Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Senior Citizens Can Expect New Diabetes Drugs to Not
Increase Heart Attack Risk
FDA announces new recommendations on evaluating
cardiovascular risk in drugs to treat type 2 diabetes
Dec. 17, 2008 – For senior citizens – the age group
most threatened by diabetes and cardiovascular problems – the
announcement today by the Food and Drug Administration was good news.
The FDA says manufacturers developing new drugs and biologics to treat
type 2 diabetes need to provide evidence that the therapy will not
increase the risk of such cardiovascular events as a heart attack.
Read more...
Medicare News
GOA Questions Unexpected Charges to Senior Citizens
by Medicare Advantage Plans
Problems with fee-for-service plans denying charges,
high charge for disenrollment
Dec. 17, 2008 – The timing may not be good – or
maybe it is – but the Government Accountability Office has raised
questions about unexpected costs senior citizens have faced with
Medicare Advantage Programs because of coverage denials and
disenrollment changes. The timing of the report is important because
this is the open enrollment period for Medicare, when seniors can change
the plans they use for service.
Read
more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Coronary Heart Disease, Stroke Death Rates Take
Significant 30 Percent Drop from 1999
Cholesterol down for older people, progress lags in
fighting obesity, diabetes, physical inactivity
Dec. 17, 2008 – Death rates for coronary disease
and stroke have dropped about 30 percent since 1999, although obesity,
diabetes and physical inactivity are still growing risk factors,
according to Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics – 2009 Update by the
American Heart Association. A major risk that has been in the spotlight
in recent years - total cholesterol levels – has declined for women 60
and older and men over 39.
Read
more...
Aging News & Information
Senior
Citizens Remember Fewer Negative Pictures, Use Brains Differently
Older
people dwell in a world with a lot of negatives, perhaps they have
learned to reduce the impact of negative information and remember in a
different way
Dec. 16, 2008 – It probably won’t surprise many
senior citizens, but neuroscientists claim to have discovered that older
people use their brains differently than younger people when it comes to
storing memories, particularly those associated with negative emotions.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Democrats, Obama Likely to Seek Changes to Medicare
Advantage, Prescription Drug Benefit
Democratic
lawmakers 'aiming to change elements' of Medicare
prescription drug benefit, such as the so-called "doughnut
hole" coverage gap
Dec.
15, 2008 - Democratic lawmakers and President-elect Barack Obama in 2009
likely will seek to reduce reimbursements to private health insurers
under Medicare Advantage and make changes to the Medicare prescription
drug benefit, the
Wall Street Journal reports.
Read
more...
Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements for Seniors
Complementary and Alternative Medicine Info for
Seniors Added to NIHSeniorHealth.com
Website is joint effort of the National Institute on
Aging and National Library of Medicine
Dec. 15, 2008 – The use of complementary and
alternative medicine declines as Americans move up into the ranks of
senior citizens – probably due to lack of coverage by Medicare for most
of these – but still a substantial number of seniors use CAM. To help
seniors make better therapy choices, the topic has been added to
NIHSeniorHealth.com.
Read more...
Medicare News
More Enhanced Online Tools by Insurance Broker to
Help Seniors Select Medicare Plans
Health Plan One says it has also added more
information on types of Medicare health insurance available
Dec. 15, 2008 – Joining the growing list of
insurance marketers to provide enhanced online tools to help senior
citizens find the Medicare plans that best suit their needs is Health
Plan One. The company says it also expanded its education section to
provide more detailed information on the types of Medicare health
insurance plans available.
Read
more...
Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Mental Confusion in Elderly May Be Due to High Blood
Pressure Rather than Aging Brain
Stressful situations may make it
more difficult for some seniors to think clearly
Dec. 15, 2008 – When struggling with a memory lapse
or mental confusion, most senior citizens are quick to blame it on their
“aging brain.” A new study, however, says seniors should not jump to
conclusions. The mental challenge may be due to high blood pressure.
Read more...
