Home Care St. Louis MO, Home Care Kirkwood MO, Home Care Webster Groves MO, Home Care St. Louis County MO, Home Care St. Louis City MO

Is Your Parent Depressed in St. Louis, MO?

Bob — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 01:22:49 +0000

Depression affect’s many American’s including seniors. I found this article on Prevention that explains how it is affecting our aging loved one’s. Here is an excerpt below, to read the full article Click Here.

7 million Americans over age 65 suffer from the disease, and many are not getting the help they need. Here’s how to make sure your mom or dad isn’t one of them.

By Trisha Gura, PhD

Amy Caldwell first sensed that her mother was depressed during a phone call last September. "My life is miserable," said the 77-year-old widow, who lives in Tempe, AZ, and suffers from asthma. "I don’t want to live any longer."

Caldwell’s heart sank. Was this a genuine suicide threat? Caldwell, 43, who lives in Boston, decided not to take a chance and flew out to see her mom.

She set up appointments with a family physician and pulmonologist, who put her mother on a new regimen that eased her breathing problems for a couple of months. But then her mother suffered another attack and, during a dispiriting phone conversation with Caldwell’s brother, dropped another bomb: "I should just get a razor, slit my wrists, and get this over with already."

This time, Caldwell’s brother hopped on a plane, while Caldwell contemplated the inescapable truth: In addition to the physical ailments her mother suffered from, she was very likely depressed.

That put her mom in the company of 2 million other Americans over age 65 who suffer from depression, as well as another 5 million who struggle with some but not all symptoms of the crippling disease. Their plight is one of the great hushed-up scandals of American health care:

As many as 90% of people suffering from depression in late life are not getting the care they need. The suicide rate in adults age 75 and older is a shocking 1 1/2 times the average–higher than that of any other group, including teenagers.

Elderly people receiving home care are twice as likely to suffer major depression as those in nursing homes. A whopping 78% of them receive no treatment at all. Patients diagnosed with major depression spend almost twice as much money on their health care as patients who don’t have the disease.

Read more from Prevention.com by Clicking Here.

Remember for the best in Home Care visit our website at www.allmetrohealthcarestlouis.com.

Brain Injuries May Cause Conditions Mistaken for ALS in St. Louis, MO

Bob — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:38:38 +0000

I found this interesting article on how past head trauma’s can be mistaken for ALS. Read the excerpt below from MedPage Today, to read the full article Click Here.

By: John Gever, Senior Editor, MedPage Today

For the first time, researchers have found pathological evidence that repetitive head trauma — such as that experienced by football players — may result in a motor neuron disease similar to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or "Lou Gehrig’s disease."

The evidence, a unique pattern of protein deposits, was found during autopsy studies of brains from 12 professional athletes who had played violent contact sports — including three athletes diagnosed with motor neuron diseases before their deaths — according to Ann C. McKee, MD, of Boston University, and colleagues.

While extensive brain deposits of a DNA-binding protein named TDP-43 as well as neurofibrillary tau protein were found in 10 of the cases, the tau proteins discovered in the three motor neuron disease cases wereclearly dissimilar from those seen in sporadic ALS patients, McKee and co-authors wrote online in the September issue of the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology.

The deposits of the TDP-43 and tau proteins, found post-mortem in numerous regions of 10 of the pro athletes’ brains provided "the first pathological evidence that repetitive head trauma experienced in collision sports might be associated with the development of a motor neuron disease," the researchers commented.

Previous studies had been contradictory as to whether repeated head trauma may cause ALS, the most common and familiar form of motor neuron disease.

But the researchers suggested that many former athletes diagnosed with ALS after suffering repeated blows to the head may actually have a different type of motor neuron disease.

Their article did not mention baseball legend Lou Gehrig, the most famous ALS victim. But a New York Times reporter coaxed McKee into suggesting that Gehrig may have been among those misdiagnosed — even though, as a first baseman, he did not routinely experience violent collisions. (He was, however, beaned at least twice during his 14-year career with the New York Yankees.)

The 12 athletes in the post-mortem study included seven professional football players, four boxers, and one hockey player. Their ages at death ranged from 42 to 85.

