Medicare News
Medicare’s Mandated 21% Cut of Pay for Physicians is
Delayed Until April 1
Senate Democrats push through the bill late Tuesday,
President Obama signs it
March 4, 2010 – The newspaper for members of the
American Medical Association reported yesterday that late Tuesday night
Senate Democrats “were able to overcome a procedural roadblock that led
to an unprecedented 21% cut in Medicare physician pay taking effect the
day before. But the development bought Congress only about a month to
approve a longer-term solution before the reduction comes back.”
Read more...
Medicare News
Senior Citizens, Military Families May Find Doctors
Refusing Service as Medicare Pay Shrinks 21%
Military families are also hurt by March 1 reduction
as TRICARE ties its payment rates to Medicare
March 2, 2010 - The U.S. Senate’s failure to act
before the 21 percent Medicare physician payment cut went into effect
yesterday has put seniors at grave risk of reduced access to health care
and choice of physician, according a news release from the American
Medical Association.
Read
more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Senior Citizens Who Survive ICU Stay Have High Rate
of Death in Following Three Years
Elderly who receive mechanical ventilation have
substantially increased rate of death in first several months after
hospital discharge compared with hospital and general population groups
March 2, 2010 - Senior citizen patients who are
hospitalized in an intensive care unit (ICU) and survive to be
discharged from the hospital have a high rate of death in the following
three years, according to a study in the March 3 issue of the Journal
of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Read more...
Aging News & Information
Rate of Aging for Older People May
Depend On How Old They Feel Like They Are
If you feel old beyond your chronological years you
are probably going to experience a lot of the downsides associated
with aging
March 2, 2010 - The saying "You're only as old as
you feel" really seems to resonate with older adults, according to
research from Purdue University. "How old you are matters, but beyond
that it's your interpretation that has far-reaching implications for the
process of aging," said Markus H. Schafer, a doctoral student in
sociology and gerontology who led the study.
Read more...
Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Having Greater Purpose in Life Associated With a
Reduced Risk of Alzheimer's Disease
May result from the positive effects ‘purpose of
life’ is reported to have on immune function and blood vessel health
March 1, 2010 - Individuals who report having
greater purpose in their lives appear less likely to develop Alzheimer's
disease or its precursor, mild cognitive impairment, according to a
report in the March issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one
of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Read
more...
Aging News & Information
Elderly Women Right Up There with Young Male
Athletes in a Risk of Shoulder Dislocation
New
reports has more evidence of the serious consequences of
falls by senior citizens – women in particular
March 1, 2020 - The shoulder joint is the most
mobile joint in the body and consequently one of the most commonly
dislocated joints. It is no surprise to that most dislocations occur
during sports and young males are at the highest risk. What is
surprising is that another group that rates highly on the risk scale for
a dislocate shoulder are elderly women.
Read more...
Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Research Leader Says Discovery Offers Hope Early
Alzheimer’s Disease Can Be Cured
Team uncovers new explanation for the spread of key
protein, Tau, within the brain
March 1, 2010 – A research who has spent over 20
years studying Alzheimer’s on the cellular level thinks his team has
made a discovery that he thinks offers hope that patients in early
stages of the disease might someday be cured. The work by his team is
published in the February issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Alerts
Fox Insurance
Ordered by CMS to Stop Sales, Enrollment for Its Medicare Drug Plan
Many senior
citizens in 21 states using the plan qualify for low-income subsidy
under Part D
March 1, 2010 – On
Friday the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) directed Fox
Insurance Company of New York to immediately suspend marketing and
enrollment of new members in the organization’s Medicare Part D
prescription drug plans. CMS imposed this immediate sanction because the
Fox drug plan has not been able to meet the prescription drug needs of
some of its newest members, actions which could pose serious threats to
their health and safety.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
About Half of Senior Citizens Referred to a
Specialist Never Get There for Treatment
Just 71% ever get appointments and just 70% of
those show up at doctor’s office
Feb. 26, 2010 – Only about half of the senior
citizen patients referred to a medical specialist ever receive the
treatment their primary care doctor intended. It is referred to as the
most frequent error in medicine.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Faster Diagnosis of Deadly Melanoma Skin Cancers May
Come From Infrared System
Doctors need to identify a mole that may be
melanoma at an early, treatable stage to save the lives of thousands of
senior citizens
Feb. 26, 2010 – There were 8,650 deaths from
melanoma skin cancers last year, with male senior citizens the most
common victim. It is assumed that many lives can be saved if the cancer
is diagnosed earlier – which may be possible from a noninvasive infrared
scanning system being developed by Johns Hopkins researchers.
