...
Inexpensive Diuretics Best
to Treat High Blood Pressure, Prevent
Heart Failure
Diuretics beat
calcium channel blockers and ACE inhibitors for treatment of high blood
pressure which often leads to heart failure
May 3, 2006 - Diuretics - the least expensive high
blood pressure medicines - are the best first step in treating high
blood pressure to prevent heart failure, according to a study reported
in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Heart failure
is the leading cause of hospitalization of senior citizens.
Read more...
Older Americans Are Sicker than Those in England
Study also concludes
income, education make a difference
May 2, 2006 After studying older people in the
U.S. and England, researchers conclude, "Americans are much sicker than
the English." Middle-aged to older U.S. residents have higher rates of
diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, heart attack, stroke, lung
disease and cancer than their English counterparts, according to the
article in the May 3 issue of JAMA.
Read more...
Senior Citizens Should Get Free Skin Cancer
Screening Saturday
You may help set a
Guinness World Record as extra perk
By Tucker Sutherland,
editor
May 1, 2006 My old dermatologist used to tell me,
"You are going to get skin cancer, if you are white and you live long
enough." I believe him and urge all senior citizens who do not see a
dermatologist regularly to take advantage of a national free skin cancer
screening on Saturday, May 6. You may help set a Guinness World Record,
too. Read more...
Obese Metabolic Syndrome Patients Lower Heart
Disease Risk 20 Percent
Multidisciplinary approach found by obesity
researchers
April 28, 2006 - Obesity researchers at the Medical
College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee found that a multidisciplinary
clinical approach to caring for obese patients with metabolic syndrome
(the presence of usually three or more factors, such as high blood
pressure, abdominal obesity, high triglyceride levels, low HDL levels,
and high fasting levels of blood sugar) could swiftly and significantly
lower their risk for heart disease.
Read more...
New Finding Links Diet and Age-Related Macular
Degeneration
By
Rosalie Marion Bliss
April 27, 2006 - Scientists funded by the
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
reported this month that consuming a "high glycemic-index" diet over a
long period of time is associated with a higher risk of developing the
early stages of a major eye disease that is the leading cause of
blindness in senior citizens - age-related macular degeneration,
or AMD.
Read more...
Brand-Name Drug Companies Paying Generic
Makers to Stay
Out of Market
April 26, 2006 Yesterday, many senior citizens
welcomed the news of two new generic drugs being approved by
the Food and Drug Administration,
since an increasing number of studies show seniors can save large amounts of
money on generic drugs in the Medicare prescription drug program. The
bad news, however, was also reported yesterday by KaiserNet.org the
brand-name pharmaceutical companies are paying off the generic drug
makers to not challenge their patents.
Read more...
