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7 Things I Learned About Stroke When My Husband Had One
My husband suffered a massive stroke two years ago. Grady wasn’t that old (59, at the time) and he was in pretty good health. He was a few pounds overweight, but he wasn’t a smoker, nor did he have a family history that could help us make sense of what happened.
Luckily he survived (it was touch and go for a while there) and although he has some lingering symptoms, he continues to get better every day, even two years later.
For me, the incident shattered many of my perceptions about stroke, which strikes 800,000 Americans every year and kills 130,000. May is National Stroke Awareness Month: What better time to learn about the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S.?
Here are some major myths about stroke explained.
Only old people have strokes. False. Although the majority of strokes occur in people over 65, fully one-third occur in patients under 65, like Grady. What’s more, the rate of strokes in young people is rising, a trend largely attributed to the continuing obesity epidemic. But strokes in young people can also be caused by an underlying abnormality–like a congenital defect in the heart–that no one knew about beforehand.
Full story of stroke information at Health News
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Successful Aging: Strategies to Help Maintain and Nurture a Healthy Brain
When it comes to aging, is there anything to look forward to from a neurocognitive perspective?
What can we do to protect our brains from cognitive and functional decline?
Here, Helen Lavretksy speaks about one of her favorite subjects – healthy, happy, and graceful aging. Dr Lavretsky is a geriatric psychiatrist and Professor in the department of psychiatry at UCLA. She directs the Late Life Mood, Stress, and Wellness Research Program at the Semel Institute at UCLA. She is coeditor of the newly published Late Life Mood Disorders—a comprehensive review of the current research advances in late life mood disorders.
Globally, many societies are being affected in major economic and social ways in countries where the population is aging rapidly, such as Japan (23% over 65), Germany (20.5%), Italy (20.4%), and the US (13%). The countries that show that fastest rate of change in population age, in order, are Iran, Vietnam, Mexico, India, and South Korea. The obvious consequences are a shrinking labor force and shifting of a nation’s wealth to health care.
. In general, as we age, our bodies and brain experience changes: some are positive -- and some are not so much. Although some cognitive functions such as memory, reasoning, and complex problem solving can decline with age, the National Institute of Aging states that approximately 87% of those age 65 years and older are cognitively healthy.
Full story of healthy aging at Psychiatric Times
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Osteoarthritis: What You Need to Know
About 50 million Americans are afflicted with osteoarthritis at any given time, but the condition gets short shrift when being considered among today's "sexy" diseases. As an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in hip and replacement, I frequently hear the comment "My doctor told me it's just arthritis." Just arthritis? I wouldn't say that about a disease process that ravages some body parts so badly that we have to replace them with metal and plastic in nearly a million people a year in this country.
We generally think of arthritis as something that afflicts the elderly, but in fact, most people begin to see wear and tear of their joints in early adulthood. Although there are over 100 forms of arthritis, including some that affect children, the most common form is osteoarthritis (OA). It affects women 2 to 1. There is a genetic component, though poorly understood, as well as environmental and injury factors, that leads to the erosion and breakdown of the cartilage in our joints. It manifests initially as stiffness, and then progresses from there to pain, loss of flexibility, deformity and decreasing ability to remain active.
Although there is no cure, there are many things we can do to slow the progression. First, get off the couch! Obesity has been linked to OA through mechanical factors, i.e. too much force on the joint. However, recent research suggests that obese patients secrete a hormone that accelerates the breakdown of cartilage. Every 10 pounds lost translates into up to 70 pounds less force on the hips and knees -- that's per joint and per step.
Full story of osteoarthritis information at Huffington Post
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Physical therapists practice new techniques
K. Kelli Richardson, a physical therapist with 24 years of experience, recently attended a two-day conference in Livingston presented by Steven P. Ferdig of Chapman University in Orange, Calif.
The conference, entitled “The Cervical Spine: Mobility versus Stability,” covered 15 neck mobilization techniques for the neck, upper back, shoulders, chest and face, including the jaw, a site of pain about which many physical therapy patients complain.
At the conference, participants learned how to assess movement to determine specifically in the cervical spine what the range of movement - or lack thereof - is in the patient. The assessment techniques they learned contributed to physical therapists’ treatment plans and may alleviate suffering patients with chronic neck pain.
Ms. Richardson, who holds a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from the University of California at North Ridge, previously practiced physical therapy at a Pasadena, Calif., hospital for 12 years, owned her own practice in California and has been practicing for 10 years with Lance Hendricks, owner of Montana Physical Therapy, 2370 Ave. C, in Billings.
Mr. Hendricks, who holds a master’s degree in physical therapy, said, “There is new hope for neck pain. Many patients come to us 15 years after a car accident and they still have pain. They tell us, ‘I went to physical therapy and did exercises, but it still hurts.’”
Full story of new physical therapy techniques at Billings News
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New Statistics Shed Light on ‘Worrisome’ Diabetes Epidemic
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The prevalence of diabetes among US adults grew by 45% over the past 20 years, with the greatest increase seen among seniors aged 65 and over, according to a new study based on surveillance data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Obesity explained most of the increase in the prevalence of diabetes in younger adults but only part of the increase in older adults.
