We are clearly a society that relies on the use medications and drugs. Look in your medicine cabinet. How many medications do you find? Aspirin? Acid blockers? Allergy medications? Blood pressure medications? Antidepressants? Anti-anxiety drugs? Do you drink coffee or caffeinated sodas? Do you drink alcohol? Drug use is pervasive. Indeed, we have become so enamored with drugs that we often forget that many human problems are better treated with nonpharmacological methods. Furthermore, aging increases drug accumulation over time and increases the risk of toxicity from medications and drugs. A single class of medications; psychotropics that are used to manage conditions like anxiety, depression, and lack of sleep; is used by as many as 40-50% of those who are aged, by some estimates. The use of psychotropics is greater among the aged than the young despite the fact that mental illness […]
Archive for November, 2012
What FREE Webinar: Make Memory a Part of Your Wellness Program When Tuesday, December 11, 2012 3:30pm – One hour in length – All Ages Where (map) Other InfoTopics include: – Memory changes with age – Improving memory – How to protect your memory RSVP by December 7th. You will receive instructions to log into webinar at that time. Call (239)262-6577 or email ciccarelli@cas-naplesfl.com « Back to the calendar
A headline in The New York Times (November 16, 2012) announced that “For Alzheimer’s, detection advances outpace treatment options.” We are given the example of a family who sought out a new brain scan technology that is heralded as a diagnostic breakthrough for detecting Alzheimer’s disease. These scans show plaques in the brain. Plaques, in turn, are composed of deposits of amyloid proteins in the brain that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease. These scans are currently available at over 300 hospitals throughout the country. But there are a number of dilemmas resulting from this technology and its use. Are we creating a tautology between Alzheimer’s disease and plaques? A tautology is a logical fallacy that constrains our thinking by circular reasoning. Alzheimer’s is plaques and plaques are Alzheimer’s. The real issue is diagnosing dementia, which is disability from cognitive decline. […]
I am in the same boat as everyone else who is aging. I am trying to plan for the best outcome. My profession does not protect me from either the physical or mental changes that come with getting older. During my last physical, my physician, Kathleen Wilson, gently reminded me that I am not being aggressive enough with my personal wellness program. I have been managing hypertension since I was 35. I have Type II diabetes in my family and mildly elevated blood sugars. These factors and age increase my risk for cognitive decline (I hope that if I decline it will not be severe enough that I become demented) as I grow older. As part of my wellness, I take an aspirin each day, exercise, and stay engaged in professional and leisure activities. A couple of recent studies encourage […]
