High Blood Pressure Education Month Provides Guidance for Senior Citizens

May 9, 2005 - High blood pressure is a factor in 67 percent of heart attacks and 77 percent of strokes, which is why senior citizens need to take advantage of helpful information being made available this month by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The agency has declared May as National High Blood Pressure Education Month with the theme of Prevent and Control High Blood Pressure: Mission Possible." Read more...

Older Women Lead In Avoiding Mammograms Due to Not Understanding Insurance Coverage

May 9, 2005 - Researchers say a misunderstanding of insurance coverage of breast cancer screening may cause many women, especially older women with low incomes, to overestimate out of pocket costs, and avoid getting mammograms. Women 65 years and older and women earning less than $20,000 per year were significantly more likely to misunderstand their insurance coverage of screening mammography, even though it is covered by Medicare. Read more...

Stroke Drug Still Meets Resistance from Doctors Wary of Its Risks

May 6, 2005 - Forty percent of emergency physicians say they're unlikely to give stroke patients the only FDA-approved drug - tPA - shown to improve their prognosis, even in an ideal setting, mostly because of the fear of causing brain bleeding. Read more...

Medical-Errors Gap Widens Between Best - Worst Hospitals

Three-Year Study by HealthGrades Covers 37 Million Hospitalizations

Cost to Medicare of Patient Safety Incidents: $3 Billion Annually

May 2, 2005 - Patient safety incidents at America's hospitals increased slightly, but the nation's safest hospitals grew even safer, resulting in a wider gap in patient safety incident rates among the nation's best and worst hospitals, according to a new study of 37 million patient records released today by HealthGrades, an organization that evaluates the quality of hospitals, physicians and nursing homes for consumers, corporations, hospitals and health plans. Read more...

Senior Citizens in Transcendental Meditation Study Reduce Death Rates by 23%

May 2, 2005 – A study of senior citizens with elevated blood pressure the use of Transcendental Meditation techniques reduced death rates by 23 percent and extended lifespan, according to a report published today in the American Journal of Cardiology. Read more...

Consumer Reports Recommends Best Buy in ACE Inhibitors

Five best buys can save senior citizens up to $1,200 a year

April 29, 2005 - Five of the 10 drugs in a class called ACE Inhibitors -used to treat mostly older people with high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes - have been chosen as Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs, with potential annual savings of $1,200 a year over higher-priced medications. Read more...

When Drugs Collide

Herbs, OTC Medicines Can Cause Life-Saving Drugs to React Dangerously

Researcher offers advice on combinations to avoid

April 28, 2005 - Cardiovascular medications help to prevent heart attack and stroke, saving many people from the number-one killer in the United States. But taking certain over-the-counter drugs or herbal remedies along with them can cause the prescribed cardiovascular drugs to lose their effectiveness or to increase their potency in ways that can be beneficial or harmful. Read more...

Researchers Seek Answers to Gender Difference in Stroke Symptoms

Women most often late to emergency room, most likely to die

April 28, 2005 - What does it feel like to have a stroke? For some people, the ability to speak or walk disappears in a moment. For others, arms, legs and faces suddenly go numb. And for others, it’s a rush of confusion or dizziness. Those differences could help explain things that have puzzled stroke specialists for years: why women often get to the emergency room too late for stroke treatment, and why they’re more likely to die or be disabled by their stroke than men. Read more...

Few Adults Adhere to Healthy Lifestyle Characteristics

April 26, 2005 - Despite clear evidence of the health benefits, few U.S. adults conform to four common healthy behaviors that together characterize a healthy lifestyle, according to researcher Matthew Reeves. It is situation that could have dire consequences if it doesn’t change, he said. Read more...

Survival Rate for Elderly in Combined Lung Cancer Treatment Match Younger Victims

April 25, 2005 – Lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S., strikes about half its victims after they have reached their 70th birthday. Researchers have now discovered that these elderly patients tolerate combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy with no higher risk of death than younger patients. Read more...

Even Alzheimer’s May Come from Infection

Infection May Trump Lifestyle in Causing Chronic Diseases Now More Frequent with Aging Population

April 22, 2005 - The aging population increase appears to correlate with a switch from acute infectious diseases to chronic diseases as the major cause of illness and death. Some diseases like ulcers and certain types of cancer, once thought to be primarily related to lifestyle factors, are now known to be caused by microorganisms. Other health problems, including Alzheimer’s and other psychiatric conditions, may also have a connection to infection, according to a report released today by the American Academy of Microbiology. Read more...

