Get A Dog And Live Longer!

Even though I have dog I’m not making a prejudice statement. It seems that dog owners 50 and older see their doctors less often, have fewer illnesses and recover more quickly when they are sick verses those who don’t have a dog.

Researchers have even found that simply petting an animal lowers blood pressure by producing an instant relaxation response in the body.

Alan Beck, Sc.D., from the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine reported that animal owners had a higher one-year survival rate following a heart attack than a non-pet group, even when both groups were doing the same level of exercise.

Perhaps retirement communities should reconsider their no pet policies and hospitals and nursing homes could allow the family pet to come to visit the patient.

(As reported in AARP Magazine)

LiveJournal Tags: dr jerry teplitz,man's best friend,dog owners,animal owners,retirement communities,family pet

To Scan Or Not To Scan – Your Body That Is!

Medical scanning using MRI, CT and PET imaging machines has grown into a $100 billion dollar a year business with 95 million scans done each year. Still, some big questions remain: Are they helpful and are they safe?

The answer revealed by recent research studies is that 20% to 50% of the procedures reviewed should never have been done because their results did not help diagnose ailments or treat patients.

Part of the problem is that older machines may create bad scans, which may lead to false or poor diagnostic data. According to Dr. Gary Glazer, the chairman of radiology at Stanford University, a scan done on a 10-year-old machine versus a new one will have significant differences in the quality of the image. Even a scan done on the latest equipment may not have been done correctly or correctly read by a qualified doctor.

In addition, the field is mostly unregulated. While imaging centers can choose to become accredited by the American College of Radiology, not many do. This will change in 2012 when a Medicare law goes into effect requiring accreditation.

Another concern is that a growing number of doctors are referring patients to imaging centers owned by the doctors themselves. Studies have found up to 3.2 times as many scans are ordered by those docs. So, is a scan being requested by the doc because it’s necessary or because it’s profitable?

The final issue is the amount of radiation that you are exposed to when a scan is done. A study of hospital patients showed that they had been exposed to 45 millisieverts (mSv) of radiation. Since the typical X-ray delivers .02 mSv, 12% of patients had been exposed to more that twice that amount.

With all these concerns, you need to ask your doc some questions before you agree to have a scan done, including how old the machine is and the qualifications of the scanner and the interpreter.

(Reported The Virginian Pilot, 2009, Article by Gina Kolata, New York Times News Service)

Another Reason To Exercise – Preventing Cancer

Researchers reported in the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention that regular weight training can cut cancer risks in men by up to 40%.

The researchers tracked the lifestyle of 8,500 men for more than two decades. Each volunteer had regular medical check-ups that included tests of their muscular strength. The men who worked out regularly and had the highest muscle strength were between 30 and 40% less likely to die from cancer.

The researchers suggested doing resistance training at least two days a week. Time wise, all you need to be doing is one set of repetitions with enough weight to reach your muscles’ fatigue level.

So…lift that barge, tote that bale and keep from getting cancer.

LiveJournal Tags: dr jerry teplitz,exercise,men's health,weight training,preventing cancer

Taking Multivitamins May Help You Live Longer

Research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that the cells of multivitamin users may have a younger blood cell age than the cells of non-users.

The researchers examined the length of women’s telomeres, which are located at the end of each cell. Each time the cell reproduces, the telomere shortens and when it’s totally gone, the cell dies.

The researchers analyzed the multivitamin use, nutrient intake and telomere length in 586 women. The daily multivitamin users’ telomeres were on average 5.1% longer. This result means that taking a multivitamin may be one of the easiest things you can do to increase your cells’ longevity.

Sitting Up Straight Isn’t All That It’s “Cracked” Up To Be

Scottish researchers reported that sitting up straight is actually bad for your back (so much for all that nagging from your Mom to sit up straight). The researchers took MRI scans of 22 volunteers. They found that sitting upright at a 90-degree angle put enough pressure on the lower back to squeeze fluid from the disks that cushion the vertebrae.

So, what’s the best position? Slouching! Well, it’s slouching with a caveat: Your knees should to be three to four inches lower than your hips, and you need to recline slightly (instead of sitting at a 90-degree angle, lean back to a 135-degree angle) and voila, the pressure is off.

(As reported in Prevention Magazine)

iPODs Can Have A Negative Impact On Pacemakers

An article published by Elizabeth Lopatto, Bloomberg News, reported that an iPOD can cause a pacemaker to malfunction when the iPOD is held within two inches of a patient’s chest for five to ten seconds. This research was presented at a conference of the Heart Rhythm Society.

