Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

Bad sleep 'dramatically' alters body

Excerpt from: BBC News (click for full article)

 

Heart disease, diabetes, obesity and poor brain function have all been linked to substandard sleep.

What missing hours in bed actually does to alter health, however, is unknown.

So researchers at the University of Surrey analysed the blood of 26 people after they had had plenty of sleep, up to 10 hours each night for a week, and compared the results with samples after a week of fewer than six hours a night.

More than 700 genes were altered by the shift. Each contains the instructions for building a protein, so those that became more active produced more proteins - changing the chemistry of the body.

Meanwhile the natural body clock was disturbed - some genes naturally wax and wane in activity through the day, but this effect was dulled by sleep deprivation.

Prof Colin Smith, from the University of Surrey, told the BBC: "There was quite a dramatic change in activity in many different kinds of genes."

People With Disabilities At Greater Risk Of Violence And Subsequent Mental Ill-Health

Excerpt from: red Orbit (click for full article)

 

People with disabilities are at a greater risk of being the victims of violence and of suffering mental ill health when victimized, according to research published February 20 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Hind Khalifeh and colleagues from University College London and King’s College London.

A recent World Report on Disability highlighted violence as a leading cause of morbidity among disabled people. The research published today is the first to assess the extent to which people with disabilities experience different kinds of violence and the associated health and economic costs. The authors analyzed data from the 2009-2010 British Crime Survey to estimate the odds of a person with physical or mental disabilities experiencing physical, sexual, domestic or non-domestic violence. The survey did not include individuals with disabilities living in institutions.

On the whole, the authors found that, compared to those without any disability, the odds of being a victim of violence in the past year were three-fold higher for those with mental illness-related disability, and two-fold higher for those with physical disability. The odds were similarly raised for physical and sexual violence, and for domestic and non-domestic violence. Their analysis also revealed that victims with disability were twice as likely to experience emotional difficulties following violence than non-disabled victims.

Weekend Reading: Why A Trip To The ER Costs More Than A College Semester

Excerpt from: Kaiser Health News (click for full article)

 

Every week Ankita Rao selects interesting reading from around the Web (Time Magazine, MedPage Today's KevinMD, The New York Times ,Forbes , and The Atlantic ).

Feds Outline What Insurers Must Cover

Excerpt from: Kaiser Health News (click for full article)

 

The final rule on essential health benefits, issued yesterday, defines what must be covered in health plans sold in online marketplaces beginning this fall, including prescription benefits and mental health services, and prohibits discrimination based on age or pre-existing medical conditions.

Shingles vaccine offers 'poor protection' for seniors with untreated depression, study finds

Excerpt from: McKnight's (click for full article)

 

Seniors who are depressed may be at higher risk for shingles, even if they are vaccinated. This is according to research published recently in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

University of California-Los Angeles researchers followed 92 study participants for two years. All were 60 or older and had been vaccinated for shingles. Some had a major depressive disorder (MDD) and were being treated for it, some had an MDD but were not receiving treatment, and some did not have a diagnosed MDD.

The participants with untreated depression were “poorly protected” from shingles even though they were vaccinated, said lead research Michael Irwin, M.D. The immune response was “normalized” among the other two groups.

The study has implications for other types of vaccines, the researchers noted. For example, diagnosing and treating depression may improve seniors' responses to the influenza vaccine.

Will Your Long-Term Care Coverage Keep Up With Changing Times?

Excerpt from: NPR (click for full article)

 

Long-term care insurance offers financial protection if a person needs help with daily tasks such as eating and bathing. Policies typically cover care provided in different settings, whether it's a nursing home, a private home or an assisted living facility. People usually buy a policy that provides up to a specified daily dollar amount, say $150, for three to five years.

Burns says that although alternative plan of care clauses can be beneficial, they are honored at the insurance company's discretion.

"It's completely up to the company," she says. "I've had situations where companies have refused to pay under that benefit."

When considering a policy, people have to ask themselves: "What's the long-term care landscape going to look like in 20 years?" says Burns. An alternative plan of care clause may help provide some sense of security, but it's no panacea.

Aging Poorly: Another Act Of Baby Boomer Rebellion

Excerpt from: NPR (click for full article)

 

Baby boomers have a reputation for being addicted to exercise and obsessed with eating well.

But that story didn't jibe with what physician Dana E. King and his colleagues see walking through the door of their family practice every day in Morgantown, W.Va.

"The perception is that the baby boomers are very active — they are, you know, climbing up mountains, and they are a very healthy bunch," says King, a professor in the department of family medicine at the West Virginia University School of Medicine. "We actually see people that are burdened with diabetes, hypertension, obesity, [and] who are taking an awful lot of medication."

CMS ANNOUNCES NEW INITIATIVE TO IMPROVE END-STAGE RENAL DISEASE CARE

Excerpt from: CMS.gov (click for full article)

 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced a new initiative designed to identify, test, and evaluate new ways to improve care for Medicare beneficiaries with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD).  Through the Comprehensive ESRD Care initiative, CMS will partner with health care providers and suppliers to test the effectiveness of a new payment and service delivery model in providing these beneficiaries with patient-centered, high-quality care.

“This initiative puts Medicare beneficiaries living with End-Stage Renal Disease at the center of their care,” said CMS Acting Administrator Marilyn Tavenner. “Through enhanced care coordination, these beneficiaries will have a more patient-centered care experience, which will ultimately, improve health outcomes.”

New stroke guidelines stress fast treatment, involvement of caregivers outside hospital

Excerpt from: McKnight's (click for full article)

 

Rapid treatment and vigilant, trained post-acute care providers allow the damage caused by strokes to be minimized, according to guidelines released Thursday by the American Stroke Association.

The guidelines stress that individuals presenting stroke symptoms should be quickly transported via ambulance or air to the nearest comprehensive stroke center for administration of clot-dissolving drugs. To be effective, the dissolver recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) must be given within 4.5 hours of symptom onset. In all appropriate cases, tPA should be administered within 60 minutes of a patient arriving at a hospital, the guidelines state.

If a patient must be treated at a hospital lacking a primary or comprehensive stroke center, attending physicians should consider telemedicine to connect with stroke experts, according to the guidelines.

Effective stroke response is not dependent on hospital resources alone, as long-term caregivers play a part in recognizing stroke symptoms, researchers said.

Tips to Help Manage Diabetes

Excerpt from: WhatDisability.com (click for full article)

 

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is essential for those with diabetes. Lack of care can lead to other dangerous complications and disabilities associated with diabetes. It is important for those who have been newly diagnosed and those who have had the condition for a while to stay alert of their needs.

Here are a few tips to help:

Exercise: 30-60 minutes of physical activity lowers blood sugar for several hours. It also releases endorphins, painkillers, to help alleviate some pain associated with diabetes. It helps fight obesity.

Obesity:Try to stay fit and avoid significant weight gain. Complications from diabetes are much more severe in those who are considered to be obese. It is often necessary to increase medications to overcome it's affects.

Smoking: This bad habit leads to diabetic complications such as coronary heart disease, fatigue, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. It decreases oxygen to cells blocking pancreas beta cells from producing insulin.