Read more...
Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements for Seniors
NIH Panel Examines Lactose Intolerance; Concerned
Too Many Skipping Diary Products
Generally thought that this problem increases as we
age due to bodies producing fewer lactase enzymes
Feb. 25, 2010 – It sometimes seem there are at
least a million bad things that happen to people as they pass from
middle age to becoming senior citizens and one of those is becoming
lactose intolerant. That’s when consuming dairy products changes from an
enjoyable and healthy experience to one of stomach gas and cramping.
But, a panel of experts gathered by the National Institutes of Health
says eliminating these nutrient-rich foods may not only be unnecessary -
it could negatively impact diet and health.
Read more...
Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Video Games that Include Exercise Appear to Reduce
Depression in Senior Citizens
| |
 Two
young women demonstrate tennis game on Wii. See link
below news story. |
|
Subjects chose Nintendo Wii Sports games to play on
their own – tennis, bowling, baseball, golf or boxing
Feb. 25, 2010 - New research suggests a novel route
to improving the symptoms of subsyndromal depression (SSD) in senior
citizens through the regular use of "exergames" – entertaining video
games that combine game play with exercise.
Read more...link
to video
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Half of Americans Live More Than an Hour Away from
Lifesaving Stroke Center: Penn Study
More medical helicopters (air ambulances) could get
79% to help within an hour
Feb.
24, 2020 - When stroke strikes, choking off blood supply to the brain,
every minute counts. Nearly 2 million neurons die each minute a stroke
is left untreated, making it a race to recognize symptoms so that
lifesaving "clot-busting" drugs can be administered. Forty-five percent
of Americans - 135 million people - are more than an hour away from
primary stroke centers, the facilities that are best equipped to care
for them if they are stricken by the condition, according to new
research led by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Read more...
Find the Stroke Center Near You.
News for Baby Boomers
Unmarried Women Just Below Medicare Age are Twice As
Likely to Lack Health Insurance
These women between 50 and 64 are more prone than
younger women to a wide range of health conditions
Feb. 24, 2010 – Older women – basically Baby
Boomers that have not reached the magical Medicare age of 65 - who are
divorced, separated, widowed or never married have twice the uninsured
rate of their married peers, according to a new policy brief from the
UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
Read more...
Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements for Seniors
Remember Magnesium If You Want to Remember at Any
Age
Study finds new synthetic supplement improves memory
and staves off age-related memory loss
Feb.
22, 2010 - Those who live in industrialized countries have easy access
to healthy food and nutritional supplements, but magnesium deficiencies
are still common. That's a problem because new research from Tel Aviv
University suggests that magnesium, a key nutrient for the functioning
of memory, may be even more critical than previously thought for the
neurons of children and healthy brain cells in aging adults.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Study of Senior Men Finds Similar Results With Open
or Laparoscopic Prostate Surgery
Researchers studied almost 6,000 senior citizens,
suggest patients be informed about the differences and similarities in
expected outcomes, make treatment decisions with an experienced surgeon
Feb. 22, 2010 – Of the 200,000 men newly diagnosed
with prostate cancer each year in the United States, about one-third
will undergo surgical treatment. Although open radical prostatectomy (ORP)
is regarded as the standard treatment, laparoscopic radical
prostatectomy (LRP) with or without robotic assistance is becoming more
common. Yet, a new study of senior men – aged 66 or older - published
today says the two methods have similar rates of success.
Read more...
Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements for Seniors
Possible Relief for Senior Citizens from Glaucoma, Eye Diseases
with Green Tea
Study
indicates green tea consumption could benefit the eye against
oxidative stress
Feb. 19, 2010 - Scientists have confirmed
that the healthful substances found in green tea — renowned for
their powerful antioxidant and disease-fighting properties — do
penetrate into tissues of the eye. It is encouraging news for
the millions of senior citizens battling glaucoma and other eye
diseases.
