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Link: Mental Health Insurance Parity - The Murky Politics of Mind-Body - New York Times.
This month, the House passed a bill that would require insurance companies to provide mental health insurance parity. It was the first time it has approved a proposal so substantial.
Link: Alzheimer's Disease - Reporter's File - Zen and the Art of Coping With Alzheimer's - NY Times Health.
IN BRIEF
Researchers report that a once-daily shot of insulin appears to control blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes just as well as injecting insulin three times a day.
The once-a-day formulation, known as insulin glargine (Lantus), is already on the market, as is insulin lispro (Humalog), which is taken with meals. The new, international study found more patient satisfaction with the glargine.
Link: News & Reviews - DrugDigest.
A computer-assisted imaging technique that measures sugar metabolism within a critical area of the brain could hold the key to the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.
Researchers say that the technique was accurate 94% of the time in distinguishing Alzheimer's disease from other dementias in a newly reported study published in the March issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
Link: Alzheimer's Reading Room: The Eight Types of Dementia Defined.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. This section provides information about the definition of dementia, the characteristics of specific types of dementia and the symptoms, risk factors for and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease
Link: Practical Blood Pressure Advice, Too Often Shelved for Convenience - New York Times.
It tastes bland and can be a tough daily regimen to follow, so it’s not the ideal medicine for high blood pressure. But a low-salt, heart-healthy diet is staging a comeback as some 60-plus drugs fail to rein in staggering rates of hypertension in the United States.
Link: In Diabetes, a Complex of Causes - New York Times.
An explosion of new research is vastly changing scientists’ understanding of diabetes and giving new clues about how to attack it.
The fifth leading killer of Americans, with 73,000 deaths a year, diabetes is a disease in which the body’s failure to regulate glucose, or blood sugar, can lead to serious and even fatal complications.
Link: Alzheimer's: Helping children understand the disease - MayoClinic.com.
Link: The Creswell Chronicle in Creswell, Oregon - Community News and Visitor Information.
Taking the supplement ginkgo biloba may help protect the memory of people 85 and older, who are at high risk of developing dementia, according to a study by researchers at Oregon State University and Oregon Health and Science University.
The results have been published in the Feb. 27 online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Link: Helping From Afar -- Courant.com.
An industry of care coordinators is emerging to bridge the gap between far-off relatives and aging parents who may be overwhelmed by the labyrinth of medical and other services designed to help the aged and infirm survive in their homes.
