LOS ANGELES - MedPage Today noted telltale plaques and tangles of even mild cognitive impairment can be detected by brain PET scans aided by a new chemical marker, scientists said.  A PET scan aided by FDDNP that binds to Alzheimer's amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles distinguished patients with mild cognitive impairment from those with Alzheimer's or from control patients, UCLA investigators stated in the New England Journal of Medicine.  "This is the first time this pattern of plaque and tangle has been tracked in living humans over time," said Dr. Gary Small, and colleagues.  Non-invasive methods of detecting these abnormal proteins potentially are useful in markers for drug development aimed at blocking amyloid build-up and for diagnostics, the team added.  The study enrolled 83 volunteers with self-reported memory problems who had had neurologic and psychiatric studies and PET scanning.  After cognitive testing, 25 volunteers were deemed to have Alzheimer's, 28 having mild cognitive impairment, and 30 as healthy controls.

BURLINGTON, VT - Reuters Health noted diabetics, mostly women, who take thiazolidinediones, including drugs such as Avandia and Actos, may have higher risk of getting cancer.  "There is more to these drugs than first meets the eye," Dr. Maria Ramos-Nino, of the University of Vermont.  "The long-term [results] and benefits aren’t understood." Dr. Ramos-Nino and her team studied the tie between thiazolidinediones and cancer prevalence among nearly 9,000 diabetics in a database.  A randomly selected sample of 1,003 was interviewed as to personal and clinical characteristics, including history of malignancy.  The findings were in BMC Medicine.  After factoring in the potential effects of other risk factors, investigators found the use of any thiazolidinedione was tied to a 59% higher risk of cancer.  The use of Avandia raised malignancy risk 89%; risk tied to Actos wasn’t statistically significant.  "We aren’t aware of a convincing explanation or previous results to support the finding in this study of an association with cancer for rosiglitazone, but not for pioglitazone," researchers write.

OXFORD, ENGLAND - MedPage Today disclosed more women than men inherit a propensity for ischemic stroke, regardless of usual vascular risk factors, scientists found.  Women who had a stroke or transient ischemic attack were more likely than men to have a history of stroke in mothers than fathers and sisters than brothers, noted online Lancet Neurology.  The age at stroke in patients and affected siblings correlated with age at stroke of a mother but not a father, said Drs. Peter Rothwell and Emmanuel Touzé, of the Radcliffe Infirmary.  Findings came from a study of strokes in mother, father, and other first-degree relatives of men and women with ischemic stroke or TIA in the Oxford Vascular Study, which assessed all incident or recurrent TIAs and strokes among 91,106 patients registered with 63 family physicians in Oxfordshire.  The study included 423 women, 383 men.  The women were older, slightly more likely to have had a TIA as a qualifying event, and more likely to have a history of hypertension, to be a lifetime non-smoker, and to have had high mean cholesterol, researchers said.  Women were more likely to have at least one affected first-degree relative.  Maternal stroke was almost twice as common as paternal stroke.

BOSTON - MedPage Today noted Zocor (simvastatin) may enrich the brain and help sustain the heart, scientists said.  The statin cut the risk of incident dementia by 54%-plus and the risk of newly-acquired Parkinson's disease by 49% in patients 65 or older, Dr. Benjamin Wolozin, of Boston University, and colleagues reported online at BMC Medicine.  Analysis of data from the 4.5 million men and women in the Veterans Affairs database found a significant protective effect for simvastatin, but not lovastatin.  There was a non-significant dip in risk of incident dementia among patients taking atorvastatin (Lipitor), they wrote.  They compared those taking lovastatin, atorvastatin, or simvastatin with those using warfarin (Coumadin) or an unidentified mix of other cardiovascular drugs.  The study had data from 1,290,071 participants who took some type of cardiovascular medicine, including 727,128 with simvastatin, 53,869 with atrovastatin, 53,369 with warfarin, and 54,052 lovastatin users.  It had data from 394,739 patients who used a variety of cardiovascular drugs.

