Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Link Between Blood Pressure and Outside Temperature
for Seniors May Tie to Vitamin D
Researchers also urging close monitoring of elderly
with hypertension during weather extremes; second study says thinking
ability varies with blood pressure
Jan. 16, 2009 – The recent discovery that the blood
pressure readings for senior citizens vary in reverse to the outside
temperature – colder temperature equals higher blood pressure reading –
may have something to do with the link between vitamin D and
hypertension, according to a spokesman for European cardiologists. The
French researchers also urge careful monitoring during extreme
temperatures.
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Senior Citizen Alerts
Antibiotic Promotions by Pharmacies are Wrong
Prescription for Cold and Flu Season
Infectious Diseases Society of America says
it is unhealthy promotional gimmick - a better option to help people are
free flu shots
Jan.
16, 2009 - With an epidemic of antibiotic-resistant infections
growing, experts are warning grocery-store pharmacies that antibiotics
giveaways are an unhealthy promotional gimmick. If grocery stores want
to help customers and save them money during cold and flu season, the
Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) says, they should offer
free influenza vaccinations instead.
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more...
Senior Citizen Alerts
More Recalls, More Sick People as Peanut Butter
Salmonella Outbreak Grows
Senior citizens – big consumers of peanut butter
and the most vulnerable to salmonella – should take caution
Jan. 15, 2009 – Public health concerns about peanut
butter, a popular snack for senior citizens, are growing as more
products are being recalled and over 434 people in 43 states are found
to be infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella. Early reports
indicated the infected peanut butter may not have made it to grocery
story shelves, but new alarm bells sounded yesterday with the recall of
popular brands of peanut butter cracker sandwiches.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Too Many Needless Stent Implants Can Be Prevented by
Better Blood Flow Studies
Researchers look at new diagnostic tool to measure
blood flow in vessels to heart
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Dr. William Fearon |
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Jan. 15, 2009 - Doctors may be implanting too many
artery-opening stents and could avoid needless operations - and
ultimately save lives - if they did more in-depth measurements of blood
flow in the vessels to the heart. That’s the finding of a study,
published Jan. 15 in the New England Journal of Medicine that
evaluated the benefits of a new diagnostic tool to measure blood flow
and determine whether stenting was the best option.
Read more, video
link...
Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Most Senior Citizens Would Agree to Family Placing
Them in Alzheimer’s Research
Uncertainty among state government’s has caused
widespread confusion for three decades
Jan. 14, 2009 - By the time they have been
diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, many patients’ decision-making
ability is so impaired that they cannot give informed consent to
participate in research studies. Close family members are left with the
decision, but there is no clear policy for this so-called “surrogate”
consent. Because of that, research about the increasingly common disease
is often stalled.
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more...
Reverse Mortgage News for Seniors
Reverse Mortgages for Senior Citizens Continue to
Grow Despite Mortgage Turmoil; Tampa Leads
New features for 2009: higher loan limit, lower
fees, home purchase component, co-op eligibility and stricter consumer
protection
Jan.
14, 2009 – The regular mortgage market may be suffering but the reverse
mortgages for senior citizens are still growing – and, should benefit
from several new features in 2009. New data released by the Department
of Housing and Urban Development shows that on a calendar year basis,
the number of federally insured reverse mortgages closed in 2008 grew
6.4% to 115,176 loans.
Read more...
Aging News & Information
Senior Citizen Drivers Setting New Records – For
Safe Driving, Fewer Fatal Crashes
Despite growing numbers, fewer older drivers died
in crashes and fewer were involved in fatal collisions
Jan. 13, 2009 - Auto crash deaths among drivers 70
and older fell 21 percent during the period 1997-2006, reversing an
upward trend, even as the population of people 70 and older rose 10
percent, according to a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway
Safety. Despite growing numbers on the road, fewer older drivers died in
crashes and fewer were involved in fatal collisions during the period
than in years past.
Read more...
Exercise & Fitness for Senior Citizens
Peripheral Arterial Disease Patients Improve Walking Endurance with
Treadmill Exercise
Up
to 1 in 5 senior citizens may have PAD; Researchers conclude physicians should
recommend supervised treadmill exercise for PAD patients
Jan. 13, 2009 - Patients with peripheral arterial disease
(PAD), who participated in supervised treadmill exercise, improved their walking
endurance and quality of life, according to a study in the January 14 issue of
the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Read more...
Features for Senior Citizens
Improved Web Tool for Maintaining, Sharing Health
History Released by Surgeon General
Health history tool also designed to help
caregivers make better use of this critical information - significant
help for senior citizens
Jan. 13, 2009 – A new “updated and improved”
version of the U.S. Surgeon General’s Internet-based family health
history tool was launched today by the Department of Health & Human
Services. The latest version makes it easier for consumers to assemble
and share family health history information. It is also designed to help
caregivers better use the data for better care.
Read more...
