Seniors News and Research

RSS

Misdosing anti-clotting drugs leads to heart attack symptoms

Because of inaccuracies in prescribing, 42 percent of patients rushed to emergency rooms with symptoms of a heart attack received doses of powerful drugs intended stop clotting in coronary arteries outside of the recommended range, a new analysis by Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) cardiologists has found.

28 Dec 2005

Diet rich in antioxidants protects against Age-Related Macular Degeneration

New research has shown that a diet high in beta carotene, vitamins C and E, and zinc is associated with a substantially reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration in elderly people.

28 Dec 2005

Effectiveness of Influenza vaccine on elderly substantially overestimated

Studies of influenza vaccine effectiveness in elderly people substantially overestimate vaccine benefits, according to new research from the US published today in the International Journal of Epidemiology (IJE), edited at the University of Bristol.

21 Dec 2005

No smoking message fails with teens

According to a recently released survey by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, unless more aggressive action is taken on a federal level, to prevent kids from smoking and curb tobacco marketing, little progress will be made in reducing youth smoking rates.

21 Dec 2005

Flu kills more U.S. children than chicken pox, whooping cough, and measles combined

A new study has shown that flu killed more U.S. children than chicken pox, whooping cough, and measles combined in the 2003-2004 flu season.

19 Dec 2005

Forecast - 81 million dementia cases by 2040

A team of experts is predicting that the number of people suffering from dementia will double every 20 years and could reach more than 81 million worldwide by 2040.

19 Dec 2005

Stem cells provide new way to sneak drugs into brain

One of the great challenges for treating Parkinson's diseases and other neurodegenerative disorders is getting medicine to the right place in the brain.

15 Dec 2005

New understanding of Mediterranean spotted fever

New research by a team of scientists in France and the United States has identified both the bacterial and host receptor proteins that enable Rickettsia conorii, the Mediterranean spotted fever pathogen, to enter cells.

15 Dec 2005

Fish oil supplements prevent declines in heart rate variability

A two-gram fish oil supplement given daily to elderly persons prevented a decline in heart rate variability caused by tiny, dangerous airborne pollutant particles. Heart rate variability, a measure of the autonomic nervous system's regulation of the heart, is an independent risk factor for cardiac arrhythmias, heart attack or sudden death.

15 Dec 2005

Impact of Medicare drug law on retiree health benefits

Four in five businesses (79%) that now provide retiree health benefits will accept government subsidies for continuing to provide retiree drug coverage at least as good as Medicare’s coverage when the new drug benefit starts in 2006, according to a new survey of 300 of the nation’s largest private-sector employers conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Hewitt Associates.

15 Dec 2005

Heart drug designed for U.S. blacks a cheaper option

According to researchers a new heart-failure drug designed especially for blacks could reduce the amount it costs to treat the disease by as much as 34 percent.

14 Dec 2005

Antibacterial coatings on hip and knee implants cut infection rates

Putting antibacterial coatings on hip and knee implants and biomedical devices such as catheters could cut infection rates following surgery and significantly reduce health care costs and improve quality of life for patients, researchers at the University of South Australia have found.

13 Dec 2005

Chemotherapy is a beneficial treatment women and elderly

Although all eligible patients with stage III colon cancer should be offered adjuvant chemotherapy treatment because it improves survival, up to one-third are not, and many of these excluded patients are women and the elderly, say researchers who looked at data from more than 85,000 patients.

7 Dec 2005

Reimbursement structures across Europe create challenges for orthopaedic braces and supports manufacturers

A rapidly ageing population, the increasing trend toward non-invasive treatments and better disease management strategies are driving the demand for orthopaedic braces and supports in Europe.

7 Dec 2005

Getting old? Slowing down? Blame inefficient mitochondria

In mitochondria, the fuel is oxidised and builds up a pressure of hydrogen ions (protons). These force through molecular turbines and enable the cell to generate ATP, an energy unit that can be used throughout the cell.

6 Dec 2005

Alagebrium may prevent arterial aging in patients with systolic hypertension

A compound called alagebrium, which is very similar to another used in anti-wrinkle creams, may be useful in reducing the deleterious effects of arterial aging in the majority of elderly Americans with systolic hypertension, a new study from researchers at Johns Hopkins shows.

5 Dec 2005

Elderly as much at risk with old mental health drugs as new ones

Researchers at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston are saying that many of the older drugs designed to treat mental problems such as delirium, agitation and psychosis may be even more hazardous to the elderly than newer medicines that now carry U.S. government warnings.

2 Dec 2005

Distance to radiation facilities has an inverse relationship with breast-conserving surgery with radiation use

The farther away a woman lives from a radiation therapy facility, the less likely she is to get lumpectomy with adjuvant radiation therapy for early stage breast cancer, and may instead get mastectomy, according to a new study.

28 Nov 2005

"Get With The Guidelines" programs improve care

After one year - Get With The GuidelinesSM programs used in hospitals significantly improved care for almost 30,000 coronary artery disease patients of all ages and sexes, according to research reported at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2005.

26 Nov 2005

Mother of all rows over flu jabs

British Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt when she blamed doctors for a shortage of the flu vaccine has triggered the mother of all rows with the British medical fraternity.

24 Nov 2005