McKee and colleagues found TDP-43 primarily in the frontal and temporal cortex, medial temporal lobe, basal ganglia, diencephalon, and brainstem in 10 of the brains. Inclusions and neurites containing the protein were also present in the spinal cord in the three individuals with motor neuron disease.

The latter group also showed motor neuron loss and degeneration of the corticospinal tract, and extensive distribution of abnormal tau protein, the researchers indicated.

Clinical histories of the three — two of whom were former pro football players, the other a boxer — included upwards of 10 concussions in one, three to four in another, and "many" in the third.

One had a sibling with "probable ALS" but otherwise the trio appeared to have no other risk factors for neurological disease other than their sports injuries.

The study also included analyses of brain sections from 12 neurologically normal individuals and 12 patients with sporadic ALS whose ages at death were similar to the athletes.’

Four of the normal controls showed a few tau-positive neurites in the ventral horn. No signs of TDP-43 or other pathology like that of the athletes were seen in any of the normal controls.

All the ALS patients, on the other hand, had TDP-43 in their brains. But unlike the athletes with motor neuron disease, only one of the sporadic ALS patients showed abnormal tau, and it was in the form of "rare" neurites, McKee and colleagues indicated.

Click HERE for the original article.

Remember for the best in Home Care in the St. Louis, MO area visit our website at www.allmetrohealthcarestlouis.com.

Link Between Depression, Cholesterol May Differ by Gender in Webster Groves & Kirkwood, MO

Bob — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 01:59:47 +0000

Who knew that cholesterol could be linked with depression? I found this article that explains that connection. Here is an excerpt, to read the full article Click Here.

MONDAY, July 26 (HealthDay News) — Gender-specific regulation of cholesterol levels may help prevent depression in the elderly, suggests a new study.

French researchers followed a large group of men and women aged 65 and older for seven years. They found that depression in women was associated with low levels of "good" high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), which puts them at higher risk for cardiovascular disease, including stroke.

Previous research has shown that certain types of stroke increase the risk of depression.

In contrast, depression in men was linked with low levels of "bad" low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). This association was strongest in men with a genetic vulnerability to depression related to a serotonin transporter gene.

The study appears in the July 15 issue of the journal Biological Psychiatry.

"Our results suggest that clinical management of abnormal lipid levels may reduce depression in the elderly, but different treatment will be required according to sex," corresponding author Dr. Marie-Laure Ancelin, of INSERM, Montpellier, France, said in a journal news release.

…continue reading HERE – http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20100727/hl_hsn/linkbetweendepressioncholesterolmaydifferbygender

For the best in home care in the St. Louis, MO area visit our website at www.allmetrohealthcarestlouis.com.

Scaling Down (Almost) Painlessly in Webster Groves & Kirkwood, MO

Bob — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 02:22:55 +0000

Here is a good article that I found and wanted to pass along to you. For mroe assistance with an aging loved one in the St. Louis, MO area visit our website at www.allmetrohealthcarestlouis.com.

Moving to a smaller house or apartment in a retirement community almost always involves a certain degree of trauma, both for the elder who’s moving and for family members. However, by planning ahead you can reduce the discomfort involved and turn what might well become a nightmare into a pleasant event.

Begin by Planning for the Move

Where is the elder moving? Go to the actual house or apartment with tape measure, pad and pencil and write down measurements. Floor space is important, but don’t forget about ceilings. Many elders own large pieces of furniture that may not fit into rooms with low ceilings. Your work here will determine which pieces can move with your elder.

And while you’re at the actual location, talk to several other elders who already live there. What is their life style? Do they go outside the property on frequent trips? How do they dress? Casual lifestyles will require an entirely different style of dress than more formal ones.

Gather Supplies and Contact Helpers

Having all the supplies you will need in one place will speed your task. You’ll want a number of storage bins; five or six should be sufficient to hold sorted items. Plastic bags can be used for discarded belongings and as a container for articles to be donated to charities. Packing boxes and supplies such as padding materials and wide sealing tape are must-haves. Labels and dark marking pens are essential to ensure that boxes go to their intended location.

