Tag: short-term rehab Somerset NJ

Rheumatoid Arthritis Affects the Entire Body

Posted on by Judah

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is usually associated with pain and swelling in the joints. However, it can cause long-term damage throughout the body.

Unlike osteoarthritis, which is a wear-and-tear disease, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease. This means that RA causes the immune system to attack healthy tissue as though it were diseased tissue. RA is also an inflammatory disease, meaning that it causes inflammation in healthy tissue. Finally, RA is a systemic disease, meaning that the inflammation it causes can wreak havoc throughout the body, particularly if the disease is untreated.

The inflammation of RA can affect different parts of the body in a variety of ways.

The Joints

Although RA is usually associated with the joints in the hands and feet, it can also affect joints throughout the body, including the spine, the neck, the shoulders, the hips, the knees, and the ankles.

RA usually targets the synovium, the lining of the joints, inflaming it and causing it to swell. This leads to pain and stiffness in the affected joint. The inflammation also causes the cartilage between the bones to break down, causing severe pain and permanent damage in those with advanced RA.

The Nerves

The inflammation of RA can compress nerves, particularly in the hands or feet. If RA attacks the wrist, it can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome.

The Brain

Psychological and neurological symptoms, such as depression, brain fog, and behavioral or cognitive changes, can occur with RA. These are sometimes a result of nerve compression due to inflammation in the joints, or may result from systemic inflammation throughout the body. Medications for RA may also lead to cognitive issues.

The Heart

RA can cause life-threatening inflammation in the heart and blood vessels. Untreated, RA can lead to anemia, headaches, and fatigue. RA’s inflammation can damage the blood vessels, allowing plaque to build up more easily inside the arteries, leading to an increased risk of heart attack or stroke. The lining of the heart can also become inflamed, causing chest pain.

The Lungs

RA affects the lungs 80% of the time, though it is not usually severe enough to cause symptoms. Some people, however, have enough lung inflammation to develop pulmonary fibrosis, a scarring of the lung tissue which can cause breathing difficulties.

The Bones

RA can cause osteoporosis, which is a loss of bone density and increase in bone brittleness. As is common with osteoporosis, it can lead to an increased risk of bone fracture.

RA is a progressive disease, and if left untreated, the symptoms will increase in severity, spread to other parts of the body, or both.

The most important action someone with RA can take is to see a doctor who will tailor a treatment plan for their symptoms. The plan should maximize the person’s mobility, while minimizing their pain and slowing the progression of their disease.

At the Regency Nursing and Rehabilitation Centers, we offer the very best of care in a patient-centered environment. This means following our residents’ health carefully, listening to them, and respecting their capabilities, while helping them to achieve maximum functionality and independence — and always maintaining the highest professional and quality standards in our staff and our facilities. Our 25 years of excellent care have led to us being awarded a Best Nursing Homes award by US News & World Today, a 5-Star rating by USA Today, and an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau, among many other awards.

Contact us by clicking here to see which of our three facilities will best meet your needs or the needs of your loved one.

What is the A1c Test? (Diabetes)

Posted on by Judah

Since diabetes is defined by its abnormal blood sugar levels, it makes sense that tests for diabetes measure the amount of sugar in the blood. However, blood glucose tests have a downside: they offer only a snapshot of blood glucose levels at the moment the blood is drawn, not broader information about longer-term blood sugar control. Today, a new test is displacing the blood glucose test as the standard for blood sugar measurement and control: the A1c test.

The A1c test measures the HgbA1c level in the blood. What is HgbA1c? Let’s break it down:

Hgb stands for hemoglobin, the component of red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the cells in the body.

A stands for Adult, but that term is used rather loosely. With hemoglobin, an adult is anyone over the age of six months. There are other types of hemoglobin in the blood, but in anyone older than six months, virtually all of it is Type A.

1 refers to the type of HgbA in the blood. There are several types of HgbA in the blood, but 98% of it is Type 1.

c is a sub-type of HgbA1. Here is where blood sugar enters the picture. Glucose attaches itself to hemoglobin, in particular to type c hemoglobin. In fact, two-thirds of a person’s glycated hemoglobin is HgbA1c, making this particular sub type of hemoglobin the best marker for blood glucose levels.