New Agency Site Focuses on Preventing Medical Errors, Patient Safety

April 20, 2005 – Most research shows senior citizens are the most likely to suffer from medical errors and other patient safety issues. There is now a Website created by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality that claims to be a national “one stop” portal of resources for preventing medical errors and improving safety. Read more...

Four in 10 Senior Citizens Not Taking Prescribed Medications

Survey of nearly 18,000 seniors nationally shows coverage varies across states; Cost, lack of confidence cited

April 19, 2005 – A massive survey released today says four in 10 seniors say that they haven't taken all the drugs their doctors prescribed for them in the past year -- either because the costs were too high, because they didn't think the drugs were helping them, or because they didn't think they needed them. Aug. 1, 2002 - A survey of seniors in August of 2002 found nearly one quarter of seniors report skipping doses of medicine or not filling prescriptions because of costs. Read more...

Most ICU Deaths Occur With Stopping Life Support

Researchers also find families not always getting information and support

April 15, 2005 - The majority of deaths that occur in the intensive care units in North America involve withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining therapy. Researchers also found in the study in four ICUs, which was aimed at family conferences to discuss the withholding or withdrawing of life-sustaining therapy in critically ill patients, that in 15 of 51 conferences physicians missed opportunities to provide either support or information to the family. Read more...

Rimonabant (Acomplia) Successful Again in Reducing Weight, Waist

European study says it also reduced factors for heart disease in obese people

April 15, 2005 - Acomplia. which is still going by its generic name rimonabant, while it awaits FDA approval, has again won accolades for reducing bodyweight, waist circumference, and risk factors for heart disease in obese people, according to results of a randomized trial published in this week’s issue of The Lancet. Read more...

Macular Degeneration Risk Doubles for Senior Smokers

April 14, 2005 - Smoking doubles the risk of the progressive and irreversible eye condition, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), for senior citizens and may account for almost 30,000 cases in the UK, suggests research in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. Read more...

Brand Name Drug Price Increases Reach Five Year High

April 12, 2005 - The average increase in the price that manufacturers charge for brand name prescription drugs significantly outpaced inflation for the fifth straight year according to a new AARP "Rx Watchdog Report" study released today. Since the end of 1999, manufacturers of 153 of these brand name drugs have raised their prices over two-and-a-half times the rate of general inflation. During that time, manufacturers' drug prices have increased 35.1 percent on average, compared to an inflation rate of 13.5 percent. Read more...

Almost 70 Percent of Older Adults Use Alternative Medicine

April 9, 2005 - Nearly three out of every four adults over age 50 use some kind of alternative medicine, such as acupuncture and herbal medicine, according to a new study. Read more...

Pfizer Takes Bextra Off Market at FDA Request

Agency orders new warning labels on COX-2 and other NSAID medications

April 7, 2005 – The Food and Drug Administration today asked Pfizer to withdraw Bextra from the market and announced new label warnings for the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory class of drugs, including COX-2 selective and prescription and non-prescription (over-the-counter (OTC)) non-selective NSAID medications. Read more...

National Public Health Week

Half of Older Americans Know Lifestyle Unhealthy; Most Not Motivated to Change

New survey shows senior know what’s health but find barriers to change

April 6, 2005 – As part of National Public Health Week, a new survey was released by the American Public Health Association that shows Americans over age 55 are well aware of proven steps to better health, such as proper diet, regular exercise, reducing stress and having a positive attitude, but they are finding excuses for not making changes. Read more...

Heart Disease Patients Lower Cardiovascular Risk Factors With Exercise

New study looks at psychosocial factors impacting heart disease

April 5, 2005 - Aerobic exercise and stress management training can reduce levels of depression and emotional distress, as well as improve markers of cardiovascular risk in patients with heart disease, according to a new study that is part of the increasing interest in impact of psychosocial factors on heart disease. Read more...

“Bionic Eye” Could Lead to Vision for AMD Sight Loss

April 4, 2005 - Stanford physicists and eye doctors have teamed up to design a "bionic eye," of sorts. The researchers hope their device may someday bring artificial vision to those blind due to retinal degeneration as in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the major cause of vision loss in senior citizens over age 65, and an issue is becoming more critical as the population ages. Read more...