While you’re in the gathering stage, begin to contact helpers you’ll need. Among these may be:

estate sale professionals

certified appraisers

moving companies

house cleaners

repair specialists (electricians, plumbers, carpenters, painters)

Ask friends, relatives, and senior real estate specialists for recommendations. Also, check with the Better Business Bureau to ascertain whether problems have been reported about particular companies or individuals.

Approach Your Task One Room at a Time

Who should help? The elder and one family member should assume responsibility for sorting all items and some packing. Do not include everyone in the family if you want to make the job quick and easy because distractions increase in geometric proportion to the number of persons doing the sorting.

Sort all the items in one single room at once, beginning and ending in the kitchen. Why start there? Because kitchens in small houses and apartments typically are short on storage space, and the elder needs time and experience to determine which items are true necessities, and which may never be used. If you reduce kitchen items to a bare minimum at the beginning, your elder can determine what’s needed and what’s not by living with them ahead of time. After living with fewer items, your elder may find that items once thought essential may not be needed. Complete work in the kitchen at the very end of your tasks.

Even though you intend to stay in only one room, distractions will occur. Resist them by stacking items that belong in another room at the door. A bin or box placed just inside the door can contain all the items that have homes elsewhere.

Make your motto One Thing at a Time; One Time for each Thing. Once you’ve picked up an item, decide then and there what its fate should be. Place it in one of the bins you’ve labeled:

Discards

Donations

Distribution to Relatives

Keepers

Uncertainties

Large collections of books may require their own bins. You might have bins for Collectors’ editions, books to be stored, books to be sold to book dealers.

When you have finished categorizing all the items in the room, start the packing process. Items in the Uncertainties bin can be packed for storage.

If an unbreakable item is to be moved only a short distance, don’t waste time on elaborate packing and padding. Items like crystal and china, however, require excellent packing, regardless of the distance they will be moved. If you can’t do a great job, leave packing fragile items to professionals.

Mark boxes as you go.

Nothing is more frustrating than finding that you’ve shipped your elder’s bed linens to Aunt Minnie and kept a silver salver you meant to send your nephew.

Don’t try to do everything at once. Do only one room on any given day, and take the time to enjoy reminiscing as you sort items.

This is also the perfect time to have a certified appraiser come in to appraise items that may be of significant value. Very expensive items may be auctioned at an auction house such as Christy’s or Sotheby’s. Less expensive items can be sold to local antiques dealers. By having an idea of their value before going to dealers, you reduce the chance that dealers can scam you.

You could also consider selling items through an on-line auction. If you do so, remember that you will be responsible for shipping items and ensuring their condition to successful bidders.

Distribute Items to the Intended Recipients

Schedule a single day for distribution of items. In-town relatives can come to pick up items intended for them; they may also be helpful by taking bags to charities, books to resellers, boxes to storage, and trash to dumps.

Use this day for shipping as well. Small items can be shipped via UPS or FedEx; large pieces of furniture and antiques may require special handling by movers. Once you’ve finished distribution, you should have a considerably reduced pile of boxes and furniture. These boxes should contain only items to be moved to the elder’s new residence or to storage. Remaining items should be those to be sold in an estate sale.

For more ideas, continue reading HERE.

‘Villages’ Let Elderly Grow Old at Home in Webster Groves & Kirkwood, MO

Bob — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 01:28:39 +0000

Here is an interesting article that I found and wanted to pass along to you. For more assistance with an aging loved one in your life visit our website at www.allmetrohealthcarestlouis.com.

The explosive growth of the USA’s older population is fueling a grass-roots "village" movement in neighborhoods across the country to help people age in their own homes.

More than 50 villages in a neighbor-helping-neighbor system have sprouted in the past decade from California and Colorado to Nebraska and Massachusetts. They are run largely by volunteers and funded by grants and membership fees to provide services from transportation and grocery delivery to home repairs and dog walking.

Most villages have opened in the past couple of years, an indication that the momentum is growing in the face of a demographic tsunami: The number of Americans 65 and older is expected to more than double to 89 million by 2050, according to the Census Bureau.

The oldest of 79 million Baby Boomers turn 65 next year, a turning point that will begin to put pressure on social services, retirement homes and assisted-living facilities.

