Drug's effect on Alzheimer's may depend on severity of disease

Posted on by

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

15-Sep-2014

Contact: Sharon Parmet sparmet@uic.edu 312-413-2695 University of Illinois at Chicago @uicnews

A cancer drug that has shown promise against Alzheimer's disease in mice and has begun early clinical trials has yielded perplexing results in a novel mouse model of AD that mimics the genetics and pathology of the human disease more closely than any other animal model.

The drug, bexarotene, was found to reduce levels of the neurotoxic protein amyloid-beta in experimental mice with late-stage Alzheimer's but to increase levels during early stages of disease.

The finding, by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, was reported online in The Journal of Biological Chemistry by Mary Jo LaDu, who in 2012 developed a transgenic mouse that is now regarded as the best animal model of the human disease. That experimental mouse carries a human gene that confers on people a 15-fold elevated risk of developing AD, making it the most important known genetic risk factor for the disease.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting more than five million Americans. The disease is progressive and eventually fatal. One of the hallmarks of AD is the appearance of dense plaques in the brain composed of clumps of amyloid-beta. But recent research indicates that smaller, soluble forms of amyloid-beta -- rather than the solid plaques -- are responsible for the death of nerve cells that leads to cognitive decline.

Humans carry a gene for a protein in cells called apolipoprotein E, which helps clear amyloid-beta from the brain by binding to it and breaking it down. LaDu's mice carry the most unfortunate variant in humans, called APOE4, or APOE3, which is neutral for AD risk.

"APOE4 is the greatest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease," said LaDu, who is professor of anatomy and cell biology at UIC. "Our previous work showed that compared to APOE3, the apolipoprotein produced by the APOE4 gene does not bind well to amyloid-beta and so does not clear the neurotoxin from the brain."

Results of previous studies in mice of bexarotene's effect on AD have been mixed, and none of those studies were done in mice that carry a human APOE gene and also develop progressive, AD-like pathology. The UIC research presented in Copenhagen is the first to do so.

See the original post here:

Drug's effect on Alzheimer's may depend on severity of disease

Joan Christensen, First Data, Discusses Innovations in Health Care Payments – Video

Posted on by


Joan Christensen, First Data, Discusses Innovations in Health Care Payments
In this segment, Joan Christensen, VP, Health Services, First Data, and the hosts discuss the changing world of health care payments. We need to find creative and innovative ways to automate...

By: HealthCare Consumerism Radio

Follow this link:

Joan Christensen, First Data, Discusses Innovations in Health Care Payments - Video

Health Benefits Home – U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Posted on by

..

If you served in the active military, naval or air service and are separated under any condition other than dishonorable, you may qualify for VA health care benefits.

Many Veterans qualify for cost-free health care services based on a compensable service-connected condition or other qualifying factors.

VA strives to ensure that you have access to all of your needed services wherever you receive your VA health care. This may be on-site during inpatient hospitalization, at one of our primary or specialty care clinics, at a Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC), in a Community Living Center (formerly known as a VA nursing home), or in a residential care facility. However, all services may not be available at every location.

March 24, 2014

WASHINGTON The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is eliminating the annual requirement for most Veterans enrolled in VA's health care system to report income information beginning in March 2014. Instead, VA will automatically match income information obtained from the Internal Revenue Service and Social Security Administration.

"Eliminating the requirement for annual income reporting makes our health care benefits easier for Veterans to obtain," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "This change will reduce the burden on Veterans, improve customer service and make it much easier for Veterans to keep their health care eligibility up-to-date."

Some Veterans applying for enrollment for the first time are still required to submit income information. There is no change in VA's long-standing policy to provide no-cost care to indigent Veterans, Veterans with catastrophic medical conditions, Veterans with a disability rating of 50 percent or higher, or for conditions that are officially rated as "service-connected."

VA encourages Veterans to continue to use the health benefits renewal form to report changes in their personal information, such as address, phone numbers, dependents, next of kin, income and health insurance.

