A Mount Sinai study has linked Alzheimer’s disease, kidney disease, diabetes, insulin resistance, and inflammation to advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGE naturally occurs highest in animal products that are grilled, fried, or broiled (i.e. meats and cheeses). Researchers are alarmed at how AGE consumption correlates with the current trends of disease epidemics. They understand that the concept of food-related… Read more

It is difficult to discuss Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) without chronic pain entering the discussion. There are a lot of theories about what causes the pain and just as many theories that purport to offer a treatment to alleviate it. Yale researchers believe that they may know what causes fibromyalgia patients to experience chronic pain. They… Read more

Chemo treatment sometimes causes ‘foggy’ thinking. A recent double-blind study of women being treated for breast cancer were given modafinil (Provigil). Those women taking modafinil reported major memory improvements, concentration, and learning. Modafinil, originally used for narcolepsy, was found to promote wakefulness and seemed to increase brainpower without the ‘jittery’ side-effects associated with amphetamines. The… Read more

When you’ve broken a leg, and are using crutches, no one expects you to run to catch a cab. Most people will take your disability into consideration and try not to cause you undue difficulty. When you are in pain it is an entirely different matter. You may look normal. There is no neon sign… Read more

Health practitioners have been warning patients the ‘lower the better’ for cholesterol and blood pressure in order to reduce the risk of a heart attack. Now there is evidence that patients with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes practitioners should add ‘the sooner, the better’ for prevention of cardiovascular disease. Tina Ken Schramm, MD… Read more

Chances are if you have a long-term disability (LTD) insurance policy it falls under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) guidelines. If that is the case then know now that if you ever become disabled and file a LTD claim there is a chance you will be denied your benefits after a year or… Read more

Arthritis is one of the leading causes of disability and those who suffer from it tend to be less fit than their peers. Leigh F. Callahan, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, studied 346 people with self-reported arthritis, average age of 70-years. Participants were divided into 2 groups. In one group the participants followed the… Read more

Myofascial pain and Fibromyalgia are sometimes confused for each other, but the conditions are clinically different. Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition typically characterized by widespread pain in muscles, ligaments, and tendons, as well as fatigue and multiple tender points. Myofascial pain syndrome, is a more localized pain that is associated with trigger point tenderness. A… Read more

Karen Kaplan’s August 18, Los Angeles Times article, U.S. military practices genetic discrimination in denying benefits, tells how the U.S. Military denies disability benefits to both active and veteran military personnel. The problem began in 1999, when the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) decided that soldiers with a genetic predisposition for a disease will be denied benefits for… Read more

Currently 5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. That number is expected to increase dramatically as Baby-Boomers move into old age. Although research has not been able to find a cure for Alzheimer’s, what is known is that treatment is most effective when started in the earliest onset of the disease. Time is truly an… Read more

A lot of people with chronic pain know that the area affected feels slightly cooler to the touch. Some researchers believe that this can be caused by muscle contractions that restrict blood flow to the area. The Kathryn Walter Stein Chronic Pain Laboratory researcher, Mathew H.M. Lee, M.D., uses computerized thermography to find the ‘cool’… Read more

Roger Tullgren, 42, loves his heavy metal music. Last year he attended nearly 300 concerts. He missed so much work that he was unemployable. When occupational psychologists counseled him they offered a solution—to classify his heavy metal music addiction as a disability, which gives him a wage supplement. Since qualifying for disability he has been… Read more