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American Health News and
Wellness Report Newsletter
Prevention is a Cure (c)
NOVEMBER 2012- Vol 13 Issue 90 |
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| Dear (Contact First Name), | |
Pictures
The 14th Annual South Florida Veterans/Senior Achievement Dinner pictures are ready. The photo's taken November 12th 2012 at Benvenuto's are up for your viewing pleasure. To see them please go to: www.kbparties.com
There, you'll see yourself and the 225 people who attended this event.
Schedule
Saturday, December 1st 2012 9:00 a.m.to 10:30 a.m.
You're Never Alone After Bereavement:
A 50 and over group now in its 14th year.
Heritage Park West Library
5859 Via Flora, Delray Beach
561 361 9091 $1 Donation
Sponsored by the Senior Foundation
A 501 (c) 3 Charity
Collecting toys, Clothes & Dental supplies for children in war zones (& civil unrest) countries worldwide. Since 2003, initially in Iraq and now in 28 countries, American Military Organization has shipped 1.5 million packages to children throughout the globe including the United States because of hurricanes, tornadoes Etc. Sponsored by:The American Health Association & the American Military Organization
American Military Organization
c/o AMERICAN HEALTH SOCIETY
1181 South Rogers Circle, Suite 2
Boca Raton, FL. 33487
P 561 361 9091
F 561 368 7184
A 501 (c) 3 Charity made up of all volunteers for the public good |
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| Unemployment causing heart attacks | |
Unemployment Causing Heart Attacks
(American Health Newswire) -- 12.3 million people in the United States are currently unemployed. Researchers are now saying that unemployment, multiple job losses and short periods without work may be associated with increased risk for acute myocardial infarction (AMI, heart attack).
Many adults in the United States are affected by the strain of employment instability, but little is known about the cumulative effect of multiple job losses and unemployment on the risks for AMI.
Matthew E. Dupre, Ph.D., and colleagues from Duke University, Durham, N.C., examined the associations between different dimensions of unemployment and the risks for AMI in 13,451 U.S. adults' ages 51 to 75 years in the Health and Retirement Study with biennial follow-up interviews from 1992 to 2010.
"Results demonstrated that several features of one's past and present employment increased risks for a cardiovascular event. Although the risks for AMI were most significant in the first year after job loss, unemployment status, cumulative number of job losses and cumulative time unemployed were each independently associated with increased risk for AMI," the authors were quoted saying.
The study group (median age 62 years) had 1,061 AMI events (7.9 percent) during 165,169 person-years of observation. In the study group, 14 percent of the individuals were unemployed at baseline, 69.7 percent had one or more cumulative job losses, and 35.1 percent had spent time unemployed, according to the study.
Statistical analysis indicated that AMI risks were significantly higher among the unemployed (hazard ratio [HR], 1.35) and that risks increased incrementally from one job loss (HR, 1.22) to four or more cumulative job losses (HR, 1.63) compared with no job loss. The risks for AMI also were "particularly elevated" within the first year of unemployment (HR, 1.27) but not thereafter, according to the results.
"We found that the elevated risks associated with multiple job losses were of the magnitude of other traditional risk factors, such as smoking, diabetes mellitus and hypertension," the authors were quoted saying.
"In the context of the current U.S. economy and projected increases in job instability and unemployment among workers, additional studies should investigate the mechanisms contributing to work-related disparities in AMI to identify viable targets for successful interventions," the authors added.
Source: JAMA, November 2012 |
| AMD Treatment helps other eye problems? |
AMD Treatment Helps Other Eye Problems?
(American Health Newswire) - Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a major cause of visual impairment in the United States. As many as 11 million Americans have some form of macular degeneration. More than two million people, aged 50 and older, are living with the most advanced forms of the disease. Researchers are now looking further to see if treatments for this condition can also aid other eye problems.