The "village" concept is taking off in small and big cities and suburbs across the country as the percentage of elderly rises while the share of the working-age population that supports them declines. The percentage of people 65 and older is projected to climb from 13% today to 19% by 2050, while the share of adults age 20 to 64 is expected to drop from 60% to 55%, the Census Bureau says.

"We will hit a really pivotal point," says Julie Maggioncalda, a University of Pennsylvania geriatric social work student who is interning at the Capitol Hill Village in Washington, D.C. Nursing homes won’t be able to handle all the elderly, she says.

"We simply don’t have enough space, and if we don’t have a village, that burden will fall on families," Maggioncalda says.

AARP research shows that 90% of people want to grow old in their home and community.

"Villages are one way people can lead the life they want to live," says Mimi Castaldi, AARP vice president for volunteer engagement. "They’ve caught the imagination of people."

How villages operate:

•Residents pay a membership fee that varies from $25 to $600 or more a year, depending on the types of services members want. Some villages have paid staff members; others are run completely by volunteers.

•Most villages are opening in more upscale neighborhoods in cities and suburbs, but they all provide discount dues for lower-income elderly.

…continue reading by Clicking Here.

Vitamin D Levels Associated With Parkinsons Disease Risk in Webster Groves & Kirkwood, MO

Bob — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 02:28:14 +0000

Here is an interesting article that I found and wanted to pass along to you. For more assistance with an aging loved one in the St. Louis, MO area visit our website at www.allmetrohealthcarestlouis.com.

Individuals with higher levels of vitamin D appear to have a reduced risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Neurology.

Vitamin D is known to play a role in bone health and may also be linked to cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, according to background information in the article. “Recently, chronically inadequate vitamin D intake was proposed to play a significant role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease,” the authors write. “According to the suggested biological mechanism, Parkinson’s disease may be caused by a continuously inadequate vitamin D status leading to a chronic loss of dopaminergic neurons in the brain.”

Paul Knekt, D.P.H., and colleagues at the National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland, studied 3,173 Finnish men and women age 50 to 79 who did not have Parkinson’s disease at the beginning of the study, in 1978 to 1980. Participants completed questionnaires and interviews about socioeconomic and health background, underwent baseline examinations and provided blood samples for vitamin D analysis.

Continue reading by Clicking Here.

New Scan May Spot Alzheimers in Webster Groves & Kirkwood, MO

Bob — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:24:52 +0000

Here is a very informative article that I found and wanted to pass along to you. For more assistance with an aging loved one in your life visit our website at www.allmetrohealthcarestlouis.com.

A small company with a new brain scan for detecting plaque, the hallmark physical sign of , Alzheimer’s disease presented its results on Sunday at an international conference in Hawaii, and experts who attended said the data persuaded them that the method works.

Until now, the only definitive way to diagnose Alzheimer’s has been to search for plaque with a brain autopsy after the patient dies. Scientists hope the new scanning technique, described June 24 in The New York Times’ series “The Vanishing Mind,” will allow doctors to see plaque while the patient is still alive, improving diagnosis and aiding research on drugs to slow or stop plaque accumulation.

Neurologists have known about plaques ever since Alzheimer’s disease was first described in 1906. They are microscopic bumps made up of a protein, amyloid beta, appearing on the surface of the brain in areas involved with learning and memory. They are so characteristic of Alzheimer’s that they are required for a definitive diagnosis of the disease.

Of course, doctors do not wait for a brain autopsy to diagnose Alzheimer’s. They use memory tests and evaluations of patients’ reasoning and ability to care for themselves. Yet with autopsy, even doctors at leading medical centers have been wrong as often as 20 percent of the time: people they said had Alzheimer’s did not have plaque.

Continue reading by Clicking Here.

One in Five Older Americans a Victim of Financial Fraud in Webster Groves & Kirkwood, MO

Bob — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:04:06 +0000

Here is a very helpful article that I found and wanted to pass along to you. For more assistance wtih an aging loved one in your life visit our website at www.allmetrohealthcarestlouis.com.