Read the original:

Health Benefits Home - U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Health-care Sector Surges in Sacramento

Posted on by

Sept. 15--Sacramento has long been known as a state worker town. These days, it's just as accurate to call it a health worker town.

The health care sector in the four-county Sacramento region has grown steadily and significantly for more than a decade, according to the California Employment Development Department. While most other sectors shed jobs during the recession, hospitals, doctor's offices and nursing homes held strong, adding 10,000 workers between 2008 and 2014.

As a result, roughly 83,000 health care workers live in the region, up nearly 60 percent since 2000. The Sacramento region now has about as many health workers as it does state civil-service employees.

It also has more registered nurses than waiters; more dental assistants than bartenders; more nursing assistants than baristas.

"It's been a source of strength in the Sacramento economy," said Jeffrey Michael, director of the Business Forecasting Center at the University of the Pacific. "It continues to be a growing area."

The sector is growing largely because of demand: The region's baby boomers are growing older and need more health care services, Michael and others said. Health advances also keep elderly seniors -- those over age 85 -- alive longer.

"If we continue to see the growth in retirees, we may see that increase in services continue," said Tim Maurice, chief financial officer for the UC Davis Health System. UC Davis added 400 medical staff members during the last three years, he said.

The Affordable Care Act requiring Americans to obtain health insurance is another factor driving job growth, medical officials said. Californians with insurance are more likely to seek medical care.

"We have to meet that demand so we are expanding our footprint dramatically," said Dr. Joseph Jasser, president and CEO of Dignity Health Medical Foundation, which operates scores of medical offices across the state. The foundation hired more than 100 new physicians last year and expects to hire another 150 this fiscal year.

Health workers tend to be well-paid and educated. When they spend their earnings, they support other sectors of the economy.

See the original post:

Health-care Sector Surges in Sacramento

How to save on health care in retirement

Posted on by

And while trying to stay healthy, McClanahan advises her clients to pay attention to their health care consumption habits. Figuring out what McClanahan calls your "health-care mindset" will help you budget for the medical care you need, which is critical for many of today's retirees on fixed incomes who don't have the luxury of a pension.

"People who go to the doctor for everything are going to have higher medical costs," said McClanahan. "So if you're seeing every doctor under the sun, you need to save more money."

Take especial care if you tend to rely on holistic medicine, McClanahan added, as that's not covered under most medical plans and can be quite expensive.

Read MoreFinding your 'magic number' for retirement savings

But even if you're not going for homeopathic remedies, it's important to understand your health insurance. Just 7 percent of people between the ages of 55 and 64 felt knowledgeable about Medicare coverage options, according to the Merrill Lynch study.

Knowing what your plan does and does not cover can help you decide whether it's worth signing up for supplemental insurance or paying into a long-term care insurance plan.

While thinking about what you'll need in the event of long-term care, you should also go ahead and have frank discussions with your loved ones, McClanahan said. That means figuring out what you'll want medically when the situation takes a turn for the worst. For instance, will you seek aggressive treatment or would you prefer hospice?

"It's really important to have good directives in life," McClanahan advised. "Make clear with your family what type of lifestyle is desirable."

Doing so will not only save your loved ones much agony but will also help protect them from over-spending and having to dip into their own pockets for what might be unnecessary treatment.

Nearing 60? 5 easy ways to boost your nest egg

Go here to read the rest:

How to save on health care in retirement

Health care hurdles predicted

Posted on by

........................................................................................................................................................................................

WASHINGTON Potential complications await consumers as President Barack Obamas health care law approaches its second open enrollment season, just two months away.

Applicants lined up during a health care enrollment event in Commerce, Calif., in March. Potential complications await as the health care law approaches its second open enrollment season.(The Associated Press)

Dont expect a repeat of last years website meltdown, but the new sign-up period could expose underlying problems with the law itself that are less easily fixed than a computer system.

Getting those who signed up this year enrolled again for 2015 wont be as easy as it might seem. And the laws interaction between insurance and taxes looks like a sure-fire formula for confusion.

