Celebrating 16 Years
August 2015
How can I prevent my back pain from returning? What should I look for when choosing a family physician? 162 future physicians enter Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine
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1 in 5 American adults has a physical or mental disability: CDC Race, poverty and less By STEVEN REINBERG HealthDay
education reported a disability. Also, about 47 percent of people who had annual household incomes of less than $15,000, and about one-third of unemployed More than 50 million Americans live with a disability, people who were able to work reported a disability, health officials reported recently. The most common disabilities are mobility limitations, the study found. According to the report, more women than men such as having serious difficulty walking or climbing have a disability (more than 24 percent versus nearly 20 stairs — affecting one in eight adults — followed by percent, respectively). disabilities in thinking and/or memory, independent Costs for maintaining health among people with living, issues seeing and self-care, according to a new disabilities were estimated at nearly $400 billion in report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control 2006, the researchers reported. More than half of these and Prevention. costs were related to non-independent living, such as “This report is a snapshot of the percent of adults institutional care and personal-care services. with disabilities in the U.S., so we can get a better The findings were published in last month’s CDC’s understanding of who people with disabilities are,” said Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. researcher Elizabeth Courtney-Long, a health scientist “We are all at risk of having a disability at some point at the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and in our lifetime,” CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said in Developmental Disabilities. a CDC statement. “Health professionals and health The researchers found that most people with care systems need to meet the needs of this growing disabilities live in southern states, such as Alabama (31.5 percent), Mississippi and Tennessee (31.4 percent). population,” he added. Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University Although why these states tend to have the highest number of disabled people isn’t known, the researchers Prevention Research Center in New Haven, Conn., said that much of the disabilities and chronic disease people suggested that states in the South have higher rates of suffer from can be eliminated. chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes, “Life expectancy is rising in the United States, which which may be linked to disability. can convey a false sense of security about our health,” People with disabilities were also more likely to be stated Katz. aged 65 and older, Courtney-Long said. The National Academy of Medicine has issued reports In addition, the researchers found blacks (29 percent) showing that health and vitality are not keeping pace and Hispanics (26 percent) were more likely to suffer with longevity, and that the gap between the two is from disabilities than whites (nearly 21 percent). potentially widening, he mentioned. Moreover, education and income levels appear to “Although medical advances help delay death, they have strong ties to disability rates. Nearly 40 percent cannot confer genuine vitality,” according to Katz. of people in the study who had less than a high school
MORE INFORMATION Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more on disabilities at www.cdc.gov.
Get Moving, Stay Healthy Only 44 percent of adults with disabilities who visited a doctor in the past year were told by a doctor to get physical activity. Yet adults with disabilities were 82 percent more likely to be physically active if their doctor recommended it. Doctors and other health professionals can: Ask adults with disabilities how much physical activity they get each week.
Remind adults with disabilities to get regular physical activity consistent with their abilities. They should try to get at least 2 ½ hours a week of moderate-intensity physical activity. If this is not possible, some activity is better than none. Recommend physical activity options that match the specific abilities of each person and connect them to resources that can help each person be physically active.
education linked to increased odds of having a disability, report says. “The consequence of a longer life span, but a health span that is not keeping pace, is more years encumbered by chronic maladies and disabilities,” he said. “Much of this is preventable.” By eating well, being active and not smoking, as much as 80 percent of chronic diseases could be prevented, as well as the disability that accompanies them, Katz said. “The true prize is a combination of more years in life, and more life in years — and the best medicine for producing that outcome is not at the cutting edge of biomedical advance — it is lifestyle,” he said. All disability cannot be prevented, Katz said. “But much of the disability we encounter in our culture is indeed a byproduct of choices we make both individually and collectively, choices that we can alter,” Katz concluded.
3x
Adults with disabilities are 3 times more likely to have heart disease, stroke, diabetes, or cancer than adults without disabilities.
1 in 2
Nearly half of all adults with disabilities get no aerobic physical activity, an important health behavior to help avoid these chronic diseases.