Due to the aging population, an increasing number of patients are being treated for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), an eye condition in which abnormal blood vessels develop and leak into the eye. When patients develop wet AMD, they receive injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor medication (VEGF). VEGF prompts growth of new blood vessels in the body. In the case of AMD, however, such new growth is unwanted and may cause bleeding in the retina.
It has not been clear whether this treatment would also serve patients experiencing other symptoms, such as vitreomacular interface disease (VMID), in which there is traction or contact between the retina and the vitreous matter in the eye. Researchers retrospectively studied 178 patients, of whom 18 percent had VMID over an average of 2.5 years.
Findings showed that while eyes with some kind of macular traction required more injections, they still showed improvement (best corrected visual acuity) to similar eyes without VMID.
"This finding is significant because it showed that patients with VMID are not necessarily treatment resistant for AMD," senior author Sophie J. Bakri, M.D. was quoted saying.
She also says it may help physicians not give up on treating such patients, and understand the need for more doses of medication for those with VMID. Researchers say more study is needed, including a prospective clinical trial.
Source: The Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in Chicago, November 2012
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| Let there (NOT) be light! |
Let There (NOT) Be Light!
(American Health News) - Late nights on the computer or sleeping with the TV on can have serious repercussions for mental health. Since technology has taken over it is normal for people to stay up late working, playing and socializing, but that modern lifestyle may come at a cost, according to a new study.
The study, led by a Johns Hopkins biologist, showed that prolonged exposure to bright light at night, even that of lamps, computers and iPads may be having a negative effect on mood and ability to learn. The study was conducted on mice and found that light exposure caused symptoms of depression and decreased memory and task learning.
"Basically what we found is that chronic exposure to bright light, even the kind of light you experience in your own living room at home or in the workplace at night, elevates levels of a certain stress hormone in the body, which results in depression and lowers cognitive function," said Samer Hattar, a biology professor in the Johns Hopkins University's Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.
The light activated special cells in the mice's eyes called intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells, or ipRGCs. This affected the brain's center for mood, memory and learning.
"Mice and humans are actually very much alike," Hattar said. "They have these ipRGCs in their eyes which affect them the same way. In this study we make reference to previous studies on humans, which show that light does indeed impact the human brain's limbic system. The same pathways are in place in mice."
Shorter days in the winter cause some people to develop seasonal affective disorder, a form of depression. Some patients with this mood disorder benefit from light therapy, which is regular exposure to bright light. Hattar's team thought mice would react the same way.
The theory was tested by exposing the animals to a cycle of 3.5 hours of light followed by 3.5 hours of darkness. Previous studies using this cycle found that it did not disrupt sleep cycles, but Hattar found that it did cause the mice to develop depression-like symptoms.
They saw an increased lack of interest in sugar or pleasure seeking, less movement and the mice did not learn as quickly or remember tasks as well, said Hatter. There were also increase levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that has been linked to learning issues.
"They were not as interested in novel objects as were mice on a regular light-darkness cycle schedule," he said.
After the mice were treated with Prozac, their previous moods and levels of learning were restored.
"I'm not saying we have to sit in complete darkness at night, but I do recommend that we should switch on fewer lamps and stick to less-intense light bulbs," Hattar said. "Only use what you need to see."
Using less-intense lighting at night will most likely not cause the ipRGCs to activate, he said, allowing humans to continue their night life.
Source: Nature, November 14th |
| Meeting starts: It's ELF time |  The 2012 Elf Project
Meeting: We're meeting and rehearsing on Monday, November 26th and again rehearsing on Tuesday, November 27th at the Boca Raton Community Center. 150 Crawford Blvd in Boca Raton. What you need: Bring your Holiday "Elf Songbooks" and be in costume if you're inclined. Assignments will be made those nights. Call 561 361 9091 for details if you're new. Please confirm if you attending by calling 561 361 9091. We Visit Hospitals & Nursing homes in Palm Beach & Broward Counties giving Holiday & Christmas gifts to all in nursing homes, hospital patients and children's daycare centers. Sponsored by The Senior Foundation & American Health Society |
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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. |
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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 |
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