The more HgbA1c in the blood, the more sugar in the blood.

Advantages of the A1c test

The A1c test:

  1. Reports how well blood sugar has been controlled over the last three months, not just at the moment of the blood test.
  2. Does not require fasting, so it can be given at any time.
  3. Is not as likely as a fasting glucose test to be affected by stress or illness.
  4. Reveals prediabetes, not just diabetes, which makes it an especially useful diagnostic tool.

Like other glucose tests, home kits are available for the A1c test.

A1c Test Results

An A1c level below 5.7% is normal.

An A1c level between 5.7% and 6.4% indicates prediabetes.

An A1c level above 6.5% indicates high blood sugar.

An A1c level above 6.5% on two separate tests is diagnostic of diabetes.

Like all tests, the A1c is not foolproof. A variety of conditions, including excessive alcohol intake or anemia, can yield inaccurate results. Moreover, there are times when a diabetic needs to see a snapshot of their blood glucose level, and not just a three-month average. However, for long-term blood sugar management, the A1c has become an invaluable tool in the diabetic toolkit.

At the Regency Nursing and Rehabilitation Centers, we offer the very best of care in a patient-centered environment. This means following our residents’ health carefully, listening to them, and respecting their capabilities, while helping them to achieve maximum functionality and independence — and always maintaining the highest professional and quality standards in our staff and our facilities. Our 25 years of excellent care have led to us being awarded a Best Nursing Homes award by US News & World Today, a 5-Star rating by USA Today, and an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau, among many other awards.

Contact us by clicking here to see which of our three facilities will best meet your needs or the needs of your loved one.

Dangerous Myths about Senior Falls

Posted on by Judah

The leading cause of fatal injury in older people? A fall. The leading cause of nonfatal injury in older people? A fall. The most common way for a senior to lose their independence? You guessed it: a fall.

The statistics on falls among older people are sobering:

One in every four senior citizens falls every year in the US.
Every eleven seconds, a senior goes to the emergency room because of a fall.
Every nineteen minutes, a senior dies as the result of a fall.

Yet, many seniors are reluctant to consider the possibility of falling.
If there is a senior in your life, make sure they do not fall prey to one of these 3 dangerous, but all-too-common, myths about falling.

“I’m not at risk of falling because I don’t do anything dangerous. I just stay at home.”
More than half of all senior falls occur in the home, while the person is doing a task no more dangerous than getting out of a chair or going to the bathroom.
It is important to do a falls risk assessment in the home of every older person. Simple steps such as increasing the lighting, especially in the bathroom and on the way to the bathroom; removing throw rugs; and installing grab bars can dramatically decrease the risk of falling.
“Getting weaker is normal. There’s nothing to do about it.”
A senior might feel that loss of strength is a natural part of aging. While it’s true that strength generally decreases with age, exercise — particularly exercise that focuses on fall prevention — can help a senior keep the strength, balance, and flexibility they need to prevent a fall.
“I don’t want to use a cane because I will become dependent on it.”
Surprisingly, even when advised by a doctor to use a cane, many seniors refuse. They may be afraid that using a cane will lead them on the path to needing more and more intensive support, like a walker or wheelchair.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

If a senior uses a cane when advised to, they are more likely to avoid falling. But if they ignore the suggestion, they become more prone to a fall. And once they fall, they are likely to need much more support than a mere cane.

If your older loved one believes any of these dangerous myths, it is crucially important to change their thinking. Doing so can save their independence, and even their life.

At the Regency Nursing and Rehabilitation Centers, we offer the very best of care in a patient-centered environment. This means following our residents’ health carefully, listening to them, and respecting their capabilities, while helping them to achieve maximum functionality and independence — and always maintaining the highest professional and quality standards in our staff and our facilities.