82%
Adults with disabilities were 82% more likely to be physically active if their doctor recommended it.
Rowan Medicine MedicaLink Ask Rowan Medicine
How can I prevent my back pain from returning? Dr. James Bailey, a Rowan Medicine Physician in the NeuroMusculoskeletal Institute, responds: If you have occasional back pain, you are far from alone. Research indicates that as many as eight out of ten Americans will experience back pain at some point in their lives, making back pain one of the leading causes of lost work or disability. Given how prevalent back pain is, it isn’t surprising that the possible causes are equally widespread. Back pain can result from injuries due to a fall or strain, degenerative conditions like herniated disks, from conditions as varied as arthritis, scoliosis, pregnancy or fibromyalgia, being overweight or simply from growing older. The small bones of your spine (called the vertebrae), the discs in between those bones, and the dozens of muscles and ligaments of your back combine to form an amazing machine that supports the weight of your entire upper body and governs nearly every movement you make. Because this places your back under nearly constant stress, certain unforeseen movements can trigger a pain response. Back pain can result from something as obvious as an energetic game of pick-up basketball to something as seemingly innocuous as gardening, house cleaning or bending over to tie a shoe. In fact, any bending, twisting or pivoting motion can cause an acute low-back injury. Acute low-back pain is by far more common than chronic back pain, accounting for nearly 90 percent of cases and generally defined as having a sudden onset and lasting fewer than six weeks. An acute onset of low-back pain should begin to feel better within a few days. A short course of rest, along with over-the-counter medication such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen with food, will help you manage any pain. Depending on your injury, sitting upright with a small pillow or rolled up towel supporting your lower back can alleviate the pain. You can also apply ice for 10 to 20 minutes at a time over the first couple of days to reduce any swelling or inflammation. Consult with your physician if your pain continues beyond two days, if any pain or numbness radiates from the lower back into the legs, or if pain worsens when standing or walking. After a thorough examination, your physician might order a diagnostic test, such as x-rays or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to confirm a diagnosis. Aug2015 3TAB.indd 1
While certain exercises are rarely good ideas when experiencing acute back pain, activities that stretch and strengthen your core muscles can help prevent a recurrence. Other techniques that will help include:
ACTIVITIES TO STRETCH AND STRENGTH • Lift with your legs and not your back. • Stretch before beginning any physical activity. • When engaged in physical work like gardening or home repairs, keep your work in front of you and hold objects you are carrying close to your body. • Avoid twisting or throwing objects, including dirt, rocks or snow when shoveling. Instead, turn, carry and drop them. • When seated, maintain good posture. Sit upright, with your back against the chair and your shoulders relaxed. • Take frequent breaks to stand and stretch if your job requires you to sit for long periods. Surgery is normally not required to alleviate back pain and should only be considered when all other treatments do not work, when there is progressive weakness, or if the pain directly interferes with your quality of life. Along with safe and effective alternatives such as medications, lifestyle changes and injection therapy, osteopathic physicians can offer patients osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) as a proven, noninvasive therapy to ease back pain. Our specialists are in tune Through injury with the latest diagnostic or overuse, the muscles in the low treatments and medical back can pull the advancements for patients pelvis, tailbone or the needing orthopedic and vertebrae of the spine out of place, causing rehabilitation services and a pain response. With pain management. OMT, osteopathic physicians use their hands to relax patients’ muscles through stretching, gentle pressure and NeuroMusculoskeletal Institute resistance and to Call for an appointment position the joints 856-566-7010 properly, decreasing or eliminating pain. To schedule an 42 East Laurel Road appointment at the Suite 1700 Stratford office, Stratford, NJ 08084 please call (856) 566-7010.
Tired of carrying a ‘spare tire?’