The researchers found that out of 800 trials the pacemaker malfunctioned 50% of the time. The effects varied from the pacemaker mistaking the electronic signals from the iPODS as a heart-rhythm disorder to the iPOD interfering with the way the pacemaker communicated with its monitoring device to one person’s pacemaker not functioning for three heartbeats.

While none of the interferences were life threatening, if you wear a pacemaker it would be a good idea to forget about using an iPOD (there’s a strong likelihood, they never had that thought to begin with). If you are an iPODing teenager, don’t hug a grandparent who has a pacemaker, when you have your iPOD in your shirt or jacket pocket.

LiveJournal Tags: dr jerry teplitz,ipods,pacemakers,heart rhythm,monitoring device,pacemaker malfunction

Forging Deeds And Stealing Homes

A new scam has popped up that can make it easy for someone to steal your house! A scammer goes to your local city hall where they look up your property records. The scammer then purchases a property transfer form for $10, forges your signature and files the paperwork with the city or county recorder’s office.

In many states, the recorder’s office is not required to authenticate the identities of buyers or sellers. In states where they require IDs, the crooks are creating fake IDs.

The “new owner” of your home can sell it at a discount to a cash-paying buyer (who is also scammed) or they can use the collateral in your house to get a new loan while taking a lot of the cash value out of the house.

The scammers are targeting homes that are paid for because it’s easier to get a loan from a lender when there is no existing mortgage.

A reporter for the NY Daily News was actually able to buy the Empire State Building with doctored documents. (He immediately transferred it back, as he was just investigating the possibility of doing this.)

So…what can you do to protect yourself?

1. Occasionally check your records with your registrar’s office.

2. If you receive a new mortgage payment book, contact the company that sent it immediately.

3. Demand that your deed-recording office uses software that alerts homeowners whenever a transfer is made on their property.

4. If you discover your home was stolen, contact your local and state law enforcement officers.

(Reported AARP Bulletin)

The Importance Of Exercising As You Age Has Just Gone Up

A study reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine clearly supports continuing to exercise, even for the very oldest among us.

The three-year survival rate was about three times higher for active 85-year-olds who were doing four hours of exercise a week versus the inactive ones.

Even previously sedentary 85-year-olds had a three-year survival rate, double that of inactive 85-year-olds.

As a further plus, the active oldsters also reported less depression and loneliness and a greater ability to perform daily tasks.

So the old adage of “use it or lose it” has taken on new importance for everyone. Just check with your Doc first.

(Reported by Lindsey Tanner, Associated Press)

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More Questions On Cell Phone Radiation

A panel of scientists and cancer researchers recently told a Senate appropriations subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services that more research is needed to determine whether cell phone radiation is harmful to humans, especially children.

The scientists reported that, although researchers have not been able to establish a hard link between cell phone radiation and cancer, that doesn't mean that wireless devices aren't harmful. According to Dariusz Leszczynski, a radiation expert at the University of Helsinki, deciding that cell phones are safe is premature.

Dr. Siegal Sadetzki, director of the Cancer and Radiation Epidemiology Unit of the Gertner Institute in Israel, told the committee that recent studies have suggested that people who use cell phones for 10 years or more are most at risk. Cell phones have become commonplace only in the past decade or so.

Here’s the problem most people are not aware of, according to Devra Lee Davis, a professor in the Department of Epidemiology of the Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh:The FCC's standards for cell phones were set 17 years ago, when cell phones and usage patterns were much different. 

The FCC's standards are based on the effects of cell phone radiation on a "200-pound man with an 11-pound head," who talks for just six minutes a day.

This means we don’t know the effect of cell phone radiation on women, teens or children. We don’t know the impact of hours of usage every day of the week.

In effect, we are doing a high school science experiment on all the cell phone users in the world. What if, several years from now, we discover more issues with cell phone use …oops?

Very informative reading can be had with Devra Lee Davis' Book:  "Secret History of the WAR on CANCER:

Book Reviews:

• Washington Post
  “…Davis put it together in a way that illuminates the underbelly of medical research."
• O magazine
  "In her devastating, 20-years-in-the-making expose...Devra Davis... shows how cancer researchers, bankrolled by petrochemical and pharmaceutical companies, among others, collude in 'the science of doubt promotion.'...Davis diagnoses two of the most lethal diseases of modern society: secrecy and self-interest. This book is a dramatic plea for a cure."
• Discover
  “Davis’s new book, THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE WAR ON CANCER, is a wake-up call for all those who have accepted the poisons of our age of plenty without a blink.”

Technorati Tags: dr jerry Teplitz,senate committe on labor,health and human services,cell phone radiation,FDC