New study says a seventh of elderly Americans suffer from dementia

clipped from blogs.usatoday.com A new study suggests that one out of seven Americans over the age of 70 has dementia. As they report in the latest issue of Neuroepidemiology, the findings suggest that 3.4 million Americans aged 71 or older suffer from some sort of dementia, including Alzheimer's. This is about 30% higher than earlier estimates. They found a correlation between increased age and dementia diagnoses. "In a series of logistic models that included age and one additional variable (i.e. education, gender, race, or APOE genotype), older age was consistently associated with an increased risk of dementia, "What this study and others before it confirm is that there are millions of Americans living with Alzheimer’s and dementia, and that number is estimated to grow at an epidemic rate if we don’t do something about it,” William Thies of the Alzheimer’s Association says in a statement.

Seasonal Pattern in Bipolar Disorder May Help Treatment

clipped from www.medicalnewstoday.com Approximately one fifth of people with bipolar disorder, mostly those with bipolar II, find their symptoms wax and wane with the seasons. Benito Mussolini was a prime example. In her biography of the Italian dictator Margarita Sarfati wrote: "He was quiet for months on end. But then came the troubled season (spring) when the sap rose and he was overcome by a swarm of powerful and dark instincts." Psychiatrist Dr Athanasios Koukopoulos, of Centro Lucio Bini, in Rome, Italy who has been studying Mussolini says: "This seasonal bipolar pattern with spring-summer highs which led him to believe in easy victories, and winter depressions masked by stomach pains is clearly documented from 1938 on." (1)

More Evidence for Links between Diabetes and Sleep Disorders

clipped from www.medicalnewstoday.com "Restricting sleep to four hours a night for only a few days causes abnormal glucose metabolism, suggesting the mechanism for increased rates of diabetes in sleep deprived individuals," says Dr. Epstein. "Additionally, sleep disorders that disrupt sleep, such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), also increase the likelihood of developing diabetes. Treating the sleep disorders improves glucose metabolism and diabetes control. These studies underscore the fact that sleep is integral to good health "Sleep loss has significant effects on the endocrine system, which is responsible for the release and inhibition of various substances, including insulin," says Dr. Arand. - Measured sleep predicts changes in glucose metabolism. This finding is consistent with experimental research suggesting that sleep affects risk of diabetes.

Superbug Symptoms

clipped from thenewsleak.com The MRSA Symptoms or superbug symptoms can be very basic but they can also be very complex because it can infect so many different areas.  MRSA symptoms most often will occur on the skin and can look red, swollen, painful, and pus filled.  It can be one of these symptoms or all of them.  MRSA will most often  as a boil or skin abscess and can infect surgical wounds.  MRSA symptoms or superbug symptoms can have a lot different affects if it infects an area other than the skin.  It has been known to infect the lungs which can cause pneumonia.  These symptoms include fever, chills, and shortness of breath.  MRSA may show up in the bloodstream and can infect the urinary tract.  MRSA symptoms in these areas can vary a lot so if you are cocerned it is always best to ask your doctor.  They recommend calling your doctor if the infection is no better after three or four days, the infection keeps getting worse, or you develop a fever, or your fever gets worse.

Deadly Ignorance - 1 in 5 women don't want to know...

clipped from www.nypost.com 20% OF GALS: DON'T TELL ME IF I HAVE CANCER October 27, 2007 -- One in five American women don't want to know if they have cancer, a new survey found. Rather than seek early detection and possible cure, these women would prefer to remain in the dark. Doctors were shocked by the findings from the study about women and cancer prevention, which was sponsored by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and presented in New York yesterday. "It absolutely flies in he face of common sense," said Dr. Douglas Laube, the college's past president and a professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. "This was the most startling finding for me. It's whistling in the dark," Laube said. "I think it's fear - fear of treatment and fear of what they have to go through if it's found. But to not want to know about something that is potentially curable is downright bizarre." most people who have cancer have no family history of the silent killer

survey concerning American women

Natural Cures for Nail Fungus

clipped from mind-mart.com Be sure to do this cleaning and preparation daily before applying the herbal remedy you've chosen. Now, let's look at several herbal remedies which have worked quite well for many people over the years: Lemongrass oil or lemon juice. Lemon is a natural antiseptic, and it can help start killing the fungus bacteria almost immediately. In fact, using lemongrass oil usually causes your nail area to turn black just minutes after using it, and this is an indication the fungus is starting to be killed.