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Rowan Medicine MedicaLink Ask Rowan Medicine
What should I look for when choosing a family physician? Dr. Joshua Coren, a Rowan Medicine Physician and Chair of the Rowan Medicine Department of Family Medicine, responds: Choosing a primary care former physician? physician may be the most Bedside manner, that important health care decision is, a physician’s ability you make. Your family physician to communicate well, will not only be responsible for is one of the most helping your family stay healthy important elements in and free of disease for many a successful patient/ years, but will also help you deal doctor relationship. with other issues such as caring It’s also one that’s hard for an aging parent or the loss of a loved one. to quantify. One way There are many things to consider when choosing to get a sense of this a family physician. If you are moving to a new area, is to ask about the ask your current physician or people you know locally physician’s philosophy for a recommendation. There are also online search toward health care. For tools that can help you learn more about a particular example, if you have physician, including patient evaluations, been receiving medical board-certification, office hours and types of care for a specific insurance accepted. condition, does the new Although you can schedule an initial appointment physician agree that to gather information about a physician’s practice, your previous course of most people will get that information by scheduling a treatment is the best routine office visit. available? Or, if you So, what else should you look for when selecting a are open to alternative physician for your family? medical therapy, ask the Your initial assessment should begin even before you new physician under step into the physician’s waiting room. What happens which conditions he or when you called the office? Were you able to schedule she would consider an appointment fairly quickly? For a routine visit, you this alternative. should expect to be able to schedule an appointment You may want to also within two weeks. ask about the physician’s The location of the office is important, as you’ll expertise or areas of probably want a physician whose office is convenient interest, such as sports to where you live or work. Personally, I’m also a big medicine, geriatrics or proponent of easy access. I want my patients to be able palliative care, and weigh that expertise against your to park close by and easily get from their cars into family’s potential needs. the office. Don’t forget to ask the physician about how the The office staff can be a big influence on your office handles hospitalizations or vacations. Many decision. When you arrive, physicians today rely on “You may want to also ask about look around at the general hospital-based the physician’s expertise or areas appearance. Is it clean and physicians when comfortable? Is the staff of interest, such as sports medicine, their patients are friendly and helpful? If you geriatrics or palliative care, and weigh hospitalized. If your are changing physicians, will physician is on vacation that expertise against your family’s the staff help you get your old and you have a medical potential needs.” records from your need, will you be seen by
Care for the entire family
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Adult and pediatric medicine Weight management Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) Gastroenterology Onsite LabCorp substation Rowan Family Medicine 100 Century Parkway, Suite 140 Mount Laurel, NJ 08054 856-380-2400 Join us for our Open House Friday, October 9 2 to 3:30 pm Meet our physicians / Tour the office / Learn about our services
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another physician from the same office or be referred to another practice entirely? Don’t hesitate to ask any question, but keep in mind that your physician will need some time to get to know you, too. I tell my new patients that every year of their life is like a chapter in their medical history. During the first visit, I may not know what’s in each chapter, but by the second or third visit, they can be sure I’ll have read the entire book. To schedule an appointment at the Mt. Laurel office, please call (856) 380-2400.
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Don’t Let Your Weight Control You Personalized, medically supervised weight loss can help you live your life in a way that improves your health. We focus not on just losing weight, but on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Most insurances accepted - call for an appointment today! Adarsh K. Gupta, DO, MS, board certified in Family Medicine, Obesity Medicine and Director, The Center for Weight Loss and Metabolic Control Mount Laurel 856-380-2400 Sewell 856-218-0300 Stratford 856-566-7020
Would you like to participate in a research study? Our research is a team-based approach with a focus on a good clinical practice, subject safety, and protocol compliance. Call our office to inquire if we have a clinical trial for you!
Current and Future Clinical Studies • Alzheimer's Disease • Diabetes • Endometriosis • Fibromyalgia • Multiple Sclerosis • Obesity • Stroke
Turning sniffles into smiles Primary and preventive care from infancy through adolescence
• Well baby and child visits • School, camp and sports physicals
• Immunizations • Check-ups
Convenient hours include walk-in morning hours, Saturday morning and evening appointments. Most insurances accepted.
