Sunday, March 30, 2014

Improving Brain Plasticity Could Delay Onset of Alzheimer’s Disease

Subjects at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease may now be able to delay the onset of their first symptoms by several years.The human brain loses 5 to 10 per cent of its weight between the ages of 20 and 90 years old. While some cells are lost, the brain is equipped with two compensatory mechanisms: plasticity and redundancy. Based on the results the principal author Sylvie Belleville’s most recent clinical study, it has been found that for elderly subjects at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, hope may lie in brain plasticity.

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Friday, March 21, 2014

Older drivers may be vulnerable to just one drink

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Caffeine Enhances Memory Consolidation

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Friday, March 14, 2014

Israeli Pharmaceutical Giant Teva Partners With UK on Dementia Research

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Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Elevated Serum Pesticide Levels levels are associated with an increased risk for Alzheimer Disease

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VA Study: Vitamin E ‘Significantly’ Slows Alzheimer’s Disease Functional Decline : U.S. Medicine

New VA research found that a daily dose of 2,000 IUs of vitamin E slowed functional decline in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease without significantly increasing mortality rates in the treatment group.
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Monday, March 10, 2014

The risks of treating high blood pressure in the elderly: LESLIE KERNISAN, MD, MPH

When it comes to high blood pressure treatment in the elderly, the plot continues to thicken.

Last December, a minor controversy erupted when the JNC hypertension guidelines proposed a higher blood pressure (BP) treatment target (150/90) for adults aged 60+.

And now this month, a study in JAMA Internal Medicine reports that over 3 years, among a cohort of 4961 community-dwelling Medicare patients aged 70+ and diagnosed with hypertension, those on blood pressure medication had more serious falls.

Serious falls as in: emergency room visits or hospitalizations for fall-related fracture, brain injury, or dislocation of the hip, knee, shoulder, or jaw. In other words, we talking about real injuries and real patient suffering. (As well as real healthcare utilization, for those who care about such things.)

How many more serious falls are we talking? The study cohort was divided into three groups: no antihypertensive medication (14.1%), moderate intensity treatment (54.6%), and high-intensity treatment (31.3%).

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Friday, March 7, 2014

New warning suggested for Ambien...the same sleeping pill that landed a Kennedy before a jury: says patients shouldn't drive for 8 hours after they take meds like Ambien

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Labels: Ambien, Sanofi

Actual Death Toll From Alzheimer's Higher Than Reported

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Wednesday, March 5, 2014

OMG OF THE WEEK: Medical treatments harmed nearly a third of nursing home residents, according to a government watchdog report

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Tuesday, March 4, 2014

As Full Disclosure Nears, Doctors’ Pay for Drug Talks Plummets

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Labels: TOP 100