Read more...
Social Security News
Social Security Launches New Open Government
Webpage, Wants Your Ideas
Access
to Agency Strategic Plan, Freedom of Information Act Report, as well as
program laws and regulations for Social Security; will publish its Open Government Plan in
April
Feb. 18, 2010 - Social Security has a new Open
Government webpage available to the public that will serve as the portal
for all agency activities that support President Obama’s Transparency
and Open Government initiative.
Read
more...
Features for Senior Citizens
Home Detection Kit to Quickly Diagnose Cancer May
Soon Make Seniors’ Wish List
MU researcher developing a sensor to detect diseases,
such as breast cancer, in bodily fluids with National Science Foundation
award
Feb. 17, 2010 – Here is one of those things that
should be on every senior citizens wish list – a home kit to quickly and
accurately diagnose cancer, similar to a pregnancy test? A University of
Missouri researcher is developing a tiny sensor, known as an acoustic
resonant sensor, that is smaller than a human hair and could test bodily
fluids for a variety of diseases, including breast and prostate cancers.
Read more...
Social Security News
Most Senior Citizens Struggling with Smaller Social
Security Checks, Cutting Medical Care
Higher Medicare costs combined with no
cost-of-living hike in Social Security hits seniors hard; TSCL Still
Pushing for Emergency COLA
Feb. 16, 2010 - A majority of seniors are receiving
a smaller Social Security check this year than in 2009, according to an annual survey of elderly Americans, released earlier today
by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). This is not a big
surprise, however, since there was no cost-of-living increase in Social Security,
while Medicare costs did increase for 2010.
Read more..
Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements for Seniors
Senior Citizens with High Levels of Vitamin D at
Less Risk of Heart Disease, Diabetes
Review of 28 studies finds the vitamin associated
with a substantial decrease in cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes
and metabolic syndrome for seniors and middle aged
Feb. 16, 2010 - Middle aged and elderly people with
high levels of vitamin D could reduce their chances of developing heart
disease or diabetes by 43%, according to researchers at the University
of Warwick. Read
more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
One of 12 Stroke Victims Likely to Soon Have
Another, 25 Percent Die Within a Year
Researchers say their large study highlights vital
need for better secondary stroke prevention
Feb.
15, 2010 - New research finds that one out of 12 people who
have a stroke will likely soon have another stroke, and one out of four
will likely die within one year. Researchers say the findings highlight
the vital need for better secondary stroke prevention. The study is
published in the February 16, 2010, issue of Neurology, the
medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Senior Citizens Do
Best in Specialized Orthopedic Surgical Care: Medicare Study
Specialized hospitals have fewer serious
post-surgical complications ( blood clots, infections and heart
problems) or deaths
Feb. 15, 2010 - The more specialized a hospital is
in orthopedic surgical care, the better the outcomes appear to be for
senior citizen patients undergoing hip and knee replacement surgery,
University of Iowa researchers report in a new study of Medicare
patients. Read
more...
Social Security News
Social Security Adds 38 New Medical Conditions that
Qualify for Disability Help
Adding new conditions, like early-onset Alzheimer’s
disease, will speed benefits to thousands of disabled
Feb. 12, 2010 – The latest move by the Social
Security Administration, in an ongoing effort to speed up the decision
process for consideration of applications for disability benefits to
those not yet age 65, is
the addition of 38 new medical conditions to the list of Compassionate
Allowances, which clearly qualify applicants. The new conditions range
from early-onset Alzheimer’s disease to rare diseases that primarily
affect children.
Read
more...
Features for Senior Citizens
Retirees of National Park Service Organize to Oppose
More Guns in Parks
Coalition of National Park Service Retirees highlight
11 parks as examples of what visitors might encounter
Feb. 10, 2010 – A group of seniors – retirees of
the National Park Service - are up in arms over the Federal Government’s
plan for the national parks.