Office of Clinical Trials Management, 42 East Laurel Road Stratford, NJ 08084, 856-566-6003 aug2015 5tab.indd 1
To schedule an appointment, call 856-566-7040
Stratford 856-566-7040 Sewell 856-582-0033
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162 Future Physicians Enter Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine On Sunday, August 2nd, dozens of men and women proudly crossed the stage of Pfleeger Concert Hall on the Glassboro campus to accept the white laboratory coats that signaled their acceptance into the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine. As the 162 future physicians crossed the threshold to the start of their medical careers, they took the initial steps on a path that, in a few short years, will allow them to help solve a looming health care crisis in New Jersey. According to a report from the New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals, the Garden State will soon be facing a significant physician shortage, including having 1,000 fewer primary care physicians than will be needed to meet the needs of the state’s residents. Historically, Dr. Thomas A. Cavalieri 56 percent of the more than reminded the students that 2,300 School they have chosen “a noble of Osteopathic profession that at its heart Medicine graduates have is service to humanity.” chosen to specialize in such primary care fields as pediatrics, gynecology or family or internal medicine. The 162 student doctors at the medical school were selected from more than 5,600 applicants. Just over 80 percent of the students are state residents, including more than 30 who are from the seven South Jersey counties and six who hold undergraduate degrees from Rowan University. The White Coat Ceremony is designed to emphasize that compassion is essential to the practice of medicine. The country’s first White Coat Ceremony took place at Columbia University in 1993. Three years later, Rowan’s School of Osteopathic Medicine became the first osteopathic medical school to hold a White Coat Ceremony. In his welcoming remarks, Dr. Thomas A. Cavalieri, dean of the medical school, reminded the students that they have chosen “a noble profession that at its heart is service to humanity.” A dedication to service was in focus throughout the weeklong orientation activities that followed the White Coat Ceremony. During the week, the students
Dean Cavalieri is surrounded by 162 first-year medical students.
Rowan Medicine MedicaLink is an Advertorial Supplement published by Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (RowanSOM). RowanSOM staff: Mary Louise Bianco-Smith (editor), Julia Swope, Gerald Carey, Lynne Yarnell, Lucy McGorry, Bernardine Jones. Please send inquiries via email to: sominfo@rowan.edu or RowanSOM Marketing Department, Suite 1600, 42 East Laurel Road, Stratford, NJ 08084, 856-566-6191.
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Rowan Medicine MedicaLink were introduced to a number of volunteer opportunities including the Camden Saturday Health Clinic and the Chateau Gardot Music Medicine Program. At the
“There are existing organizations like the Food Bank that need more patrons or man power. Volunteering there was a way for me to invest time in the communities that I grew up in and around.”
end of the week, approximately 50 of the first-year students volunteered for a group community service project at the Food Bank of South Jersey. Donna Richards, the director of Individual Giving at the Food Bank of South Jersey, said that the organization serves nearly 196,000 food insecure people in their four-county service area of Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Salem Counties, of which approximately one-third are children and 20 percent are seniors. Matthew Everwine, one of the six students in the medical school’s Class of 2019 with an undergraduate degree from Rowan, was among the Food Bank volunteers. The Vineland native said that volunteering was “an obvious decision” for him. “I believe the only way to improve our community is to stay and invest in it,” Everwine said. “There are existing organizations like the Food Bank that need more patrons or man power. Volunteering there was a way for me to invest time in the communities that I grew up in and around.”
Are you interested in becoming an Osteopathic Physician or are you interested in learning more about Osteopathic Medicine? The Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine will host a “Pre-Student Osteopathic Medical Student (SOMA) Conference” on Saturday, October 3rd, on the Stratford campus. This free event includes panel discussions, mock interviews, hands-on workshops and network opportunities with admission representatives from several osteopathic medical schools. More information about this event and about campus tours is available at: rowan.edu/som, or call the Admissions office at 856-566-7050.
