ReWalk: First and Only Exoskeleton Cleared by FDA — FDA allows marketing of first wearable, motorized device that helps people with certain spinal cord injuries to walk – Exoskeleton leader ReWalk Robotics announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the company’s ReWalk Personal System for use at home and in the community.
People who enjoy life maintain better physical function as they age – People who enjoy life maintain better physical function in daily activities and keep up faster walking speeds as they age, compared with people who enjoy life less, according to a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
Regular physical activity in later life boosts likelihood of ‘healthy aging’ up to sevenfold — Helps stave off major ill health and dementia even for those getting started relatively late – It’s never too late to get physically active, with even those starting relatively late in life reaping significant health benefits, reveals researchers. Four years of sustained regular physical activity boosted the likelihood of healthy ageing sevenfold compared with consistent inactivity.
Comprehensive Parkinson’s Biomarker Test Has Prognostic and Diagnostic Value, Penn Medicine Team Reports — First Biomarker Results from Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative Detect Differences in Subtypes of Parkinson’s Disease – The first biomarker results reported from the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), showing that a comprehensive test of protein biomarkers in spinal fluid have prognostic and diagnostic value in early stages of Parkinson’s disease.
Doctors-in-training spend very little time at patient bedside, study finds — Time with patients seems ‘squeezed out’ of training, investigator says – Medical interns spend just 12 percent of their time examining and talking with patients, and more than 40 percent of their time behind a computer, according to a new Johns Hopkins study that closely followed first-year residents at Baltimore’s two large academic medical centers.
Exercise improves memory, thinking after stroke, study finds – Just six months of exercise can improve memory, language, thinking and judgment problems by almost 50 per cent. Toronto researchers found that the proportion of stroke patients with at least mild cognitive impairment dropped from 66 per cent to 37 per cent during a research study on the impact of exercise on the brain.
Physical activity interventions for children have ‘little impact’ — Are interventions to promote physical activity in children a waste of time? – Physical activity interventions for children have small impact on overall activity levels and consequently the body fat and mass of children. Previous studies have shown that greater activity levels are associated with lower levels of BMI (body mass index) but that physical activity interventions have been unsuccessful in improving children’s BMI.
Midlife fitness staves off chronic disease at end of life, UT Southwestern researchers report — Fitness at 50 – free from chronic illness – Being physically fit during your 30s, 40s, and 50s not only helps extend lifespan, but it also increases the chances of aging healthily, free from chronic illness. For decades, research has shown that higher cardiorespiratory fitness levels lessen the risk of death, but it previously had been unknown just how much fitness might affect the burden of chronic disease in the most senior years ? a concept known as morbidity compression.
Vigorous physical activity associated with reduced risk of psoriasis – A study of U.S. women suggests that vigorous physical activity may be associated with a reduced risk of psoriasis. Psoriasis is an immunologic disorder characterized by systemic inflammation and scaling of the skin.
Study finds moderate weight loss reduces levels of sex hormones linked to breast cancer risk – Even a moderate amount of weight loss can significantly reduce levels of circulating estrogens that are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, revealed by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
