Health Expert Carol Bradley Bursack shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/62/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/62/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/62/index http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/62/161047/levels-increase-alzheimer Sat, 25 May 2013 06:46:22 -0400 Carol Bradley Bursack Research has repeatedly shown that people with diabetes have an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Additionally, some studies have demonstrated that intra-nasal insulin, sometimes used to treat diabetes, may help improve memory in those already diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. This background of knowledge prompted a group of researchers from the University of Arizona to conduct their own research to see if high... http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/62/161047/levels-increase-alzheimer http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/62/160989/vitamins-b12-shown-alzheimer Wed, 22 May 2013 12:56:00 -0400 Carol Bradley Bursack Could a combination of the vitamins B12, B6 and folic acid be first effective “drug” to slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease? The concept looks promising. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences recently published information about a study on aging volunteers that has demonstrated how this combination of B vitamins has, in their trials, slowed atrophy of gray matter in brain areas affected by... http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/62/160989/vitamins-b12-shown-alzheimer http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/62/160878/leukemia-dementia-buildup Wed, 15 May 2013 11:31:45 -0400 Carol Bradley Bursack An existing drug already used to treat leukemia has shown promise as a treatment for neurological diseases such as Lewy body dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Researchers from Georgetown University successfully used small doses of the drug nilotinibin in experiments using mice.  This drug, which is used to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), appears to eliminate abnormal protein build-up in the... http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/62/160878/leukemia-dementia-buildup http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/62/160815/choosing-facility-listen-gut Sat, 11 May 2013 08:53:38 -0400 Carol Bradley Bursack People often ask what to look for when choosing an assisted living facility or a nursing home for a loved one. There are grading sites such as the Medicare Nursing Home Guide, found on Medicare.gov, and I suggest you use them. However, there are many things that go into good care that can’t be measured on a chart. In order to see the heart of a facility, you need to spend some time there. Observe routines and pay attention to the... http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/62/160815/choosing-facility-listen-gut http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/62/160789/alzheimer-treatment-fails Thu, 09 May 2013 07:56:26 -0400 Carol Bradley Bursack Less than a year ago, I wrote about the promising results in an Alzheimer’s trial of an infusion called Gammagard. A story on CBSNews.com then reported that the experimental drug had been shown to halt the mental decline in some patients. Admittedly, this was a small study, but the results were exciting.     Unfortunately, an announcement this week has given us a very disappointing update. USAToday.com reports that a larger... http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/62/160789/alzheimer-treatment-fails http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/62/160772/mediterranean-diet-alzheimer Wed, 08 May 2013 11:39:00 -0400 Carol Bradley Bursack Scientists researching several diseases have been studying the effects of a Mediterranean diet on health. The most recent study results came from collecting the diet information from more than 17,000 men and women whose average age was 64.   Cognitive ability, which is our interest here, was one of several elements studied over a four-year period of time. The participants took tests that measured their memory and thinking... http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/62/160772/mediterranean-diet-alzheimer http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/62/160663/exercise-physical-alzheimer Wed, 01 May 2013 08:04:27 -0400 Carol Bradley Bursack Like it or not, exercise is good for us. Exercise helps to speed up our metabolism and strengthen our bones. Also, we’ve known for decades that exercise is good for the heart, and lately there have been many studies that have shown it’s good for the brain. So good, as a matter of fact, that now, according to a recent paper published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Researchers at Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine in... http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/62/160663/exercise-physical-alzheimer http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/62/160558/public-alzheimer-diagnosis Sat, 27 Apr 2013 07:00:25 -0400 Carol Bradley Bursack   Sadly, even after years of work to educate the public about any illness that affects the brain, a stigma remains. No matter that most, if not all, mental illnesses have a biological basis. No matter that people aren’t any more responsible for a brain illness than they are for other illnesses. The fact remains that whether the disease affects the brain occurs at a younger age in the form of depression or bi-polar disease or an older... http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/62/160558/public-alzheimer-diagnosis http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/62/160522/option-hospice-care-freeing Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:47:04 -0400 Carol Bradley Bursack People who read my work on a regular basis know that I am grateful to hospice for the care of both of my parents. Without the skilled, compassionate care of the hospice staff, both of my parents would have suffered far more than they did. As it was, they’d both had long, slow declines. Pain had become the focus of their lives even though they received excellent care in the nursing home. First Dad, and eventually Mom, qualified for hospice... http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/62/160522/option-hospice-care-freeing http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/62/160366/communicating-dementia-takes Wed, 17 Apr 2013 08:09:55 -0400 Carol Bradley Bursack Communicating with someone who has dementia can be an ever-changing challenge. But some things never change. One of those constants is that caregivers and friends must fully understand and accept that the person with dementia is not a child any sense of the word.    Dementia may have robbed our friends or loved ones of their ability to understand their own environment, follow a sequence of directions or even understand how to use the... http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/62/160366/communicating-dementia-takes