New Clue to Cause of Alzheimer’s Disease Discovered

Researchers have uncovered a new clue to the cause of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers and physicians say they have caused symptoms of the memory-robbing form of dementia in rats by injecting them with a particular form of sticky protein called beta-amyloid. The protein forms a kind of plaque that is found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. There long has been a question whether the protein is a cause of the disease or a side effect. Some people have beta-amyloid plaque in their brains but do not show disease symptoms. The researchers say they were surprised to find that injections of two forms of the protein did not cause illness, while the third type did. Now, they say the question is why? The findings are reported in the online edition of the journal Nature Medicine.

Please click on the link below to read the Kentucky Post article:

http://www.kypost.com/news/national/story.aspx?content_id=36352aee-b083-439c-b872-8e6e69c90c9f

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Thousands of Michigan Doctors likely to Hang Up Their Stethoscopes

John Dircks is a doctor of pulmonary medicine in Kalamazoo and will be celebrating his retirement. The 65-year-old physician, a graduate of the University of Michigan, founded his pulmonary clinical care group in 1976, and said he looks forward to a reduced workload. But for Dircks, retirement is about more than just enjoying his golden years. “It’s really just not feasible to keep doing what I’m doing,” Dircks said. “I pay the overhead for the office and computers and all the secretarial staff. I go through reams and reams of insurance and billing and transcripts. It doesn’t leave enough money for me and my wife.” Dircks is among of the more than 6,000 Michigan physicians who will be hanging up their stethoscopes in the next 10 to 12 years. That mass retirement will leave thousands of patients without medical care, state health experts say. About 38 percent of the state’s physicians, particularly in the primary care, family and internal medicine fields, will be retiring by 2020, David Fox of the Michigan State Medical Society said. “It’s going to be a real problem,” Fox said. “The baby boomers are hitting retirement, too, and they’re going to need more health care. The physicians who are retiring are the ones those people are going to have to see first. “Physicians are tending to retire earlier,” Fox said. “It’s a little more difficult maintaining a medical practice now.” The escalating exodus of doctors is due to a number of factors, Fox said. Not only are physicians retiring, but others are leaving the state due to the poor economy. Between the declining income of patients, increased costs of staff, high medical malpractice insurance rates and more exposure to lawsuits, Fox said physicians are inclined to quit sooner.

Please click on the link below to read the Mlive.com article:

http://blog.mlive.com/cns/2008/03/lansing_john_dircks_is_a.html

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.