Call
(888)-243-6602 or email now to discuss your needs
AAA Warman Home Care’s E-Update is intended to bring to you timely and useful articles and information at the click of the mouse. It is sent monthly in an effort to keep you apprised of what is happening across the healthcare continuum of care effecting hospital, hospice and rehabilitation social workers and case managers, as well as Assisted Living, Independent Living and Skilled Nursing facility executives. Warman understands that time is limited and has undertaken to share with you important industry information without your having to search for it.
The incidence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in women has risen during the period of 1995 to 2007, according to a newly published study by researchers from the Mayo Clinic. This rise in RA follows a 4-decade period of decline and study authors speculate environmental factors such as cigarette smoking, vitamin D deficiency, and lower dose synthetic estrogens in oral contraceptives may be the source of the increase. Details of the study which includes more than 50 years of RA epidemiology data appear in the June issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology.
Between 1 and 2 million Americans suffer the effects of RA, a chronic inflammatory disease that targets joints and which contributes to work-related disability, increased morbidity, and shortened survival. Up to one-half of all RA patients become unable to work within 10-20 years of follow-up and those with the disease have a 60% to 70% higher mortality risk than those in the general population. Furthermore, studies show that RA treatments alone account for $9 billion in excess health care costs with direct and indirect costs expected to exceed $39 billion annually.
The current study, led by Sherine Gabriel, M.D., M.Sc., expanded on prior research (1955-1994) from the Mayo Clinic team, by determining RA incidence and prevalence between 1995 and 2007. Researchers screened medical record of 1,761 Olmsted County, Minnesota residents 18 years and older who had received 1 or more diagnoses of arthritis (excluding degenerative arthritis or osteoarthritis). After thorough review of all medical records, a diagnosis of RA was made in 466 patients whose mean age at RA incidence was 55.6 years, with 321 females (69%) in the study cohort.
"We observed a modest increase of RA incidence in women during the study period, which followed a sharp decline in incidence during the previous 4 decades," said Dr. Gabriel. Results show that RA incidence in women increased by 2.5% per year from 1995 to 2007, while a decrease of 0.5% was noted for men. Researchers did not find a disproportionate increase in RA incidence in any particular age group over the study period. "As expected we found an increase in RA prevalence during the same time period," added Dr. Gabriel. The overall age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of RA increased from 0.62% in 1995 to 0.72% in 2005.
Prior studies have clearly demonstrated that cigarette smoking is associated with a greater risk for RA development in both sexes. While smoking rates in the U.S. are declining, the rate is significantly slower in women than men, which researchers believe may, in part, explain the modest increase of RA incidence in women. Researchers also note that lower doses of estrogens found in modern oral contraceptives offer less protection against RA development then at the previously higher doses found in older medications, which they suspect may contribute to the increased RA incidence among women. Furthermore, several studies have shown vitamin D deficiency to be associated with RA development and coupled with evidence that this deficiency, particularly in women, has risen over the past decades the Mayo team considered it a possible contributor to the upward trend in RA.
In an editorial also published in this month's issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, Dr. Ted Mikuls of the University of Nebraska Medical Center remarked, "Public health measures are already under way to address many of the environmental risk factors that have been implicated in RA risk, including interventions that encourage smoking cessation and efforts focused at optimizing levels of physical activity, vitamin D intake, and oral hygiene."
Dr. Gabriel concluded, "Reasons for the increase in incidence we found are unknown, but environmental factors likely play a role and should be further explored."
SOURCE: Wiley-Blackwell, May 27, 2010
People who meditate regularly find pain less unpleasant because their brains anticipate the pain less, a new study has found.
Scientists from The University of Manchester recruited individuals into the study who had a diverse range of experience with meditation, spanning anything from months to decades. It was only the more advanced meditators whose anticipation and experience of pain differed from non-meditators.
The type of meditation practiced also varied across individuals, but all included 'mindfulness meditation' practices, such as those that form the basis of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), recommended for recurrent depression by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in 2004.
"Meditation is becoming increasingly popular as a way to treat chronic illness such as the pain caused by arthritis," said Dr Christopher Brown, who conducted the research. "Recently, a mental health charity called for meditation to be routinely available on the NHS to treat depression, which occurs in up to 50% of people with chronic pain. However, scientists have only just started to look into how meditation might reduce the emotional impact of pain."
The study, to be published in the journal Pain, found that particular areas of the brain were less active as meditators anticipated pain, as induced by a laser device. Those with longer meditation experience (up to 35 years) showed the least anticipation of the laser pain.
Dr Brown, who is based in Manchester's School of Translational Medicine, found that people who meditate also showed unusual activity during anticipation of pain in part of the prefrontal cortex, a brain region known to be involved in controlling attention and thought processes when potential threats are perceived.
He said: "The results of the study confirm how we suspected meditation might affect the brain. Meditation trains the brain to be more present-focused and therefore to spend less time anticipating future negative events. This may be why meditation is effective at reducing the recurrence of depression, which makes chronic pain considerably worse."
Dr Brown said the findings should encourage further research into how the brain is changed by meditation practice. He said: "Although we found that meditators anticipate pain less and find pain less unpleasant, it's not clear precisely how meditation changes brain function over time to produce these effects.
"However, the importance of developing new treatments for chronic pain is clear: 40% of people who suffer from chronic pain report inadequate management of their pain problem."
In the UK, more than 10 million adults consult their GP each year with arthritis and related conditions. The estimated annual direct cost of these conditions to health and social services is £5.7 billion.
