Health News

9 Strategies For Making Senior Communities Stand Out - Interview In Advance Of The Long-Term Care CXO Summit, 25-26 July, 2013, Florida

Date: Jun-19-2013
Kristin Kutac Ward of Retiring By Design, a solution provider at the marcus evans Long-Term Care CXO Summit Fall 2013, on making senior communities stand out in the market. Every senior community is different and needs a unique analysis of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT), advised Kristin Kutac Ward, President, Retiring By Design. A solution provider at the marcus evans Long-Term Care CXO Summit Fall 2013, in Palm Beach, Florida, July 25-26, Kutac Ward gives her recommendations for improving occupancy, following up on inquiries and planning for the long-term...

Blood Test Predicts Type 1 Diabetes Risk

Date: Jun-19-2013
German scientists have found a way to predict a person's risk of developing type 1 diabetes, their study has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The American Diabetes Association estimates there are over 3 million Americans living with type 1 diabetes, while Diabetes UK says that are about 300,000 in the UK. There is currently no cure for diabetes type 1, which unlike type 2 is not preventable. It can be fatal unless the patient regularly takes exogenous insulin...

Fat Tissues In Sheep Affected By Prenatal Exposure To BPA

Date: Jun-19-2013
New research suggests that fetal exposure to the common environmental chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, causes increased inflammation in fat tissues after birth, which can lead to obesity and metabolic syndrome. Results of the animal study were presented at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco. Found in plastic water bottles, older baby bottles and many other consumer products, BPA is a known hormone disrupter with estrogen-like properties...

Weight Loss Promoted By Drug Combination In Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Date: Jun-19-2013
Women with polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, lost significantly more weight when they took two drugs that are traditionally used to treat diabetes, rather than either drug alone, a study from Slovenia demonstrates. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco. PCOS is the leading cause of infertility among women. In the United States, the disorder affects approximately 5 million women, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Women's Health. This translates to 1 in 10 to 20 women, overall, who are affected...

Precocious Puberty In Girls May Be Delayed By Vitamin D Supplementation

Date: Jun-19-2013
Vitamin D supplementation may help delay early onset of puberty in girls, a new clinical study finds. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco. Among girls, puberty generally begins between the ages of 10 and 14. Boys undergo these changes later, usually between 12 to 16 years of age. Precocious puberty is diagnosed in girls when sexual development begins before the age of 8; in boys, it is diagnosed when these changes occur before age 9...

Link Between BPA And Defects Of A Testicular Hormone In Newborn Boys With Undescended Testicles

Date: Jun-19-2013
A new study links fetal exposure to a common chemical pollutant, bisphenol A (BPA), to defects of a testicular hormone in newborn boys with undescended testicles. The results, which were presented at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, suggest yet another potential harmful effect of BPA, which is widely used in many plastics, liners of food cans and dental sealants...

Rational Biological Source Of Pain Found In The Skin Of Patients With Fibromyalgia

Date: Jun-19-2013
Fibromyalgia, a painful condition affecting approximately 10 million people in the U.S., is not imaginary after all, as some doctors have believed. A discovery, published this month in PAIN MEDICINE (the journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine), clearly now demonstrates that fibromyalgia may have a rational biological basis located in the skin. Fibromyalgia is a severely debilitating affliction characterized by widespread deep tissue pain, tenderness in the hands and feet, fatigue, sleep disorders, and cognitive decline...

In Postmenopausal Women, Testosterone Improves Verbal Learning And Memory

Date: Jun-19-2013
Postmenopausal women had better improvement in verbal learning and memory after receiving treatment with testosterone gel, compared with women who received sham treatment with a placebo, a new study found. Results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco. "This is the first large, placebo-controlled study of the effects of testosterone on mental skills in postmenopausal women who are not on estrogen therapy," said principal investigator Susan Davis, MBBS (MD), PhD, of Monash University, Melbourne, Australia...

Hope For Treatment Of Non-24 Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder In The Blind

Date: Jun-19-2013
An investigational new drug significantly improved a common and debilitating circadian rhythm sleep disorder that frequently affects people who are completely blind, a multicenter study finds. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's Annual Meeting in San Francisco. The new drug, called tasimelteon, selectively targets the master body clock in the brain, which controls the timing of the sleep-wake cycle, alertness patterns and the timing of some hormones, as well as many other aspects of physiology and metabolism...

Risk For Insulin Resistance In Offspring Increased By Directed In Vitro Technique

Date: Jun-19-2013
A special type of in vitro fertilization, or IVF, may increase the risk for insulin resistance among children conceived in this way, according to a new study from Greece. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco. During natural fertilization, as well as other IVF treatments, the egg is exposed to many sperm. In both of these cases, the strongest, healthiest sperm has the best chance of reaching and fertilizing the egg...