These six first year medical students received their undergraduate degrees from Rowan University. aug2015 7TAB-2.indd 1
The first year medical students recite the Osteopathic Medicine Pledge of Commitment.
New medical students volunteer at the Food Bank.
First year medical student, Yunus Hussain, closes up a box of food for distribution. 8/17/15 3:57 PM
Too much Facebook, Twitter tied to poor mental health in teens By ALAN MOZES, HealthDay Teens who frequently use social media are more likely to say they struggle with mental health concerns that are not being addressed, new Canadian research reveals. At issue is the amount of time adolescents spend browsing and posting on sites such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. “It is difficult to speculate what mechanisms may link the use of social networking sites to mental health problems,” said study author Dr. Hugues Sampasa-Kanyinga, from the department of epidemiology at Ottawa Public Health in Ottawa, Canada. While the study did not prove a cause-and-effect link, SampasaKanyinga noted that the “use of social networking sites can lead
to poor mental health, and poor mental health may be a reason why youth use social networking sites. That said, it could be that kids with mental health problems are seeking out interactions as they are feeling isolated and alone. Or it could be that greater time online exposes one to more opportunities for cyberbullying, for instance.” Sampasa-Kanyinga and study co-author Dr. Rosamund Lewis reported their findings online recently in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. In the study, the researchers analyzed part of a youth health survey that tallied responses from more than 750 students who were enrolled in grades 7 through 12 (average age of 14) in Ottawa.
Just over a quarter said they accessed social networking sites for more than two hours every day, while about a fifth said they never did or did so rarely. More than half (54 percent) said they surfed such sites, but for two hours or less daily.
Nevertheless, she stressed that “everything is a matter of balance,” and cautioned against drawing a cause-and-effect link between social networking and poor mental health among teens. “A simple use of social networking sites cannot fully explain by itself the occurrence of Study found those mental health problems,” on social media sites Sampasa-Kanyinga said. “There are several factors that could interact more than 2 hours a to explain mental health outcomes,” day were more likely she said, including substance use, to have problems. bullying, body image and weight concerns, and family history Nearly two-thirds described and context. their mental health status as either That said, she advised parents to 'excellent' or 'very good. ' About limit their child’s social networking a fifth said their mental state was time to under two hours a day, while 'good, ' while about 17 percent remaining on the lookout for mood described it as 'poor.' changes, dietary shifts, sleep issues In addition, about a quarter said and unusual behavior. they had mental health support Scott Campbell, an associate needs that were going unmet, professor of communication studies while the remainder said they were at the University of Michigan in getting the help they felt they Ann Arbor, described the study needed. About 13 percent said they as “interesting,” while suggesting had contemplated suicide. that the effort “actually raises more Ultimately, the study authors questions than it helps answer.” determined that teens who Campbell, who was not involved accessed online sites two or more with the study, pointed out that hours per day were more likely to asking teens to quantify hours describe their mental health as spent online is unreliable, given 'poor' and less likely to have their that Internet use — unlike, say, own perceived needs for mental movies — is not easily measured in health support addressed. blocks of time. He also said that “the High use of social networking social implications of social network was also linked to a higher risk for sites are highly dependent on how psychological distress and a higher people use them, not just how likelihood for having had much they use them.” suicidal thoughts. “Generally speaking,” Campbell Sampasa-Kanyinga said some said, “I would add that too much of of the problem might lie in the anything is going to have negative anonymity of social networks, which implications, whether it be kale boosts the risk for cyberbullying. or social media.” But he said more Such sites also encourage teens to research would be needed to compare themselves to others, she develop “a more nuanced picture of noted, while making alcohol and how different uses of social network cigarettes much more appealing sites by youth are associated with and accessible. mental health indicators.”
MORE INFORMATION There’s more on adolescent mental health at U.S. Department of Health and Human Services www.hhs.gov.
