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Friday, July 11, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Protect Aging Muscles With Fish Oil
Omega-3s may reduce loss of muscle mass
Fish oil supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids are traditionally used to support heart health, but new research has discovered another great benefit - omega-3s may improve insulin resistance and have a positive effect on muscle mass.
Canadian researchers found that omega-3s accelerated protein synthesis in aging cattle by increasing the activity of mTOR (a critical compound in muscle), as well as insulin, both of which are sensitive to small changes in energy status. mTOR has a direct effect on protein synthesis and the appetite control center of the brain. Omega-3s stimulate mTOR, which in turn inhibits hunger sensations and prevents protein breakdown.
Since cells become insulin resistant with age, this new research is important for humans, especially those between the ages of 40 and 60, a time when most people lose 20 percent of their muscle mass. Omega-3s may improve insulin resistance, which helps older adults build and sustain muscle. Fatty acids may also help younger adults and athletes increase muscle mass.
Fish oil supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids are traditionally used to support heart health, but new research has discovered another great benefit - omega-3s may improve insulin resistance and have a positive effect on muscle mass.
Canadian researchers found that omega-3s accelerated protein synthesis in aging cattle by increasing the activity of mTOR (a critical compound in muscle), as well as insulin, both of which are sensitive to small changes in energy status. mTOR has a direct effect on protein synthesis and the appetite control center of the brain. Omega-3s stimulate mTOR, which in turn inhibits hunger sensations and prevents protein breakdown.
Since cells become insulin resistant with age, this new research is important for humans, especially those between the ages of 40 and 60, a time when most people lose 20 percent of their muscle mass. Omega-3s may improve insulin resistance, which helps older adults build and sustain muscle. Fatty acids may also help younger adults and athletes increase muscle mass.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Amtrak Discounts For Seniors
Save 15% When You Choose Amtrak
Amtrak travelers 62 years of age and over receive a 15% discount on the best available adult rail fare on most Amtrak trains. Take advantage of the Amtrak senior discount to see more of what America has to offer. Start planning your next trip today.
Please note that this discount does not apply to:
Amtrak travelers 62 years of age and over receive a 15% discount on the best available adult rail fare on most Amtrak trains. Take advantage of the Amtrak senior discount to see more of what America has to offer. Start planning your next trip today.
Please note that this discount does not apply to:
- Sleeper accommodations
- The Auto Train
- Weekday Acela Express service
Valid proof of age is required. Additional restrictions may apply.
Seniors are also eligible to receive a 10% discount on the purchase of North America Rail Pass, providing an affordable way to see the United States and Canada.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Laughter Helps Everyone Involved
A priest, a rabbi and a chicken walk into a bar . . . You’ve heard the jokes but did you know they could actually be saving your life? It’s true, improves both your physical and mental health. So don’t give up on your silliness just yet.
When we are stressed, we produce hormones that disrupt the balance of our immune system. Laughing lessens that production and instead produces more gamma-interferon t-cells, or disease fighting cells. Laughter occurs when a negatively charged electrical impulse is sent through the cerebral cortex - but why we laugh is much more complex. It involves several parts of your brain and also your body depending on the extent of gesturing or jiggling that your chuckling incurs. From mild giggling to doubled up, eye tearing hysteria, you are aerobically benefitted through lowered blood pressure, thus reducing your chance of a heart attack or stroke and increased oxygen intake improving your brains capability to retain and process information.
When people hear laughter, it releases a neurotransmitter to their brain that responds by triggering other neural circuits to generate more laughter. It’s contagious!
So add 20 minutes of comedy to your daily exercise regime and laugh yourself healthy. If you can’t manage that, at least smile to release some endorphins. if you don’t feel like smiling, then fake it until you make it. Just the mere physical act of curling your mouth up and a little squint to the eyes will release all sorts of happy hormones dancing through your body and before you know it you actually ARE happy!
When we are stressed, we produce hormones that disrupt the balance of our immune system. Laughing lessens that production and instead produces more gamma-interferon t-cells, or disease fighting cells. Laughter occurs when a negatively charged electrical impulse is sent through the cerebral cortex - but why we laugh is much more complex. It involves several parts of your brain and also your body depending on the extent of gesturing or jiggling that your chuckling incurs. From mild giggling to doubled up, eye tearing hysteria, you are aerobically benefitted through lowered blood pressure, thus reducing your chance of a heart attack or stroke and increased oxygen intake improving your brains capability to retain and process information.
