Health •
Assistance for your
loved one at 'tome
Visiting Nurse Association Support Services can help you
or your loved one maintain an independent lifestyle at home.
RN Assessment & Supervision
2 hour to 24 hour care - 7 days a week
•Personal care •Medication reminders •Light housekeeping
•Shopping & transportation •Nursing care
•Sitting service •Wake-up phone calls
Caregivers are fully insured and bonded.
Call (248) 967-5800
VISITING NURSE ASSOCIATION
=SUPPORT SERVICES
Joint Commission
on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
An affiliate of VNA of Southeast Michigan
Take A Bite Out Of Life!
DENTAL IMPLANTS
The Solution For Loose
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'61800*
(includes Exam, X-Rays, Implants,
Upper and Lower Dentures)
Call For Your Evaluation (248) 553-4740
Novetsky, Luba, and Abdelnour, D.D.S.
*We accept Blue Cross and Medicare
IF YOU'RE SERIOUS
ABOUT YOUR FITNESS
Let us help you be the best you can be
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• Nutritional
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PETER
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The above pictured ramp is portable and may be
disassembled. We provide custom installation and
adjust the incline to agency recommendations.
(248) 855-0345
BATHROOM MODIFICATIONS
GRAB BARS & ACCESSORIES
DOOR WAYS • RAMPS
WE CAN DO SIMPLE MODIFICATIONS
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Megadoses Of Vitamin E
Benefit People Over 65
ALISON ASHTON
Special to The Jewish News
I
f you're over 65, be sure you're
getting enough vitamin E. The
recommended daily allowance of
30 milligrams a day may be
enough for younger people, but
researchers have found that 200 mil-
ligrams a day boosts the immune sys-
tem in those 65 and over.
A recent study conducted by the
Nutritional Immunology Laboratory
and the USDA Human Nutrition
Research Center on Aging at Tufts
University in Boston revealed that high
levels of vitamin E enhances immunity
by inhibiting the body's production of •
certain fatty acids.
Vitamin E could have an even more
profound effect for people with
Alzheimer's disease. A two-year clinical
trial showed that 2,000 international
units of vitamin E daily can slow the
progression of the disease.
Researcher Mary Sano, Ph.D., of the
College of Physicians & Surgeons at
Columbia University, says this news is
noteworthy because this is the first time
a medication or vitamin has been
shown to actually halt progression of
Alzheimer's rather than just provide
relief from symptoms.
"These findings are especially exciting
in light of the fact that scientists
presently have not identified other
treatments that have shown similar
benefits with respect to functional out-
comes," says Sano, adding that more
research is needed to determine if vita-
min E can prevent Alzheimer's.
Vitamin E is a lipid-soluble anti-oxi-
dant that Sano suspects protects neu-
rons from oxidative injury by free radi-
cals. In people with Alzheimer's, neu-
rons degenerate in regions of the brain
affected by the disease, which results in
memory loss and impaired cognitive
ability.
Sano notes that most people partici-
pating in the study had no side effects
from such high doses of the vitamin,
but adds that it can worsen blood coag-
ulation defects in people with those
problems.
Take It Easy
Researchers at Duke University
Medical Center in Durham, N.C.,
have found that stress and negative
emotions really can lead to permanent
heart damage. Tension, frustration,
anger and sadness increase the risk of
Alison Ashton writes for Copley News
Service.
10/31
1997
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myocardial ischemia, which results
from restricted blood flow to the heart
and can be a precursor of heart attacks.
And you'd probably never know it,
because this abnormality is usually
painless.
"Only a minority of patients we
studied experienced chest pain, suggest-
ing that patients were unaware that
stress was affecting their hearts," says
researcher Elizabeth Gullette.
How did Duke's researchers find this
out? They had 58 heart patients wear
portable electrocardiogram monitors
and record their moods and physical
symptoms for two days.
"Episodes of ischemia were more
than twice as likely to occur in the
hour following emotional stress com-
pared to nonstress hours," says
Gullette.
Fat Emotions
People who want to lose weight have
a better chance of keeping the unwant-
ed pounds off if they're willing to con-
front the emotional issues that lead
them to overeat.
"When a person is ready to work on
issues underneath his or her weight, the 7
weight is more likely to come off and
stay off," says Lee Kern, clinical direc-
tor of Structure House, a weight-con-
trol center in Durham, N.C.
Kern notes that successful clients at
the clinic were willing to work on psy-
chological codflicts and keep food
diaries. The diary enabled them to
track their eating patterns, especially
unplanned indulgences and the emo-
tions involved.
Mother's Fears
A new mother's fear of hurting baby
could signify something more serious
than simple nervousness, according to
one expert.
Dr. Kimberly Yonkers, director of thc)
Reproductive Mood Disorders Program
at University of Texas Southwestern
Medical Center in Dallas, says these
moms could have obsessive-compulsive
disorder. Postpartum OCD occurs four
to six weeks after a woman gives birth; -
symptoms include repetitive intrusive
thoughts to harm the infant.
Estrogen levels drop after delivery,
which can lead to an imbalance in the
brain chemical serotonin and cause
OCD symptoms to emerge. Oxytocin
is a hormone produced during preg-
nancy that may also worsen pre-exist-
ing OCD. Women diagnosed with
postpartum OCD may benefit from
certain antidepressants. ❑