Watch for danger signs • Excessive sleeping, beyond usual
teenage fatigue, which could indicate depression or substance abuse; difficulty in sleeping, insomnia, and other sleep disorders • Loss of self-esteem • Abandonment or loss of interest in favorite pastimes • Unexpected and dramatic decline in academic performance • Weight loss and loss of appetite, which could indicate an eating disorder • Personality shifts and changes, such as aggressiveness and excess anger that are sharply out of character and could indicate psychological, drug, or sexual problems • Be alert for prescription drug misuse and abuse: According to the AAP, prescription drug misuse by adolescents is second only to marijuana and alcohol misuse. The most commonly abused prescription drugs include Vicodin and Xanax. Concern about your adolescent’s mental health should first be addressed with your child — fostering open communication goes a long way toward fostering sound adolescent mental health habits. Source: National Institute of Health
Online anti-drinking aids may not help over long term, medical researchers say By STEVEN REINBERG HealthDay rying to curb alcohol use on your own with web-based or CD programs may not be very effective, a new study reports. The study found these programs could reduce drinking slightly among adults and college students. But they appeared to be ineffective for reducing binge drinking and the negative social aspects linked with alcohol misuse. The evidence, researchers said, shows that intense treatment may be needed to reduce drinking levels to recommended limits. “At this point, the effects of the available brief electronic interventions are small, and evidence that they help people to drink within recommended limits is lacking,” said lead researcher Eric Dedert, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences from Duke University School of Medicine, in Durham, N.C. “However, electronic interventions for alcohol misuse hold significant promise, and there is a need to develop more intensive interventions,” he said. The report was published in the August 4th Annals of Internal Medicine.
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The U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) guidelines say low-risk drinking for women means no more than three drinks in a single day, and no more than seven drinks in a week. For men, low-risk drinking means no more than four drinks in a single day and no more than 14 drinks a week.
“At this point, the effects of the available brief electronic interventions are small, and evidence that they help people to drink within recommended limits is lacking.” Eric Dedert Duke University School of Medicine
To see if electronic programs were effective, Dedert and colleagues reviewed 28 previous studies. The review included a range of electronic interventions. Interventions were delivered by CD-ROM,
desktop computers in clinics, online delivery, mobile applications, or interactive voice response on the phone or computer, Dedert said. “The most common electronic interventions in our review were brief, consisting of one-time interventions in which individuals would enter information about how much alcohol they drank, and then receive information on how their alcohol intake compared to their peer group,” he explained. Other common treatment techniques were goal setting and providing information on the negative effects of drinking on physical health and overall functioning, Dedert said. “Though human support for these electronic interventions was typically absent or limited, a minority of interventions was supplemented by 1.5 to 6.5 hours of support, including phone counseling. Electronic intervention also varied in duration, ranging from a single, two-minute interaction to as many as 62 interactions for more than a year,” he said. Dedert added that some electronic interventions are freely available, including the “Rethinking Drinking” tool on the NIAAA website.
The researchers found that electronic interventions may work slightly to reduce alcohol consumption in the short term. Specifically, for people using electronic interventions, there was evidence of reduced alcohol intake of an average of one less drink per week, with diminishing effects at 12 months. This was true of both college students and non-college adults, Dedert said. There was little evidence that electronic interventions led to any significant longterm changes, the study found. Few trials reported on other clinically significant outcomes, such as meeting drinking-limit guidelines, fewer bingedrinking episodes, reducing the social consequences of drinking, and cutting alcohol-related health problems. “The available data provided insufficient evidence in support of a benefit of electronic interventions for these outcomes,” he said. In addition, only a few trials have investigated electronic interventions for alcohol use disorders, which are a more severe form of alcohol misuse, Dedert said. “The underlying idea is of interest — can we use brief and inexpensive electronic interventions to help individuals reduce their harmful drinking?” said, Dr. James Garbutt, a professor of psychiatry from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “These data suggest that stronger electronic interventions, possibly including interventions from a live human being, may be necessary to attain more meaningful improvements in drinking behavior,” Garbutt said.
