DASH Hypertension Diet Also Lowers Cholesterol, Finds New NHLBI-Funded Study
An eating plan known to lower blood pressure also significantly lowers blood cholesterol levels, according to results of a study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

NCEP Issues Major New Cholesterol Guidelines
In May the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) issued major new clinical practice guidelines on the prevention and management of high cholesterol in adults. The guidelines are the first major update from NCEP in nearly a decade.

New Tool Allows Early Prediction Of Patient's Stroke Outcome
Scientists have developed a new tool that may help physicians predict, during the first several hours a stroke patient is in the hospital, the degree of recovery the patient will eventually experience.

HHS Issues First Guidance On New Patient Privacy Protections
On July 6, 2001 the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the first in a series of guidance materials on new federal privacy protections for medical records and other personal health information.

Public-Private Partnership Launches Osteoarthritis Initiative
A consortium using public funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and private funding from several pharmaceutical companies will attempt to find biological markers for the progression of osteoarthritis, a major cause of disability in people 65 and older.

Scientists Find That Heart Muscle Cells Regenerate After A Heart Attack
Challenging one of medicine's long-standing beliefs, a team of scientists found the strongest evidence to date that human heart muscle cells regenerate after a heart attack. 

Advance Payments From IRS
The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department will begin sending out advance payments this summer under the new tax law. The first checks will go out the week of July 23, and most of the mailings will be completed by the end of September.

HHS Secretary Responds to Drug Reimportation Provision in Recent Law
The safety of prescription drugs could not be adequately guaranteed if drug reimportation were allowed under the Medicine Equity and Drug Safety Act (MEDS Act), Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson wrote in a recent letter to members of Congress.

HHS Announces New "Micro-Grant" For Health Goals
On July 15, the Department of Health and Human Services announced plans to award hundreds of "micro-grants" worth up to $2,010 each to support Healthy People 2010.

DDT Use In U.S. Linked To Premature Births In The 1960's
Heavy U.S. use of DDT before 1966 may have produced a previously undetected epidemic of premature births, a new study shows. The study, which appears in the current issue of the international medical journal "Lancet", was carried out by scientists at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Keep Active: Safe At Any Age
A recent Consumer Product Safety Commission study shows a 54% increase in the number of sports-related injuries suffered by older Americans between 1990 and 1996 -- from 34,400 to 53,000. In this brochure, CPSC and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons give older Americans important tips on remaining safe while enjoying the many benefits of exercise.

Hormone Replacement Therapy
A woman’s decision whether to take hormone replacement therapy following menopause is one which is highly personal and controversial. A number of federal government health research and regulatory agencies pay close attention to studies on the risks involved in taking and or not taking different replacement therapies. Personal choice, government involvement, and other sensitive issues are presented in links on the Administration on Aging web site.

The Numbers on Older Americans
Did you know there are 43 men aged 85 and over for every 100 women this age? This fact and more from Census estimates, prepared for the Administration on Aging.

Medicare Rx Discount Card
Beginning this fall, Medicare beneficiaries will be able to choose among Medicare-endorsed Rx discount cards, offered by competing private drug discount card programs. People with Medicare would use the cards when they buy prescriptions to get discounts of about 10-25 percent off retail prices.

BenefitsCheckUp – A New Web Service From the National Council on Aging
The National Council on the Aging (NCOA) has a quick, confidential and free web service, BenefitsCheckUp, that can help seniors and their families connect to the federal and state programs available to help them.

Mental Health and Aging: Addressing the Unmet Needs of America's Elderly
In June, the SPRY Foundation, together with the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, and the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry sponsored a special educational forum for Congressional Staff on Capitol Hill on the topic: "Mental Health and Aging: Addressing the Unmet Needs of America's Elderly".

Manipulating A Single Gene Dramatically Improves Regeneration In Adult Neurons
Increasing the expression of a single gene that is important during development dramatically improves the ability of adult neurons to regenerate, a new study shows. The finding suggests that intrinsic properties of neurons play an important role in controlling neuronal regeneration and may lead to new approaches for treating damage from stroke, spinal cord injury, and other neurological conditions.

Medicare Expands Preventive Services
Beginning July 1, people with Medicare will receive expanded coverage for screening tests for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers. And starting on January 1, 2002, Medicare will cover an annual glaucoma screening test and medical nutrition therapy by registered dieticians for people with diabetes and a renal disease.

Grants to Aid in Treatment of Alzheimer’s
HHS today announced the award of more than $8 million in grants to 25 states to develop effective models of intervention to serve persons with Alzheimer's disease and their family caregivers. Information is available on the Administration on Aging's new Alzheimer's Web site at www.aoa.gov/alz, which includes family education and outreach materials in several languages and Alzheimer's care training manuals. Please see http://www.hhs.gov/whatsnew for more information.