Pacific Senior Center

Researchers Identify Genes Affecting Alzheimer’s Risk – washingtonpost.com
Two European research teams have identified three genes that affect a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia in the elderly.The new genes appear to have at least as big a role as four others discovered in the last 15 years that are known to play a role in Alzheimer’s.

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Saipan Tribune

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yummy yam

Mate keeps age-old tradition alive – Fiji Times Online
A 63-YEAR-OLD of Nepani was a proud man last week when he harvested one of the most cherished annual root crops.

When the Fiji Times visited Manoa Mate’s home, the Red German and Philippine yams, estimated to be more than 300kgs in weight, were one his biggest harvest in five years.

The yams were planted at exactly the same spot in his backyard.

“In the olden days, Fijian people regarded yam planting as a traditional competition and to harvest the biggest in the village is the ultimate dream of any farmer,” he said.

“In my case, not much had been done and most did not even believe that a single plot can grow two large breed of yams.

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La Vida Locavore:: Smoke Only Local, Organic Pot
It might be an April Fool’s joke, but Grist has a great article called The straight dope on local, organic weed. And you know what? I don’t care if they are trying to be funny. I think the point is right on. As a San Diego resident (”I can see Mexico from my house!”), the Mexican drug cartels are a little too close to home for me and I would LOVE if the U.S. took away a major source of their funds by legalizing marijuana and allowing Americans to grow and smoke our own weed.

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Did you see that 60 Minutes segment on Health Care?
It was a story of a state just sentencing a large number of Nevada residents to death. The old American number of 101,000 unnecessary deaths per year need to go up because of the downturn in the economy?

Can’t blame the media this time. Dallasdoc wrote that it was like “Nyceve TV.” This isn’t about insurance companies or banks in the state that was hit the hardest in the housing downturn.

The state dosen’t deserves all of the blame with the false debate that federal government leadership has been hosting for so long. When American’s heard the words of Helen Sharp in The Clinic is Closed, this should be viewed as a national emergency.

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The Economy: “No Return to Normal” – Galbraith
………offset the violent drop in the wealth of the elderly population as a whole. The squeeze on the elderly has been little noted so far, but it hits in three separate ways: through the fall in the stock market; through the collapse of home values; and through the drop in interest rates, which reduces interest income on accumulated cash. For an increasing number of the elderly, Social Security and Medicare wealth are all they have.

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Health for Seniors: USA.gov

• Diseases, Conditions, and Injuries Affecting Seniors
  Find resources on Alzheimer’s Disease, balance problems, cancer, depression, heart disease, fall injuries, and more…
• Doctors and Healthcare Facilities for Seniors
  Compare hospitals, nursing homes, and dialysis facilities; find directories of doctors and dentists; locate a public clinic; and more…
• Elder Abuse and Neglect
  Access the National Center on Elder Abuse, learn about elder rights and resources, find helplines for reporting abuse…
• Medicare and Medicaid
  Get links to the main Medicare and Medicaid websites, learn how to replace a Medicare card, compare Medicare plans…
• Prescription Drugs
  Lookup drug interactions, compare drugs, learn about Medicare prescription drug coverage, verify your medication’s appearance…
• Staying Healthy as a Senior
  Find resources on diet, exercise, supplements, the flu vaccine, emergency preparedness, and more…

And more from elsewhere:

Administration on Aging Elders & Families
http://www.aoa.gov/eldfam/eldfam.asp
The Department of Health and Human Services/Administration on Aging website is designed to assist older people and their families or caregivers to quickly obtain information on a variety of aging-related topics and government-sponsored programs. There is excellent information on Alzheimer’s Disease & research, housing, nutrition, elder rights & resources, promoting a health lifestyle, government services for seniors, and caregiver support programs.

The AGS Foundation for Health in Aging
http://www.healthinaging.org
The American Geriatrics Society Foundation website offers information on the health and care of older adults. There are four sub pages: Aging in the Know offers up-to-date information on how the aging process affects health; Eldercare at Home offers the complete text of the second edition of this resource for families and friends who are caring for older people at home; The FHA Physician Referral Guide offers to mail a list of physicians sensitive to the special healthcare needs of older adults and links to search for board certified geriatricians; and Health in Aging Stories where patients and health care providers can share their stories on the challenge of finding and providing health care for the elderly. The site also provides a directory of guide to federal government agencies and national not-for-profit organizations that address the special health care needs of older adults.

