N E W S

Vol 13, No. 1        LINCARE is a National Supplier of Home
Fall '00                Oxygen and Respiratory Therapy Services

1.5 Mile Daily Walk Makes Old Hearts Feel Young Again

  Elderly men can reduce their risks of a heart attack simply by walking more, according to a study reported in the July 6th Circulation.
   The study, based on 2,678 Hawaiian men raging in age from 71 to 93, found that those who walked at least 1.5 miles a day were half as likely to have a heart attack as those who walked less.
    The findings may extend to younger men and women.  By walking regularly, people can protect their hearts by reducing the buildup of fatty deposits that clog heart arteries.

                                             - USA Today, July 6, 1999

If you STOP today:

1. And if a disease process has not already begun, after about 10 years your risk of heart disease and cancer will be about the same as someone who has never smoked.
2. Your cough will lessen and then disappear.
3. Your overall blood circulation will improve.
4. Your heart may not have to work as hard, your blood pressure may drop and you may find yourself less winded.
5. Your sense of taste and smell will improve.

Vaccine Fights Brain Plaque Linked To Alzheimer's

   Raising hopes of preventing Alzheimer's, scientists have developed a vaccine that in mice appears to ward off and even reduce the brain-clogging deposits that are characteristic of the disease.
  It is uncertain whether the treatment will work in humans, but the San Francisco pharmaceutical company behind the research wants to test it on people soon.
   Deposits in the brain of a sticky protein called amyloid are one of the characteristics of Alzheimer's.  The vaccine appears to prevent the formation of these plaque deposits in mice that were genetically engineered to overproduce amyloid.
   There is no known cure for Alzheimer's, which is believed to affect more than 5 million Americans.  The patients, most of them older than 60, progress from forgetfulness to dementia.

Next page

Diabetes Discovery

   For years scientist have searched for a pill to replace the insulin injections used daily by millions of diabetics.  Now researchers have found what they believe is the first drug like chemical that mimics insulin's molecular workings; it has been given orally to mice with few obvious side effects.  In the tests, the compound (named L-783,281) activated the so called insulin receptor on cells, causing large reductions in blood sugar levels.
   The research is still at an early stage, however, and more testing is needed to find a version of the compound that's safe enough for human testing.  Nonetheless, experts say the discovery may ultimately lead to the first alternative to injected insulin for people with Type I diabetes - the most severe form of the disease - as well as to a new oral drug for those with Type 2 diabetes.

                               - Readers Digest,
September 1999