Ibuprofen doesn’t stand out in large Alzheimer’s study

Ibuprofen may help to ward off Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, but it is no more effective than other painkillers called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which include aspirin and ibuprofen.
The Johns Hopkins study, the largest to date on the subject, examined data involving more than 13,000 people and found that those who regularly took NSAIDs had a 23 percent lower chance of developing Alzheimer’s. The results supported earlier research, but contradicted earlier findings that indicated ibuprofen could be more effective than other NSAIDs.
The authors of the study published in the journal Neurology warned against using NSAIDs for treatment of Alzheimer’s until further study is done, because of the number of side effects.

“Silent” heart attack related to dementia in men

Men who have a “silent” or unrecognized heart attack are more than twice as likely to develop dementia, according to a new study from the Netherlands that also found no association between recognized heart attacks and the risk of dementia.
Dutch researchers studied EKG results of more than 6,300 people for up to 15 years and found that men who had unrecognized heart attacks were also more likely to develop small lesions and/or blocked blood vessels in the brain.
Women who had “silent” heart attacks, however, did not show the same increased risk of dementia as their male counterparts, according to the study in the American Heart Association’s journal, Stroke.
Good diet and exercise delays onset of diabetes

Six years of a good diet and exercise can delay the onset of diabetes for another 14 years, according to a report in the journal The Lancet.
In the study of almost 600 people in China who had high blood sugar, diabetes was decreased by 51 percent for the subjects who ate less, drank less, included more vegetables in their diet and exercised regularly for the six years of the program as compared to those who did not. Diabetes was decreased in the good lifestyle group by 43 percent over the entire 20 years of the study, which included 14 years of follow-up data.
A second report in the journal found that intensive therapy with insulin can actually restore the body’s insulin-producing cells and restore the blood sugar balance of people who have been recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Quitting smoking halves risk of heart disease in women

Women who quit smoking have a 47 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease within five years, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Risks of dying from other diseases also decrease, but at varying time frames.
The data from the Nurses’ Health Study—involving more than 100,000 women and 22 years of data—found that a smoker’s overall risk of dying declined 13 percent within five years of quitting and returned to the level of a non-smoker 20 years after the last butt.
The risk from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease dropped 13 percent within five to 10 years and the risk of lung cancer fell 21 percent in the first five years. The risk from both lung diseases took more than 20 years to return to normal.
The study’s authors from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston also said that current smokers have almost three times the risk of death as women who have never smoked.

Heat safety

The body becomes less capable of responding to extreme heat and cold as it ages. Be aware of days when extreme heat is predicted by paying attention to the local weather forecast. Here are some tips to help you cope on very hot days.

Drink plenty of water. Treat yourself to ice cream or drinks with ice. Take frequent cool baths or showers. The object is to keep your body temperature cool.
Avoid long stays in the sun or in unventilated rooms. Keep your fan or air conditioner on. If you need to, go to a local library, a movie theater, a senior center or a shopping mall.
Avoid exercise and vigorous activity in the sun. Reschedule your afternoon walk for the early morning or at dusk. Or move it to a shopping mall.
Wear light-colored, lightweight and loose-fitting clothes. Grab a hat and make sure you wear it when you’re out in the sun. Remember to put on your sunscreen.
Heat-related health problems:

Heat cramps are painful spasms that usually occur in the legs or abdomen and are accompanied by heavy sweating. Put firm pressure on the cramping muscles or gently massage them. Sip some water. If you become nauseous, stop drinking the water.
Heat exhaustion is characterized by heavy sweating and weakness, and the skin may become cold, pale and clammy. There’s a weak pulse and sometimes fainting. Lie down in a cool place, loosen clothing and put on some cool, wet cloths to lower your body temperature. Sip water. If vomiting occurs, get immediate medical attention.
Heat stroke is distinguished by hot, dry skin, an extremely high body temperature and probably no sweating. There is a rapid, strong pulse and possible unconsciousness. This is a medical emergency and you should get to a hospital immediately.

 

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