clipped from www.reuters.com Gene switch altered sex orientation of worms CHICAGO (Reuters) - Altering a gene in the brain of female worms changed their sexual orientation, U.S. researchers said on Thursday, making female worms attracted to other females. The study reinforces the notion that sexual orientation is hard-wired in the brain, said Erik Jorgensen, scientific director of the Brain Institute at the University of Utah. "They look like girls, but act and think like boys," Utah researcher Jamie White, who worked on the study published in the journal Current Biology, said in a statement. Researchers in Jorgensen's lab switched on a gene in female worms that makes the body develop male structures, but they only activated the gene in the brain. As a result, the female worms still had female bodies, but they behaved like males. "It suggests sexual behavior is encoded in our genes" and not caused by extra nerve cells specific to males or females, Jorgensen said in a telephone interview.

Virus weapon enlisted to fight cancer

clipped from sciencenow.sciencemag.org A virus that was instrumental in eradicating smallpox is now showing promise as a potential cancer treatment. A genetically engineered strain of vaccinia, better known as the smallpox vaccine, kept rabbits' liver tumors in check in a new study. The virus is now headed toward trials with human patients. The researchers began by removing two genes from a vaccinia virus that are necessary for its growth in normal cells. Thus, the virus is restricted to growing inside cancer cells, which happen to express high levels of similar genes that the virus can co-opt. The cancer might be knocked out altogether by higher doses of the virus or combining it with other medications, says Thorne. He has been in discussions with the Food and Drug Administration to start trials of the virus in human patients with any form of solid tumor cancer. Thorne expects trials to begin early next year.

Weapon Against Smallpox Aimed at Cancer

Bacteria 'talk' each other to death

clipped from www.innovations-report.de A new peptide communication factor enabling bacteria to ‘talk to each other’ Discovery by Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers of a new communication factor that enables bacteria to “talk to each other” and causes their death could have significant consequences leading to development of a new class of antibiotic medications. The communication factor formed by Escherichia coli enables the activation of a built-in “suicide module” which is located on the bacterial chromosome and is esponsible for bacterial cell death under stressful conditions. Therefore, the new factor has been designated EDF (Extra-cellular Death Factor).

cancer & household chemicals

clipped from www.newstarget.com There's no program in place to teach women about the anti-cancer effects of sunlight and vitamin D (in fact, cancer industry groups like the American Cancer Society run public service ads warning people about sunlight!), there's no honest effort to teach women about the natural anti-cancer medicine founds in certain foods, and no one is telling women the truth about the cancer-causing chemicals in perfumes, laundry detergent, cosmetics and personal care products. Recent research shows that even air fresheners are contaminated with phthalates, and new details about cancer-causing chemicals in household products seem to emerge every week.

I have access to safe (non-carcinogenic, non-neurotoxic) cleaning products, cosmetics and more. Contact me at HealthyTeam@gmail.com for info! Please put Safe Products in the subject line.

Maggots Rid Patients Of Antibiotic-resistant Infection, MRSA

clipped from www.sciencedaily.com Maggots rid diabetic patient of an antibiotic-resistant infection, methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Manchester) ScienceDaily (May 5, 2007) — University of Manchester researchers are ridding diabetic patients of the superbug MRSA - by treating their foot ulcers with maggots. Professor Andrew Boulton and his team used green bottle fly larvae to treat 13 diabetic patients whose foot ulcers were contaminated with MRSA and found all but one were cured within a mean period of three weeks, much quicker than the 28-week duration for the conventional treatment. Professor Boulton, who published the results in the journal Diabetes Care, has now been awarded a £98,000 grant by Diabetes UK to carry out a randomized controlled trial to compare this treatment with two others. "Maggots are the world's smallest surgeons. In fact they are better than surgeons - they are much cheaper and work 24 hours a day," Professor Boulton jokingly said.