Our 25 years of excellent care have led to us being awarded a Best Nursing Homes award by US News & World Today, a 5-Star rating by USA Today, and an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau, among many other awards.
Contact us by clicking here to see which of our three facilities will best meet your needs or the needs of your loved one.

The Surprising Brain Benefits of Exercise for Seniors

Posted on by Judah

Are you doing the daily crossword puzzle to stave off “senior moments” in which the right word is just out of reach? That’s good, but a study published in Scientific Reports indicates that taking a brisk walk can help just as much.

The study confirmed what we all know — that as we get older, we have more “tip-of-the-tongue moments” than younger people, and that older people are also less likely to eventually retrieve that out-of-reach word than younger people are. But that’s not what’s surprising.

What is surprising is that one of the best ways to reduce the probability of “tip-of-the-tongue moments” is to increase the senior’s level of aerobic fitness.

The study describes the following changes aerobic exercise produces in the brain’s function and structure:
1. Blood flow to the brain is improved, which increases the effectiveness of the brain’s ability to respond to carbon dioxide, a vital aspect of optimal brain function. Both cerebral blood flow and reactivity to carbon dioxide decrease with age, but the brain of an older person who is physically fit shows much less decline.

  1. Age-related decrease in gray matter, particularly in the frontal lobe and hippocampus, is lower in those who are physically fit. These two areas of the brain are associated with cognitive control and memory, respectively. Aerobic exercise has actually been shown to increase gray matter volume in the hippocampus.
  2. Nerve activation, the speed at which the brain processes information, increases with aerobic fitness. This improves the speed at which a senior can complete a task, and also improves their attention.

The study suggests that aerobic training similarly improves language abilities. Just a moderate amount of aerobic exercise — as little as a 30-minute walk most days of the week — provides numerous benefits, both physically and cognitively.

So, finish up that crossword, and head outside for a good walk!

At the Regency Nursing and Rehabilitation Centers, we offer the very best of care in a patient-centered environment. This means following our residents’ health carefully, listening to them, and respecting their capabilities, while helping them to achieve maximum functionality and independence — and always maintaining the highest professional and quality standards in our staff and our facilities. Our 25 years of excellent care have led to us being awarded a Best Nursing Homes award by US News & World Today, a 5-Star rating by USA Today, and an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau, among many other awards.

Contact us by clicking here to see which of our three facilities will best meet your needs or the needs of your loved one.

Beagles Can Be Trained to Detect Early Stages of Lung Cancer

Posted on by Judah

Although cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, the second leading cause of death, cancer, is not far behind. Further, the death rate due to cancer is growing more rapidly than the death rate due to cardiovascular disease.

Among the various types of cancer, non–small cell lung cancer is the leading cause of death due to cancer, and the second most commonly diagnosed type of cancer. As with most diseases, early diagnosis greatly improves the likelihood of positive outcome. Unfortunately, lung cancer typically has no symptoms in its early stages. Consequently, it is usually discovered only at a relatively advanced stage.

To make matters worse, even our most advanced radiology tools, such as CT and PET scans, are often inaccurate and unreliable, especially for early-stage cancers. Further, these machines are extremely expensive. and are therefore not used as a general screening technique for cancer when there are no specific symptoms.

Occasionally, a broken rib or chest injury will require a CT scan which will accidentally discover lung cancer. However, what is needed is a way to screen people for cancer at an early stage with high accuracy, especially for cancers with a high mortality rate.

According to an article recently published in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, a recent study used the ability of scent hounds, in particular beagles, to determine if their highly advanced sense of smell could accurately detect lung cancer.
A dog’s sense of smell is at least 10,000 times more sensitive than a human’s sense of smell. People have approximately 5 million olfactory receptors, while beagles have 225 million.

The researchers began by training a group of beagles for eight weeks, teaching them to distinguish between blood samples from individuals with non–small cell lung cancer and individuals who were healthy. The dogs had been trained to sit down if they walked past a sample of blood in which they smelled cancer, and to simply walk past samples of blood that had no such smell.

After the training period ended, the researchers collected new blood samples from people with and without non–small cell lung cancer, and tested the beagles’ ability to recognize the cancerous lung samples. The accuracy of the dogs was astounding: they accurately distinguished between the samples 97.5 % of the time.