"We provide…solid evidence that there is a severe epidemic of diabetes, by using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey [NHANES] data…[the] only US national representative survey data capable of calculating total diabetes, including self-reported diagnosed [diabetes as well as] undiagnosed diabetes [that was] defined by 2 common diagnostic tests: fasting plasma glucose and HbA1c," Yiling J Cheng, MD, from the CDC, in Atlanta, Georgia, told Medscape Medical News.
Finding this increase in diabetes was not especially surprising, Dr. Cheng said, but "the magnitude of the increase [was] significant and worrisome."
Full story of diabetes epidemic at Medscape Today
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Facing a Traumatic Brain Injury and Debt. What Do We Do?
"Dear Steve,
My husband has a traumatic brain injury and currently in therapy. He was on the job and he does get the workman's comp pay each week.
I have been told that when my husband goes back to his job they plan to fire him asap. He will not be able to do the job he had before the injury so they will have to find him something to do.
Not sure when he will be returning back to work and it has been 5 months since his injury. I'm worried sick about our bills the house payment. I'm the caregiver for my husband I wasn't working when he was injured due to taking a family medical leave for my mother who has since passed away.
We are behind on our house payment via 2 months due to extra expense and a big car repair. Mortgage company has send me paperwork to sign stating they can help and I have agreed to a payment plan with them to get caught back up.
Husband is a 20yr Navy Vet. Are there any sources that can help us get caught back up on our house note ... maybe with the military or some other resources I have seached on the internet and haven't found anything.
Full story on TBI and debt at Huffington Post
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Chronic Back Pain Cure Using Antibiotics May Help 40% Of Sufferers
Chronic back pain is a condition that nobody would wish on even their worst enemy. Doctors and scientists have struggled to narrow down the root cause of many cases, prescribing dangerous surgery or pain killers that offer only fleeting relief.
Now two new studies out of Denmark and the UK are turning common conceptions about the causes of back pain on their heads.
Back pain specialists have known that bacterial infections could cause back pain, but the findings indicate that as much as 20 to 40 percent of all back pain could be cured with a course of antibiotics.
The first research paper analyzed the presence of bacteria in the slipped discs of patients who had suffered from intense pain and inflammation and thus undergone surgery. The researchers found that close to half of all samples tested positive for infection and, of all those with bacterial infections, 80 percent carried a specific bacterial species called Propionibacterium acnes.
Full story of chronic back pain at Medical Daily
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BioHug offers hug therapy in an automatic vest
BioHug’s Israeli pressure garment provides custom soothing for people with autism, PTSD and others prone to high stress.
Most of us have moments when we could really use a hug – when we’re sad, lonely, scared or stressed. The therapeutic value of a good squeeze for emotional wellbeing is well documented.
For people affected by autism, post-traumatic stress and anxiety or attention disorders, research has shown that hugging is an especially effective soother.
That is the scientific fact behind the development of the BioHug Vest by Haifa-based BioHug Technologies. Already in use and soon to roll out to a wider market, the vest provides an effective, portable, non-restraining stress-relief solution using deep, hug-like pressure.
“We’re all familiar with stress, which is associated with lots of health problems,” says BioHug CEO Andrew Schiffmiller. “For some populations it can be associated with much more severe symptoms – someone with autism under stress may injure himself or others, while someone with ADHD under stress may be unable to stay on task.”
Full story of BioHug at Isreal 21
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Studies Find Mixed Results for Dementia Units
By their euphemistic names, ye shall know them: The Memory Care Unit. The Reminiscence Neighborhood. Homestead.
These special units for residents with dementia have spread throughout the American nursing home industry; more than 16 percent of nursing homes now include one.
The laudable idea was to move patients with dementia out of the typically over stimulating and understaffed nursing home into a separate wing, a calm and secure environment where well-trained staffers would offer tailored activities, handle problematic behaviors and provide greater support.
But I’ve always wondered whether these units actually live up to their promises and their higher price tags. In a competitive nursing home market, they may provide an edge in attracting paying customers. But do they provide better care, or mostly a reassuring name and a locked door?
The research provides some intriguing findings but, sadly, no clear thumbs-up for families trying to figure out if this is the solution for someone who wanders, gets frightened or obstreperous, or needs more attention.
Full story on dementia units at The New York Times
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Help is at hand, headache sufferers
TWO Port Macquarie physiotherapists are considering all options to relieve the pain of headache sufferers.
Dean Lawler and Mark Matheson have a combined experience of more than 20 years in physiotherapy.
The dynamic duo work alongside other physiotherapists at Sports and Spinal Physiotherapy Clinic (SSPC) in Port Macquarie and Laurieton.
Last October they decided to focus their energy on a sophisticated method of assessing and treating the small movements of the upper cervical spine. This method has been developed over two decades by Sydney clinician Dean Watson.
Changes in the upper cervical spine can lead to headaches and migraines.
Lawler and Matheson use very precise movements as well as clinical reasoning to alleviate pain and suffering.
Full story of helping hand for headaches at Macquarie Port News
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