For example:

For the roughly 8 million people who signed up this year, the administration has set up automatic renewal. But consumers who go that route may regret it. They risk sticker shock by missing out on lower-premium options. And they could get stuck with an outdated and possibly incorrect government subsidy. Automatic renewal should be a last resort, consumer advocates say.

An additional 5 million people or so will be signing up for the first time on HealthCare.gov and state exchange websites. But the Nov. 15-Feb. 15 open enrollment season will be half as long the 2013-2014 sign-up period, and it overlaps with the holiday season.

Of those enrolled this year, the overwhelming majority received tax credits to help pay their premiums. Because those subsidies are tied to income, those 6.7 million consumers will have to file new forms with their 2014 tax returns to prove they got the right amount. Too much subsidy and their tax refunds will be reduced. Too little, and the government owes them.

Tens of millions of people who remained uninsured this year face tax penalties for the first time, unless they can secure an exemption.

View post:

Health care hurdles predicted

How to save on health care when planning retirement

Posted on by

And while trying to stay healthy, McClanahan advises her clients to pay attention to their health care consumption habits. Figuring out what McClanahan calls your "health-care mindset" will help you budget for the medical care you need, which is critical for many of today's retirees on fixed incomes who don't have the luxury of a pension.

"People who go to the doctor for everything are going to have higher medical costs," said McClanahan. "So if you're seeing every doctor under the sun, you need to save more money."

Take especial care if you tend to rely on holistic medicine, McClanahan added, as that's not covered under most medical plans and can be quite expensive.

Read MoreFinding your 'magic number' for retirement savings

But even if you're not going for homeopathic remedies, it's important to understand your health insurance. Just 7 percent of people between the ages of 55 and 64 felt knowledgeable about Medicare coverage options, according to the Merrill Lynch study.

Knowing what your plan does and does not cover can help you decide whether it's worth signing up for supplemental insurance or paying into a long-term care insurance plan.

While thinking about what you'll need in the event of long-term care, you should also go ahead and have frank discussions with your loved ones, McClanahan said. That means figuring out what you'll want medically when the situation takes a turn for the worst. For instance, will you seek aggressive treatment or would you prefer hospice?

"It's really important to have good directives in life," McClanahan advised. "Make clear with your family what type of lifestyle is desirable."

Doing so will not only save your loved ones much agony but will also help protect them from over-spending and having to dip into their own pockets for what might be unnecessary treatment.

Nearing 60? 5 easy ways to boost your nest egg

Continued here:

How to save on health care when planning retirement

Is The Variation In Health Care Spending Among The States A Myth?

Posted on by

One of the most influential ideas in all of health policy comes from researchers at Dartmouth, who have shown year after year that there are large variations in Medicare spending across the states, with no apparent effects on health outcomes. The implication: if doctors in the high spending states could learn how to practice medicine the way it is practiced in the low spending states, we could save billions of dollars with no adverse effects on the health of the patients.

For example, when he was director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Peter Orszag wrote an editorial on this very subject in the Wall Street Journal. Referring to the Dartmouth work, Orszag noted:

If we can move our nation toward the proven and successful practices adopted by lower-cost areas and hospitals, some economists believe health-care costs could be reduced by 30% or about $700 billion a year without compromising the quality of care.

Sounds great. But what if it isnt true?

Louise Sheiner of the Brookings Institution has produced a study that challenges the Dartmouth way of thinking from top to bottom. And if the study stands up to academic scrutiny (as I think it will), the entire health policy community is going to have to change the way it has been thinking about health care.

Missing from the Dartmouth analysis, according to Sheiner, is a full appreciation for the way in which states differ. For example, some states are healthier than others and this clearly has an effect on health spending. (See the figure.) Also, states that have a larger portion of the population uninsured or on Medicaid are more likely to shift the fixed costs of an MRI scanner and other equipment to Medicare. Sheiner writes:

places with poor health, high rates of uninsurance, and a large black populationlike Mississippi and Louisianahave high Medicare spending and low non-Medicare spending. Conversely, places with the opposite characteristicslike Vermont and Minnesotahave relatively high non-Medicare spending and low Medicare spending.