The potential of using dogs to detect cancer is extremely promising. Not only do they provide great accuracy, they can provide this accuracy even at early stages of the disease. In other words, people could be screened for cancer quite easily, in a cost-effective way, at a time at which their chances for survival are at their highest.

The researchers stated clearly, with enthusiasm and optimism, that they expect that scent hounds could be trained to detect a wide variety of cancers, including breast cancer and colorectal cancer — two of the most common cancers. Dr. Thomas Quinn, a professor at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, PA, who led the study stated, “Right now, it appears dogs have a better natural ability to screen for cancer then our most advanced technology.”

There is a well-known saying that a dog is man’s best friend. Perhaps this is true in ways we only now beginning to appreciate.

At the Regency Nursing and Rehabilitation Centers, we offer the very best of care in a patient-centered environment. This means following our residents’ health carefully, listening to them, and respecting their capabilities, while helping them to achieve maximum functionality and independence — and always maintaining the highest professional and quality standards in our staff and our facilities. Our 25 years of excellent care have led to us being awarded a Best Nursing Homes award by US News & World Today, a 5-Star rating by USA Today, and an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau, among many other awards.

Contact us by clicking here to see which of our three facilities will best meet your needs or the needs of your loved one.

Why Women Have More Migraines Than Men

Posted on by Judah

A migraine is no ordinary headache. It is a debilitating experience that can last anywhere from four long hours to a staggering three days. Migraines are often accompanied by nausea, blurred vision, and hypersensitivity to light, smell, or sound.
Another unusual thing about migraines: they overwhelmingly affect women. Studies find that 85% of people who suffer from migraines are female.

It has long been assumed that hormones play a role in migraines, and the female sex hormone estrogen, in particular, has long been linked with the occurrence of migraines. A recent study, published in the journal Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, has found that female sex hormones sensitize the triminovascular nerve, a cranial nerve that has long been associated with migraines.

The study’s researchers found that increased levels of estrogen sensitize the trigeminal nerves to migraine triggers, which explains why higher estrogen levels are associated with increasing the incidence of migraines.
The female sex hormone prolactin also interacts with the trigeminal nerve cells. However, prolactin is associated with increasing the severity of migraines once they occur.
And male sex hormones? The researchers found that testosterone actually plays a protective role against migraine headaches.
The current research was not conducted on humans, however; future clinical studies will show how manipulating the levels of these hormones affect migraine incidence and severity. The results may allow clinicians to provide personalized hormonal therapy for migraines, granting much-needed relief for those who suffer.

At the Regency Nursing and Rehabilitation Centers, we offer the very best of care in a patient-centered environment. This means following our residents’ health carefully, listening to them, and respecting their capabilities, while helping them to achieve maximum functionality and independence — and always maintaining the highest professional and quality standards in our staff and our facilities. Our 25 years of excellent care have led to us being awarded a Best Nursing Homes award by US News & World Today, a 5-Star rating by USA Today, and an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau, among many other awards.

Contact us to see which of our three facilities will best meet your needs or the needs of your loved one.

Can You Get Too Much Vitamin D?

Can You Get Too Much Vitamin D?

Posted on by Judah

Numerous research reports have highlighted the fundamental importance of vitamin D, an essential vitamin that helps build and maintain healthy bones and teeth. Vitamin D also helps the body protect itself from a variety of illnesses and diseases, ranging from diabetes to cancer. Recent research has even shown Vitamin D deficiency to be associated with depression and dementia.

Vitamin D is synthesized by our bodies when sunlight reaches our skin. Many factors can affect the amount of vitamin D that our skin produces, for example, where we live, the time of the year and our skin pigmentation. In cold weather, people tend to be heavily clothed and to spend a relatively short amount of time outdoors. Obviously, absorbing enough vitamin D from sunlight would be difficult in such an environment.

