Scholarship Program For People With Disabilities

September 2, 2010 – 8:55 pm American Association on Health and Disability Scholarship Program.

Because You Ought to do Right by Your Parents

September 2, 2010 – 5:14 pm In our aging society, taunting decisions are being made for elderly parents by well meaning children every day. 'Parental Controls' by Faye Hollins-Moore (available at www.Amazon.com) is a guidance manual written in fiction form to assist in the decision making process.

Funding Boost for Parkinson’s NSW

September 2, 2010 – 4:09 pm The NSW Government today announced a $68,000 funding boost to Parkinson’s NSW, a non-government organisation providing support to those living with Parkinson’s disease and their carers. (Source: Disabled World)

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Study Implicates Immune System in Parkinson’s Disease Pathogenesis

September 2, 2010 – 3:19 pm Common genetic variation in the HLA region is associated with late-onset sporadic PD, researchers say. Medscape Medical News (Source: Medscape Pharmacist Headlines)

Mental "exercise" linked to faster dementia progression

September 2, 2010 – 10:19 am NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - While staying mentally active in old age has been linked to a delayed onset of dementia, seniors who engage in such brain "exercise" may actually have a faster rate of decline once Alzheimer's is diagnosed, researchers reported Wednesday. (Source: Reuters: Health)

Agent Orange Cases Expanded; Added Costs Raise Fiscal Concerns

September 2, 2010 – 10:00 am The Associated Press/Washington Post: Hundreds of thousands of Vietnam War veterans are receiving disability compensation for diseases normally associated with aging - not combat - because of the possibility of a link Agent Orange exposure. The diseases in question range from diabetes, for which 270,000 veterans receive Agent Orange-related checks, to erectile dysfunction. "And taxpayers may soon be responsible for even more: VA said Monday that it will add heart disease, Parkinson's disease and certain types of leukemia to the list of conditions that might be connected to Agent Orange... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

Prevalence, Classification, and Etiology of Pain in Parkinson’s Disease: Association between Parkinson’s Disease and Fibromyalgia or Chronic Widespread Pain.

September 2, 2010 – 9:12 am Authors: Toda K, Harada T Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by resting tremor, slow and decreased movement (hypokinesia and akinesia), rigidity, postural instability, problems with gait, and coordination. The prevalence of PD is between 0.1% and 0.3% in the general population and between 1% and 2% in persons 65 years of age or older. Patients with PD are more likely to suffer from pain. Indeed, the chief complaint of patients with severe motor disturbance and severe pain is pain rather than motor disturbance. Fibromyalgia (FM) is defined by widespread pain (pain in the left and right sides of the body, pain above the waist, pain below the waist, and axial skeletal pain) for more than 3 months and the presence of at least 11 of the 18 specified tender points. FM and chronic wide...

Multiple traumatic limb loss: A comparison of Vietnam veterans to OIF/OEF servicemembers.

September 2, 2010 – 9:00 am This article compares the Vietnam and the Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) groups with war-theater-associated multiple-limb loss to document significant changes in health status, prosthetic-device use, and long-term prognosis. During 2007 and 2008, a national survey queried 73 Vietnam veterans and 61 OIF/OEF servicemembers sustaining multiple-limb loss. Average years since limb loss are 39 for Vietnam veterans and 3 for OIF/OEF servicemembers. Self-rated health status was excellent or very good in 38.9% of the Vietnam group and 60.7% of the OIF/OEF group (p = 0.01). More of the OIF/OEF group than the Vietnam group reported performing high-impact aerobic activities, 18% versus 3% (p = 0.005). The OIF/OEF group currently uses more diverse prosthetic-device types t...

Unilateral lower-limb loss: Prosthetic device use and functional outcomes in servicemembers from Vietnam war and OIF/OEF conflicts.

September 2, 2010 – 9:00 am Authors: Gailey R, McFarland LV, Cooper RA, Czerniecki J, Gambel JM, Hubbard S, Maynard C, Smith DG, Raya M, Reiber GE Rehabilitation goals following major combat-associated limb loss in World War II and the Vietnam war focused on treatment of the injury and a return to civilian life. The goal for Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) servicemembers is to restore function to the greatest possible degree and, if they desire, return them to Active Duty, by providing them with extensive rehabilitation services and a variety of prosthetic devices. Our study determines the usefulness of these diverse types of prosthetic devices for restoring functional capability and documents prosthesis use and satisfaction. We compare servicemembers and veterans with major combat-as...

Department of Veterans Affairs compensation and medical care benefits accorded to veterans with major limb loss.

September 2, 2010 – 9:00 am This article describes veterans with service-connected disability for major lower- and/or upper-limb loss resulting from combat-field-associated injuries sustained in the Vietnam war, Operation Desert Shield/Operation Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF). Using the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Compensation and Pension Mini-Master file, we identified 2,690 veterans who in August 2007 received compensation for loss of one or more limbs. More than 97% sustained their injuries in Vietnam; most were young men who served in the U.S. Army or Marine Corps. All but 5% had at least 50% combined service-connected disability and nearly half had a 100% rating. In addition to limb loss, one of the most prevalent compensable conditions was posttraumatic st...