So what happens when we adjust for these important differences among the states? A lot of what we thought we knew turns out to be wrong:

Many states that appear to be high-cost, like New York and New Jersey, no longer are once the price, demographic and health variables are included; similarly, Colorado and Montana, which are on the low end of the distribution of unadjusted Medicare spending, appear to be relatively high spenders once the adjustments have been taken into account. [These results] suggest that the cross-state variation in Medicare spending is tightly associated with the characteristics of state populations, and that, once these characteristic are controlled for, the variation in spending is fairly small.

The Sheiner study is similar to an earlier study by Andrew Rettenmaier and Thomas Saving (a former trustee of Medicare). That study found that 80 percent of the variation in Medicare spending per enrollee could be explained by demographics (age, race, sex, etc.), income, and the uninsured rate. After making adjustments for these variables, the study asked how much money Medicare could save if every state matched the performance of the five lowest-spending states? The answer: about 10 percent. For all health care spending, how much could be saved if every state matched the performance of the five lowest-spending states? Answer: about 5 percent.

More:

Is The Variation In Health Care Spending Among The States A Myth?

Health care worker accused of stealing from patient

Posted on by

Published: Monday, September 15, 2014 at 3:59 p.m. Last Modified: Monday, September 15, 2014 at 3:59 p.m.

NORTH PORT - A home health care worker has been arrested for stealing more than $5,000 from an 87-year-old Venice woman with dementia.

Michelle Horton home health care worker arrested for stealing from elderly Venice woman.

According to the Sarasota County Sheriffs Office:

Michelle Horton began taking care of the victim and her now-deceased husband last June.

Detectives found that in November 2013, Horton brought the victim to the Venice Department of Motor Vehicles and had her sign over the title to her 2003 Honda. A few months later, Horton had the victim pay nearly $1,200 to Sears for auto repairs on the car and also used the victims bank account to make a $202 payment on another vehicle Horton owned.

Horton was employed by Almost Family, Inc., which paid her to care for the victim. At the same time, the victim wrote eight personal checks to Horton for her services, not realizing that she was already paying Almost Family to pay Horton.

Michelle Horton, 42, of 5127 Gailbreath Road, North Port, was charged with Exploitation of the Elderly and is being held on $20,000 bond.

The rest is here:

Health care worker accused of stealing from patient

Nurses need education on advance health care directives, reports Journal of Christian Nursing

Posted on by

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

15-Sep-2014

Contact: Connie Hughes Connie.Hughes@wolterskluwer.com 646-674-6348 Wolters Kluwer Health @WKHealth

September 15, 2014 An educational program for nurses can help address knowledge gaps related to advance health care directives (AHCDs)thus helping to ensure that patients' wishes for care at the end of life are known and respected, reports a paper in the October/December Journal of Christian Nursing, official journal of the http://www.ncf-jcn.org/">Nurses Christian Fellowship. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

Maureen Kroning, EdD, RN, of Nyack (N.Y.) College and Good Samaritan Hospital presents her hospital's experience with developing an inservice educational program to provide nurses with needed information on advance directives. She writes, "It is vital to recognize and address problems associated with AHCD so nurses can provide competent and compassionate care."

Program Meets Nurses' Need for Knowledge on Advance Directives

Research shows that, while most adults want their wishes for end-of-life care response, only about one-third have completed AHCDs. Despite the growing need for advance care planning, many health care professionals lack the knowledge to teach patients about advance directives.

At the study hospital, there was a "recognized problem" with AHCD education. On admission, patients were provided with an AHCD information packet and told to ask a nurse if they had any questions. "However," Maureen Kroning writes, "nurses expressed not fully understanding AHCDs, feeling incompetent to educate patients, nor did they believe AHCD education was an important part of their role."

A subsequent survey of 49 nurses found significant deficits in knowledge regarding AHCDs, especially among less-experienced nurses. Nurses "specifically and repeatedly" addressed the need for more AHCD education.