AARP
Health Plans Draw Skepticism
By Anthony Clark, Business
editor, Gainesville (FL) Sun
Betty Queen of Gainesville
found it ironic that a column with tips from the
AARP warning seniors about investment scams that
offer free lunches appeared opposite an ad for free
meetings about Medicare insurance that uses the AARP
name.
Queen, who asked that her age
not be used, just got out of an AARP-endorsed
Medicare prescription plan because she said she
discovered her heart medication was costing her far
more through the plan — $2,200 a year — than the
drug itself.
"It's going to cost me less
than $1,000 next year to buy my medication over the
counter paying American cash," she said.
Her experience has left her
disillusioned with the AARP.
Click here to read story published Dec. 12, 2008
|
Medicare News
Senior Citizens Who Never Signed Up for Medicare
Part B have New Chance January 1
Part B, one of four Medicare parts, covers some
medical expenses not covered by Part A - doctors’ fees,
outpatient hospital visits, and other medical services and supplies
By Oscar Garcia,
Social Security Administration
Dec. 15, 2008 - If you are eligible for Medicare
Part B medical insurance, but you didn’t sign up for it when you first
became eligible for Medicare, you will have another opportunity to
apply. Open season for Medicare Part B runs from January 1 until
March 31, 2009.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Medicare Rights Center Wants Obama to Act Fast on
Medicare Private Plans
MRC issues plan to protect Medicare consumers based
on ten key points
Dec.
15, 2008 - Quick action is needed by the incoming Obama Administration
to enact basic consumer protections under Medicare private health and
drug plans, according to a 50-page memorandum to the Obama transition
team issued by the Medicare Rights Center.
Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements for Seniors
Lack of Medicare Coverage May Account for Decline in
Alternative Medicine Use by Seniors
Fish Oil
Tops |
New survey finds 38 percent of adults use
complimentary and alternative medicine: pain primary reason
Dec. 12, 2008 – A new survey finds complimentary
and alternative medicine in the US is primarily used to fight pain, yet,
usage tends to decline as adults become senior citizens, who are the
most likely to suffer with pain. The decline is probably because
Medicare does not cover “alternative therapies,” other than chiropractic
care.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
Daschle Nominated to Lead HHS, Asks Americans for
Health Care Input Online
Key position for health care reform and important to key programs for
senior citizens – Medicare and Medicaid
Dec. 11, 2008 - Tom Daschle is "known for speaking
softly but acting boldly," President-elect Barack Obama said today in
announcing the former Senate Majority Leader as his choice for Secretary
of the Department of Health and Human Services and Director of the new
White House Office on Health Reform. Daschle, who will head the agency
that includes the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,
immediately asked Americans to give him input about health care Online.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Cancer Deaths, Cases Showing Big Rate Declines in US
Despite Surge Worldwide
Annual report by leaders in cancer war shows historic
declines but trends vary in areas of US
Dec. 11, 2008 – The bad news this week that cancer
is increasing so rapidly around the world that it will pass heart
disease as the number one killer, drew a lot more attention that a
report published this month that was good news about the battle against
cancer in the U.S. It shows the rates for both cancer deaths and cancer
occurrences have decreased for the first time since the annual report
began in ten years ago.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Actos, Avandia Increase Risk of Fractures in Women
Treated for Diabetes
If used by elderly women with type 2 diabetes for
one year, one additional fracture would occur among every 21 women
Dec. 10, 2008 – The use of thiazolidinediones, a
popular class of oral diabetic drugs, for more than one year by women
with type 2 diabetes significantly reduces bone density, resulting in
the risk of fractures being doubled. The two currently available drugs
in this class are rosiglitazone, marketed as AvandiaTM by
GlaxoSmithKline, and pioglitazone, marketed as ActosTM by Takeda
Pharmaceuticals.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Crisis Looms in Care for Cancer Survivors as Baby
Boomers Fuel Ranks of Senior Citizens
Researchers point out issues to be faced by
oncologists, geriatricians, care providers that provide post-treatment
care to elderly cancer survivors
Dec. 10, 2008 – On the heels of yesterday’s
projection that cancer will replace heart disease as the world’s number
one killer by 2010, comes a report that the U.S. faces a crisis in being
able to handle the rapid growth in cancer survivors that is expected
among senior citizens. More than 6 or every 10 cancers are found in an
American age 65 or older.