First Implant of Medical Device to Lower Blood Pressure Completed

April 1, 2005 - Doctors at the University of Rochester Medical Center are the first in the nation to implant an investigational medical device that lowers blood pressure by activating the body's natural blood pressure regulation systems. Read more...

Aspirin is Safer than Warfarin and Just as Effective for Blocked Brain Arteries

March 31, 2005 - To reduce the risk of stroke, partial blockage of arteries in the brain (intracranial stenosis) has for decades been treated with drugs such as aspirin and warfarin that reduce blood clotting. Doctors, however, have never had good evidence for choosing one therapy over the other. Now, results of a double-blind, randomized clinical trial show for the first time that aspirin works as well as warfarin with fewer side effects. Read more, including links to more about aspirin...

Older Men Taking Viagra Lose Vision in Small Test

March 30, 2005 - A condition that causes permanent vision loss has been diagnosed in a small group of older men who have taken the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra. The condition, nonarteritic ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), described as "stroke of the eye," occurs when blood flow is cut off to the optic nerve, which injures the nerve and results in permanent vision loss, according to Ophthalmologists at the University of Minnesota. Read more...

Released nationwide today

Seniors With Chronic Pain May Find Help in New Small SCS System

March 29, 2005 – Among the things that make growing old a challenge is chronic pain - an ailment that inflicts many senior citizens. A new technology was released today, however, that the manufacturer claims can provide “many chronic pain sufferers a treatment option that is comfortable, long lasting and effective.” Read more...

Acupuncture, Electronic Stimulation Lowers Blood Pressure by 50%

Study only addressed temporary relief during hypertension

March 28, 2005 – In a study funded by the government’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, acupuncture treatments using low levels of electrical stimulation lowered elevations in blood pressure by as much as 50 percent, researchers at the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine at UC Irvine have found. Read more...

Proteins Produced by Fat May Be Cause of Increased Heart Disease Risk

Study of older women part of new view of fat as an “organ” affecting health

March 28, 2005 - The war against obesity got a new boost today with the release of study of older women claiming inflammatory proteins produced by fat may be linked to increased risk for heart disease – America’s number one killer. The research is based on a new idea in medicine – that fat is an “organ” that produces proteins and hormones that affect metabolism and health. Read more...

Heart Association Says Use Pain Killers With Fewest Risks

New advisory on taking COX-2 inhibitors and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs by American Heart Association

March 25, 2005 - Confused about which painkillers are safe to use? A new American Heart Association science advisory on the use of COX-2 inhibitors and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) suggests this simple rule of thumb: Use the drug with the fewest known risks. Read more...

Senior Skilled Nursing Care Will Go Into Tailspin with Medicare Cuts, Says Industry Group

March 24, 2005 – An organization of long-term care providers say cuts proposed in Medicare funding for skilled nursing could send “quality care improvements for senior citizens in that healthcare setting into a tailspin.” The news release from the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care (AQNHC) says funding will be cut by $24 billion over the next ten years. Read more...

Senior Citizens Have New Site Providing Medical Information

March 22, 2005 – There is a new place for senior citizens to find information on the Web about diseases and disorders of older adults. “Aging in the Know: Your Gateway to Health and Aging Resources on the Web” is based on the professional education programs of the American Geriatric Society. Read more...

Pounding at Temple May Mean Doubled Heart Attack, Stroke Risk

One of every 500 seniors may have Giant Cell Arterities

March 21, 2005 – Senior citizens with a pounding in their temple may be at much higher risk of a heart attack or stroke. Older people with giant cell arteritis – a chronic inflammatory condition of medium and large arteries – are twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke compared to adults without this condition, says new University of Toronto research. Read more...

Health of Senior Citizens is Focus of Public Health Week

Free health assessments being offered April 4-10

March 21, 2005 – The health of older Americans will be the focus of activity by the American Public Health Association during National Public Health Week, including free health assessments by public health departments across the nation during the April 4-10 event. Read more...