When people hear laughter, it releases a neurotransmitter to their brain that responds by triggering other neural circuits to generate more laughter. It’s contagious!
So add 20 minutes of comedy to your daily exercise regime and laugh yourself healthy. If you can’t manage that, at least smile to release some endorphins. if you don’t feel like smiling, then fake it until you make it. Just the mere physical act of curling your mouth up and a little squint to the eyes will release all sorts of happy hormones dancing through your body and before you know it you actually ARE happy!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Death of Spouse Ups Odds of Nursing Home Care
An older person's likelihood of entering a nursing home or other long-term care facility is particularly high immediately after the death of a spouse, new research indicates.
There could be various reasons for this, Elina Nihtila, of the department of sociology at the University of Helsinki, Finland, who led the research, told Reuters Health.
"It may be related to the loss of social and instrumental support, in the form of care and help with daily activities such as help in cooking, cleaning, and shopping formerly shared with the deceased spouse," Nihtila said.
"Second, grief and spousal loss may cause various symptoms, such as depression and anxiety, loss of appetite, sleep disturbances, fatigue and loss of concentration that could increase the need for institutional care." She added. "Furthermore, grief may cause increased susceptibility to physical diseases."
The research team analyzed how the death of a spouse affects the likelihood of entering institutionalized care among nearly 141,000 Finnish adults aged 65 and older. All of them were living with a spouse at the beginning of the study and were followed for five years.
"The data were unique in that they covered a large number of persons bereaved during the follow-up and gave the dates of bereavement and of first admission into institutional care," Nihtila and colleagues explain in the American Journal of Public Health.
Results showed that the risk of entering long-term institutional care was higher among older adults who had lost their spouse than among those living with their spouse. "The excess risk of institutionalization was highest during the first month after the spouse's death - more than three times higher among both men and women - and decreased with time from bereavement, stabilizing at approximately 20% to 50% higher over 1 to 5 years," Nihtila noted.
The researcher thinks home help services "should be targeted to the bereaved immediately after a spouse's death to reduce the need for institutional care."
SOURCE: American Journal of Public Health, July 2008 (online May 29, 2008).
There could be various reasons for this, Elina Nihtila, of the department of sociology at the University of Helsinki, Finland, who led the research, told Reuters Health.
"It may be related to the loss of social and instrumental support, in the form of care and help with daily activities such as help in cooking, cleaning, and shopping formerly shared with the deceased spouse," Nihtila said.
"Second, grief and spousal loss may cause various symptoms, such as depression and anxiety, loss of appetite, sleep disturbances, fatigue and loss of concentration that could increase the need for institutional care." She added. "Furthermore, grief may cause increased susceptibility to physical diseases."
The research team analyzed how the death of a spouse affects the likelihood of entering institutionalized care among nearly 141,000 Finnish adults aged 65 and older. All of them were living with a spouse at the beginning of the study and were followed for five years.
"The data were unique in that they covered a large number of persons bereaved during the follow-up and gave the dates of bereavement and of first admission into institutional care," Nihtila and colleagues explain in the American Journal of Public Health.
Results showed that the risk of entering long-term institutional care was higher among older adults who had lost their spouse than among those living with their spouse. "The excess risk of institutionalization was highest during the first month after the spouse's death - more than three times higher among both men and women - and decreased with time from bereavement, stabilizing at approximately 20% to 50% higher over 1 to 5 years," Nihtila noted.
The researcher thinks home help services "should be targeted to the bereaved immediately after a spouse's death to reduce the need for institutional care."
SOURCE: American Journal of Public Health, July 2008 (online May 29, 2008).
Thursday, May 1, 2008
FDA Approves First Compact Heart Assist Device
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday, April 21, approved a heart assist device with a novel design that is the first to mechanically support the weakened heart of a small-sized adult man or woman with heart failure who is at risk of dying while awaiting a heart transplant.