In response, the hospital developed an AHCD inservice education program, specifically addressing the knowledge gaps uncovered by the survey and tailored to the needs of adult learners. The two-hour program included information on AHCDs and living wills, and relevant federal and state laws. In addition to lecture and discussion, the program included role-playing opportunities and questions and answers. The online version of the article includes links to the author's lecture slides and an AHCD patient booklet.

Read more from the original source:

Nurses need education on advance health care directives, reports Journal of Christian Nursing

International study identifies new genetic variants indicating risk for prostate cancer

Posted on by

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

14-Sep-2014

Contact: Leslie Ridgeway lridgewa@usc.edu University of Southern California - Health Sciences

An international study co-led by Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) scientists and researchers in the United Kingdom has revealed 23 new genetic susceptibility locations indicating risk for prostate cancer.

The data study, analyzing more than 87,000 individuals of European, African, Japanese and Latino ancestry, is the largest of its kind and is the first that combines multiple studies across different ethnic populations.

"The goal of this research is to identify regions of the genome that contribute susceptibility to prostate cancer that could be used for understanding a man's future risk of developing this disease," said principal investigator Christopher Haiman, Sc.D., professor of preventive medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC. "This research also emphasizes the importance of common genetic variation in the etiology of prostate cancer, and the importance of large-scale international genetics consortia."

According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among American men, behind skin cancer. It is estimated that nearly 30,000 men will die of prostate cancer and more than 233,000 new cases will be diagnosed in 2014.

Past genome-wide association studies identified 77 variants associated with prostate cancer risk. The additional 23 variants found in the new study "give us another piece in the puzzle," Haiman said, and new targets for researchers looking into the causes of prostate cancer.

The combined studies that are part of this research have been conducted around the world over the past seven years. The research is chiefly funded by the NCI GAME-ON Consortium, formed to encourage interdisciplinary international collaborations.

The study, "A meta-analysis of 87,040 individuals identifies 23 new susceptibility loci for prostate cancer," was published Sept. 14, 2014 in Nature Genetics.

See the original post:

International study identifies new genetic variants indicating risk for prostate cancer

Center for Vascular Medicine Offers Genetic Testing For Personalized Vascular Care

Posted on by

Greenbelt, MD (PRWEB) September 15, 2014

With a simple swab of the cheek, the physicians at Center for Vascular Medicine can gain valuable insight to help personalize the treatment for patients with vascular disorders, including peripheral artery disease (PAD).

The ideal approach to medicine is preventive care. But, it can be difficult for a doctor to predict how a patient will respond to specific drugs. A simple cheek swab test can be used to identify a patients genetic makeup, allowing the physician to tailor medical therapy and optimize outcomes.

By tailoring the dose and regimen of pharmaceutical treatment to the patients genetics, we are able to deliver more effective therapy and avoid unwanted side effects, says Sanjiv Lakhanpal MD, founder of the Center for Vascular Medicine.

The mapping of the human genome in 2003 gave researchers insight into Cytochrome P450 (CYP450), a group of enzymes that are involved in drug metabolism. The test creates a road map for the individual to enable the physician to predict the effectiveness of certain drugs. For example, blood thinners which are commonly prescribed to patients with vascular conditions.

Many adults in the United States routinely take five or more prescription medications. This is particularly common in patients over age 50. Certain combinations of drugs can reduce effectiveness and cause unwanted side effects. The results of genetic testing can be used for medication reconciliation, which addresses drugs and/or supplements interfere with one another when taken in combination.

Genetic testing may also provide insight into a patients risk for certain vascular conditions.

Various studies have shown that people with gene variants carry double or even triple the risk of blood clots compared to people with normal metabolism, explains Dr. Lakhanpal. Genetic testing can help us identify individuals at risk and offer preventive treatments that can help to avoid problems in the future.

Center for Vascular Medicine is one of the first practices in Maryland to offer this type of testing at our offices located in Annapolis, Glen Burnie, Greenbelt, Prince Frederick and Silver Spring.

For more information, visit CVMUS.com or call (888) 702-2711 to schedule a consultation.

Continue reading here:

Center for Vascular Medicine Offers Genetic Testing For Personalized Vascular Care