Kidney Disease Newest Offering on NIHSeniorHealth
Information about the diagnosis and treatment of kidney disease
has just been added to NIHSeniorHealth, the National Institutes
of Health Web site designed especially for seniors. Consumers can
visit http://nihseniorhealth.gov/kidneydisease/toc.html to
learn more about kidney disease, which affects a growing number
of older adults and is most often caused by diabetes or high blood
pressure. Kidney disease occurs when the kidneys can no longer
remove wastes and extra water from the blood or perform other functions
vital to maintaining health. If allowed to progress, it can lead
to kidney failure and the need for dialysis or a kidney transplant.
"Recent studies show that an estimated 26 million people
have kidney disease. But many are unaware they have it because
most people have no symptoms before they are diagnosed," says
Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., director of the National Institute of
Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), which developed
the content for the new NIHSeniorHealth topic. "Early detection
and appropriate treatment can slow the progression of kidney disease
and help improve quality of life for those who are affected. The
new kidney disease topic on NIHSeniorHealth is an excellent source
of easy-to-understand information that will benefit older adults
at risk."
One of the fastest growing age groups using the Internet, older
Americans increasingly turn to the World Wide Web for health information.
In fact, 68 percent of online seniors look for health and medical
information when they go on the Web. NIHSeniorHealth is a joint
effort of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National
Library of Medicine (NLM). The site is based on the latest research
on cognition and aging. It features short, easy-to-read segments
of information that can be accessed in a number of formats, including
various large-print type sizes, open-captioned videos, and an audio
version. Additional topics coming soon to the site include Parkinson’s
disease, leukemia, complementary and alternative medicine, and
eating well as you get older.
The NIA leads the federal effort supporting and conducting research
on aging and the health and well-being of older people.
The NLM, the world's largest library of the health sciences, creates
and sponsors Web-based health information resources, including
the consumer health information Web site MedlinePlus.
The NIDDK conducts and supports research in diabetes and other
endocrine and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases, nutrition,
and obesity; and kidney, urologic, and hematologic diseases.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's
Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and
Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting
and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research,
and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both
common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and
its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
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