Life After 50 Expo

Arthritis of the Knee and Exercise !

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 52.5 million Americans over the age of 18 have been diagnosed with arthritis. Around 49.7 percent of adults aged 65 and older and 30.3 percent of people between 45 and 64 suffer from this condition.

Older adults doing tai chi.
Exercise can reduce knee pain caused by arthritis while also improving motion and flexibility.

There are two main types of arthritis that can affect knees. The most common type of arthritis is OA. The other is rheumatoid arthritis (RA) which affects around 1.5 million Americans. Left untreated, RA may destroy affected joints over time.

Luckily, there are ways to ease the effects of knee arthritis. By regularly practicing these exercises, people can reduce knee pain, improve motion, decrease stiffness, and increase flexibility.

People with arthritis should always consult a physician before beginning any exercise routine.

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http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/311138.php

No danger of contracting dementia through blood transfusions !

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A large study of Scandinavian blood donors and transfusion recipients showed no evidence that dementia-type disorders are transmitted through blood transfusion. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Several neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer and Parkinson disease, are characterized by an aggregation of misfolded proteins in the brain. This protein aberration can be passed from humans to healthy laboratory animals through the injection of diseased brain tissue from human sufferers, prompting fears that the diseases could also be passed from human to human through blood transfusion.

Researchers studied nationwide registers of blood transfusions in Sweden and Denmark between 1968 and 2012 to investigate possible transmission of dementia disorders. They identified more than 40,000 patients who had been given blood from donors diagnosed with one of the studied dementia diseases within 20 years of having given blood. After a maximum follow up of 44 years, the researchers compared those patients with the 1.4 million patients who had not received blood from donors with a subsequent diagnosis of one of the dementia diseases. The patients in both groups had exactly the same likelihood of contracting one of these diseases, which clearly showed that neurodegenerative disorders cannot be transmitted through blood transfusion.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/311261.php

Omega-3 fatty acids reduce risk of death from heart attack !

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Eating foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids may lower the risk of death from heart attack. This is the finding of new research published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
[Foods rich in omega-3]
Eating foods rich in omega-3 may reduce the risk of death from heart attack, say researchers.

Each year, around 735,000 people in the United States have a heart attack, which occurs when a section of the heart fails to receive enough oxygen-rich blood.

Adopting a healthy diet is considered a key factor in reducing the risk of heart attack, and many studies have suggested that includingomega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids as part of such a diet is particularly beneficial for heart health.

Other studies, however, have questioned the heart benefits of omega-3s, with some suggesting that fish oil supplements – a major source of the fatty acids – do not lower the risk of heart-related events.

Omega-3s are essential fatty acids that the body needs for certain functions, including blood clotting, digestion, muscle activity, and cell division and growth. However, the only way the body can get omega-3 is through the foods we eat.

Fatty fish – such as salmon, trout, tuna, sardines, and anchovies – is a key source of omega-3s, including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Other sources include leafy vegetables, walnuts, and some vegetable oils, which normally contain the omega-3 alphalinolenic acid (ALA).

For this latest study, lead researcher Liana C. Del Gobbo, Ph.D., of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine in California, and colleagues set out to gain a better understanding of how omega-3s affect heart health.

Specifically, they looked at how omega-3s derived from seafood- and plant-based foods influence the risk of death from heart attack, or myocardial infarction.

To read complete article click on link below:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/311239.php

 

The healing powers of music !

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The music of Mozart and Strauss is able to lower blood lipid concentrations and the heart rate. This is the result of a study of the effect of different musical genres on the cardiovascular system, which Hans-Joachim Trappe und Gabriele Volt of Ruhr University Bochum present in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International.

The researchers allocated 120 study participants as follows: half of the subjects were exposed to music for 25 minutes. Subdivided into three groups they were played recorded music by either W. A. Mozart, J. Strauss Jr., or the pop band ABBA. The remaining 60 subjects were allocated to a control group that spent their time in silence. Before and after exposure to music and quiet time, respectively, all participants had their blood pressure, heart rate, and cortisol concentration measured.

Classical music by Mozart and Strauss notably lowered blood pressure and heart rate, whereas no substantial effect was seen for the songs of ABBA. In the control group, resting in a supine position also resulted in blood pressure lowering, but the effect was far less pronounced than for exposure to the music of Mozart or Strauss. All musical genres resulted in notably lower cortisol concentrations. As far as cortisol concentrations were concerned, the sex of the participants must have played a part, because the drop in cortisol levels was more pronounced in men than in women, especially after exposure to the music of Mozart and Strauss. Comparison with the control group showed that the effect of music was far greater than that of silence.

Arthritis in the Knee: What you need to know !

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Arthritis of the knee can make taking a step painful. Swelling, pain, and stiffness in the joint are just some of the symptoms that can occur when a person has this condition.

The knee joint is a hinge joint, named for its movement that’s similar to the opening and closing of a door.

The joint consists of three main bones. The areas where each of these bones meet are covered in a protective material called cartilage. Additional pieces of cartilage known as the meniscus further support the knee.

All of these protective pieces of cartilage keep the bones in the knee from rubbing together, which can be very painful.

The daily demands on the knee and its potential for injury make it a common source for arthritis damage. Different types of arthritis exist, and the type determines which treatment a physician recommends.

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http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/311095.php