Read more...
Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements for Seniors
Vitamins C, E and Selenium Fail to Prevent Prostate
Cancer in Massive Studies
Do not work against other cancers either say
studies released early by JAMA
Dec.
9, 2008 – Two major cancer prevention studies have found that two of the
most popular vitamins – E, and C - nor the supplement selenium do not
lower the risk for prostate cancer, or other cancers. Both studies will
be published January 7 in the Journal of the American Medical
Association (JAMA)
but are bring released early because of the important public health
implications.
Read more...
Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Alzheimer’s Foundation Calls for Congressional
Policy on Dementia Screening
New report ‘shatters unsubstantiated criticism’ and
emphasizes safety and cost-effectiveness of screening
Dec. 9, 2008 - As the nation faces a public health
crisis related to Alzheimer's disease, a new report released today by
the Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA) disputes an ongoing
controversy over the value and utilization of memory screenings. The
report, according to AFA, “shatters unsubstantiated criticism and
instead emphasizes the safety and cost-effectiveness of these tools and
calls on Congress to develop a national dementia screening policy.”
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Cancer to Replace Heart Disease as Leading Killer in
World by 2010, Says International Study
US cancer organizations unite to push action plan
for Obama Administration
|
Number
U.S. deaths 2005 for leading causes of death
● Heart disease: 652,091
● Cancer:
559,312
More in news
report...
|
Dec. 9, 2008 – Cancer may soon replace heart
disease as the leading cause of death in the world according to a
report today from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
This news that cancer is projected to become the leading cause of death
in the year 2010 has moved the nation's leading cancer organizations to
join an event called Conquering Cancer: A Global Effort, to focus
attention on the growing global cancer burden and discuss efforts needed
to address the problem.
Read
more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Two Studies Say Senior Citizens Can Take Acute
Myeloid Leukemia Treatments
Chemotherapy and blood stem cell transplants okay
for treating elderly with common leukemia
Dec. 9, 2008 – Although acute myeloid leukemia
usually strikes when people are about age 65, these senior citizens have
often been offered only supportive care because they are believed to be
too weak to withstand treatment. Two studies presented yesterday say
these elderly AML victims are not too old for chemotherapy or blood stem
cell transplants.
Read more...
|
Baby boomers in hot
pursuit of vanished youth
Steps
being taken by them range from healthy to bizarre
 LAS
VEGAS - It's one of those photos that make you do a
double-take.
Dr. Jeffry Life stands in
jeans, his shirt off. His face is that of a
distinguished-looking grandpa; his head is balding, and
what hair there is is white.
But his 69-year-old body
looks like it belongs to a muscular 30-year-old.
The photo regularly runs
in ads for the Cenegenics Medical Institute, a Las
Vegas-based clinic that specializes in "age management,"
a growing field in a society obsessed with staying
young.
>>
More of Associated Press article published 12-7-08 in
Arizona Daily Star |
Aging News & Information
Old People with Problems Seeing Close Objects
Predicted to Hit 1.4 Billion by 2020
Age-related presbyopia – farsightedness – keeps 410
million from tasks requiring near vision
Dec.
8, 2008 - It is estimated that more than 1 billion individuals worldwide
in 2005 had presbyopia, or age-related difficulty in seeing objects
nearby, with an estimated 410 million with the condition unable to
perform tasks requiring near vision.
Read more...
Aging News & Information
Most Senior Citizens Feel Younger, Think They Look
Younger Than They Are
New study on aging says poor health quickly modifies
these positive opinions
Dec.
8, 2008 - Senior citizens tend to feel about 13 years younger than their
chronological age but think they look only 7 years younger. Women,
however, perceived their appearance as being closer to their actual age,
according to a new study on aging.
Read
more...
