American Health is an all volunteer civilian task force doing community service for community good. We're looking for a volunteer grant writer presently with experience in proposal writing. We're in our 14th year of service with chapters nation-wide and in 47 countries.

If you are interested please call 561 361 9091 and ask for Mimi.

Do YOU have the volunteer spirit?

New treatment for tinnitus

New Treatment for Tinnitus

(American Health Newswire) According to new research, a multidisciplinary approach to treating tinnitus that combines cognitive behavior therapy with sound-based tinnitus retraining therapy* is significantly more effective than currently available treatments at reducing symptoms of this common debilitating disorder and improving quality of life.

"The results are highly relevant for clinical practice because best practice for tinnitus has not been defined, and current treatment strategies are fragmented and costly", Rilana Cima and Johan Vlaeyen from Maastricht University in the Netherlands, were quoted as saying.

Tinnitus is a sustained ringing in the ears and affects up to 21% of adults at some point in their lives. Many treatments are offered for tinnitus, but there is very little evidence about which ones work best and few studies have compared treatments against each other.

"We showed the effectiveness of specialized care compared with usual care not only after the first 3 months of first-step treatment, but also after the more intensive second-step treatment approach ended and 4 months of no treatment," said the two researchers.

"Our findings could lead to consensus in policy about best practice in treatment of tinnitus, standard choices in referral trajectories, and the implementation of standardized tinnitus assessment and thereby more easily comparable outcomes".

The results could make the treatment widely available.

SOURCE: Lancet, May 2012

Hope for urinary incontinence

Hope for Urinary Incontinence

NASHVILLE, TN (American Health Newswire) -- Millions of women across the country are suffering in silence with a dirty little secret. They wet themselves with the tiniest moves. Now a new procedure is giving them back the control they lost without invasive surgery.

Natasha Stump loves to run, but for years doing it had embarrassing consequences.

"It was out of the question. I would leak on myself," Natasha watts stump, who suffers from urinary incontinence, told American Health.

Natasha is one of the 15 million women in the U.S affected by stress urinary incontinence. Coughing, laughing or sneezing can all lead to an accident.

"If I forgot to wear some protection then I definitely would have to change clothes and it was horrible," Natasha said.

Doctor Royce Adkins says it most commonly occurs after a woman has children. Until now, doctors would surgically implant a mesh "sling" to support the bladder, but a growing number of complaints prompted the FDA to warn against it last summer.

"Because of that many patients are hesitant to have these procedures done," Royce T. Adkins, clinical instructor at Vanderbilt University, said.

That's where a new non-surgical treatment known as Renessa comes in. A catheter is placed at the base of the bladder. Then low heat is applied to the tissue.

"Over the course of 2 or 3 months that collagen begins to get a little bit tighter and this allows the patient to have better control and more continence," Dr. Adkins said.

Clinical studies show 75-percent of women see a significant improvement in their symptoms after 90 days with 60-percent making a full recovery. Patients are in and out of the doctor's office in an hour. Natasha was back to work the next day.

"In a short amount of time I had my life back," she said. "It was life changing."

There are no catheters, bandages or dressings to change with Renessa. Doctor Adkins says it's as easy as going to the dentist. The procedure is covered by most health insurance and Medicare.

New prostate cancer tests

New Prostate Cancer Tests

ANN ARBOR, MI (American Health Newswire) -- Just last month actor Ryan O-Neal and billionaire Warren Buffet revealed they have prostate cancer. They're among 225 thousand men diagnosed with it every year. It kills 30-thousand men annually, but better testing to detect it earlier could save a lot of lives.

Prostate cancer is the number two killer of men, second only to lung cancer. 1 in 6 men will get it and 1 in 36 will die from it. Those numbers haven't increased or decreased in the last ten years, but how the cancer's treated has changed.

"Mine was a more aggressive form or appeared to be a more aggressive form of prostate cancer," Dan Zenka, a prostate cancer patient, told American Health.

A PSA test is what most men get to determine their risk, but Dan Zenka found out he had prostate cancer through the next generation of tests, a proPSA test. PSA is found in the blood. High levels could indicate cancer. The new test measures three different levels in the blood. Combined with annual biopsies it was 70 percent accurate in singling out tumors.

"It can give you a more accurate estimate of whether or not he has prostate cancer, and whether or not the prostate cancer is one of those that would be potentially life threatening," William Catalona, M.D., a urologist at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, said.

Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Michigan believe a new urine test is more accurate.

"PSA, you have to understand, stands for prostate specific antigen. It actually is not specific for cancer," John T. Wei, M.D, MS, a urologist at the University of Michigan Health System, explained. "When your doctor says it abnormal, it could be because you have an enlarged prostate, prostate inflammation or cancer."

The urine test works by identifying gene fusions that occur when pieces of two chromosomes stick together. These fusions are common in prostate cancer. The urine test identified 80 percent of patients with it.

"It's going to make my life easier, if not put me out of business," Dr. Wei said.

Right now, the pro PSA test is waiting for FDA approval. It's already approved in Europe. Meanwhile, the American cancer society says at age 50, men should start to talk to their doctor about the pros and cons of testing, but African American men or men who have a father or brother who had prostate cancer before the age of 65, should be tested at 45

The American Veteran of the Year" Nomination Application"

AMERICAN MILITARY ORGANIZATION

(Broward, Palm Beach and Martin Counties)

The American Veteran of the Year" Nomination Application"

(Submit between June 1, 2012 and October 31, 2012)

NOMINEE NAME:_________________________________________________________________

(Last) (First)

MILITARY RANK: __________________________________________________________________

ADDRESS:________________________________________________________________________

CITY: ________________________________ STATE: _____________ ZIP CODE:____________

COUNTY (Check): _______Broward County ______Palm Beach County ______ Martin County

CELL TELEPHONE: ________________EMAIL:____________________________________________

NOMINATED BY: __________________________________________________________________

(Last) (First)

ADDRESS:________________________________________________________________________

CITY: ________________________________ STATE: ______________ ZIP CODE:_____________

CELL TELEPHONE: ________________EMAIL:___________________________________________

Please describe your nominee's volunteer efforts and why he/she should be honored with

this award (You may use an extra sheet of paper if necessary for your comments):

___________________________________________________________________

MAIL OR FAX TO:

American Military Organization

P. O. Box 1772

Boca Raton, FL 33429

(Fax) 561-368-7184

(Ph. #) 561-361-9091

Nomination: Veteran of the Year for 2012

What is the American Military Organization?

Since 2003, the American Military Organization, or AMO for short, has conducted various operations including the Orphans of War Campaign.

see orphansofwarcampaign.org) where we've shipped 1.5 million Teddy Bears or beanie babies to our troops in Iraq and now Afghanistan, more than any other charity.

We've been honored with citations and medals by the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, including the Distinguished Gold Medal for Community Service.

Since 2003 AMO has also sponsored the Palm Beach County Veterans Luncheon on each Veterans Day with distinguished speakers from Congress and the military and have awarded special citations for the Veteran of the Year for Palm Beach County. Now the program has grown to include Broward and Martin Counties. Nominations for this years " Veteran of the Year for 2012" for Broward, Palm Beach and Martin Counties are enclosed now.

Nomination Application here

These programs are part of the American Health Association which is a 501 (c)-3 charity.

100% of every dollar goes to service the charities programs and services here in Palm Beach County and around the globe Not one cent in 8 years has ever gone to salaries, of any kind, to anyone. We are, from top to bottom all volunteers in service to the community.

MISSION STATEMENT

The American Health Society is a distinguished 13 year old multi-award winning preventative public health & wellness 501(c)(3) charity whose mission is in preventative healthcare, mental wellness, health education, literacy and advocacy aimed at preventing lifestyle based illnesses, diseases and the frailties of aging.

We have a strong "Social Green Philosophy" of Humanitarian Service through our American Volunteer Corps which has a global outreach in 46 countries with members in 37 US States.

J. Robert Gordon - CEO and Founder
American Health Association

561-361-9091

Newsletter Editor and Communications Manager:
Suzanne Parent - suzanne@americanhealthfoundation.com