WASHINGTON - Monday Morning in Washington, DC noted the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded $8,796,564 in grants to 32 public housing agencies and nonprofit agencies for services that help elderly and disabled residents.  "Thousands of elderly and disabled public housing residents rely on these grants to assist them in maintaining an independent lifestyle," said HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson.  The funding is from HUDs Resident Opportunities and Self Sufficiency Elderly/Persons with Disabilities Program, which public housing authorities, resident associations, and nonprofit organizations compete for annually.  The grants enable these entities to hire project coordinators to work with elderly residents and those with disabilities to link them with services available in their communities, such as transportation, health, and wellness programs, and meal services.

LOS ANGELES - A UCLA study found physicians discuss cost and obtaining newly-prescribed medications only about 33% of the time in patient/doctor interactions.  Questions about pricing and prescription drug insurance coverage are critical - the high cost of drugs, including out-of-pocket co-payments, are linked to patient non-adherence in maintaining dosage schedules, said Dr. Derjung Tarn, assistant professor of family medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine and lead author of the study in the American Journal of Managed Care.  "Though cost discussions aren’t always necessary, especially if physicians know a patient's financial situation and the best formulary choice for a medication, physicians must have a high level of awareness about medication cost and issues impeding medication acquisition because these can be important barriers to patient medication adherence," he said.

WASHINGTON - Monday Morning in Washington, DC noted that if you work with or serve people with disabilities who have low to moderate income, your organization may be a good candidate to partner with the IRS for tax assistance in your community.  This updated information is now available at www.disabilityinfo.gov/digov-public/public/DisplayPage.do?parentFolderId=50.

JACKSONVILLE, FL - Mom knew.  Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource notes how to avoid "catching" a cold and to relieve symptoms: It’s a virus, not the temperature, that causes colds.  When temperatures dip, most people spend more time indoors, and may have prolonged contact with others who may be sick.  You "catch" cold by having hand-to-hand contact with someone with a cold or using shared objects such as doorknobs, computer keyboards, or telephones.  Once you touch your mouth, nose, or eyes after exposure, you can acquire a cold.  The lesson: wash your hands often and thoroughly, especially if you have been around someone who has a cold.  Chicken soup and other fluids can improve symptoms.  Drinking plenty of liquids - water, juice, clear broth, or chicken soup helps loosen mucus that can cause congestion and helps prevent dehydration.  Warm liquids can help ease a sore throat.

HUNT VALLEY, MD - Nearly 40% of workers feel fatigue, a problem that costs billions of dollars in lost productivity, states a study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.  Led by Dr. Judith A. Ricci, of Caremark, researchers analyzed data from a U.S. study of the relationship between health and productivity at work.  Of nearly 29,000 employed adults interviewed, 38% said they had experienced "low levels of energy, poor sleep, or a feeling of fatigue" in the past two weeks.  With adjustment for other factors, fatigue was more common in women than men, in workers less than 50, and in white workers versus African-Americans.  Those with "high-control" jobs - relatively well-paid jobs with decision-making responsibility - also reported higher rates of fatigue.  The study looked at not only absenteeism but also "presenteeism" - at work but performing at less than full capacity for health reasons.  Fatigue reduced work performance mainly by interfering with concentration and increasing the time needed to accomplish tasks.

ST. LOUIS - A surge of baby-boomers entering their 60s means more drivers who may have cognitive impairments linked to aging.  Scientists at the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center of Washington University School of Medicine and elsewhere developed a three-hour workshop that trains healthcare providers to identify potentially unsafe drivers with dementia and to encourage retirement from driving.  "We don't want to give the message that older drivers are always unsafe, because that's just not the case," says Dr. Thomas Meuser, research associate professor of neurology.  "There are health-related changes tied to aging, including Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, that impair medical fitness to drive."  In an issue of Gerontologist, he and colleagues noted effects of their workshop after presentations to health professionals in seven Missouri locations, including rural cities with large elderly populations.

BOSTON - Plain old soap and water is still a good way to clean your hands, reports the Harvard Health Letter.  In studies, washing hands with soap and water for 15 seconds cuts bacterial counts about 90%.  Even people who are conscientious about washing their hands often make the mistake of not drying them properly.  Wet hands are more likely to spread germs than dry ones.  Almost half of the hand soaps sold have an antibacterial additive.  Studies suggest antibacterial soaps available don’t add much to hand hygiene.  The big advantage of these cleansers is you don’t need water or a towel; you can use them anywhere.  To be effective, alcohol rubs need to come into contact with all surfaces of your hands.