CDC’s Health Aging
http://www.cdc.gov/aging/
This Centers for Disease Control website has statistics and research information, a copy of the latest State of Aging and Health in America report, information on the Healthy Brain Initiative, lists of organizations, information on end of life issues, lists of organizations, and links to other articles and reports. Information on joining the Public Health and Aging listserv is provided.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
http://www.medicare.gov/
This is the official U.S. government site for people with Medicare. It contains information on Medicare health plans, the Medicare drug benefit, Medigap insurance plans, links to state information, long term care information, full text of pamphlets, online forms to request a replacement Medicare card, to change an address or to determine eligibility.

The Family Caregiver Alliance
http://www.caregiver.org
Information, services and support for caregivers and families of persons with chronic, disabling health conditions. It offers fact sheets in English, Spanish and Chinese on various conditions like dementia, Parkinson Disease and stroke. As an advocacy group it also offers statistics, public policy information, and reports. It includes caregiver advice and tips (also in Spanish and Chinese) and hosts online discussion groups.

FirstGov for Senior Citizens’ Resources
http://www.firstgov.gov/Topics/Seniors.shtml
Extensive links to government agencies and other organizations that provide services and programs for seniors. There are links to consumer protection resources for seniors, money and taxes, end-of-life issues, health and housing for seniors. Information is gathered by need rather than the government agencies that provide the service. Hospice care, nursing home comparison, and even how to request a birthday greeting from the President for persons over 80 are covered.

Geriatric Mental Health Foundation
http://www.gmhfonline.org/gmhf/
The Geriatric Mental Health Foundation was established by the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry to raise awareness of psychiatric and mental health disorders affecting the elderly, eliminate the stigma of mental illness and treatment, promote healthy aging strategies, and increase access to quality mental health care for the elderly. Their website has mental health information for older adults and their families, information on finding a geriatric psychiatrist, and some fact sheets in Spanish.

Health and Age
http://www.healthandage.com
Originally created by the Novartis Foundation for Gerontology, the site has been turned over the the HealthandAge Foundation. In addition to basic information on a number of common conditions, the site includes a news feed, a question-and-answer column, and full-text of a primer on geriatrics. There are special sections on men’s health, on women’s health and a caregiver’s center with articles on care giving. This attractive site also has a professional section with a news feed and summaries of current studies on aging for health care professionals.

Mayo Clinic Senior Health Center
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/senior-health/HA99999
Reviewed by Mayo clinic medical editorial staff, this site has very readable articles on aging, conditions that often affect older adults, and healthy living. Articles are authoritative, short and cover topics like sex and intimacy and anti-aging therapies that often aren’t found on other sites. Registration allows personalization of the website and interactive health management tools but isn’t required for access.

MedlinePlus Seniors’ Health Issues
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/seniorshealthissues.html
Created by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), this website contains links to trustworthy information throughout the web. It contains links to the latest news, overviews of senior health issues, research, statistics, aging organizations, clinical trials, and much more. Links guide you to pre-formatted searches on PubMed and to services and providers in your local area through the Go Local project. This page is also available in Spanish.

NIH Senior Health
http://nihseniorhealth.gov/
NIH SeniorHealth makes aging-related health information easily accessible for family members and friends seeking reliable, easy to understand online health information. A unique feature is that the website has a spoken language feature and also allows increases in contrast as well as size of type for easier viewing. Well-illustrated and readable, it includes some short videos and links out to MedlinePlus for additional information.

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BBC NEWS | Health | Masturbation ‘cuts cancer risk’
Men could reduce their risk of developing prostate cancer through regular masturbation, researchers suggest. They say cancer-causing chemicals could build up in the prostate if men do not ejaculate regularly. And they say sexual intercourse may not have the same protective effect because of the possibility of contracting a sexually transmitted infection, which could increase men’s cancer risk.

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Do vegetarians really have better sex? – By Nina Shen Rastogi – Slate Magazine
Do vegetarians really have better sex?

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