Autoimmune disorders: Important facts to know, part 2

In October, MedlinePlus.gov provided concise and critical facts to know about autoimmune disorders. With more than 80 types of these disorders presently listed, a brief definition of the problem follows: “An autoimmune disorder occurs when the body’s immune system attacks and destroys healthy body tissue by mistake.”

Autoimmune disorders and more research needed, part 1

Current research on how the body’s immune system can go wrong is now being studied in research labs across the world. The labs’ discoveries are teaching the medical field the changing way medicine can understand everything from Covid-19 to heart disease.

The advantages and limitations of the antiviral, Paxlovid

The October 2022 Consumer Reports, On Health, gives us a brief report on the effectiveness and limitation of the antiviral Covid-19 drug treatment of Paxlovid.

The Healthcare Savvy article tells explains, “For people at high risk of severe COVID-19, including seniors and those with chronic health issues, Pfizer’s Paxlovid – a prescription antiviral authorized for emergency use in December 2021 – has been a game changer.”

It is time to prevent falls

Recent statistics from the WHO (The World Health Organization) inform us that, in the United States, about one in four adults (28%), age 65 and over, have reported falling yearly. These 36 million falls, reported among seniors, have resulted in more than 32,000 deaths. Additionally, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), reveals that adults over the age of 60 have suffered the greatest number of fatal falls.

He cautions us not to be tempted to overindulge in alcoholic drinking now or at any other time during the year. Health professionals are aware of seniors possibly taking certain medications that need special treatment. The following information comes from this general manager of the store’s pharmacy operations in Canada. It concerns what happens on an empty stomach, on a full stomach, or when drinking.

The necessity of heart exercise this holiday season

The winter holiday season and its wasted non-nutritional calorie consumption has once again begun. Therefore, I thought it important to discuss heart problems often caused by a lack of exercise and poor diet choices. Dr. Tim Sanborn is one of six cardiologists on the Southeast Wisconsin Heart Institute staff located at Froedtert Pleasant Prairie (Wisconsin) Hospital. His comments will be quoted in the following paragraphs as they appeared in the Fall 2021 ChicagoLife Magazine under the subject: “Health Benefits of Exercise on the Heart.”

Safety 1st

Here is some excellent advice in these difficult times from Huntley’s Police Department’s Sergeant Kevin Keane. Seniors are especially popular targets of con artists who may pose as charity solicitors, grandchildren, home improvement providers and repair workers, romantic imposters, or internet scammers (just to name a few). It behooves us to learn how to protect ourselves and our loved ones.

Diabetes the disease, part II

According to the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI), “Diabetes can strike anyone, from any walk of life…in numbers that are dramatically increasing.” As stated also in my Part 1 on the subject, “Today, more than 34 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes.” Add to that figure, the fact that “Worldwide, more than 463 million people have diabetes.”

The miracle of insulin to help in the control of diabetes

My below report depicts the history of diabetes with its miracle discovery of insulin used to control and prolong the lives of the 34.2 million Americans living today with Diabetes 1 and Diabetes 2. I found Amanda Foreman’s Wall Street Journal column fascinating in its explanation of the discovery of insulin a century ago. Foreman refers to this event as one of the “greatest medical breakthroughs of the 20th century.”

The Problem with the longevity of COVID-19 Shots

Wall Street Journal’s (WSJ) writer, Jo Craven McGinty, asks the question “Why don’t Covid-19 vaccinations last longer? Measles shots are good for life, chickenpox immunizations protect for 10 to 20 years, and tetanus jabs last a decade or more.”

Meanwhile, our country’s health officials are deciding whether to give authority for Covid-19 boosters to vaccinated adults as soon as six months after their initial inoculations. The info below is a synopsis of our writer’s answer to the above question in The Wall Street Journal.

The dangers of digital ‘e-dictions’

Today’s rising rates of depression and anxiety among all ages of people may be a result of our brains’ messengers getting hooked on pleasurable activities. This is especially true in the Covid-19 Era where more and more people are spending an extreme amount of hours at home in pursuit of video games.

Dr. Anna Lembke, a psychiatrist and professor at Stanford University, gives us this essay adapted from her new book: “Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence.” Dopamine is the brain’s chemical that functions as a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward. In the past 75 years, it has been discovered, however, that pain and pleasure are processed in the same part of the brain.