Brain Attack: Cover Story from FDA Magazine Tells Latest About Strokes

March 19, 2005 - Learning more about strokes – how to reduce the risk and the latest on treatments – is the cover story, “Brain Attacks,” in the current FDA Consumer Magazine. Stroke is the third-leading cause of death and the leading cause of long-term disability in the United States. About 500,000 new strokes and about 160,000 stroke-related deaths are reported each year, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Read more... complete article from FDA Magazine

Drinking Red Wine Definitely Good for the Heart but It May Be Polyphenols

Polyphenols already identified in benefits of red wine to prevent cancer

March 18, 2005 – Drinking two to three glasses of red wine daily is good for the heart, says a Yale School of Medicine researcher. But he says it may be due to polyphenols in the wine, rather than the alcohol. Polyphenols in red wine have also been identified for helping prevent cancer. Read more...

Two Recent Studies

Exercise Proves Valuable in Lowering Risk for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

March 15, 2005 – Two of the diseases most feared by senior citizens – Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s – may be prevented or slowed by exercise, according to two recent studies. The Alzheimer’s study showed that middle-aged people taking regular exercise at least twice a week could reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease by 50 percent. The Parkinson’s study found that men who exercised regularly and vigorously early in their adult life lowered risk for Parkinson's by as much as 60 percent. Read more...

Healthcare More Patient-Driven as Seniors Become Better Informed

March 14, 2005 - Dramatic changes are underway in the healthcare industry, driven largely by an aging, better informed population that is taking a more active role in managing their healthcare. Read more...

Senior Citizens Should Be Kidney Transplant Donors, Recipients Says Researchers

March 14, 2005 - Growing evidence suggests that age alone shouldn’t prevent older adults from being organ donors – or having a kidney transplant themselves – according to researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. The findings could help alleviate a serious shortage of organs for transplantation. Read more...

Senior Citizens Lack Dental Care Because They Can’t Afford It

March 13, 2005 – The most serious barrier to dental care for senior citizens is cost – they cannot afford it. A survey of 415 senior citizens in Western New York, conducted by researchers at the University at Buffalo's School of Dental Medicine, found that more than half faced barriers to seeing a dentist. Not surprisingly, the most serious barrier reported was cost. Read more...

New survey

Women and Their Doctors Have Widely Differing Views of Osteoporosis

March 12, 2005 - A national survey released this month highlights the a vast difference in how women and their doctors view osteoporosis. The majority of women (57 percent) with osteoporosis say that the desire to remain healthy and independent is what motivates them to take an osteoporosis medication. Yet, most doctors (74 percent) believe the fear of breaking or fracturing a bone is what motivates their patients to treat this silent but potentially debilitating condition. Read more...

Researchers Find Gene That Plays Role in Age-Related Macular Degeneration

March 11, 2005 – Researchers say their discovery of a gene associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in senior citizens 60 and older, opens the door for more study of the role of genes in AMD and possible treatments. No cure exists today. Read more...

New Online Brochure Hopes to Get Patients More Involved in Protecting Themselves

March 11, 2005 – As studies continue to point out the high rate of medical errors and their devastating affect on millions of senior citizens, many groups are making an effort to get patients more involved in protecting themselves. There is a new patient safety check list being made available on line by the New Jersey Hospital Association’s Quality Institute. Read more...

Senior Health Site Adds New Information on Shingles

March 11, 2005 – The latest edition to the senior health NIHSeniorHealth.gov is a section on Shingles, a major health problem for many older adults. The site designed especially for easy use by senior citizens provides new information on how to recognize and treat the disease. Read more...

Post-Heart Attack Care Working Better for Men than Women

Less proper counseling on self-care for women may be clue

March 9, 2005 - Efforts to improve the quality of post-heart attack care in hospitals are working -- but they appear to be working better for men than for women, new research shows. A clue, they say, is women are less likely to receive counseling from medical personnel on how to care from themselves after leaving the hospital. Read more...

Lung Cancer Declining for Men but Not Women

Women show much higher survival rates

March 8, 2005 – While lung cancer is declining in men, it is holding steady for women and significantly narrowing the gender gap. Lung cancer leads all other cancers in killing women and is second only to breast cancer in being found in women. This new study found lung cancer rates much higher among women under age 50. The good news for women, however, is that survival rates are much higher than they are for men. The median age for lung cancer diagnosis was 66. Read more...

