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Christopher N. Bredeson, MD, MSc, FRCPC, describes advances in bone marrow transplant techniques that have reduced side effects and allowed more people with leukemia to keep their disease under control.
The Medical College of Wisconsin's Deidre L. Faust, MD, notes that while shingles can occur at any time, the incidence increases with age as immunity seems to wane.
The Medical College of Wisconsin's Deidre L. Faust, MD, answers questions about Zostavax, the shingles vaccine that has been available since 2006.
Dr. Deidre Faust notes that exercise improves bone and cardiovascular health, blood pressure, and overall well-being.
Christopher N. Bredeson, MD, MSc, FRCPC, Medical College of Wisconsin Associate Professor and Director of Hematological Malignancies, describes recent advances in the treatment of three types of leukemia that affect adults: AML, CML, and CLL.
"I still believe that a vast majority of older people in this country are going to be cared for by a primary care physician," says Edmund Duthie, Jr., MD. "Our teaching programs are aimed to help these doctors do the best job possible."
"There are good reasons to feel sad," says Thomas Heinrich, MD. "There's never a good reason to suffer from major depression. Major depression is a pathological disease state that has adverse health consequences."
Dr. Mary Cohan offers many methods to help patients manage incontinence. "It is not considered a normal part of aging and there are simple ways to treat it," she notes. "Don't wait to seek treatment."
"There is a combination of social forces, health care forces, and health system forces that all lead doctors to do too many tests and offer too many useless treatments near the end of life," says David Weissman, MD, FACP.
Dr. David Weissman says subspecialty designation will give patients and families more choices about how to make decisions in the face of serious illness.
Cataract surgery has become simply a day surgery procedure, according to Dr. Bhavna Sheth. "We most often use just a topical or local anesthetic, and are usually done in less than 20 minutes," she notes.
Stephen M. Rao, PhD, is leading a team of Medical College researchers using advanced imaging technology to help identify - or rule out - Alzheimer's at an earlier and more treatable stage.
"Over half of hip fracture patients never regain their prior level of functioning and 20% of them require nursing home care," according to Joan M. Neuner, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Medical College.
She looked younger than her 91 years, and now she had developed a cancer in her tongue. She certainly appeared healthy but I struggled as I weighed the risks and benefits of the treatment recommendations.
"There is no need for the fittest and most functional of older adults to be treated by a geriatrician," says Edmund Duthie, Jr., MD. "But there are older adults who do require the care of a geriatrician. They are what we call vulnerable elders. This group of people is struggling to function."
Changing attitudes among health care providers, better education and a more encompassing definition of the terminally ill are among the keys to helping physicians better adapt to the needs of dying patients, says Russell Robertson, MD.
"One of the advantages of being a physician is hearing a story or two volunteered by a World War 2 vet," says Dr. Jack Kaufman.
"This really is a significant epidemic in many ways," says M. E. Csuka, MD, FACP, Medical College of Wisconsin Associate Professor of Medicine. "It robs people of so much of their quality of life."
Two studies that appeared in the Archives of Neurology help shed light on the early signs of Alzheimer's disease and suggest that antioxidant vitamins might help decrease the risk of developing it.
M. Saeed Dhamee, MD, Professor of Anesthesiology, says the loss of cognitive function seems to occur most frequently among older patients who have undergone heart surgery, joint replacements or fracture repairs.
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