Senior's Health Not so happy old age? :♦ Fractures Can Lead to Premature Death in Older People ♦ Experimental drug targeting Alzheimer's disease shows anti-aging effects

Exercise program in senior centers helps decrease participants' pain and improve mobility A study finds that a low-impact exercise program is improving quality of life for many older adults with arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions. The program, offered by Hospital for Special Surgery, has helped decrease pain, improve mobility and enhance the overall health of many participants.

Fractures Can Lead to Premature Death in Older People A new study shows certain fractures due to osteoporosis can cause premature death in people 45 and older. This is the largest study, to date, that shows a connection between these fractures and premature death.

Not so happy old age? The notion that older people are happier than younger people is being challenged following a recent study. In fact it suggests that people get more depressed from age 65 onwards

Experimental drug targeting Alzheimer's disease shows anti-aging effects Scientists have discovered a molecule that slows the clock on key aspects of aging in animals.

Barriers to health care increase disease, death risk for rural elderly A new study of adults ages 85 or older has found that rural residents have significantly higher levels of chronic disease, take more medications, and die several years earlier than their urban counterparts.

Health News: Mexican cilantro sickened 546 people ♦ Company owner faces life sentence for food poisoning outbreak ♦ Alzheimer's drug could prevent bone fractures

CDC: Cyclospora outbreak linked to Mexican cilantro sickened 546 people The U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced that the recent Cyclospora outbreak sickened 546 people from 31 states from May to August. The numbers of reported cases in the U.S. have returned to baseline levels, the agency noted. CDC stated that epidemiologic and traceback investigations conducted in Texas, Wisconsin, and Georgia by...

Company owner faces life sentence for food poisoning outbreak Inside, Almer wrote: I did not know where to send this to since my mother is no longer alive, so I am sending it to you, the person who is responsible for where she is today. Shirley Mae Almer, 72, survived lung cancer and a brain tumor, but not one of America's favorite foods: peanut butter. Parnell's company, PCA, had manufactured the creamy stuff that she slathered on

Virus re-engineered to deliver therapies to cells Researchers stripped a virus of its infectious machinery and turned its benign core into a delivery vehicle that can target sick cells while leaving healthy tissue alone

Alzheimer's drug could prevent bone fractures The most common drug used to treat Alzheimer's disease increases bone mass in mice, according to a recent article. Researchers say this means the drug could also be used to treat bone loss diseases like osteoporosis and periodontitis, following further clinical research.

Health Research: Cannabis may be used to treat fractures ♦ The emerging science of human screams ♦ Potential treatment for Parkinson's disease discovered

Massive study: Birth order has no meaningful effect on personality or IQ For those who believe that birth order influences traits like personality and intelligence, a study of 377,000 high school students offers some good news: Yes, the study found, first-borns do have higher IQs and consistently different personality traits than those born later in the family chronology. However, researchers say, the differences between firstborns and 'later-borns' are so small that they have no practical relevance to people's lives

No bones about it: Cannabis may be used to treat fractures A new study explores another promising new medical application for marijuana. According to the research, the administration of the non-psychotropic component significantly helps heal bone fractures

The emerging science of human screams Our noisy world is no match for a screaming infant. An airplane could be flying by as a house party rages on downstairs while a literal cat fight takes place outside, and still a wailing baby will win your attention. One possible explanation is that human screams possess a unique acoustic property found to activate not just the auditory brain but also the brain's fear circuitry

Surprise: Subtle distractors may divert action more than overt ones What's more distracting, something overt or something subtle? We all know the right answer when it comes to perception, but in a new study, the less salient of two distractors had the greater power to affect an action.

Potential treatment for Parkinson's disease discovered Scientists have found that existing antimalarial drugs could be a potential treatment for Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that causes a person to lose control of motor movements, such as the ability to move his or her hands, arms, and legs.

Health News: 34 Sickened in Canadian salmonella outbreak ♦ Job-sharing with nursing robots ♦ New technique speeds nano MRI imaging

34 Sickened in Canadian salmonella outbreak linked to chicks from Alberta hatchery An investigation is underway in Canada to figure out the source of a Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak linked to live chicks from an Alberta hatchery. The outbreak has so far sickened 34 people in three provinces

Job-sharing with nursing robots Given the threat of a massive earthquake striking Japan, researchers have organized a cooperative project team to develop a new robot. They set about determining the factors that are most important to hospital patients in modern society, after which they set about developing the world's first medical round robot capable of job-sharing, making more time for face-to-face nursing care.

