Monthly Archives: November 2015

New Study for People with Mild to Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease

Posted on by MaryO

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The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the study medication can help people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s Disease improve their mental abilities such as understanding, reasoning, and judgment. The study medication will be given together with an FDA-approved Alzheimer’s medication: Aricept® (donepezil), Exelon® (rivastigmine) or Razadyne® (galantamine).

More about the study:

  • The study drug (MK-7622) is administered in the form of one capsule a day in the morning.
  • There will be 830 participants in this trial

If you are interested, please find the full study details and eligibility criteria listed here.

Eligibility Criteria:

Participants must:

  • be between 55 – 85 years old
  • be diagnosed with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s Disease (12 – 24 MMSE)
  • have a trial partner who is able to attend any study visits that require assessment
  • be currently taking a stable daily dose of acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI) such as Aricept® (donepezil), Exelon® (rivastigmine patch oral), or Razadyne® (galantamine)

Participants must not:

  • have a history of seizures or epilepsy within the last 5 years
  • have a history of mental illness
  • have been diagnosed or treated for cancer within the past 5 years (excluding basal cell, squamous cell skin cancer, in situ cervical cancer and localized prostate cancer)

Please complete the online questionnaire to check if you’re eligible for the trial.

If you’re not familiar with clinical trials, here are some FAQs:

What are clinical trials?

Clinical trials are research studies to determine whether investigational drugs or treatments are safe and effective for humans. All new investigational medications and devices must undergo several clinical trials, often involving thousands of people.

Why participate in a clinical trial?

You will have access to new investigational treatments that would be available to the general public only upon approval. You will also receive study-related medical care and attention from clinical trial staff at research facilities. Clinical trials offer hope for many people and an opportunity to help researchers find better treatments for others in the future.

Learn why I’m talking about this Clinical Trial

Women’s heart attack symptoms are confusing

Posted on by MaryO

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By Dr. Keith Roach , Herald-Tribune
/ Friday, November 13, 2015

DEAR DR. ROACH: My question is about symptoms for women’s heart attacks. I have always heard that symptoms for women can be much different from men’s. Instead of the chest-clutching, sharp pain that men can have, I have read that women’s symptoms can be any of these: heartburn or indigestion; pain in the jaw, neck, shoulders, back, one or both arms; fatigue and troubled sleep; dizziness and nausea; or extreme anxiety. Are you KIDDING me? I am a healthy, active 63-year-old woman. I have had all of these symptoms at one time or another. If I acted every time I had one of these symptoms, I would be at the doctor’s office every day. How is one to know which symptoms to take seriously and act on immediately, and which to wait a few days to see if it is temporary?

Thank you for addressing this confusing issue. — J.

ANSWER: I have seen many letters similar to yours. The confusing problem is that it’s true: In women, heart attack symptoms and the symptoms of angina before a heart attack can include all of those vague symptoms. The same is true of men as well, although it’s more likely for women than for men to have symptoms other than the classic left-sided chest discomfort (people are much more likely to describe angina as “discomfort” or “pressure” than “pain”).

So your question is entirely valid: How do you know when to take common symptoms seriously? The first thing I would say is that the greater your risk for heart disease, the more seriously you should take any symptom. Age, family history of heart disease, high blood pressure and cholesterol, lack of regular physical exercise and diabetes are among the most important risk factors.

The second thing I would say is to take new symptoms seriously. If you never get heartburn, for example, then heartburn at age 63 should prompt concern.

Third, context matters. Symptoms such as nausea or jaw pain that occur with exercise — even carrying a bag of groceries or walking up stairs — is definitely a reason to talk to your doctor.

Most women don’t know that heart disease remains their No. 1 killer, far outstripping breast cancer (or any cancer). Both women and men need to take even vague symptoms seriously, especially if the symptoms are new, exertional or if the person has several risk factors. As a primary-care doctor, I’d rather see my patient for her concerns that symptoms may be heart disease than see her in the ICU with a heart attack.

From http://health.heraldtribune.com/2015/11/13/womens-heart-attack-symptoms-are-confusing/

 

 

Mohs surgery

Posted on by MaryO

tom-earMy husband had a Mohs surgery on his ear a couple months ago and it was a really good way to get rid of ALL the cancer.

His surgeon did it in really interesting way. I had thought that they would take the first slice, then wait in the room where he was while they looked at the pathology, then take another, etc until all the cancer was gone.

Instead, they took the first slice, then back to waiting room. Next person, first slice while they were looking at the pathology, then another person, first slice…

Then a round of second slices, then thirds.

It took longer than I’d thought but it was really good talking to other family members and patients during that time.

 

 

From the Mayo Clinic…

Mohs surgery is a precise surgical technique used to treat skin cancer. During Mohs surgery, thin layers of cancer-containing skin are progressively removed and examined until only cancer-free tissue remains. Mohs surgery is also known as Mohs micrographic surgery.

The goal of Mohs surgery is to remove as much of the skin cancer as possible, while doing minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissue. Mohs surgery is usually done on an outpatient basis using a local anesthetic.

Mohs surgery is an improvement to standard surgery (local excision), which involves removing the visible cancer and a small margin of surrounding healthy tissue all at once. Mohs surgery allows surgeons to verify that all cancer cells have been removed at the time of surgery. This increases the chance of a cure and reduces the need for additional treatments or additional surgery.