Read
more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Senior Women at High Risk of Bone Fractures After
Taking Diabetes Drugs Avandia or Actos
TZDs have previously been linked to bone loss,
increasing fracture risk; type 2 diabetes and insulin also increase risk
for fractures
Feb. 10, 2010 – The results of new research seems
to make it abundantly clear that as previous research has found older
women – senior citizens over 65 – significantly increase their risk of
bone fractures by taking a thiazolidine (TZD) drug. These drugs,
primarily Avandia (rosiglitazone) and Actos (pioglitazone), are commonly
prescribed to treat insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes.
Read
more...
Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Seniors with Advanced Dementia More Likely to Get
Feeding Tubes at For-Profit, Larger Hospitals
Inserting feeding tubes in
these senior citizens ‘demonstrates a
disconnect with the existing evidence of their effectiveness’
Feb. 9, 2010 - Despite being of questionable
benefit for patients with advanced dementia, new research finds that
hospitals with certain characteristics, such as those that are larger or
for-profit, are much more likely to use feeding tubes in this group of
senior citizens,
according to a study in the February 10 issue of the Journal of the
American Medical Association (JAMA).
Read
more...
Senior Citizen Alerts
FDA Taking Action to Reduce Cancer-Causing Radiation
from CT, Other Medical Imaging
CT, nuclear medicine, and fluoroscopic imaging save
lives but also pose risks from ionizing radiation that can cause caner
Feb. 9, 2010 – In response to growing concern about
cancer risks being increased by radiation exposure from medical imaging
procedures, the Food and Drug Administration today announced an
initiative to reduce unnecessary radiation exposure from three types of
these procedures: computed tomography (CT), nuclear medicine studies,
and fluoroscopy.
Read more...
Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Hypertension Predicts Dementia in Seniors Losing
Ability to Organize, Make Decisions
Control of high blood pressure in this senior
citizen group could cut in half the projected 50% five-year rate of
progression to dementia’
Feb. 8, 2010 - High blood pressure appears to
predict the progression to dementia in senior citizens with impaired
executive functions (ability to organize thoughts and make decisions)
but not in those with memory dysfunction, according to a report in the
February issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives
journals.
Read
more...
Aging News & Information
Hand-Grip Strength Associated with Death, Disability
Risks Also Applies to the ‘Oldest Old’
Researchers find that handgrip strength has a
greater impact on mortality as people age
Feb. 8, 2010 – A weak handgrip has long been
associated with premature death, disability and other health problems in
middle-aged and older people. A new study of those called the “oldest
old” – age 85 or older – finds it again associated with poor chances of
survival and as a useful tool to assess mortality.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Older Women Mysteriously Not Taking Tamoxifen to
Prevent Breast Cancer
Tamoxifen (Nolvadex) can reduce the risk of
developing breast cancer; NCI wanted to know how many women aged 40 to
79 were taking it
Feb. 8, 2010 - Researchers with the National Cancer
Institute (NCI) have found that the prevalence of tamoxifen – brand
name, Nolvadex - use for the prevention of breast cancer among older
women without a personal history of breast cancer is very low.
Read more...
Medicare News
Medicare Pays Doctors More for Bladder Biopsies in
Office; Dramatic Increase Occurs?
Medicare’s hope was to save money by escaping
hospital costs but it has opposite effect
Feb. 8, 2010 - Increased Medicare payments to
physicians for outpatient surgeries for bladder cancer have led to a
dramatic rise in the number of these procedures being performed and an
overall increase in cost to the healthcare system. That is the
conclusion of a new study published early online in Cancer, a
peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The findings
indicate that some Medicare policies aimed at decreasing costs may
instead be contributing to an increase in healthcare expenditures.
Read more...
Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements for Seniors
Just a Couple of Sodas a Week May Double the Risk of
Pancreatic Cancer
No association was seen between fruit juice
consumption and pancreatic cancer
Feb. 8, 2010 - Consuming two or more soft drinks
per week increased the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by nearly
twofold compared to individuals who did not consume soft drinks,
according to a report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a
journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Read
more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Major Chronic Disease for Senior Citizens,
Osteoarthritis, Under Attack by New Initiative
CDC, Arthritis Foundation, Ad Council launch ‘Moving
is the Best Medicine’
Feb. 4, 2010 – A major new initiative has been
launched to, hopefully, dramatically reduce the impact of osteoarthritis
on Americans – senior citizens in particular. The chance of developing
this chronic joint ailment increases with age and by age 65, half the
senior population has x-ray evidence of osteoarthritis.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
ADT Therapy for Prostate Cancer Can Increase Heart
Risk Factors
Androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) may increase
cardiovascular risk, but unclear whether it’s linked to increased death
from heart disease
Feb. 3, 2010 - Androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT),
commonly used to treat prostate cancer, can worsen heart risk factors
and may increase the risk of heart attack and/or cardiac death, although
the relationship between ADT and heart attack or cardiac death has not
been definitively established, according to a science advisory published
in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association and
CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Older Female Cancer Survivors Have More Health
Issues Than Cancer Free Contemporaries
As
cancer survivors live longer, questions arise about what kind of care
long-term survivors require
Feb. 3, 2010 - Older married women who survived
cancer had more health problems than married women without cancer in a
study of women - 245 in each group. The lead researcher of the study
from Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social
Sciences is calling for more research with older cancer survivors.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Stroke Victims Recover Thinking, Learning, Memory
by
Taking Antidepressant Lexapro
Changes in neuropsychological performance resulted
in an improvement in related activities of daily living
Feb. 1, 2010 - Patients who received the
antidepressant Lexapro (escitalopram)
following a stroke appeared to recover more of their thinking, learning
and memory skills than those taking placebo or participating in
problem-solving therapy, according to a report in the February issue of
Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives
journals.
Read more...
Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Study Shows Cigarette Smoking Jumps Risk for
Alzheimer’s; All Research Not Trustworthy
Industry-affiliated studies = smoking protects
against the development of AD; independent studies = smoking increases
the risk of AD
Feb. 1, 2010 - A UCSF analysis of published studies
on the relationship between Alzheimer’s disease and smoking indicates
that smoking cigarettes is a significant risk factor for the disease.
The study group also determined that the myth that smoking offers
protection from AD has been perpetuated by tobacco industry-affiliated
studies.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Avastin and Lucentis Equally Effective Treating ‘Wet’
Aged-Related Macular Degeneration
Leading cause of blindness in senior
citizens, AMD becoming leading concern
Feb.
1, 2010 – Although there has been concern about the drug Avastin
(bevacizumab) being used to treat age-related macular
degeneration (AMD) although it was originally approved as a
cancer drug, a new study by Kaiser Permanente Southern
California finds it just as effective as Lucentis (ranibizumab).
Read
more...
Aging News & Information
Falls by Senior Citizens Caused by Poor Central and
Side Vision, Study Finds
Recommends advising patients 60 and older, even with
normal vision, on their increased fall risk and need to take extra
precautions
Feb. 1, 2010 – Falls by senior citizens are common
and a major concern of many in the medical field. It has been well
established seniors with reduced central vision – the ability to see
clearly in front of them, which is often diminished by
age-related macular degeneration (AMD),
are more likely to fall. Now, a new study finds falls are also common
among the elderly with poor peripheral vision.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Cancer Risk from Low Dose Radiation of CT Scan May
Be Solved by Epigentics’ or NIH Study
Two reports in radiology journal: Epigenetics may
determine risk of low-dose radiation... and explain mechanisms of aging,
human development, and the origins of cancer, heart disease, mental
illness, etc.
Feb. 1, 2010 – Concern about the cancer risk from
low level radiation, particularly low-dose radiation delivered from
computed tomography (CT) scans, has been growing in the medical
community. Some suggest that about 1.5 to 2 percent of all cancers in
the USA might be caused by the clinical use of CT. A new study by NIH
and the possibility of epigenetics to better understand this risk are
two of the reports in the February issue of the Journal of the
American College of Radiology (JACR).
Read
more...
Aging News & Information
Healthy
People Need Less Sleep as They Age; Seniors Should Not Be Sleepy
in Daytime
Senior
citizens slept about 20 minutes less than middle-aged adults,
who slept 23 minutes less than young adults in study
Feb. 1, 2010 – Healthy senior citizens
without sleep disorders can expect to have a reduced "sleep
need" and to be less sleepy during the day than healthy young
adults. A new study indicates that during a night of eight hours
in bed, total sleep time decreased significantly and
progressively with age.