Once again nature provides.

Type 2 Diabetes

clipped from www.squidoo.com Type 2 diabetes is becoming more common every year in Western societies. There are many factors for this ranging from diet, lack of exercise and genetics. With the help of your doctor and nutritionists, it can be a manageable disease.<BR><BR>In type 2 diabetes, either the pancreas does not make enough insulin, or the cells become resistant to insulin. Insulin takes sugar in the form of glucose, which is the main source of cellular energy, into the cells. If diabetes is untreated blood sugar levels get too high. This both starves the cells of energy, as well as damage eyes, kidneys, nerves and cardiovascular system.<BR><BR>While some who have type 2 diabetes experience no noticeable symptoms, others suffer from some of the most common symptoms of type 2 diabetes which are increased thirst, increased urination, fatigue, increased appetite, blurry vision, slow healing wounds and erectile dysfunction in men.<BR>

Nutritional support and information for diabetics

Faster Dementia for More Educated People

clipped from psychcentral.com Educated Lose Memory Faster clipped from psychcentral.com A new study suggests that although the onset of dementia may be delayed among individuals with more years of education, when dementia does develop, the educated lose their memory faster than those with less education. The study found for each additional year of formal education, the rapid accelerated memory decline associated with oncoming dementia was delayed by approximately two and one half months. However, once that accelerated decline commenced, the people with more education saw their rate of cognitive decline accelerate 4 percent faster for each additional year of education. “While higher levels of education delay the onset of dementia, once it begins, the accelerated memory loss is more rapid in people with more education,” said Dr. Hall. “This rapid decline may be explained by how people with more education have a greater cognitive reserve, or the brain’s ability to maintain function in spite of damage,” added Hall.

Hmm, I am doomed to a quick decline in my faculties since I became over-educated. Darn it.

More Connections Between Sleep and Mental Health

clipped from psychcentral.com Sleep Loss Challenges Emotional Control clipped from psychcentral.com In the first neural investigation into what happens to the emotional brain without sleep, results from a brain imaging study suggest that while a good night’s rest can regulate your mood and help you cope with the next day’s emotional challenges, sleep deprivation does the opposite by excessively boosting the part of the brain most closely connected to depression, anxiety and other psychiatric disorders. Clinical evidence has shown that some form of sleep disruption is present in almost all psychiatric disorders. Walker and his team found that the amygdala, which is also a key to processing emotions, became hyperactive in response to negative visual stimuli - mutilated bodies, children with tumors and other gory images - in study participants who stayed awake for 35 hours straight. Conversely, brain scans of those who got a full night’s sleep in their own beds showed normal activity in the amygdala.

Get enough sleep or your brain might become depressed.

Vitamins May Improve Smokers' Lung Function

clipped from www.newsmax.com New research shows that antioxidants—vitamins A, C, and E—may help improve lung function in people who smoke. Researchers from Bangladesh compared the lung function of 200 healthy male smokers who took one vitamin—A, C, or E— or all three in combination for 2 months. Results showed that patients taking vitamins, improved their lung function after 2 months, with those taking all three vitamins in combination experiencing the largest improvement in lung function. The study also found that when vitamin supplementation was ceased, smokers’ lung function decreased, leading researchers to conclude that the beneficial effects of vitamins are temporary if they are not taken consistently.

I don't advocate smoking, but this is some good news for those who can't give up.

Evercare Unveils Details Of Nation's First Alzheimer's Disease Special Needs Plan In Phoenix

clipped from www.medicalnewstoday.com Evercare, one of the nation's, and Arizona's, largest health care coordination programs, today unveiled the details of the first-ever Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plan designed exclusively for people with Alzheimer's disease and chronic dementia. Residents of Maricopa County, Ariz. will be the first in the country to have access to this innovative health plan with tailored benefits and services, including special prescription drug coverage and the Alzheimer's Association Safe Return® program. Evercare Care Managers will collaborate with memory disorder specialists from the prestigious Phoenix-based Banner Alzheimer's Institute, with the goal of enhancing Evercare's innovative model of care. <BR><BR>The <I>Evercare® Health Plan for People with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia</I> provides benefits that go beyond traditional Medicare coverage

I am looking forward to learning more about this program. I will investigate when this program might be coming to South Florida.