Elder Care News
Program to Help Seniors Make Their Homes Safer
Announced by Administration on Aging
The agency’s Eldercare Locator will partner with
Rebuilding Together in three-point plan to prevent falls by senior
citizens
Dec. 8, 2008 – A program to prevent devastating
falls by senior citizens by helping them make their homes safer, getting
their families involved and helping steer them to local assistance was
announced today by the Eldercare Locator, a service of the U.S.
Administration on Aging, and Rebuilding Together, a non-profit that
helps low-income Americans maintain their homes.
Read
more...
Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Dementia Delayed by Mixing Taiji, Gigong, Cognitive
Therapy and Support Groups
Researchers are discovering multi-disciplinary
approaches have the most promise in treating people with dementia
Dec.
5, 2008 - Those diagnosed with early stage dementia can slow their
physical, mental and psychological decline by taking part in therapeutic
programs that combine counseling, support groups, Taiji and qigong,
researchers report. Some of the benefits of this approach are comparable
to those achieved with anti-dementia medications.
Read
more...links to other associated stories
Senior Citizen Shopping, Discounts
Florida Company Offers Senior Discount on Product to
Fix Slick Bathroom Floors
Falls in showers and tubs deadly to senior citizens
and Slip Care offers solution
Dec. 4, 2008 – Falling is a high-risk disaster for
senior citizens, who are more than 13 times as likely to die from a fall
as are those even slightly younger in the 55 to 64 age group. There is a
new product on the market that is targeting a solution from many of these
deadly falls – the ones that happen in the bathroom. And, Slip Care,
Inc. is even offering a senior discount on their Website.
Read more...
Senior Citizen Politics
AARP Gets Hundreds of Millions from Insurance
Companies to Endorse Policies
Bloomberg.com report finds part of this goes to pay
on $200 million marble and brass-studded headquarters
Dec. 4, 2008 - AARP, already being investigated by
the Senate Finance Committee, and exposed by the New York Times for its
massive selling of its endorsement to commercial companies, was hit
again today. The latest is an article on Bloomberg.com, that lays bare
the story of how the organization collects hundreds of millions of
dollars annually from insurance companies who pay for AARP’s endorsement
of their policies.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Researchers Continue Search for Drug to Treat
Seniors for Emerging Form of Heart Failure
Blood pressure drug AvaproTM fails against common
problem for older people, particularly women - diastolic heart failure
Dec. 4, 2008 – A medication used for high blood
pressure – AvaproTM - does not improve a common form of heart failure,
diastolic heart failure, according to new results from a large, international study. The findings
are disappointing, according to the researchers, who continue to search
for a successful treatment for the condition, which predominantly
affects older people, particularly women.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
’80 Ain’t Old’ Makes Number Two in Top Ten Health
Stories of 2008 by Harvard Health Letter
Others of high importance to senior citizens –
advances with adult stem cells, generic drugs now the norm, how low for
blood sugar in seniors
Dec. 4, 2008 - The top 10 health stories of 2008
may not be as funny as David Letterman's nightly countdown, but they can
actually make a difference for long-term health. And, there is no age
group that appreciates advances in health maintenance more than senior
citizens – for the obvious reasons.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Small Study Indicates Stroke Rehabilitation Possible
Six Months After Stroke
Robotic technology with aid of functional MRI
improves stroke rehabilitation
Dec. 3, 2008 – Although the study was very small
the results could point to something big – the rehabilitation of stroke
victims even months after the stroke. Scientists using a novel,
hand-operated robotic device and functional MRI (fMRI) have found that
chronic stroke patients can be rehabilitated, according to a study
presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of
North America (RSNA).
Read more...
Medicaid News
Governor’s Want $40 Billion for State Medicaid
Programs, Obama Promises Help
CMS Also Issues Final Medicaid Rule to Gives States
More Flexibility in Benefit Offerings
Dec. 3, 2008 - President-elect Barack Obama and
Vice President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday met with 49 governors and
governors-elect during a meeting of the
National Governors Association in Philadelphia to discuss an
economic stimulus package that could include additional federal Medicaid
funds for states, the
North Jersey Herald News reports.
Read more...