Senior Citizens: Only Women to Protect Heart with Aspirin

New study says aspirin does reduce risk of stroke for all women

March 8, 2005 – The decision to take a daily aspirin to avoid a heart attack is certainly best left to personal physicians, but even they may be confused by all the studies released recently. The study released yesterday focused on women and says it is good for older women – those 65 and older. But, it does not help women aged 45 to 64. Earlier studies have reported it helps men of all ages. Read more...

New Website Offers Professional Advice on Breast Implants

Chances of older women getting breast cancer: Age 50 to 60 = 2.70%; 60 to 70 = 3.83%

March 7, 2006 – Senior women, who are the most likely to be stricken by breast cancer, can now find reliable information regarding the safety and effectiveness of breast implants at a new Website published today by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Read more...

Aspirin Resistance High Among Elderly, Women, Others

March 6, 2005 - While aspirin remains a crucial and cost-effective therapy for the prevention and management of cardiovascular diseases, research suggests that a significant percentage of the 25 million Americans on a chronic aspirin regimen are "aspirin resistant," or do not achieve sufficient antiplatelet effects from aspirin. Read more...

Seniors With Late-Life Depression May Not Get Right Drug

Men more likely than women to get the correct medication

March 3, 2005 – A new study about the treatment of a little understood disease – late-life depression – indicates almost half of the senior citizen patients are being given the wrong drugs. Read more, including three other reports on late-life depression and link to "About Late-Life Depression."

Information About Late-Life Depression

March 3, 2005 – Depression in older people, which is often associated with suicide, is “widely under-recognized and under-treated, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Below is their overview of the illness, followed by information from the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry on the illness and suicide. Read more...

Apple A Day Keeps Breast Cancer Away

March 1, 2005 - An apple a day can help keep breast cancer away – at least in rats, according to a study by food scientists at Cornell University. "We found that tumor incidence was reduced by 17, 39 and 44 percent in rats fed the human equivalent of one, three or six apples a day, respectively, over 24 weeks," says Rui Hai Liu, Cornell associate professor of food science and lead author of the study. Read more...

Finasteride Will Save Lives of Prostate Cancer Victims, Says New Study

Feb. 28, 2005 - A new analysis shows the drug finasteride will save lives if given to men to prevent prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer found in older men, and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men. A study in 2003, also found finasteride reduced cancer deaths but said men taking the finasteride had more erectile dysfunction and loss of interest in sex. Those found to have prostate cancer in the 2003 study were more likely to have a fast growing kind, which would be expected to be more deadly. Read more...

Senior Men Who Ever Smoked Need Screening for Aortic Aneurysm

Feb. 25, 2005 – Senior men between the ages of 65 and 75 who have ever been smokers should have a one-time ultrasound to screen for abdominal aortic aneurysm, according to a recent recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Nearly 70 percent of men in this age group have smoked and may benefit from routine screening to check for aneurysms. Read more...

Model Introduced to Predict Life-Saving Benefits of Mammograms at Different Frequencies

Annual screening for senior citizens would reduce mortality by 37 percent

Feb. 20, 2005 – Researchers today presented a mathematical tool that predicts the lives saved by various frequencies of mammograms to detect cancers at early stages. Annual screening from age 50 to 79 of women with average breast cancer risk would reduce mortality by 37 percent, they predict. Read more...

Key to Preventing Osteoporosis May Be A Beta Blocker

Feb. 20, 2005 – Research released today says the answer to preventing osteoporosis may be the use of a beta blocker, a drug commonly used to lower blood pressure and ward off repeat heart attacks. Over 10 million American seniors over the age of 50 suffer from osteoporosis, according to most estimates. Read more...

Prostate Cancer: More Accurate Test, Longer Life Treatment Revealed in Two Studies

Feb. 18, 2005 – A simple urine test may improve the diagnosis of prostate cancer and a new treatment appears to prolong life for those stricken with this disease, according to two new studies. This is the most common cancer for older men, and 75 percent of all prostate cancer is found in men over 65. Read more...

Massage Helps Cancer Patients Cope

Feb. 16, 2005 - In spite of great strides in the treatment of cancer in recent years, people who have the disease often suffer pain, anxiety and nausea caused as much by the treatments as the cancer itself.  Hospitals are now employing a variety of unconventional therapies to help cancer patients and one of the most popular and effective is massage, according to this Voice of America report. Read more...

