Dear Health-Conscious Friend,
Its a fact that your brain does change as you get older. Studies show more than half of Americans over age 65 will experience difficulty recalling simple names and numbers. But a disturbing new report shows some of the drugs doctors use to treat dementia may do more harm than good!
In this Monday Edition of Health News Weekly, not only are you going to find out how to protect yourself from brain damaging treatmentsyoull also discover more secrets for keeping your body as young and healthy as possible! And its never been so simple so easy and so natural!
So lets not waste another minute!
Antipsychotic Drugs May Pose Danger
to Dementia Patients
Dementia drugs death may be the order of progression for some older adults who take prescription antipsychotic medications. New research shows people taking these drugs are at greater risk of being hospitalizedand may even die.
Antipsychotic drugs are commonly used to treat some behavioral problems associated with dementia. This includes aggression, agitation and delirium. And although there are few treatment optionsthese drugs appear to increase health risks to patients who take them.
Researchers from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Ontario, Canada, compared two groups of people in a new study. The first group included 20,682 older adults with dementia living in the community. The second group was made up of 20,559 older adults with dementia living in a nursing home between April 1, 1997, and March 31, 2004.
The research team divided patients into three subgroups: 1) those not receiving any antipsychotics, 2) those taking newer antipsychotics such as Zyprexa (olanzapine) and Risperdal (risperidone), and 3) those taking older antipsychotics such as Haldol (haloperidol).
When the investigators studied medical records, they found that adults living in communities who had recently received a prescription for a newer antipsychotic medication were more than three times as likely to be hospitalized or to die during 30 days of follow-up.
Those who received older antipsychotic therapy were nearly four times more likely to wind up hospitalized or dead, compared to participants who received no antipsychotic therapy.
The nursing home group showed similar results. Patients taking older antipsychotics were almost three times more likely to be hospitalized or die. And those who took newer drugs were nearly twice as likely to die or be hospitalized during the 30 days of follow-up.
Many experts believe the first step should be behavioral interventionsonly turning to antipsychotics as a last resort.
The findings were published in the May 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Fast Fact
We all know that exercise is great for your body, but did you know it can cause an increase of blood circulation by 100 percent? With this increase, all the organs and tissues receive more life-giving oxygenincluding the brain!
Yo-Yo Dieting and Weight Loss May
Weaken Mens Bones
Adult men who cycle between gaining and losing weight may suffer with fragile bones later in life. A group of doctors in Norway reached this conclusion after studying a group of 4,601 men for 28 years.
Dr. Anne Johanne Sogaard and colleagues of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo, Norway, found that the more frequently men slimmed down and regained weight between the ages of 25 and 50the more likely they were to suffer a fractured forearm after age 50.
According to a Reuters Health report, Sogaard said weight cycling could weaken bones by damaging the bone structure. She said it could also weaken the muscles, which could boost mens risk of falling.
In the current study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, researchers wanted to determine if weight cycling was related to the risk of forearm fracture. The investigators said such a fracture would be an early and sensitive marker of male skeletal fragility.
Among men who reported no weight loss episodes before age 50, about 17 to 18 percent suffered forearm fractures. The rate was 35 to 43 percent among men who had lost weight four or more times.
After considering other factors, four or more weight loss cycles before age 50 nearly tripled the risk of forearm fracture after 50.
People who want to maintain strong bones when they lose weight should always be sure to exercise as well as diet, Sogaard said. We know that weight-bearing activities, weight training and exercise with varied loadings (squash, badminton, tennis) are favorable for muscles (and) balance, as well as bones.
Health E-Hints
Beat Glaucomawith No Drugs, No Drops!
Glaucoma is a group of disorders involving excess pressure within your eye. The disease can damage your optic nerve and cause partial vision loss.
Doctors often prescribe eye drops or prescription drugs to help treat this condition. But research shows you can fight glaucoma with a low-fat diet and regular exercise!
According to one study, doctors put glaucoma patients on a primarily vegetarian diet and moderate exercise. After two weeks, fluid pressure in their eyes dropped an average of 11.3 percent. Now thats something to look forward to!