Drinking too much? For more on alcohol abuse, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at cdc.gov.
MORE INFORMATION The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has more about substance abuse treatment at samhasa.gov.
Regular coffee drinking benefits seniors’ brains study of more than 1,400 Italian seniors finds links between patterns of coffee consumption and their risk for “mild cognitive impairment” — declines in memory and thinking that are often a precursor to dementia. The study could only point to associations, not cause-andeffect, the investigators said. But prior research has suggested that caffeine might impact neurological health. In the study, a team led by Dr. Vincenzo Solfrizzi of the Moderate caffeine intake University of Bari Aldo Moro, might also help the looked at the coffee aging brain by consumption of 1,445 Italians boosting insulin aged 65 to 84. sensitivity, cutting the The participants’ mental health was also tracked for a median of odds for type 2 diabetes. three-and-a-half years. Diabetes has long been Reporting earlier this week linked to a higher risk for in the Journal of Alzheimer’s memory woes, And in what they called an ‘interesting’ finding, Disease, the research team the researchers said. the researchers found that the rate of MCI actually found that people who rose over time for seniors who bumped up their consistently drank about daily intake by a cup of coffee or more daily. Those one or two cups of coffee per day had a lower rate of mild participants had a rate of MCI that was about one-and-acognitive impairment (MCI) than those who never or rarely half times higher than that of long-term, moderate coffee drank the brew. drinkers (one to two cups per day) whose daily intake The beneficial association was not found among people didn’t increase. whose habitual coffee intake exceeded two cups per day, The bottom line, according to the study authors: Solfrizzi’s group added. “Older individuals who never or rarely consumed coffee and those who increased their coffee consumption habits had a higher risk of developing MCI” compared to moderate coffee drinkers. How might java influence brain health? According to the authors, mouse studies suggest that caffeine may have a ‘neuroprotective’ effect in minimizing damage from the buildup of amyloid protein plaques — long linked to Alzheimer’s disease. And while ‘moderate’ levels of caffeine have seemed to boost memory in rodents, higher doses may hinder it, Solfrizzi’s team said. Still, more research is needed to strengthen the notion that one of the world’s favorite drinks might help ward off dementia. “Larger studies with longer follow-up periods should be encouraged . . . so hopefully opening new ways for diet-related prevention of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease,” the Italian team concluded.
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MORE INFORMATION Visit the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation at alzdiscovery.org for more on coffee and dementia.
Causes of Alzheimer’s Scientists believe that for most people, Alzheimer’s disease results from a combination of genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors that affect the brain over time. Less than 5 percent of the time, Alzheimer’s is caused by specific genetic changes that virtually guarantee a person will develop the disease. Although the causes of Alzheimer’s are not yet fully understood, its effect on the brain is clear. Alzheimer’s disease damages and kills brain cells. A brain affected by Alzheimer’s disease has many fewer cells and many fewer connections among surviving cells than does a healthy brain. As more and more brain cells die, Alzheimer’s leads to significant brain shrinkage. When doctors examine Alzheimer’s brain tissue under the microscope, they see two types of abnormalities that are considered hallmarks of the disease:
• Plaques These clumps of a protein called beta-amyloid may damage and destroy brain cells in several ways, including interfering with cell-to-cell communication. Although the ultimate cause of brain-cell death in Alzheimer’s isn’t known, the collection of beta-amyloid on the outside of brain cells is a prime suspect.