Some women risk cervical cancer 25 years on

clipped from www.abc.net.au Michael Kahn Women treated for precancerous lesions are at increased risk of developing cervical or vaginal cancer for at least another 25 years, according to a study suggesting that follow-up tests fall dangerously short. Using data from Sweden's national cancer registry, the researchers say that women who have had severe lesions in the cervix are more than twice as likely to develop one of the two cancers than women in the general population. The findings underscore the need for follow-up tests to continue for at least 25 years after treatment, far longer than the current five or 10 years standard in most European countries, says Dr Björn Strander, a gynaecologist at Sahlgren University Hospital in Sweden. Strander led the study, which is published online today by the British Medical Journal. "This is a warning to the healthcare system to keep track of these women," he says "It has not been known these women remain at risk for such a very long time." cervical cancer kills 300,000 each year

The studies show treated for precancerous lesions of the cervix, should continue to get checkups for at least 25 years, instead of the current 5-10 year standard

Medicinal clays may heal ulcers

clipped from www.abc.net.au Larry O'Hanlon Your doctor may one day prescribe dirt, if new research into a few potent antibacterial clays is successful. Scientists aren't sure how some clays kill bacteria. Metals in the clay may be the active ingredients. Or the highly charged molecular surfaces of the clay minerals may tear up bacterial cells Salmonella typhimurium, shown in red, is one of the bacteria that was killed by a type of clay five years ago when the late French humanitarian worker Line Brunet de Courssou reported that a French clay called Agricur was effective against the flesh-eating disease Buruli ulcer in Africa's Ivory Coast. Now an interdisciplinary team of microbiologists and mineralogists is trying to figure out exactly how the clay cures. "They would mix clay with water and make a paste and put it on the horrible wounds When daily applications of the clay caused too much pain another French clay was used It was the second clay that killed [the bacteria], although the clays are mineralogically identical,

They're not sure why it works, and are trying to pin down why. There can be two very similar clays, with only one having the healing process, but they have a few theories they can check, such as slight variations in mineral content, or structure. It has been used successfully in treating flesh eating disease in Ivory coast.

broccoli may help fight skin cancer

clipped from news.yahoo.com Scientists have discovered that an extract of broccoli sprouts protects the skin against the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays This is not a sunscreen, because it does not absorb the ultraviolet rays of the sun," explained Dr. Paul Talalay, a professor of pharmacology and molecular sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. "We don't want people covering their bodies with broccoli and going to the beach. They will have no protection whatsoever." Exposure to ultraviolet or UV rays is the primary cause of most skin cancers. The incidence of skin cancer in the United States is on the rise as men and women who had too many sunburns earlier in life get older and develop the diseas "Cells contain an elaborate network of protective genes that code for proteins that protect against four principal injurious processes to which all of our cells are exposed and which are the causes of cancer, degenerative disease and aging," he explained.

Micro-robot that can clear arteries

clipped from www.telegraph.co.uk A microscopic robot small enough to travel through blood vessels has been built by scientists. Less than a millimetre in size, the robot walks like a crab on six legs and has been designed to clear blocked arteries. A microscopic robot small enough to travel through blood vessels has been built by scientists. Less than a millimetre in size, the robot walks like a crab on six legs and has been designed to clear blocked arteries. It was produced by researchers at Chonnam National University in Korea, who found the robot was able to travel 55 yards in a week. Once inside a blocked artery, it is able to release drugs to dissolve blood clots, which are often the cause of heart attacks. By attaching grafted heart muscle to the legs, the scientists found the legs would bend as the muscle cells contracted. The cells get their energy from sugar in the patient's blood. That means the robot does not need an external power supply, which are often heavy and cumbersome, if not impractical.