Heart assist devices are surgically implanted mechanical pumps that help the heart's ventricle do its work of pumping blood to the rest of the body. Previous models were too large to be placed in the upper abdomen of some women and small-sized men.
But the Thoratec HeartMate II Left Ventricular Assist System employs a first-of-a-kind design. Instead of the standard pulsatile pump that simulates the action of the heart, the device uses a continuous flow pump that constantly moves blood with a single moving part, a spinning rotor.
This allows the device to be slimmed down to a mere three inches in length and a weight of approximately one pound.
"The HeartMate II is an important advance in mechanical heart technology," said Daniel Schultz, M.D., director of FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health. "Until now, some heart transplant candidates have been underserved due to the large size of previously approved heart assist devices."
An electrical cable that powers the blood pump passes through the patient's skin to an external controller that the patient wears on his or her waist. The controller is powered either by batteries or connected to an electrical power outlet.
Blood flow is set through the pump based on the patient's need, and the controller monitors pump performance, sounding alarms if it detects dangerous conditions or a possible malfunction. The system can operate on two external batteries, allowing the patient to move freely for up to three hours.
In a clinical study of 126 patients at 26 transplant centers, 57 percent of patients with the HeartMate II survived to heart transplant, which is comparable to the survival of patients treated with currently approved heart assist devices.
The product's manufacturer, Thoratec Corporation of Pleasanton, Calif., is required to conduct a post-approval study to further evaluate the HeartMate II's performance during commercialization.
Heart assist devices are surgically implanted mechanical pumps that help the heart's ventricle do its work of pumping blood to the rest of the body. Previous models were too large to be placed in the upper abdomen of some women and small-sized men.
But the Thoratec HeartMate II Left Ventricular Assist System employs a first-of-a-kind design. Instead of the standard pulsatile pump that simulates the action of the heart, the device uses a continuous flow pump that constantly moves blood with a single moving part, a spinning rotor.
This allows the device to be slimmed down to a mere three inches in length and a weight of approximately one pound.
"The HeartMate II is an important advance in mechanical heart technology," said Daniel Schultz, M.D., director of FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health. "Until now, some heart transplant candidates have been underserved due to the large size of previously approved heart assist devices."
An electrical cable that powers the blood pump passes through the patient's skin to an external controller that the patient wears on his or her waist. The controller is powered either by batteries or connected to an electrical power outlet.
Blood flow is set through the pump based on the patient's need, and the controller monitors pump performance, sounding alarms if it detects dangerous conditions or a possible malfunction. The system can operate on two external batteries, allowing the patient to move freely for up to three hours.
In a clinical study of 126 patients at 26 transplant centers, 57 percent of patients with the HeartMate II survived to heart transplant, which is comparable to the survival of patients treated with currently approved heart assist devices.
The product's manufacturer, Thoratec Corporation of Pleasanton, Calif., is required to conduct a post-approval study to further evaluate the HeartMate II's performance during commercialization.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Apple Bites : The Interview Project
Date: Wednesday, May 21 , 2008 Time: 2:00 pm
Cost: $5*
This funny, touching, and inspiring one-hour play with music explores the lives of real New Yorkers - our memories, dreams, stumbles, triumphs and everyday miracles. Roots&Branches Intergenerational Theater brings elder and young actors together to challenge stereotypes about age and aging, as they forge new links from generation to generation. The Roots&Branches Theater is pleased to offer a special matinée rate to SeniorPlanet subscribers of $5 (free to groups of 10 or more). Be sure to mention SP when you make your reservations! For more info and full performance schedule, please click here.
Location :
Hudson Guild Theater
441 W. 26th St.
Cost: $5*
This funny, touching, and inspiring one-hour play with music explores the lives of real New Yorkers - our memories, dreams, stumbles, triumphs and everyday miracles. Roots&Branches Intergenerational Theater brings elder and young actors together to challenge stereotypes about age and aging, as they forge new links from generation to generation. The Roots&Branches Theater is pleased to offer a special matinée rate to SeniorPlanet subscribers of $5 (free to groups of 10 or more). Be sure to mention SP when you make your reservations! For more info and full performance schedule, please click here.
Location :
Hudson Guild Theater
441 W. 26th St.
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