New program enlists doctors to protect patients, but you can take steps now to stay safe

More than 7.3 million older Americans — one out of every five citizens over the age of 65 — already have been victimized by a financial swindle, according to a survey released Tuesday as part of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

One problem is that few professionals or adult children appear prepared to spot when an older American may be vulnerable to financial abuse. A new program launched Tuesday seeks to train medical professionals to assess when older patients might be likely to fall prey to elder investment fraud and financial exploitation.

Tips for a Healthier You at Middle Age in Webster Groves & Kirkwood, MO

Jason — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:41:30 +0000

Here is a good article that I found with some great tips in it and I wanted to pass it along. For more assistance with an aging loved one in your life visit our website at www.allmetrohealthcarestlouis.com.

(ARA) – With the popularity of movies like Sex and the City and the revival of the 50-year-old fashionista, the 42.9 million baby boomer women in America are approaching aging with confidence and style. While talking about many sensitive topics is no longer off-limits to this vocal group, there still remain several embarrassing health topics that many women will not even discuss with their doctors, let alone with their girlfriends. As a result, they suffer through these manageable health issues in silence rather than finding the solutions they need.

It is important for women to be direct with their doctors when talking about all health issues, even those that may embarrass them. Anne Abernathy, a six-time Olympic luger who now serves as an advocate for women’s health, shares tips for being tenacious when it comes to your health:

Talk to your doctor: You may be embarrassed by a change in your body, but when you talk about it with a friend, family member or doctor, you can find helpful ways to deal with it. You may even be able to provide helpful advice to others experiencing the same thing. Facing your health condition head-on and learning how to manage it will help you to move on and live your best life.

Educate yourself: Learn about the kinds of changes you can expect as you age and take some preventative measures to help you avoid or lessen the symptoms of some of them. There are a lot of great sources online where you can learn from experts, as well as others who have first-hand knowledge of the issues. Information is the best tool you can have as your own health advocate.

Navigate your options and solutions: There are a lot of options available to help you manage and prevent certain conditions and ailments. For instance, vitamins to help prevent bone loss or discreet thin pads or underwear for women who have bladder control issues. Talk with your doctor to find out what supplements or products might be right for you.

Achieve a healthy life: In the end, you just want to get on with living your life and achieving your goals. No health issue should keep you from doing that. When you follow these tips and learn how to manage your condition, you will find yourself with more options, less limitations and more confidence to do what you love most.

Many of these health problems are extremely common, like bladder-control issues, which affect more than 25 percent of women older than 40. According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive and SCA, makers of TENA, the number one brand of bladder protection products worldwide, nearly 40 percent of women with bladder-control issues have never discussed the condition with anyone. As a result, nearly a third of all women who experience leaks do not know how to deal with the problem.

“Throughout my life, I have not been afraid to tackle the many obstacles that have stood in my way,” says Anne Abernathy. “Having experienced embarrassing health conditions such as bladder-control issues first hand, I know that for many women, the thought of admitting to the condition can be more stressful than racing down a luge track at 90 mph. That’s why I teamed with TENA and Healthy Women to launch the ‘Be TENAcious’ program to help women start the conversation, beginning online at www.betenacious.net. Many women experience the same issues in their lifetime, but we cannot benefit from each other’s experiences if no one is talking about them.”

Registered nurse Beth Battaglino Cahill, executive director of HealthyWomen agrees. “As a nurse, I often have to coax information out of patients about health issues they find embarrassing. When women are candid about their health, they often find the problem they have is very common and managing the issue becomes a lot easier.”

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Non-Adherence to Medications Increases Seniors’ Risk for Falls in Webster Groves & Kirkwood, MO

Jason — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:40:16 +0000

Seniors who neglect to take their medications as directed can significantly increase their risk of falls, according to new research.

A recent study of Boston-area seniors found that those who occasionally neglected their medications were 50% more likely to fall than those who took their medications as directed. Researchers at the Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife in Boston surveyed 246 men and 408 women with an average age of 78 for the study. Of the seniors in this group, 376 reported experiencing a combined total of 1,052 falls.

To continue reading Click Here.

For more great information and assistance with an aging loved one in the St. Louis, MO area visit our website at www.allmetrohealthcarestlouis.com.