Free "Cold Energy" from thin air.

clipped from www.rhfweb.com New method of power generation will harness the difference in atmospheric pressure between locations 100 to 200 miles apart, with reliability comparable to coal, nuclear, gas, and hydro, but at a cost substantially lower, and with no pollution. The scientific modeling Cold Energy has done predicts that this approach of tapping atmospheric pressure differences can yield copious amounts of energy. The effect is not just from weather differences, but can be seen in elevation differences as well -- like water running down hill. "That is sufficient to generate a wind of 2,500 mph (miles per hour), which is 3.5 times the speed of sound," Crocker said.

Very interesting. Derives power from atmospheric pressure differances

Alzheimer of the well-educated

clipped from news.yahoo.com Alzheimer's memory loss faster among well-educated WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Having more years of formal education delays the memory loss linked to Alzheimer's disease, but once the condition begins to take hold, better-educated people decline more rapidly, researchers said on Monday. Someone with 16 years of schooling might experience memory decline 50 percent more quickly than another person with just four years education, based on the findings. "An elderly person who starts to see memory loss might well deteriorate fairly rapidly, particularly if he or she has a high education or high IQ," Charles Hall, a professor of epidemiology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine who led the study, said in a telephone interview. People with more years of formal education appear to have a greater "cognitive reserve," Hall said, referring to the brain's ability to keep working despite damage.

clipped from www.sciencedaily.com Researchers Knock Out HIV ScienceDaily (Oct. 21, 2007) — With the latest advances in treatment, doctors have discovered that they can successfully neutralise the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The so-called ‘combination therapy’ prevents HIV from mutating and spreading, allowing patients to rebuild their immune system to the same levels as the rest of the population. This thin-section transmission electron micrograph depicted the ultrastructural details of two "human immunodeficiency virus" (HIV) virus particles, or virions. (Credit: CDC/Dr. A. Harrison; Dr. P. Feorino)

doctors have discovered that they can successfully neutralize the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

Physical Fitness: Start With Your Brain

clipped from lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk Do your fitness drives always end in failure? Perhaps the problem is in your head, not your workout. Pete Cohen, a health and wellbeing coach trained in human psychology and behaviour. "It's getting people to enjoy it and stick with it in the long term that's the real challenge." "From the very moment you think to yourself 'I've tried this before and it didn't work - why should this time be any different?' you can bet your bottom dollar it won't be," he says. Steps to mental fitness What are your reasons for exercise? Write them down, in as much detail as possible. Set challenging but achievable goals. Learn to self-talk. counter negative self-talk with positive, persuasive arguments. Don't get stuck in a rut. "Have a sense of discovery and fun about exercise," Use visualisation Post-workout, take a moment to congratulate yourself - and reflect on what you've achieved. get through those first few weeks, you'll begin to develop the neurological pathways that make exercise feel "normal".

Alzheimer's memory loss faster among well-educated

clipped from www.reuters.com WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Having more years of formal education delays the memory loss linked to Alzheimer's disease, but once the condition begins to take hold, better-educated people decline more rapidly, researchers said on Monday. Their study, published in the journal Neurology, tracked memory loss in a group of elderly people from New York City's Bronx borough before they were diagnosed with Alzheimer's or another form of old-age dementia. Every year of education delayed the accelerated memory decline that precedes dementia by about 2-1/2 months, according to the researchers at Yeshiva University's Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. But once this memory loss began, the rate of decline unfolded 4 percent more quickly for each additional year of education, the researchers said. Someone with 16 years of schooling might experience memory decline 50 percent more quickly than another person with just four years education, based on the findings.

strange...I just thought that the more your read, think & write, the more you shall be excercising your brains!...wasted a lot of time in getting qualified!!!

UK is Sickest Nation in Europe

clipped from www.telegraph.co.uk Britain has been branded "the sick man of Europe" after a Government report revealed a nation blighted by record levels of obesity, alcohol abuse, diabetes and smoking related deaths. The rate of obesity in British adults is the worst in Europe and, in some areas, are now above the national average of the United States. "It is shocking that England is still the fattest nation in Europe." almost 900,000 children aged under 11 are obese - a 50 per cent increase in the past decade. The number of women aged 35 to 54 dying of alcohol abuse has almost doubled in the last 15 years.