Read
more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Overweight Senior Citizens 70 Plus Less Likely to
Die in 10 Years; Different than Young People
People who survive to 70 in reasonable health have
different set of risks and benefits associated with the amount of body
fat to younger people; study questions current BMI guidelines for older
adults
Feb. 1, 2010 – Those diets that many senior
citizens started at the first of the year may not be as critical as
assumed. A new study of men and women who were between the ages of 70
and 75 as the research began found those classified as “overweight” less
likely to die over a ten year period than those in the “normal” weight
range. Read
more...
Senior Citizens and Internet
National Library of Medicine Launches Mobile
MedlinePlus to Meet Needs of On-the-Go Public
Compact
Website designed to meet needs of smart phones, other hand-held devices
- not iPhone 'app' - read below
Jan. 29, 2010 - Wondering what the side effects are for your new
prescription? Go to Mobile MedlinePlus (http://m.medlineplus.gov)
while you’re waiting for the pharmacist to fill your order!
Read more...
Reverse Mortgage News for Seniors
Reverse Mortgage Rules for Seniors Living in
Condominiums Changed by HUD
Senior condominium owners are affected by
this new procedure; author worried that senior borrowers may wait too
long
By Michael Branson, CEO,
All Reverse Mortgage
Company
Jan. 29, 2010 - I still get a call about once a
week with borrowers asking when they will be able to do a reverse
mortgage on their unit in a cooperative project. After all,
co-op's were included in the list of acceptable properties when the
Home Economic Recovery Act (HERA) passed in 2008 but the programs to
include them just have not been implemented by HUD / FHA as of this
date.
Read more...
Grandparent News
Grandpa's Broken Hip Appears to Indicate Weaker Bones for His
Grandsons
Osteoporosis
common in older women; as many as half of all women and a
quarter of men older than 50 will break a bone due to
osteoporosis
Jan. 29, 2010 - A new study shows that hip
fractures in grandfathers are linked to low bone density and
reduced bone size in their grandsons, according to a report in
the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Alerts
FDA Announces Class I Recall of Over Two Million
Huber Infusion Set Needles
Huber needles used in implanted ports to withdraw
blood, inject medications, and other solutions
Jan. 27, 2010 - The Food and Drug Administration
yesterday announced a Class I recall of Exel/Exelint Huber needles, Exel/Exelint
Huber Infusion Sets and Exel/Exelint “Securetouch+” Safety Huber
Infusion Sets, manufactured by Nipro Medical Corporation for Exelint
International Corporation.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Victoza (liraglutide) Gets FDA Approval as New
Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes
Seniors aged 60 with type 2 diabetes are about
one-third of all adults with this chronic disease
Jan. 27, 2010 - Victoza (liraglutide), a drug
intended to help lower blood sugar levels along with diet, exercise, and
selected other diabetes medicines, was approved on January 25 for a
once-daily injection to treat type 2 diabetes in some adults.. It is not
recommended as initial therapy in patients who have not achieved
adequate diabetes control on diet and exercise alone, according to the
Food and Drug Administration.
Read more...
Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Older Brains of Senior Citizens Make Good Use of
‘Useless’ Information in Decision-Making
Older adults show 30% advantage over younger adults;
may be the wiser decision-makers because they pick up so much more
information
Jan. 26, 2010 - The aged brain of a senior citizen
has a weakened ability to filter out irrelevant information, which
sounds like bad news for older people. A new study, however, suggests
this may actually give the older folks a memory advantage over younger
people. Read
more...
Exercise & Fitness for Senior Citizens
Physical Activity Leads to Healthier Aging Say Four
New Studies of Senior Citizens
Papers in Archives of Internal Medicine detail
associations between exercise and cognitive function, bone density and
overall health
Jan.
25, 2010 – Four articles in the current issue of Archives of Internal
Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, add to the mountain of
research that finds physical activity can be a major contributor to
healthier aging. These studies found older women who survived the
longest exercised in middle age, exercise helped cognitive skills (two
studies) and it added to bone density of senior citizens.