Age is another factor that affects our ability to synthesize vitamin D. Generally speaking, it is harder for elderly adults to synthesize vitamin D. Fortunately, many foods contain vitamin D, including salmon, sardines, fortified milk, and egg yolks. Moreover, Vitamin D supplements are readily available.

Recently scientists at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, conducted a study analyzed the effects of vitamin D on fall risk. The results were published in The Journals of Gerontology: Series A.

The research focused on women between the ages of 50 and 70. The participants were divided into three groups:

  1. Group 1 took 600 IU of vitamin D daily
  2. Group 2 took 2000 IU of vitamin D daily
  3. Group 3 took 4000 IU of vitamin D daily.

A very interesting and intriguing set of results was discovered. Group 3 demonstrated improved memory and learning relative to the other two groups. This result was in line with research indicating that vitamin D offers protection from dementia. However, it was also noted that the participants in Group 3 experienced a reduction in reaction times. Slower reaction times can have potentially negative consequences, particularly with regard falling.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 25% of adults above the age of 65 fall each year. Falling, which often leads to broken bones, emergency room visits, and even death, is the leading cause of an elderly person losing their independence.

Currently scientists are uncertain why taking more than 2000 IU of vitamin D per day can lead to slower reaction times. They noted that these slower reaction times were only associated with people above the age of 65. Taking 4000 IU of vitamin D per day for younger people appeared to pose no problem.

The takeaway message for us is to make sure to discuss the amount of vitamin D we are taking with our doctors to ensure they were getting enough vitamin D to remain healthy, but not so much as to create a new risk. As we all know, you can get too much of a good thing.

At the Regency Nursing and Rehabilitation Centers, we offer the very best of care in a patient-centered environment. This means following our residents’ health carefully, listening to them, and respecting their capabilities, while helping them to achieve maximum functionality and independence — and always maintaining the highest professional and quality standards in our staff and our facilities. Our 25 years of excellent care have led to us being awarded a Best Nursing Homes award by US News & World Today, a 5-Star rating by USA Today, and an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau, among many other awards.

Contact us by clicking here to see which of our three facilities will best meet your needs or the needs of your loved one.

What is Ulcerative Colitis?

Posted on by Judah

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the colon, also known as the large intestine. Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are collectively known as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Though most people first develop symptoms of ulcerative colitis in their 20s, the next most common time to be diagnosed is between the ages of 50 and 80.

Although treatment of ulcerative colitis is the same regardless of age, it has recently been suggested that treatment as usual may not be the best thing for seniors. Care for ulcerative colitis is often based on data from clinical trials that excludes older people because of their multiple chronic conditions, and their need to take multiple medications.

Age does make a difference. Although ulcerative colitis is not generally associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancers, they are strongly associated in the elderly population. Screening for colorectal cancers, however, usually involve having a colonoscopy, a more risky procedure in the elderly.

In addition, ulcerative colitis is often treated with corticosteroids. These increase the risk of infectious diseases, such as the flu, hepatitis B, and pneumococcal disease, since steroids suppress the immune system. Older people are at greater risk of complications from these diseases, and should make sure to be immunized if they need a steroid regimen.

Older people with ulcerative colitis are also a greater risk of the following life-threatening complications: blood clots (thrombosis), including deep vein thrombosis (DVT); perforation of the colon; primary sclerosing cholangitis; and toxic megacolon.

Early recognition of ulcerative colitis can help UC sufferers decrease their risk of complication, and have a similar survival rate as the general population.

At the Regency Nursing and Rehabilitation Centers, we offer the very best of care in a patient-centered environment. This means always listening to our residents and patients and respecting their capabilities, while helping them to achieve maximum functionality and independence. And always maintaining the highest professional and quality standards in our staff and our facilities. Our 25 years of excellent care have led to us being awarded a Best Nursing Homes award by US News & World Today, a 5-Star rating by USA Today, and an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau, among many other awards.

Contact us by clicking here to see which of our three facilities will best meet your needs or the needs of your loved one.

Judging Quality of Life in Care Facilities

Judging Quality of Life in Care Facilities

Posted on by Judah

What do residents in long-term care facilities value most? What makes them feel most “at home” in their new home?

