Mayo Clinic Minute You may have heard there’s a new study out with good news about pasta: It’s associated with a reduction in body mass index. What you might not have seen is the study was funded, in part, by a pasta company. Time.com reports the Barilla S.p.A. company and the Italian government provided funding, and the study authors…
Medicare Cuts Will Disproportionately Harm COPD Patients
COPD can be effectively managed through oxygen therapy and sleep therapy to improve outcomes and reduce overall Medicare expenditures. The proper management of COPD in the home is critical to reducing emergency room (ER) visits and hospital readmissions. Data show long-term use of oxygen therapy measurably reduces readmissions. Despite all of these facts, the CMS…
The Addiction To Eating: ‘My Whole Life, I Was Constantly Thinking About Food’
KHN Morning Briefing The science is not clear on whether food can be an addiction, but for those struggling to control the cravings, it can feel like one. The Boston Globe: When Calories Consume You As with substance abuse, the science on how best to treat eating disorders can be murky. Talk therapy and peer…
Colon Cancer Screening: Five Things To Know
Kaiser Health News It’s a predictable passage in life: Hit 50, get lots birthday cards with old-age jokes, a mailbox full of AARP solicitations — and a colonoscopy. But millions of Americans — about one-third of those in the recommended age range for colon cancer screening — haven’t been tested. Some avoid it because they...
Legionnaires’ Disease Making a Comeback – Older Americans are at higher risk for the bacterial pneumonia
Legionnaires’ disease is back on the rise, with several new outbreaks in June alone. A Hawaiian island resort, a Pittsburgh hospital and a Maryland senior-living community are all battling pneumonia-causing Legionella bacteria in their water systems. Older adults are at higher risk for getting sick after breathing in water droplets containing Legionella. Here’s what you…
Beware of unapproved stem cell procedures – UC Davis study looks at businesses selling “stem cell” interventions for variety of injuries and diseases
UC Davis School of Medicine news release At least 351 companies across the United States are marketing unapproved stem cell procedures, according to a new study by a UC Davis stem cell researcher and a University of Minnesota bioethicist. In their paper, Paul Knoepfler and Leigh Turner present an analysis of U.S. businesses engaged in…
Managing Diabetes in the Heat
information from the CDC How to keep your cool during the hottest time of year. Did you know that people who have diabetes—both type 1 and type 2—feel the heat more than people who don’t have diabetes? Some reasons why: Certain diabetes complications, such as damage to blood vessels and nerves, can affect your sweat…
Reading, E-Mailing, Singing, and Playing Computer Games: These and Other Leisure Activities May Reduce Post-Surgical Delirium among Older Adults
AGS Health and Aging news Older adults who engage in leisure activities more than 20 times a week are far less likely to experience delirium following certain types of surgery than those who engage in fewer weekly leisure activities, new research suggests. Delirium, or the medical term for experiencing sudden confusion, is upsetting for both…
How are high blood pressure and cognitive decline linked?
Information from the NIH/NIA Studies explore treatments, prevention One in three American adults has high blood pressure, putting them at risk for heart disease and stroke, conditions that are among the leading U.S. killers. High blood pressure (also called hypertension) can also impact brain health in significant ways. Observational studies show that having high blood…
Depression Decreases Adherence to COPD Maintenance Medications
ATS press release A recent study in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society found that in a nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries who were newly diagnosed with COPD, adherence to maintenance medications decreased with new episodes of depression. “With a prevalence of 17 to 44 percent, depression remains one of the most common,…
Let Them In: Family Presence during Intensive Care Unit Procedures
ATS Press Families have for decades advocated for full access to intensive care units (ICUs) and meaningful partnership with clinicians, resulting in gradual improvements in family access and collaboration with ICU clinicians. Despite such advances, family members in adult ICUs are still commonly asked to leave the patient’s room during invasive bedside procedures, regardless of…
Seeking Allergy Relief – When Breathing Becomes Bothersome
NIH News in Health A change in season can brighten your days with vibrant new colors. But blooming flowers and falling leaves can usher in more than beautiful backdrops. Airborne substances that irritate your nose can blow in with the weather. When sneezing, itchy eyes, or a runny nose suddenly appears, allergies may be to…
Can You Lengthen Your Life? Researchers Explore How To Stay Healthy Longer
NIH News in Health Want the secret to living a longer and healthier life? Scientists have found ways to prolong the healthy lifespans of worms, mice, and even monkeys. Their work has revealed exciting new clues about the biology of aging. But solid evidence still shows that the best way to boost the chance of…
Certain Steroids Raise Risk for Staph Infections
Study finds long-term use of glucocorticoids may suppress immune system, upping odds for patients People who use powerful drugs called systemic glucocorticoids are at higher risk for life-threatening staph blood infections, a new study finds. The findings are “a reminder for clinicians to weigh carefully the elevated risk against the potential beneficial effect of glucocorticoid…
Reverse frailty through rehabilitation
King’s College news release One in four patients with COPD referred for exercise rehabilitation are frail, but nevertheless can respond favourably to rehabilitation and their frailty can be reversed, finds a new study led by King’s College London and Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust. The findings have wider implications for treating frailty, which…
P73 Gene Could be Key to Treating Chronic Lung Disease
Stony Brook University School of Medicine news The p73 gene could be the key to discovering better treatments for chronic lung diseases, Stony Brook researchers have found. A team led by Professor Ute M. Moll, MD, and research scientist Alice Nemajerova, PhD, from the Department of Pathology at Stony Brook University School of Medicine, found…
Connection established between anxiety control, inflammation, Type 2 diabetes
Rice News A Rice University study has found a link between emotional stress and diabetes, with roots in the brain’s ability to control anxiety. That control lies with the brain’s executive functions, processes that handle attention, inhibition, working memory and cognitive flexibility and are also involved in reasoning, problem-solving and planning. The study published in…
Overweight COPD Patients Live Longer After Flares – ‘Obesity paradox’ may extend to COPD, small study suggests
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are overweight had better long-term survival than thinner patients following hospitalization for exacerbations in a small retrospective study. In a newly published analysis of outcomes among 57 COPD patients following hospitalization, 5-year overall survival among overweight patients (i.e., with a body mass index [BMI] ?25 kg/m2) was…
New Devices, Wearable System Aim to Predict, Prevent Asthma Attacks
North Carolina State University news release Researchers have developed an integrated, wearable system that monitors a user’s environment, heart rate and other physical attributes with the goal of predicting and preventing asthma attacks. The researchers plan to begin testing the system on a larger subject population this summer. The system, called the Health and Environmental…
Grill with Caution – Wire bristles from barbecue brushes can cause serious injuries
University of Missouri Health news Many people view Memorial Day weekend as the unofficial start of the summer grilling season, but they may not be aware of the dangers of eating food cooked on grills cleaned with wire-bristle brushes. A new study conducted at the University of Missouri School of Medicine identified more than 1,600…