Seniors News and Research

RSS

Washington Post examines Rhode Island plan to cap Medicaid spending in exchange for greater flexibility in overhauling program

Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri's (R) request to CMS last month for a waiver to set limits on state Medicaid spending has "alarmed" congressional Democrats and low-income advocacy groups who said the proposal would reduce access to nursing homes, raise out-of-pocket expenses for low-income families and limit eligibility and enrollment of residents in the program, the Washington Post reports.

7 Sep 2008

About 85% of insurers' marketing materials for prescription drug plans do not meet Medicare guidelines, audit finds

Nearly 85% of the marketing materials used by private prescription drug plans to reach Medicare beneficiaries do not fully meet CMS guidelines, according to a report released Thursday by the HHS Office of Inspector General, CQ HealthBeat reports.

7 Sep 2008

High gas prices lead U.S. residents who travel far, frequently for medical treatment to skip, delay appointments

Many U.S. residents with illnesses who must travel frequently or long distances for treatment are forgoing, cutting back or delaying appointments and support groups or applying for grants to offset high gasoline prices, USA Today reports.

5 Sep 2008

Zimbabwe lifts ban on aid groups; organizations still face difficulties providing assistance

Zimbabwe on Friday lifted an almost three-month ban on the work of aid groups in the country, which the government had imposed because it said some of the groups had supported the opposition to President Robert Mugabe, the New York Times reports (Dugger, New York Times, 8/30).

4 Sep 2008

New guidelines for dealing with earwax

Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) specialists in the U.S. have come up with new guidelines for dealing with earwax.

2 Sep 2008

A new knee or hip has a life of three years

Research from the UK has found that hip and knee replacements in general last for around three years.

2 Sep 2008

Earwax removal - new guidelines

The American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) will issue the first comprehensive clinical guidelines to help health care practitioners identify patients with cerumen (commonly referred to as earwax) impaction. The guidelines emphasize evidence-based management of cerumen impaction by clinicians, and inform patients of the purpose of ear wax in hearing health.

1 Sep 2008

Advances in the management of diabetes mellitus

The need for long term studies to establish the best means of treating Diabetes, was underlined by Prof John Cleland from the University of Hull at the ESC Congress in Munich. Prof Cleland listed the latest treatment available for patients and voiced his concern about the side-effects and efficacy of available anti-diabetic drugs.

1 Sep 2008

TIME-CHF Trial: Elderly HF patients do not benefit from intensive medical therapy

Intensified, BNP-guided therapy was no more effective than a standard, symptom-guided approach in elderly heart failure patients in reducing the number of deaths and all-cause hospitalisations. However, the response to this intervention differed significantly between patients aged 60-74 years and those aged ¡Ý75 years. This indicates the need for specific data in this large subset of very old heart failure patients who have been largely excluded from large treatment trials.

31 Aug 2008

Thiazolidinediones - diabetes drugs carry significant cardiovascular risks

A class of oral drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes may significantly increase the risk of serious cardiovascular events, according to an editorial published online in Heart Wednesday by two Wake Forest University School of Medicine faculty members.

28 Aug 2008

Gleevec receives FDA priority review for gastrointestinal stromal tumors after surgery

Novartis has announced that Gleevec (imatinib mesylate) tablets, (known as Glivec (imatinib) outside the US, Canada and Israel), has been granted priority review status by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the first therapy to be reviewed for use after surgery in kit-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST).

27 Aug 2008

Contaminated meat responsible for deaths of 12 Canadians

Twelve people in Canada have died from an infection caused by eating spoiled meat, eleven in Ontario and one in British Columbia.

26 Aug 2008

One dead and many sick in latest food scare in the U.S.

The latest in a series of contaminated food scares from North America concerns a suspected outbreak of Escherichia coli (E. coli) which has left one person dead and seen many more admitted to hospital after eating at a restaurant in Locust Grove, Oklahoma.

26 Aug 2008

Charity warns elderly still go hungry in hospital

A charity in Britain says elderly people are still going hungry on hospital wards and many hospitals are still not doing enough to ensure they are properly fed.

25 Aug 2008

Obesity in elderly creating a ticking time bomb for health services in developed countries

Research carried out at the Peninsula Medical School in the South West of England has discovered that obesity in later life does not make a substantial difference to risks of death among older people but that it is a major contributor to increased disability in later life - creating a ticking time bomb for health services in developed countries.

21 Aug 2008

New sleep lab to benefit shift-workers

Two specialist laboratories opening night at the University of Sydney will shed light on the impact of sleep and circadian disruption in medical disorders and shift-workers, and the neurobiological mechanisms underlying substance abuse and depression.

21 Aug 2008

Camera in teddy bear catches carer thieving from sick elderly woman

A carer caught on camera stealing from her sick and elderly client has been sentenced to six months in prison after pleading guilty to two charges of theft.

20 Aug 2008

Simple bowel cancer test spots deadliest tumours

British scientists say a simple bowel cancer test could save thousands of lives by spotting the deadliest tumours.

20 Aug 2008

Antibodies to 1918 flu pandemic may provide means to tackle bird flu threat

Scientists in the United States have discovered that elderly survivors of the original 1918 flu pandemic, still have immunity to the virus.

18 Aug 2008

In-depth review of current research on the health effects of vitamin D

Despite considerable progress in research to understand the health effects of vitamin D, experts convened by the NIH to review the available data found major gaps in the evidence. The data are strongest in the area of bone health among elderly men and post-menopausal women, suggesting that increased vitamin D intake can improve bone health and prevent falls. For other age groups and health issues, though, it is too early to say conclusively whether more vitamin D might be beneficial.

12 Aug 2008