Medicare health insurer, Humana Inc. reported a 12.5 percent rise in its first-quarter profit. The growth in its Medicare Advantage and commercial businesses more than offset an expected decline in its stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plans.The results beat Wall Street expectations, and the company raised full-year earnings-per-share projections.

The Louisville-based company earned $80.17 million, or 47 cents per share, in the three months ended March 31 compared to $71.2 million, or 42 cents a share, in the year-ago period.Revenue rose 12 percent to $6.96 billion from $6.2 billion.

The Medicare Advantage plans offer comprehensive health coverage.

Top 7 warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease are:
1. Asking the same question over and over again.
2. Repeating the same story, word for word, again and again.
3. Forgetting how to cook, or how to make repairs, or how to play cards — activities that were previously done with ease and regularity.
4. Losing one’s ability to pay bills or balance one’s checkbook.
5. Getting lost in familiar surroundings, or misplacing household objects.
6. Neglecting to bathe, or wearing the same clothes over and over again, while insisting that they have taken a bath or that their clothes are still clean.
7. Relying on someone else, such as a spouse, to make decisions or answer questions they previously would have handled themselves.

Source: www.nih.com

A new analysis of a study on an experimental Alzheimer’s drug reinforces the notion that the compound is broadly effective at improving the cognitive function of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s patients.A second analysis of the trial on the medication, known as Dimebon, also reveals that by improving the Alzheimer’s patients’ ability to perform daily tasks, the drug shaves off almost an hour a day in the amount of time the average caregiver must attend to his or her patient.The twin observations raise hope for a new and improved therapy to address both the symptoms and the underlying mechanisms driving a disease that the Alzheimer’s Association says currently affects more than 5 million Americans.

Read the full article on www.msn.com

Source: www.msn.com

In a major change, the American Heart Association said Monday that hands-only CPR — rapid, deep presses on the victim’s chest until help arrives — works just as well as standard CPR for sudden cardiac arrest in adults.

Experts hope bystanders will now be more willing to jump in and help if they see someone suddenly collapse. Hands-only CPR is simpler and easier to remember and removes a big barrier for people skittish about the mouth-to-mouth breathing.

Read the article at www.cnn.com

 As many as 5.2 million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer’s right now.

• It is projected that 10 million baby boomers will develop Alzheimer’s in their lifetime.

• Every 71 seconds, someone develops Alzheimer’s.

• Alzheimer’s Disease is the seventh-leading cause of death.
The direct and indirect costs of Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementias to Medicare, Medicaid and businesses amount to more than $148 billion each year.
These are just a few of the facts in our new report, 2008 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures. The report can be found at www.alz.org and it includes a comprehensive statistical abstract of U.S. data on Alzheimer’s disease that includes: prevalence, mortality, the costs of Alzheimer care, family caregiving and the lifetime risks of Alzheimer’s Disease.

U.S. researchers said on Tuesday that having a defibrillator at home does not protect heart attack survivors against a cardiac arrest any better than having someone at home with good cardiopulmonary resuscitation training.

They presented the results of their study of devices known as automated external defibrillators or AEDs used in the home at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology in Chicago. When stationed in public places such as airports, AEDs have helped people survive sudden cardiac arrest, when the heart stops pumping blood. Without immediate treatment with a defibrillator or a bystander who knows CPR, most die within minutes.

As about 80 percent of sudden cardiac arrests occur at home, researchers wanted to see if putting defibrillators in the home could save lives.

Read the entire article at : www.reuters.com