• Tangles Brain cells depend on an internal support and transport system to carry nutrients and other essential materials throughout their long extensions. This system requires the normal structure and functioning of a protein called tau. In Alzheimer’s, threads of tau protein twist into abnormal tangles inside brain cells, leading to failure of the transport system. This failure is also strongly implicated in the decline and death of brain cells. Source: Mayo Clinic
Just 1 in 3 seniors with diabetes has disease under control Only one-third of American seniors with diabetes have their disease under control, a new study finds. “This research gives us a good picture of diabetes control in older adults and gets us thinking about what it means that older Americans are not meeting clinical targets and how we should address this from a public health perspective,” study leader Elizabeth Selvin, a professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, said. The study included almost 1,600 diabetes patients, aged 65 and older, in Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi and North Carolina. The researchers looked at whether the participants met American Diabetes Association guidelines for three key measures of good diabetes control: blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The results showed that only one in three of the patients had diabetes controlled as defined by the ADA guidelines. Some experts
consider the ADA guidelines too demanding for seniors. But even using less stringent measures, the researchers found that many of the patients did not have their diabetes under control. “There is tremendous debate about appropriate clinical targets for diabetes in older adults, particularly for glucose control. Are some older adults being over-treated? Are some being undertreated? These are questions for which we don’t have answers,” Selvin said. The study, which appeared in the
BLOOD SUGAR, BLOOD PRESSURE AND CHOLESTEROL LEVELS KEY TO MANAGING DISEASE, EXPERTS SAY. July issue of the Journal Diabetes Care, also found significant racial disparities, particularly in women, in how well diabetes is managed. Black women were much less likely than white women to have control
Health Tips 1. Plan to Eat Healthier A healthier diet can help you look and feel better. And when armed with the right information and some healthy snacks, eating well isn’t that difficult. Here are some options:
of blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, the researchers said. The study appeared in the July issue of the journal Diabetes Care. One reason why seniors with diabetes may have more difficulty keeping their disease under control is that many of them have other health problems that may require more immediate attention from doctors, according to study co-author Christina Parrinello, who is also at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Parrinello noted that many of the complications associated with poor diabetes control take a long time to develop, possibly longer than the life expectancy of a patient with other illnesses. Failure to keep diabetes under control increases the risk of longterm health problems such as nerve damage, blindness and kidney disease, the researchers noted. said, “we need to try to find ways to treat the common cause of all these things: aging.” The research was funded by the New Zealand Health Research Council, the U.S. National Institute on Aging, the U.K. Medical Research Council, the Jacobs Foundation and the Yad Hanadiv Rothschild Foundation.
MORE INFORMATION The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more about diabetes control at niddk.nih.gov.
• Limit your intake of pizza, sodas and sweet treats • Drink plenty of water and low-fat • • • •
or fat-free milk. Lean dairy products will help build stronger bones Fill half of your plate with fruits and veggies at each meal. Stick to lean meat and poultry, beans, eggs, tofu and other healthier sources of protein Opt for whole grains, such as brown rice and whole-wheat bread or pasta Make wise choices at fast food restaurants. Avoid a super-size meal, or split a meal with a friend Make healthier choices at the school cafeteria, too
2. Be Good to Your Teeth The Mouthhealthy.org website says possible effects of diabetes on the teeth and mouth include:
• Dry mouth, due to decreased saliva production • Increased risk of cavities due to less saliva • Gingivitis, characterized by • • •
bleeding, inflamed gums Difficulty tasting food Slower healing of mouth wounds Increased risk of infection Among diabetic children, teeth emerging earlier than expected
Source: HealthDay
Rowan Medicine MedicaLink
A new name for expert health care professionals trusted since 1984 For more than three decades, School of Osteopathic Medicine physicians have provided expert health care for the region under the name The University Doctors. Now, we introduce a new name for these renowned health care professionals who are part of the Rowan University medical, education, and research community: Rowan Medicine. Count on Rowan Medicine for the best and most convenient care for you and your family from deeply committed teaching physicians at the acclaimed Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine.
• 164 physicians and health care professionals • 37 “Top Docs” in primary and specialty care disciplines • More than 250,000 patient visits annually • 64 sites in 27 South Jersey towns
Kennedy Health is the principal hospital of the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine. Other affiliated hospitals and health systems include Lourdes Health System, Inspira Health Network, Cooper University Hospital, Meridian Health System, Christ Hospital and Atlantic Health System. MdcLnk Aug2015 BC.indd 1
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