Opining of a Cranky Old Man:
Disgusting: Babies
in Public, Kids Gone Wild, Adults Unaware of
Digital TV, Sports Taking Over Family
By
Bill Kalmar, Retiree
Jan. 12, 2009 - Just the other day a friend of mine
mentioned that after reading several of my columns he concluded that I
was a “cranky old man”. As I looked back on some past articles I had to
agree that at times I assumed that role. But I would rather liken my
opinions to that of a curmudgeon – an ill-tempered old man, which sounds
less threatening.
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
When the Outside
Temperature Goes Down, a Senior Citizen’s Blood Pressure Goes Up
Study
finds differences over time were larger in participants age 80 and older
Jan. 12, 2009 – What seems strange, but appears to be true,
is a correlation in senior citizens between the outside temperature and high
blood pressure or hypertension. But, it works in reverse – when the outside
temperature goes down the senior’s blood pressure goes up.
Read more...
Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens
Meeting Cholesterol Level Guidelines Does Not Appear
to Lower Heart Attack Risk
Three of four hospitalized with heart attack had
good cholesterol levels indicating low risk; guidelines need revision?
Jan. 12, 2009 – A stunning 75 percent of patients
hospitalized for a heart attack had cholesterol levels meeting national
guidelines that indicated they were not at high risk for a
cardiovascular event. Almost half had low-density lipoprotein (LDL)
cholesterol levels classified as “optimal.”
Read more...
Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements for Seniors
Vitamin D is ‘It’ Nutrient with Success Against
Diabetes, Cancer, Heart Disease, Osteoporosis
Many of the 23 million Americans with diabetes have
low vitamin D levels
Jan. 12, 2009 - Vitamin D may prevent or delay the
onset of diabetes and reduce complications for those who have already
been diagnosed. Welcome news for many senior citizens, who are also
eyeing Vitamin D because of other recent reports showing it offers
health benefits for diseases, including cancer, osteoporosis, heart
disease.
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more...
Medicare News
Medicare Advocacy Groups Join to Blast CMS for
Promoting Private Advantage Plans
Organizations says it is “last-ditch effort” to
privatize Medicare by Bush administration
Jan. 12, 2009 – Some of the leading advocates for
Medicare beneficiaries have joined together to condemn actions by the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which they think are designed
to “assure continued leniency in the oversight of private plans for at
least another year and as a last-ditch effort to promote private
Medicare Advantage plans.”
Read more...
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Obama Targeting Social Security, Medicare to Constrain Government
Spending
Jan.
8, 2009 – The cross hairs of President-elect Barack Obama’s aim on
containing federal spending is clearly on overhauling Social Security
and Medicare, according to a report by the New York Times.
This is the first time Obama has made it clear “he
would wade into the thorny politics of entitlement programs,” according
to the Times.
“Speaking at a news conference in Washington, he
provided no details of his approach to rein in Social Security and
Medicare, which are projected to consume a growing share of government
spending as the baby boom generation ages into retirement over the next
two decades. But he said he would have more to say about the issue when
he unveiled a budget next month.”
>>
More at New York Times |
Medicare News
CMS Declares Success in Hospital Program to Report
on Quality Measures
Seven elements measured were aimed at heart attack
and surgical care
Jan. 8, 2009 – More than 3,000 U.S. hospitals will
receive the full payment update for 2009 as part of the new Hospital
Outpatient Quality Data Reporting Program, which required reporting in
2008 on seven quality measures that are elements of high-quality heart
attack and surgical care, according The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS).
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more...
Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Old Gastrointestinal Drug Slows Aging, May Alleviate
Alzheimer’s Disease
Clioquinol can reverse the progression of
Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases in animal studies
Jan. 7, 2009 - Recent animal studies have shown
that clioquinol – an 80-year old drug once used to treat diarrhea and
other gastrointestinal disorders – can reverse the progression of
Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases. Scientists, however,
had a variety of theories to attempt to explain how a single compound
could have such similar effects on three unrelated neurodegenerative
disorders.
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more...
Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements for Seniors
Evidence Mounts that Vitamin E Does Not Stop
Prostate Cancer, Nor Does Selenium, Vitamin C
JAMA publishes 2 studies released early in public
interest on supplements’ ineffectiveness in preventing cancer
Jan.
7, 2009 - In perhaps the largest cancer chemoprevention trial ever
conducted, researchers have found that supplementation with vitamin E or
selenium, alone or in combination, was not associated with a lower risk
of prostate cancer or other cancers. And, in a second study in today’s
Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), long-term
supplementation with vitamin E or C did not reduce the risk of prostate
or other cancers. Both reports were released early online in December due to public
health implications.
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more...
Social Security News
Social Security Ready to Enroll 10,000 Baby Boomers
a Day for 20 Years Online
Patty Duke Show stars helping agency promote new
online enrollment form
Jan. 7, 2009 – Facing the deluge of 10,000 Baby
Boomers joining Social Security and Medicare every day for the next 20
years, Social Security has decided the monumental enrollment task is
best handled online. The agency, with some promotion help by “Patty
Duke,” has launched the Retire Online campaign.
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more...
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