Individuals with type 2 diabetes are at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease–the leading cause of death in people with diabetes. Previous studies suggest that reducing blood sugar levels of type 2 diabetes to comparable levels found in non-diabetic adults may reduce the rate of cardio vascular disease of diabetic patients. Two studies were developed to test… Read more

LTD Benefit Person, Thank you for sharing your experience from working within an insurance company that sells LTD. It is interesting that you never mentioned ERISA, which is the Federal laws governing LTD. What ERISA allows insurance companies to behave in a capricious manner mainly because when there is malfeasance by the insurance company the… Read more

Business Week, June 13, Kerry Capell reports that conservatives agree with Michael Moore’s recent film that blasts the U.S. health-care system. In his film, Sicko, Moore’s premise is that the U.S. health care system is worse than any other modern country. His premise is supported by a Commonwealth Fund study that compares the U.S. health-care… Read more

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals chastised the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for contributing substantially to our sense of national shame. The ruling agrees with the Veterans that they should receive retroactive disability benefits for those who contracted a form of leukmia after being exposed to Agent Orange. Also affected are Vietnam vets… Read more

Diabetes patients have a high production of glucose, which can cause cellular damage to blood vessels. Matt Whiteman, PhD, Senior Lecturer, Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Science, Peninsula Medical School, South West of England has found that resveratrol, a compound naturally found in grape skin, can protect against cellular damage to blood vessels caused by… Read more

Drug therapy in older adults often consists of preventing illnesses by decreasing the risks so an illness will never affect them. Several factors should be considered when older adults are prescribed drugs, as reported by Tufts University School of Medicine clinicians in an article recently published in the American Family Physician. An older patient that… Read more

Alzheimer’s disease is thought to be caused by neurotoxicity. Cornell University researchers report in the Journal of Food Science, that apples, bananas, and oranges may provide more than just vitamins, minerals, and fiber. The researchers found that juice extracts from those fruits also have protective antioxidants, called phenolic phytochemicals, that prevents neurotoxicity. A key benefit… Read more

A relatively new and effective class of oral antidiabetic agents, thiazolidinediones, have gained in popularity and widely used to treat diabetic patients with insulin resistance. Two of the more popular drugs from this class are prioglitazone and rosiglitazone, which account for 21% of oral diabetes medications prescribed in the United States and 5% of those… Read more

Education may delay the onset of dementia in individuals with higher education, but once dementia does appear the symptoms of dementia develop rapidly. The study consisted of 488 people, born between 1894 and 1908. Participants were followed for 6 years and given an annual cognitive test. From this group 117 developed dementia. For each additional year of formal… Read more

Neurochem thought their Alzheimer’s disease drug, Alzhemed, would put them on the map with an anticipated annual sales of $4.5US billion. Clinical trials on Alzheimer’s patients in early to middle stages of the disease were tracked over an 18 month period. During that period the drug showed no discernible difference when compared to the group taking… Read more

Approximately 30,000 Americans have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative condition often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Approximately, 5 to 10 percent of all ALS cases are inherited, the rest are sporadic. Michael Gitcho, PhD, postdoctoral research associate, and Nigel Cairns, PhD, research associate professor of neurology and pathology and immunology, Washington University School… Read more

Participants in a recent study of bipolar disorder patients, who experienced manic symptoms while also suffering from depression, did not benefit from antidepressant medication when it was given in addition to a mood stabilizer. A second study also indicated that a mood stabilizer alone appeared to be just as effective as when it was given along with an… Read more