Targeted Workouts May Strengthen Men’s #Bones in #Middle #Age

Men naturally lose bone mass as they age, which can put them at risk #for osteoporosis, a condition that weakens bones and makes them more likely #to break. About 16 million American men have low bone mass, and nearly 2 million have osteoporosis.

The new #study included 38 healthy, physically active middle-aged men with low bone mass who followed a weight-lifting or jumping program for a year. In both exercise regimens, the men did 60 to 120 minutes of targeted workouts a week.

Both groups had significant increases in the bone mass of the whole body and lumbar spine at six months, and this increase was maintained at 12 months. Only those who did weight-lifting had increases in hip-bone density, the study found.

“Weight-lifting programs exist to increase muscular strength, but less research has examined what happens to bones during these types of exercises,” Pam Hinton, director of nutritional sciences graduate studies in the department of nutrition and exercise physiology at the University of Missouri-Columbia, said in a university news release.

Men naturally lose bone mass as they age, which can put them at risk for osteoporosis, a condition that weakens bones and makes them more likely to break. About 16 million American men have low bone mass, and nearly 2 million have osteoporosis.

THURSDAY, July 30, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Certain types of exercise improve bone health in middle-aged men with low bone mass and may lower their risk for osteoporosis, according to a small new study.

Curated from Targeted Workouts May Strengthen Men’s Bones in Middle Age – MedicineNet

 Knee Replacement May Ease Pain for Rheumatoid #Arthritis #Patients

The surgery “acts like a time machine” for these patients, said study senior author Kaleb Michaud, an associate professor of internal medicine in the division of rheumatology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha.

Most studies of knee replacement surgery focus on patients with osteoarthritis, the “wear-and-tear” form of arthritis. This kind of arthritis involves the breakdown of cartilage, the cushiony material at the ends of bones.

On the other hand, patients who have the autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis experience painful inflammation and swelling of tissues around their joints.

This new study, published online recently in Arthritis and Rheumatology, included a large group of rheumatoid arthritis patients so the authors could examine how knee replacement affects patient pain levels and other factors related to quality of life.

THURSDAY, July 30, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Knee replacement surgery can temporarily return the joint to an earlier, better level of function in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, new research suggests.

The surgery “acts like a time machine” for these patients, said study senior author Kaleb Michaud, an associate professor of internal medicine in the division of rheumatology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha.

Curated from Knee Replacement May Ease Pain for Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients – MedicineNet

Researchers analyzed data from nearly 12,000 workers in Sweden. Over five years, about 8 percent of the workers took mental health #sick leave. Three-quarters of those who took mental health sick leave were women.

Workers with demanding jobs, high job strain and little social support at work were at greater risk for mental health sick leave, as were those with unhealthy lifestyles. Smoking was a significant risk factor for mental health sick leave, but alcohol use was not.

High levels of physical activity reduced the risk of mental health sick leave, according to the study in the August issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

The findings add to previous research showing that psychological conditions in the workplace affect rates of mental health sick leave, and may suggest ways to reduce the risk, according to researcher Lisa Mater of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and colleagues.

THURSDAY, July 30, 2015 (HealthDay News) — High levels of job stress may increase the risk of sick leave due to mental health disorders, a new study suggests.

Curated from Job Stress Might Make You Sick, Study Says – MedicineNet

The findings from test flights in the United States are promising news for patients in areas with poor road networks. Drones could give isolated medical #clinics quick access to lab tests required to diagnose and treat health problems, the researchers said.

After this successful proof-of-concept study, the next step would be to test the use of drones in Africa where health care clinics are sometimes 60 miles or more away from testing labs, the researchers said. “A drone could go 100 kilometers [about 62 miles] in 40 minutes,” study author Dr. Timothy Kien Amukele, a pathologist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, said in a university news release.

“They’re less expensive than motorcycles, are not subject to traffic delays, and the technology already exists for the drone to be programmed to ‘home’ to certain GPS coordinates, like a carrier pigeon,” he explained.

The findings from test flights in the United States are promising news for patients in areas with poor road networks. Drones could give isolated medical clinics quick access to lab tests required to diagnose and treat health problems, the researchers said.

Johns Hopkins University researchers found that common and routine blood tests were not affected when blood samples spent up to 40 minutes traveling on hobby-sized drones.