Read
more...
Medicare News
Senior, Physician, Military Groups Urge Fix to
Medicare’s Annual Crisis in Physician Pay
Almost yearly physician’s face mandated cut in pay
that is then reversed by Congress
Jan. 25, 2010 - Focusing on looming Medicare
physician cuts of 21 percent scheduled to begin on March 1, the American
Medical Association (AMA), AARP and the Military Officers Association of
America (MOAA) have joined together in an “unprecedented” multi-state
event to urge a lasting fix to this annual crisis.
Read
more...
Social Security News
Social Security Opens Access to Data About
Disability Hearings, Processes at Data.gov
Commissioner Astrue says it is part of ‘President
Obama’s commitment to creating an unprecedented level of openness in
government’
Jan. 25, 2010 – What has to be seen as a good step
forward in helping Americans find their way more quickly through the
approval process to receive disability assistance from Social Security,
the agency has made available public Online access to data about beneficiaries
and the agency’s disability and hearing processes.
Read
more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Lighter Sedation for Elderly Surgery Patients May
Reduce Risk Of Confusion, Disorientation
Elderly seldom afraid of dying… they just want to
know if they’ll return to the same mental and physical level as before
surgery
Jan. 24, 2010- A common complication following
surgery in senior citizens is postoperative delirium, a state of
confusion that can lead to long-term health problems and cause some
elderly patients to complain that they “never felt the same” again after
an operation. But a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests that
simply limiting the depth of sedation during procedures could safely cut
the risk of postoperative delirium by 50 percent.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Cardiac Respiratory Stress Test Can Quickly Detect
Significant Coronary Artery Disease
RSR test is simple and fast to perform in a doctor's
office without the need for significant expense and hardship
Jan. 19, 2010 – Testing a patient's cardiac
respiratory stress response (RSR) can quickly and accurately detect the
presence of significant coronary artery disease (S-CAD), according to
new research published in the current issue of Cardiovascular
Revascularization Medicine. The results found patients with S-CAD had a
significantly lower RSR compared to patients without (6.7% vs. 17.4%,
respectively) suggesting RSR is a strong indicator for the disease.
Read more...
Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Drowsiness, Staring, Other Mental Lapses by Senior
Citizens May Signal Alzheimer's Disease
Seniors with mental lapses were 4.6 times more
likely to have dementia than those without mental lapses
Jan. 18, 2010 - Older people who have "mental
lapses," or times when their thinking seems disorganized or illogical or
when they stare into space, may be more likely to have Alzheimer's
disease than people who do not have these lapses, according to a study
published in the January 19, 2010, print issue of Neurology, the
medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Read
more...
Medicare News
Medicare’s Coverage of Bariatric Surgery at
Certified Facilities Improved Results
Patients benefited from shorter length of stay,
lower complication rates, no significant change in hospital mortality
rates
>> Second study
finds morbidly obese live longer with gastric bypass (see below
first story)
Jan. 18, 2010 – When Medicare decided to approve
coverage for bariatric weight-loss surgery, the agency also established
a requirement that senior citizens could only be treated at certified
institutions. The results have been better results and more minimally
invasive procedures, according to a report in the January issue of
Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Read more...
Caregiver & Elder Care News
Stress of Caring for Spouse Increases Risk of
Stroke, Especially for Black Men
Male spouse caregivers may need special support to
offset increased strain-related health risk
Jan. 15, 2010 - The stress of caring for a disabled
spouse appears to significantly increase the caregiver’s risk of future
stroke, especially among African-American men, says a researcher report
in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Read more...
Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements for Seniors
Fractures that Plague Senior Citizens Can be Reduced
by Taking Calcium with Vitamin D
Large study supports growing consensus that combined
calcium and vitamin D is more effective than vitamin D alone in reducing
fractures
Jan. 14, 2010 – The risk of bone fractures, a major
cause of disability, loss of independence and death for senior citizens,
can be reduced for people of any age and any sex by taking calcium with
vitamin D supplements on a daily basis, according to a study of nearly
70,000 patients.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Inconsistent Use of Surveillance Colonoscopy
Concerns Authors of Two Studies
Patients with a history of advanced polyps are at
particular risk and should be monitored closely with timely
surveillance, researchers says
Jan. 14, 2010 – Surveillance colonoscopy, performed
to monitor patients who have had precancerous polyps (adenomas) found on
a previous colonoscopy, is both overused and underused in with serious
implications for health care and health care spending.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Alerts
Latest Statistics on Fires are Devastating for Older
Americans: Seniors Most Likely to Die
Fire
safety tips for senior citizens offered by ADT;
US Fire Administrations releases data
Jan. 13, 2010 – The statistics concerning senior
citizens and fire are staggering. The U.S. Fire Administration says
people over the age of 65 have a home fire death rate nearly twice the
national average. For those over 75, that risk nearly triples.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
New Hope for Improved Treatment of Small Cell Lung
Cancer Found in Study of Senior Citizens
TGen-Scottsdale Healthcare researchers make
breakthrough: MicroRNAs are key to identifying resistant to 'first-line'
chemotherapy
Jan. 13, 2010 - A new study of senior citizens with
small cell lung cancer – the rapidly spreading type of lung cancer – has
discovered a way to predict which patients with SCLC may be resistant to
first-line chemotherapy. This breakthrough is critical since patients
with SCLC often do not get a second chance at therapies to combat this
aggressive type of cancer.
Read
more, more about types of lung cancer...
Senior Citizen Alerts
FDA Approves New Drug for Moderate to Severe
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Actemra’s recommended use is limited to patients who
have failed other approved therapies because of serious safety concerns
| |
 Read
more about Rheumatoid Arthritis below news report. |
|
Jan. 12, 2010 - The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration has approved Actemra (tocilizumab) to treat adults with
moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis who have not adequately
responded to or cannot tolerate other approved drug classes for
rheumatoid arthritis. The majority of America’s 1.3 million RA patients
are senior citizens with the average age for all RA victims being 66.8
years. Read
more...
Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Seniors with Subjective Memory Loss (where did I put
keys?) at Increased Risk of Dementia
Significant percentage of people with early
subjective symptoms may experience further cognitive decline; few
without these symptoms decline
Jan. 12, 2010 - Forgot where you put your car keys?
Having trouble recalling your colleague's name? If so, this may be a
symptom of subjective cognitive impairment (SCI), the earliest sign of
cognitive decline. Studies have shown that SCI is experienced by between
one-quarter and one-half of the senior citizen population (over age 65).
A new study finds that healthy seniors reporting SCI are 4.5 times more
likely to progress to the more advanced memory-loss stages of mild
cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia than those free of SCI.
Read
more...
Exercise & Fitness for Senior Citizens
Senior Citizen Exercise Appears to Prevent, Improve
Mild Cognitive Impairment
Moderate exercise in late life for men and woman was
associated with a 32% reduction in the odds of developing cognitive
impairment.
Jan. 11, 2010 - Moderate physical activity
performed in midlife or even as a senior citizen appears to be
associated with a reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment, whereas a
six-month high-intensity aerobic exercise program may improve cognitive
function in individuals who already have the condition, according to two
reports in the January issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the
JAMA/Archives journals.
Read
more...
Flu News for Senior Citizens
Heart Disease Patients Should Get H1N1 Flu Shot Says
American Heart Association
National Influenza Vaccination Week started Sunday;
pushed by HHS and CCD
Jan. 11, 2010 — The American Heart Association has
joined the national effort to get more Americans vaccinated against H1N1
flu during National Influenza Vaccination Week, Jan. 10-16.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Longevity & Statistics
Senior Citizens May Be Significantly Shortening
Lives by Too Much Time Watching TV
New study focused on television watching but
suggests any prolonged sedentary behavior, such as sitting at a desk or
in front of a computer, may pose a health risk, too
Jan. 11, 2010 - Self destruction, if not against
the law in most states, is certainly frowned upon everywhere. But, it
does not stop senior citizens from watching television over 200 hours a
month, which, according to a new study, increases their risk of death
from cardiovascular disease about 36 percent – and about 22 percent from
all causes.
Read more...