Women Should Drink Wine for Healthy Heart, Another Study Says

Feb. 15, 2005 - Drinking wine, but not beer or spirits, keeps women's hearts beating healthily finds new research of women, including seniors up to 75, in Heart. It is another of several recent studies pointing to wine having significant benefits for women. Read more, plus links to other stories on drinking alcohol.

Older Doctors Not Up-to-Speed, But Seniors Do Not Like to Change

Are seniors in danger from inadequate older doctors?

By Tucker Sutherland, editor

Feb. 15, 2005 – When my father’s body was weakening rapidly, I begged my mother to allow me to take him to another doctor. She would not hear of it. This doctor, near retirement, had treated the both of them through their senior years. My father died not long afterward, because the diagnosis came too late. Now, a new study says the number of years a doctor has been in practice may decrease the likelihood of the doctor providing technically appropriate care. Read more...

Heart Attack from Broken Heart May Just Be Temporary Stress Hormones

Feb. 10, 2005 – People may think they are having a heart attack after receiving extremely shocking news but new research says it may be just a temporary stun to the heart caused by a rush of adrenalin and other stress hormones. Often called the “broken heart” syndrome, it is usually temporary. Read more...

List of Cancer-Causing Agents Grows to 246

Feb. 1, 2005 – Few senior citizens do not worry about getting cancer. Now, the government has added seventeen more cancer-causing agents we have to avoid – the total list is now 246. For the first time, viruses are listed: hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and some human papillomaviruses that cause common sexually transmitted diseases. Other new listings include lead and lead compounds, X-rays, compounds found in grilled meats, and a host of substances used in textile dyes, paints and inks. Read more...

Three studies on alcohol

Wine May Help Your Heart But May Also Increase Cancer Risk

Wine better than other drinks and women get more benefit than men

Feb. 1, 2005 – Three new reports on the health effects of drinking alcohol conclude wine provides more cardiovascular benefits than other alcoholic drinks, although slightly more for women than men, but consumption of alcohol increases the risk of several types of cancer. Read more...

Go Red Campaign for Women’s Awareness of Cardiovascular Disease Starts Friday

Majority still not aware it is the number one killer of American women

Jan. 31, 2005 – Women will be wearing red on Friday, February 4, for the second annual “Go Red for Women” campaign by the American Heart Association to increase awareness that cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of American women - exceeding the next seven causes of death combined, including cancer. It is a threat that increases with age. Read more...

American Heart Association

Less Than 20 Percent Participating In Recommended Cardiac Rehab

New protocols, move for to motivate insurance companies to cover more cardiac rehab, doctors to be more insistent

Jan. 30, 2005 – Less than 20 percent of the two million people who should be participating in cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention protocols are doing so, which puts them at increased risk of a recurrent heart attack. The American Heart Association has revised their 1994 statement of optimal rehabilitation to include Internet-based therapies, among other new suggestions, including increased emphasis by physicians on the rehab programs. Read more...

Campaign to Stop Deadly Medication Errors Spreads Outside Hospitals

New brochure on things you can do to prevent medication mistakes

Jan. 27, 2005 – More than 7,000 patients die each year in hospitals due to medication errors. A new effort is being launched today to spread the word about the deadly results of medication errors outside of just hospitals. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, which earlier started a national campaign urging Americans to "Speak Up" to avoid medication mistakes, is sending to the nation's Fortune 1000 companies copies of their latest brochure and poster "Things You Can Do to Prevent Medication Mistakes." Read more...

Age-Related Hearing Loss May Find A Solution

Jan. 25, 2005 – Age-related hearing loss, caused by the loss of hair cells in the inner ear, may find a solution in the deletion of a specific gene, which researchers say permits the proliferation of new hair cells in the cochlea. This is the most common cause of hearing loss for senior citizens and can be caused by aging, disease, certain drugs, and the jarring sounds of modern life. Read more...

Senior Citizens Better At Coping With Chronic Pain

Jan. 24, 2005 – Adults 50 and older are better able to cope with chronic pain and less prone to suffer associated depression than are younger adults, a new study suggests. Read more...

