Mental Attitude
New Cognitive Test Could Detect Early Dementia. Researchers believe they have developed a cognitive test model that can improve the early detection of dementia. This new model is able to determine whether memory loss in older adults is benign or whether it could develop into Alzheimer’s disease, allowing for better treatment options to potentially slow the development of the illness. Johns Hopkins Medicine, November 2013
Health Alert
Long-Term Unemployment Affects Men's DNA. Telomeres are structures at the ends of chromosomes that protect genetic information from degrading. They become shorter over a person's lifetime and are considered a marker for biological aging. Researchers analyzed the telomere length of 5,620 men and found that men who were unemployed for more than two of the preceding three years were twice as likely to have shorter telomere lengths as men who were continuously employed. Study co-author Dr. Jessica Buxton adds, "Shorter telomeres are linked to higher risk of various age-related diseases and earlier death. Stressful life experiences in childhood and adulthood have previously been linked to accelerated telomere shortening. We have now shown that long-term unemployment may cause premature aging too."
PLoS ONE, November 2013
Diet
Unhealthy Diets Noted in Less Educated. A new report shows that individuals with a lower level of education may eat larger amounts of unhealthy calorie-rich foods and less fruits and vegetables compared to individuals with higher levels of education.
PLoS ONE, November 2013
Exercise
What's the Ideal Amount of Physical Activity? Over 1,000 16-20 year olds in Switzerland completed questionnaires pertaining to how much time they devoted to physical activity and also on their overall mental and physical well-being. When the results were tabulated, the researchers found that 14 hours per week of physical activity correlated with the highest well-being scores. As the hours moved below or above the 14 hour mark, well-being scores decreased. Fourteen hours a week of physical activity is nearly double the recommended amount for this age group.
Archives of Disease in Childhood, November 2013
Chiropractic
Available to Veterans. “Chiropractic care is available to members of the armed forces at more than 40 military bases in the [United States], and at nearly 30 veteran’s administration medical facilities.”
American Chiropractic Association
Wellness/Prevention
New Imaging Method May Predict Heart Attack Risk. Scientists have created a new imaging technique that may identify which patients are at high risk for a heart attack. They found that a combination of positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) was able to “light up” fatty plaques in arteries that were in danger of rupturing. 90% of patients who had heart attacks had a “lit up” area in one of their vessels, which correlated to the cause of their heart attack. 40% of patients with angina showed lit up plaques suggesting imminent risk of a heart attack. Further testing is needed before implementation in a clinical setting. The Lancet, November 2013
Quote
“I don't know the key to success,
but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”
~ Bill Cosby
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