Health and Disability

This set of issues illustrates some of  the purest examples of disability stigma I know....

http://goo.gl/nOap0W

Typically, advanced care planning programs, including National POLST Paradigm affiliates, describe the risks of tube feeding while minimizing or ignoring the benefits.  How can people be expected to make a decision about this life-sustaining technology when so much of the available information is biased?  Clearly, more awareness is needed.

People are always shocked when I say that the quality of my life improved dramatically when I got a feeding tube.  They are expecting to be supportive around my feelings of loss from the progression of my disability, inability to enjoy table food and eat socially with friends, and the physical discomfort of having a tube in my belly.

I’m sure there are people who have those experiences, but for me getting a feeding tube was a profound relief.

Music is also an important way to improve subjective experience in younger people with severe brain damage....

http://goo.gl/o2LCZ9

No one wants to end up alone and isolated in a nursing home. It’s hard enough to lose someone you love to Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. It’s terrifying to think you could end up there yourself, someday.

But there’s reason to hope for a better life as we age. At Music & Memory, we help elders in care facilities suffering from a wide range of cognitive and physical challenges find renewed meaning and connection in their lives through the gift of personalized music.

http://goo.gl/mM0tph

Sleep disorders have become a global issue, and discovering their causes and consequences are the focus of many research endeavors. Recent research suggests that individuals with sleep abnormalities are at greater risk of all-cause mortality and serious adverse health and economic consequences. Several studies support the associations among sleep, immune function and inflammation. We review the current research linking sleep, immune function, and gastrointestinal diseases and discuss the interdependent relationship between sleep, overall immune function with emphasis on inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, gastro-esophageal reflux and colorectal cancer.

There is old research that points toward similar results. The interesting thing here is combining it with chemo....

http://goo.gl/hB0bJi

"What we've discovered is that, because of its pharmacokinetic differences, intravenous vitamin C, as opposed to oral vitamin C, kills some cancer cells without harming normal tissues."

The researchers' clinical trial involved 27 patients with newly diagnosed Stage 3 or Stage 4 ovarian cancer. All of the participants received conventional therapy with paclitaxel or carboplatin, while some were also treated with high-dose intravenous vitamin C. Researchers monitored the participants for five years. Those patients who received vitamin C tended to experience fewer toxic effects from the chemotherapy drugs.

In laboratory rodents, the scientists observed that vitamin C was able to kill cancer cells at the concentrations achievable only by intravenous infusion, with no observable toxicity or pathological changes in the liver, kidney or spleen.

http://goo.gl/81kaO2

The team found epigenetic modifications in nine genes related to pain sensitivity that were different between individual twins in a pair.

Epigenetic change is a 'dimmer switch' for gene expression

One of the study's corresponding authors, Tim Spector, professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King's College London, says:

"Epigenetic switching is like a dimmer switch for gene expression. This landmark study shows how identical twins, when combined with the latest technology to look at millions of epigenetic signals, can be used to find the small chemical switches in our genes that make us all unique - and in this case respond to pain differently."

One gene in particular, TRPA1, which is already known to be involved with pain sensitivity and a target in the development of analgesics or painkillers, showed the most epigenetic changes.

However, although TRPA1 is already known to be involved with pain sensitivity, this is the first time that pain sensitivity has been linked to epigenetic changes in the gene.

http://goo.gl/fuTK95

Patients or their representatives may now see their medical test results directly from the laboratory, rather than having to request them from a doctor's office, according to a new rule announced Monday.

"Information like lab results can empower patients to track their health progress, make decisions with their health care professionals and adhere to important treatment plans," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said.

http://goo.gl/fcyZH2

"Despite the small sample size, it was clear that retrieval practice (RP) was superior to other learning strategies in this group of memory-impaired individuals with severe TBI," explained Dr. Sumowski.

RP was compared with two other learning strategies - massed restudy (MR), which consists of repeated restudy (ie, cramming) and spaced restudy (SR), for which individuals restudy information at intervals (ie, distributed learning).

Results showed that recall was better with RP than with MR or SR. Moreover, RP was more effective for memory after short delay, and was the only strategy that supported memory after long delay. This robust effect indicates that RP would improve memory in this group in real-life settings.

This final rule has moved the definition of community based away from the deeply gamed versions that allowed Medicaid funding to places that are clearly segregated. We will see how well it works.....

http://goo.gl/3yR2N3

The final Home and Community-Based Services regulations set forth new requirements for several Medicaid authorities under which states may provide home and community-based long-term services and supports. The regulations enhance the quality of HCBS and provide additional protections to individuals that receive services under these Medicaid authorities.

http://goo.gl/HNqQE7

Americans with income fluctuations, such as those with multiple part-time jobs, may experience shifts in coverage, requiring them to "churn" between Medicaid and private insurance, potentially affecting affordability and continuous access to care.

To address these issues, states have been working to implement programs that could reduce the impacts of such transitions. In the most recent issue of the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, Princeton University researchers outline some potential programs and the states that have implemented them.

http://goo.gl/lEmcoQ

Despite remarkable progress, athletes continue to underreport concussions, as noted in this simple and eloquent study by Torres et al.¹ Should we be concerned? Absolutely. Concussion is not a singular event, but rather a pathophysiologic process that can threaten the physical and mental health of the involved athlete, with varying and uncertain long-term consequences. There are many potential reasons for underreporting that need to be addressed comprehensively by all governing bodies of sport in a consistent and enforceable manner, including the following: