Oct. 20, 2013 — Scientists report in Nature they have found a novel and unexpected molecular switch that could become a key to slowing some of the ravages of getting older as it prompts blood stem cells to age.
The study is expected to help in the search for therapeutic strategies to slow or reverse the aging process, and possibly rejuvenate these critically important stem cells (called hematopoietic stem cells, or HSCs), said scientists from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Ulm in Germany who conducted study.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131020160654.htm
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Tuesday, October 01, 2013
Commonly held myths about end of life issues
Some people don’t have a health care power of attorney or living will because they don’t realize how important these documents are. Others worry that such documents mean they are signing their lives away. Not so.
These powerful documents make sure that you get the treatment you would want for yourself if you couldn’t communicate your wishes. Here are a few myths that shouldn’t get in the way of creating a health care power of attorney or living will:
Myth: More care is always better.
Truth: Not necessarily. Sometimes more care prolongs the dying process without respect for quality of life or comfort. It’s important to know what interventions are truly important. It’s often impossible to know that in advance. That’s where the advice of a healthcare team is invaluable.
Myth: Refusing life support invalidates your life insurance, because you are committing suicide.
Truth: Refusing life support does not mean that you are committing suicide. Instead, the underlying medical problem is considered to be the cause of death.
Myth: If medical treatment is started, it cannot be stopped.
Truth: Not starting a medical treatment and stopping a treatment are the same in the eyes of the law. So you or your health care agent can approve a treatment for a trial period that you think may be helpful without fear that you can’t change your mind later. However, be aware that stopping treatment can be more emotionally difficult than not starting it in the first place.
Myth: If you refuse life-extending treatments, you’re refusing all treatments.
Truth: No matter what treatments you refuse, you should still expect to receive any other care you need or want — especially the pain and symptom management sometimes called intensive comfort care.
Myth: Stopping or refusing artificial nutrition and hydration causes pain for someone who is dying.
Actually, what is listed here as TRUTH is not. You can find valid studies that state removing hydration from a dying person increases their pain.
[Truth: Unlike keeping food or water from a healthy person, for someone who is dying, declining artificial nutrition or intravenous hydration does not cause pain.]
Harvard Health Beat, Sept. 26, 2013
These powerful documents make sure that you get the treatment you would want for yourself if you couldn’t communicate your wishes. Here are a few myths that shouldn’t get in the way of creating a health care power of attorney or living will:
Myth: More care is always better.
Truth: Not necessarily. Sometimes more care prolongs the dying process without respect for quality of life or comfort. It’s important to know what interventions are truly important. It’s often impossible to know that in advance. That’s where the advice of a healthcare team is invaluable.
Myth: Refusing life support invalidates your life insurance, because you are committing suicide.
Truth: Refusing life support does not mean that you are committing suicide. Instead, the underlying medical problem is considered to be the cause of death.
Myth: If medical treatment is started, it cannot be stopped.
Truth: Not starting a medical treatment and stopping a treatment are the same in the eyes of the law. So you or your health care agent can approve a treatment for a trial period that you think may be helpful without fear that you can’t change your mind later. However, be aware that stopping treatment can be more emotionally difficult than not starting it in the first place.
Myth: If you refuse life-extending treatments, you’re refusing all treatments.
Truth: No matter what treatments you refuse, you should still expect to receive any other care you need or want — especially the pain and symptom management sometimes called intensive comfort care.
Myth: Stopping or refusing artificial nutrition and hydration causes pain for someone who is dying.
Actually, what is listed here as TRUTH is not. You can find valid studies that state removing hydration from a dying person increases their pain.
[Truth: Unlike keeping food or water from a healthy person, for someone who is dying, declining artificial nutrition or intravenous hydration does not cause pain.]
Harvard Health Beat, Sept. 26, 2013
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Doctors pressured to push Obamacare
"With open enrollment set to begin next week, enrollment groups and medical societies are hoping America's doctors can inform patients about their options for expanded coverage under the 2010 health law." Medpage.
So far, I haven't met a doctor who liked Obamacare or thought it was a good idea, so why ask them to push it? Some plan to by-pass insurance plans all together.
So I asked self, "I wonder what an 'enrollment group' is?" I looked it up, and here is one called "Enroll America."
"Enroll America is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to maximize the number of uninsured Americans who enroll in health coverage made available by the Affordable Care Act. Enroll America is a collaborative organization, working with partners that span the gamut of health coverage stakeholders—health insurers, hospitals, doctors, pharmaceutical companies, employers, consumer groups, faith-based organizations, civic organizations, and philanthropies—to engage many different voices in support of an easy, accessible, and widely available enrollment process."
You should see the fancy website. My goodness--one of the best. Clicked all over the page, but not a peep on how it is funded (except the donate button, and I seriously doubt this staff, offices, website, training sessions, etc. are covered by donations). I bet this group didn't wait 3 years for their non-profit tax status.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Do you have a Written Income Plan (WIP) by guest blogger Jeff Gorton
“Age 85 is a bad time to go broke,” says expert retirement planner Jeff Gorton. Personal savings, various investments and, yes, Social Security may prove to be short of what you’d expected.
“Budgeting how you spend money before retirement can often be a misleading measurement of how you’ll actually spend it during retirement,” says Gorton, a veteran Certified Public Accountant and Certified Financial Planner™, and head of Gorton Financial Group (www.gortonfinancialgroup.com).
“Spending 40 hours a week at work not only earns you a paycheck, it also keeps you from spending money on more vacations, matinee screenings at the movie theater, extra trips to the mall or shopping online. You need to be exceedingly realistic in your planning, and the five years before retirement are actually the most crucial in solidifying post-employment stability.”
To prevent a rude awakening during retirement, Gorton makes certain his clients start with a written income plan (WIP). He reviews the benefits and importance of this “living document”:
• A comprehensive list of life expenses paints a clearer picture. For a 65-year-old married couple today, there is a 72 percent chance that at least one spouse will live to age 85; a 45 percent chance that one will live to age 90, and an 18 percent chance that one will reach age 95, according a recent study from the CDC National Center for Health Statistics. You may not think of listing things like pet care, yard maintenance, and regular visits to salons or spas. But if you enjoy those services now, you may want them during retirement, and you might find that you underestimated the real cost of maintaining your desired lifestyle. And, that’s not including gifts to children and grandchildren!
• The forecast of a two-legged stool. A WIP helps you appreciate the reliability of retirement income. What sources of income do you anticipate having? Traditionally, retirement funding has been viewed as a “three-legged stool,” implying a balance between Social Security, retirement plans and savings/investments. As the baby boom generation ages, Social Security benefits may decrease — and the age at which an individual can collect benefits may increase. Changes in employment may affect retirement plans. As a result, the third leg of the stool, savings/investments, may become even more important.
• Who is authoring your WIP? As with all written documents, you must always consider the source. What you may not realize is that a financial planner is liable to have a stake in selling you a financial product. Just like a retailer may have an incentive to move certain brands of products, many planners are incentivized to have you invest in specific financial vehicles from major institutions. What plan works best for you? Seek advice from an expert who isn’t trying to sell you something, such as an independent firm.
“If you don’t have a written income plan, then you’re just hoping things will work out,” Gorton says.
About Jeff Gorton, CPA, CFP®
Jeff Gorton is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Financial Planner™ specializing in individual tax and retirement planning. He is also an Investment Advisor Representative under Alphastar Capital Management, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor, and has a life and health insurance license. Gorton works with individuals and their families to create and protect their financial legacies. He specializes in working with retirees in the areas of tax planning, benefits, retirement planning, estate planning and safe money techniques. He received his BBA in Accounting from the University of Oklahoma. Gorton previously worked for 10 years as the Chief Financial Officer for a large retail organization, overseeing their accounting, benefits and 401(k) retirement plans.
“Budgeting how you spend money before retirement can often be a misleading measurement of how you’ll actually spend it during retirement,” says Gorton, a veteran Certified Public Accountant and Certified Financial Planner™, and head of Gorton Financial Group (www.gortonfinancialgroup.com).
“Spending 40 hours a week at work not only earns you a paycheck, it also keeps you from spending money on more vacations, matinee screenings at the movie theater, extra trips to the mall or shopping online. You need to be exceedingly realistic in your planning, and the five years before retirement are actually the most crucial in solidifying post-employment stability.”
To prevent a rude awakening during retirement, Gorton makes certain his clients start with a written income plan (WIP). He reviews the benefits and importance of this “living document”:
• A comprehensive list of life expenses paints a clearer picture. For a 65-year-old married couple today, there is a 72 percent chance that at least one spouse will live to age 85; a 45 percent chance that one will live to age 90, and an 18 percent chance that one will reach age 95, according a recent study from the CDC National Center for Health Statistics. You may not think of listing things like pet care, yard maintenance, and regular visits to salons or spas. But if you enjoy those services now, you may want them during retirement, and you might find that you underestimated the real cost of maintaining your desired lifestyle. And, that’s not including gifts to children and grandchildren!
• The forecast of a two-legged stool. A WIP helps you appreciate the reliability of retirement income. What sources of income do you anticipate having? Traditionally, retirement funding has been viewed as a “three-legged stool,” implying a balance between Social Security, retirement plans and savings/investments. As the baby boom generation ages, Social Security benefits may decrease — and the age at which an individual can collect benefits may increase. Changes in employment may affect retirement plans. As a result, the third leg of the stool, savings/investments, may become even more important.
• Who is authoring your WIP? As with all written documents, you must always consider the source. What you may not realize is that a financial planner is liable to have a stake in selling you a financial product. Just like a retailer may have an incentive to move certain brands of products, many planners are incentivized to have you invest in specific financial vehicles from major institutions. What plan works best for you? Seek advice from an expert who isn’t trying to sell you something, such as an independent firm.
“If you don’t have a written income plan, then you’re just hoping things will work out,” Gorton says.
About Jeff Gorton, CPA, CFP®
Jeff Gorton is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Financial Planner™ specializing in individual tax and retirement planning. He is also an Investment Advisor Representative under Alphastar Capital Management, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor, and has a life and health insurance license. Gorton works with individuals and their families to create and protect their financial legacies. He specializes in working with retirees in the areas of tax planning, benefits, retirement planning, estate planning and safe money techniques. He received his BBA in Accounting from the University of Oklahoma. Gorton previously worked for 10 years as the Chief Financial Officer for a large retail organization, overseeing their accounting, benefits and 401(k) retirement plans.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Mild Cognitive Impairment and computer use
Don't complain if your spouse or grandpa or auntie is using the computer too much. Watch for it when they lose interest. It's a study worth looking at. . .
"In a study of 100 older people with mean age of 84 years, there was a significant decline in computer use among the eight participants who developed MCI over 43 months of follow-up, compared with the 92 people whose cognitive skills remained stable (P=0.019), Jeffrey Kaye, MD, of Oregon Health & Science University, and colleagues reported at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Boston."
http://www.medpagetoday.com/TheGuptaGuide/Neurology/40586
"In a study of 100 older people with mean age of 84 years, there was a significant decline in computer use among the eight participants who developed MCI over 43 months of follow-up, compared with the 92 people whose cognitive skills remained stable (P=0.019), Jeffrey Kaye, MD, of Oregon Health & Science University, and colleagues reported at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Boston."
http://www.medpagetoday.com/TheGuptaGuide/Neurology/40586
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