Viagra Finds a New Role: It May Shrink Enlarged Hearts

Jan. 23, 2005 - Researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that sildenafil citrate (Viagra), a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) in millions of men, effectively treats enlarged hearts in mice, stopping further muscle growth from occurring and reversing existing growth, including the cellular and functional damage it created. Read more...

Vision hope for seniors

Macugen Hits Market to Treat Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Jan. 21, 2005 - Macugen (pegaptanib sodium injection), the recently FDA-approved treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is now available to retinal specialists through three distributors, according to Eyetech Pharmaceuticls, Inc. AMD is the leading cause of irreversible, severe loss of vision in people 50 and older. Read more...

Fecal Occult Test Failing to Detect Colon Cancer - Colonoscopy Needed by Older People

Jan. 21, 2005 – Fecal occult blood test (FOBT) performed in-office as part of a digital rectal examination failed to detect potentially cancerous colon growths 95 percent of the time. Furthermore, an at-home FOBT was found to detect cancerous polyps less than 24 percent of the time. The researchers say older people – those 50 and over – need colonoscopy screening for colorectal cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Read more...

Seniors Can Get Free Dental Consultation by Phone on Jan. 28

Jan. 21, 2005 – Free dental consultation will be available to senior citizens and others on a national toll free telephone line on Friday, Jan. 28. The Massachusetts Academy of General Dentistry (Mass. AGD), the Massachusetts Dental Society and Oral-B are helping people take a step to improving their oral health by hosting the SmileLine, a toll-free dental health hotline that consumers can call to talk one-on-one with a dentist. Read more...

Healing Hearts With Adult Stem Cells Inches Closer

Jan. 21, 2005 - Once a mere fantasy, the idea of growing new, healthy heart tissue to replace damaged or diseased heart muscle is inching closer to reality. Researchers are exploring several routes to grow new heart muscle, according to the January issue of the Harvard Heart Letter. Read more...

One Alcoholic Drink Daily Helps Women Have Better Minds in Old Age

Jan. 20, 2005 – A new study published yesterday says women who want to have a good mind in their old age should drink a glass of alcoholic beverage on a daily basis. The women who consumed a beer or a glass of wine daily tended to have the mental agility of someone a year and a half younger than non-drinkers. Read more...

Nation Makes Progress Fighting Cancer but Still No. 1 Killer of Those Under 85

Jan. 20, 2005 – Death rates from colon, breast, and prostate cancers have dropped, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society, but cancer still remains the number two killer in the US, behind heart disease, but is the top killer of people under 85. Read more...

CDC Corrects Obesity Death Number Downward

Obesity helped kill 365,000, rather than 400,000 per year in 2000

By Tucker Sutherland, editor

Jan. 19, 2005 – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now says the increase in obesity-related deaths since 1990 is not 100,000 per year but just 65,000, and blames a computer error for their prediction last March that this problem was about to pass tobacco as the number one American killer. Read more...

Scientists Detect Probable Genetic Cause of Some Parkinson's Disease Cases

Jan. 18, 2005 - Two new studies strongly suggest that a mutation in a recently discovered gene is the most common genetic cause of Parkinson’s disease, which primarily develops in senior citizens. The discovery by an international research team provides fresh evidence that genetics may contribute to the development of some cases of Parkinson’s disease. The findings could lead to the development of a genetic test to detect the mutation in individuals at risk. Read more...

English Study

Heart Attacks in Women Still Go Undetected: Maybe Because Victims Older Than Men

Jan. 15, 2005 - Women are still less likely than men to be correctly identified as having had a heart attack, despite the publication of new guidance designed to lower the index of suspicion, reveals research in Heart. More... 1/17/05*

Clue Found to Early Detection, Treatment of Osteoarthritis

Jan. 7, 2005 – Researchers seeking to find a biomarker to detect osteoarthritis (OA) in its earliest stages, which could help treatment, think high levels of hyaluronic acid may indicate a link to severe OA of the knees and hips. OA is a common cause of pain and disability among older Americans. More... 1/07/05*

Older Men Who Drink Regularly, Heavily Increase Risk of Stroke

Red wine appears to offer slight protection, more than other types of alcohol

Jan. 4, 2005 – Older men who regularly drink three or more alcoholic drinks per day are much more likely to have a stroke than are nondrinkers, and moderate amounts of alcohol show only slight evidence of providing protection, according to a study published today. More... 1/4/5*