October 28, 1997
Health Source: Medical News from the University of Washington
SENIORS SERVING AS FULL-TIME PARENTS for children with developmental disabilities may be daunted by concerns for the future. Researchers at the Center for Disability Policy and Research (CDPR) at the University of Washington conducted a statewide survey of parents and caregivers of people with developmental disabilities. They found that approximately 44 percent of parents who are over 60 and have a child with a developmental disability are still serving as full-time parents. Primary concerns for these parents include planning for financial support and a safe and stable lifestyle for their children after they are gone. “Older parents must plan carefully for the future care of their children,” notes Paul Froese, research coordinator with CDPR.
EXAMINING HEALTH ISSUES AT THE HANFORD NUCLEAR site in Washington state is the focus of a University of Washington conference to be held this Dec. 3 and 4 in Richland, Wash. Hanford workers, local residents, scientists and others will gather to discuss the latest developments in ecological, community and occupational health at the Hanford site. These include a new system for monitoring worker health, efforts to identify former workers to learn about their health status and the use of a new method to measure for ecological damage.
AN INCREASED FOCUS ON HEALTH AND AGING in the medical community is highlighted in the October issue of the Western Journal of Medicine. Other medical publications around the world, including JAMA and Lancet, are also focusing on the subject in October. Articles in the journal cover a range of topics including mental alertness, sexuality, vision, and hearing. “We need to be more sympathetic to patients when they say ‘It’s no fun getting old’ and provide them with advice, skills and treatments that help minimize age-related decline,” said guest editor Dr. Eric Larson, professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine and medical director of UW Medical Center.
TESTING MEMORY, SLEEP PATTERNS AND HORMONES in older people may help advance knowledge of the biological changes that affect people as they age. The Sleep and Aging Research Program at the University of Washington is currently studying the effects of anabolic hormones – hormones responsible for the growth and preservation of many tissues of the body – on people aged 60 to 85 to help understand the effects of growth hormone on normal aging. Participants, who will receive either a placebo or growth hormone, will be evaluated for a period of five months.
USING ONE LIVER TO SAVE TWO LIVES IS POSSIBLE through an expanded program at the University of Washington Medical Center. Split-liver transplants, in which one donated liver is divided for use by two patients, are now being offered thanks to modifications in the technique for removing the organ. “This change will allow us to utilize every organ to the greatest possible extent,” said Dr. James Perkins, surgeon and director of transplantation services at UWMC.
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