Study co-author Professor Anthony Jones said: "One might argue that if a therapy works, then why should we care how it works? But it may be surprising to learn that the mechanisms of action of many current therapies are largely unknown, a fact that hinders the development of new treatments. Understanding how meditation works would help improve this method of treatment and help in the development of new therapies.
"There may also be some types of patient with chronic pain who benefit more from meditation-based therapies than others. If we can find out the mechanism of action of meditation for reducing pain, we may be able to screen patients in the future for deficiencies in that mechanism, allowing us to target the treatment to those people."
SOURCE: University of Manchester, June 3, 2010
The University of Maryland, Baltimore's (UMB) Office of Research and Development announced that Encore Path, Inc. of Baltimore signed an exclusive worldwide license agreement for a device technology invented jointly by researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) that helps stroke patients retrain their bodies to walk.
The new device is called the "Step Trainer for Enhanced Performance using Rhythmic Cues", or STEP-R. It was co-invented by the Jill Whitall, PhD, professor and Sandra McCombe-Waller, MS, PhD, PT, NCS, assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science (PTRS) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and Muniswamappa Anjanappa, PhD, professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UMBC.
The device is designed to help stroke patients redevelop their natural gait. Following a stroke, patients will often increase the frequency of their steps without increasing the length of their stride. STEP-R will use auditory cues to retrain the neuromuscular pathway much like EncorePath's first stroke device, Tailwind, does to improve arm function and range of motion. The device will allow a physical therapist to more accurately diagnose and customize a therapy regimen. Versions for in-home use may be developed in the future.
In discussing her decision to license the new technology, Kris Appel, founder and president of Encore Path, said "Tailwind has been very well received and the technology is sound. STEP-R works on the same scientific principles. We are having such a good reaction from stroke survivors for the Tailwind that it makes great sense to license STEP-R."
Development of a prototype of the new device at the School of Medicine is being funded in part by a grant from the Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program. Under the terms of the license agreement, UMB is entitled to a license fee, milestone payments and royalties on sales.
"We are thrilled that the UMB technology that is the basis for Tailwind is creating positive outcomes for stroke survivors. We hope that STEP-R will be equally successful," says Jim Hughes, Vice President for Research and Development at UMB. "The ultimate goal of our technology transfer efforts is to translate the tremendous research enterprise at UMB into commercially available therapeutics, diagnostics and devices that will improve human health."
Founded in 2006, Encore Path is a Baltimore, Maryland-based medical device company established to improve the quality of life for stroke survivors. Encore Path holds exclusive licenses from the University of Maryland, Baltimore to market the Tailwind and STEP-R devices worldwide. Encore Path develops and commercializes technologies, devices and therapies designed to enhance rehabilitation after stroke safely and affordably.
SOURCE: University of Maryland Baltimore, June 4, 2010
On May 3, Mayo Clinic Arizona became the first hospital in U.S. history to discharge a patient implanted with the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart to wait at home for a matching donor heart. Mayo Clinic is participating in an FDA Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) clinical study of the Freedom™ driver, the first ever U.S. portable driver designed to power SynCardia's Total Artificial Heart both inside and outside the hospital.
Charles Okeke, 43, was implanted with the SynCardia Total Artificial Heart on Sept. 3, 2008, after his body rejected a previous donor heart transplant. For more than 600 days, Charles was confined to the hospital by the 418-lb hospital driver nicknamed "Big Blue" that powered his Total Artificial Heart.
Then, on March 26, 2010, SynCardia Systems, Inc., received conditional approval from the FDA to conduct an IDE clinical study of the Freedom portable driver in the U.S.
"When the Total Artificial Heart was implanted in 2008, I felt better than I had in years," said Charles. "Now, through the IDE clinical study, I'm able to wait at home for a donor heart with Natalie, my wife of 12 years, and our three children ages 4, 6 and 11."
Weighing only 13.5 lbs including two rechargeable, lithium-ion Onboard Batteries, the Freedom™ driver is designed to be carried by the patient in the Freedom™ Backpack or Shoulder Bag.
The IDE clinical study is approved to enroll 60 patients at up to 30 institutions. The IDE clinical study is intended to demonstrate that the Freedom driver is a suitable pneumatic driver for stable Total Artificial Heart patients and can be used safely at home.
The Freedom™ driver system is an investigational device, limited by United States law to investigational use.
SOURCE: SynCardia Systems, Inc., May 30, 2010
Take extra care at your Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day celebrations this year by ensuring that accidents do not interfere with summer fun. Dr. Roger Yurt, director of the Hearst Burn Center of New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, recommends the following safety tips to avoid burns from barbecues, fireworks and other routine activities that can pose a hazard this season.
Barbecue tips:
Fireworks displays:
Outdoor activities:
SOURCE: New York-Presbyterian Hospital, June 1, 2010
AAA Warman Home Care is a family-owned Residential Service Agency which has been providing in-home health care services to thousands of clients for the past twenty years. Warman specializes in providing the highest quality of private duty, non-medical care and companionship for the elderly, those recuperating after hospitalization / rehabilitation, the terminally ill, disabled, alone or at-risk. It is our goal to assist our clients in living the most independent, healthy and comfortable lives in the privacy of their own homes.
If you have written or find any articles that you would like to contribute to the Warman E-Update, please contact Brenda Head at bhead@warmanhomecare.com or by telephone at (877) 694-4264. If any of your colleagues are not receiving the Warman E-Update, please send his or her e-mail address to bhead@warmanhomecare.com for inclusion.
