The Health News USA October 9 2017

• A treatment for Parkinson’s Disease, called deep brain stimulation, implants electrical leads directly into brain tissue that deliver pulses of electricity. Popularly known as a “brain pacemaker,” deep brain stimulation works by blocking errant signals from damaged brain cells to “reset” the brain’s natural rhythm.
• A UK study suggests that women with physical and mental disabilities may be less likely to receive recommended screenings for breast or bowel cancers than other patients. Among nearly one million older women invited to get either breast or bowel screening, 23 percent had a physical disability limiting mobility, impaired vision or hearing, cognitive difficulties or challenges with daily tasks like dressing, bathing and eating.
• Former Obama administration officials say they’re launching a private campaign to encourage people to sign up for coverage next year under the Affordable Care Act. With the start of open enrollment just weeks away on November 1, the Trump administration has slashed “Obamacare’s” ad budget, as well as grants to outside organizations that are supposed to help consumers sign up.

News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the 9th of  October 2017. Read by Tabetha Moreto. Health News

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/05/brain-pacemaker-stops-tremors-helps-parkinsons-sufferers.html

A treatment for Parkinson’s Disease, called deep brain stimulation, implants electrical leads directly into brain tissue that deliver pulses of electricity. Improvements from the procedure can include reduced tremors, stiffness and slowness of movement. With this treatment, patients suffering from neurological disorders like Parkinson’s Disease can have the chance to live a normal life without constantly fighting their own bodies.Tremors, or involuntary shaking while a limb is at rest, can be noticeably reduced or even eliminated. Patients regain mobility and are able to walk and even talk normally. YouTube is filled with hundreds of videos demonstrating the “life-changing” effects of a DBS device when active, as well as what patient functionality returns to when the device is turned off.

Popularly known as a “brain pacemaker,” deep brain stimulation works by blocking errant signals from damaged brain cells to “reset” the brain’s natural rhythm, said Doctor Michael Okun, the medical director of the Parkinson’s Foundation and chairman for the Department of Neurology at the University of Florida. During surgery a hole is inserted into the patient’s skull and electrical leads are implanted directly into the brain’s tissue. The leads are threaded out, and the skull is closed. These wires are threaded behind the ears, down the neck and to the front chest area, where they are connected to a watch-size device that emits a controlled amount of electricity. The entire unit, from wires to generator, are all buried just below the skin. The generator, a self-contained unit with a battery, sends pulses of electricity through the leads to stimulate areas of the brain, reducing or in some cases even eliminating the most debilitating parts of the disease. A small, cellphone-size remote control can be used to adjust the “dosage” of electricity and can turn the device on and off.
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Abbott’s neuromodulation unit had three hundred million dollars in global sales, with approximately ten percent coming from DBS sales, but it says DBS has been growing since launching in the United States last year.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-disability-cancer-screening/many-women-with-disabilities-dont-get-cancer-screening-idUSKBN1CA2L1

A UK study suggests that women with physical and mental disabilities may be less likely to receive recommended screenings for breast or bowel cancers than other patients. Among nearly one million older women invited to get either breast or bowel screening, twenty three percent had a physical disability limiting mobility, impaired vision or hearing, cognitive difficulties or challenges with daily tasks like dressing, bathing and eating, the study found.

Compared to women without any of these problems, women with disabilities were thirty six percent less likely to get breast cancer screening and twenty five percent less likely to get bowel cancer screening, researchers report in the British Journal of Cancer. It’s possible that the location of screening and the logistics of getting evaluated may have influenced whether women got recommended tests, said lead study author Sarah Floud of the University of Oxford.
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For the study, researchers focused on older women who were offered screenings under UK guidelines. During the study period from two thousand six to two thousand eleven, the guidelines recommended breast cancer tests every three years for all women age fifty to seventy. Bowel cancer screenings were recommended every year for adults from age sixty to sixty nine at the start of the study, and the age limit was raised to seventy four in two thousand ten. Researchers examined data on four hundred forty five thousand five hundred seventy nine women offered breast cancer screenings and four hundred forty nine thousand fifty eight women offered bowel cancer screenings. Women with disabilities that affected eyesight, mobility and the ability to take care of themselves were the least likely to take part in cancer screening, the study found. People who reported any disability and also did not have access to a car were more likely to miss breast screenings.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/oct/4/obama-veterans-launch-health-insurance-sign-up-cam/

Former Obama administration officials say they’re launching a private campaign to encourage people to sign up for coverage next year under the Affordable Care Act. With the start of open enrollment just weeks away on November one, the Trump administration has slashed “Obamacare’s” ad budget, as well as grants to outside organizations that are supposed to help consumers sign up.

Republican attempts to repeal Barack Obama’s law have proven unsuccessful so far, but President Donald Trump hasn’t changed his view that the program is a “disaster.” The former Obama officials say their campaign – called Get America Covered – will offer a positive alternative to the Trump administration’s negative approach. They’ll focus on young adults, encouraging consumers to sign up for government-backed private health insurance because of the subsidies available.