New urine test could reduce need for blood samples If you've been to the doctor, you probably know what to do when you're handed a plastic cup and shown to the bathroom. Most patients hand over the sample and give little thought to what happens when it's shipped to the lab for analysis. Researchers have developed a new testing method that they believe will reduce costs, get faster results and lower the volume of urine needed for a sample.

New technique speeds nano MRI imaging Nano MRI is a scanning technique that produces nondestructive, high-resolution 3-D images of nanoscale objects, and it promises to become a powerful tool for researchers and companies exploring the shape and function of biological materials such as viruses and cells in much the same way as clinical MRI today enables investigation of whole tissues in the human body.

Subclinical hyperthyroidism associated with an increased risk of hip and other fractures In an analysis that included more than 70,000 participants from 13 studies, subclinical hyperthyroidism was associated with an increased risk for hip and other fractures including spine. Subclinical hyperthyroidism is a low serum thyroid-stimulating hormone concentration in a person without clinical symptoms and normal thyroid hormone concentrations on blood tests.

Health Research: Educating the immune system to prevent allergies ♦ New form of inherited blindness discovered ♦ Sound waves diagnosing minor fractures

Findings reveal clues to functioning of mysterious 'mimivirus' Researchers have discovered the structure of a key protein on the surface of an unusually large virus called the mimivirus, aiding efforts to determine its hosts and unknown functions. The mimivirus was initially thought to be a bacterium because it is much larger than most viruses

Computerized vital signs analysis may help prevent trauma patients from bleeding to death A research team has successfully field tested a system that analyzed patient vital signs during emergency transport in a fully automated fashion, finding that such a system could diagnose those with life-threatening bleeding before they arrive at the hospital, potentially saving lives.

Sound waves could be viable alternative in diagnosing minor fractures A study has been conducted of the usefulness and efficiency of portable ultrasound in detecting the presence of minor fractures in patients presenting to a minor injuries unit. Analysis showed that 85% of patients with a fracture confirmed by X-ray had injuries detected through ultrasonography. The authors say emergency clinicians could rule in fractures by studying the ultrasound images

New form of inherited blindness discovered Scientists have discovered that mutations in the gene DRAM2 cause a new type of late-onset inherited blindness. The research describes individuals from five families with a variety of DRAM2 mutations, all of which lead to loss of central vision beginning at age 30-40.

Educating the immune system to prevent allergies With the arrival of spring, millions of people have begun their annual ritual of sneezing and wheezing due to seasonal allergies. A research team is bringing them hope with a potential vaccine that nudges the immune response away from developing allergies. The findings have major clinical implications since allergies and asthma often start in childhood and for which there is presently no cure.

Health Research: College athletes may have low vitamin D levels ♦ C. difficile doubles hospital readmission rates♦ Mutation explain why flu can kill + more

More than one-third of Division I college athletes may have low vitamin D levels A new study found that more than one-third of elite, Division I college athletes may have low levels of vitamin D, which is critical in helping the body to absorb calcium needed to maintain bone mass, and to minimize injury risk.

C. difficile doubles hospital readmission rates, Patients with Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) are twice as likely to be readmitted to the hospital as patients without the deadly diarrheal infection, according to a new study.

Fracture liaison services prevent fractures and save lives Using a simulation model, researchers have shown that the implementation of Fracture Liaison Services could considerably reduce the human associated with osteoporotic fractures.

What to do with kidneys from older deceased donors? For older patients in need of a kidney transplant, rapid transplantation from an older deceased donor is superior to delayed transplantation from a younger donor. Kidneys from older donors do not have sufficient longevity to provide younger patients with a lifetime of kidney function, but they do have sufficient longevity to provide older patients

Genetic mutation helps explain why, in rare cases, flu can kill A small number of children who catch the influenza virus fall so ill they end up in the hospital even while their family and friends recover easily. New research helps explain why: a rare genetic mutation that prevents the production of a critical protein, interferon, that is needed to fight off the virus.