An international group of researchers asked over 15,000 residents of long-term care facilities around the world these questions, publishing the results, as “Hearing the Voice of the Resident in Long-Term Care Facilities — An Internationally Based Approach to Assessing Quality of Life,” in The Journal of the American Medical Directors Association.

Here are what people said were the most important things, in descending order:

  1. Being treated with dignity by the staff
  2. Receiving the services they need
  3. Being allowed to choose what clothing to wear
  4. Being allowed to spend time alone when they wish

The following four aspects of care were deemed by the residents to be the least important:

  1. Having friendly conversation with staff members
  2. Having people with whom to do activities
  3. Having fun activities on the weekends
  4. Having staff know their life story

The higher the scores on the most important items, the more the residents said that their facility felt like home. And having their facility feel like home was the most important factor affecting their quality of life.

We at the Regency Nursing and Rehabilitation Centers are not surprised by these findings. They are what we always strive for in giving our residents the best care.

We pride ourselves on listening to our residents and patients, providing them with what they need and respecting their desires as well as capabilities.

We have always maintained the highest professional and quality standards in our staff and our facilities. Our 25 years of excellent care have led to us being awarded a Best Nursing Homes award by US News & World Today, a 5-Star rating by USA Today, and an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau, among many other awards.

If you’ve been looking for a facility that will feel like home, you’ve found it.

Contact us by clicking here to see which of our three facilities will best meet your needs or the needs of your loved one.

Osteoporosis and Osteopenia: A Risk for the Elderly

Posted on by Judah

According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), osteoporosis and osteopenia affect more than half of adults over the age of 50 in the United States. The IOF points out that low bone density is a major health threat for US adults — particularly for the elderly population, since age is the single greatest risk factor for low bone density.

The most accurate way to diagnose low bone density is by means of a DEXA scan. A DEXA scan uses two low-energy x-ray beams which enable a doctor to separate an image into two components: bone and soft tissue. The results of a DEXA scan allow doctors to determine the severity of an individual’s bone loss as well as the best course of treatment for them.

Generally speaking, a DEXA scan will provide a T score which represents a person’s bone density. According to the World Health Organization, T-scores are divided into three categories:

  • A T score of -1 or higher indicates that an individual has normal bone density.
  • A T score between -1.1 and -2.4 indicates that an individual has osteopenia, low bone density.
  • A T score of -2.5 or lower indicates that an individual has osteoporosis, severe low bone density.

Osteoporosis and, to a lesser degree, osteopenia, cause bones to become brittle and fragile, increasing the risk of a fracture or break. Fractured or broken bones are more serious in older people since the bones heal more slowly as people age. Further, in the event of a severe fracture or break, an individual might require surgery, which itself can be a danger to elderly people.

Osteoporosis and osteopenia are particularly dangerous in the elderly, since the most common way for an older person to lose their independence is through a fall.

While diminished bone density is a natural consequence of aging, eating a healthy diet, including foods rich in calcium and vitamin D, and getting proper exercise, can slow the effects of aging on bones.

It is extremely important for people over the age of 50 to have a DEXA scan in order to determine their bone density. As with most disorders, the earlier a diagnosis is provided, the more effectively the disorder can be treated. In the case of osteopenia, doctors can design a regimen that includes supplements, dietary changes, and perhaps an exercise program to help prevent or slow an individual’s progression from osteopenia to osteoporosis. Osteoporosis might require bone-building medication in addition to these lifestyle changes.

At the Regency Nursing and Rehabilitation Centers, we offer the very best of care for people with low bone density, as well as other medical conditions, in a patient-centered environment. This means always listening to our residents and patients and respecting their capabilities, while helping them to achieve maximum functionality and independence. And always maintaining the highest professional and quality standards in our staff and our facilities. Our 25 years of excellent care have led to us being awarded a Best Nursing Homes award by US News & World Today, a 5-Star rating by USA Today, and an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau, among many other awards.

Contact us by clicking here to see which of our three facilities will best meet your needs or the needs of your loved one.