March is National Essential Tremor Awareness Month

In December 2010, Congress passed a House resolution that officially designates March as "National Essential Tremor Awareness Month."

National Essential Tremor Awareness Month provides people with ET and the International Essential Tremor Foundation (IETF) with a key platform to educate the public about the condition, as well as raise much needed research funds. While 10 million people in the United States have essential tremor, the public still has very little awareness of ET. Because the condition can be treated in many cases, it is important for people to seek help early if they exhibit symptoms. With your assistance, we can reach more people this year.

Visit this link to learn more about how to raise awareness of ET.

2012 National ET Awareness Month Media Mentions and Fundraising/Awareness Events

Free ET Publications for download and printing.

ElderStore is a finalist in the Best of the Web competition!

New Study Finds Hearing Loss Triples the Risk of Falling

HealthDay News is reporting the results of a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers connecting hearing loss to a higher risk of incidents of falling.

Johns Hopkins researchers analyzed data from more than 2,000 people ages 40 to 69 who took part in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2001 to 2004. The participants had their hearing tested and answered questions about whether they had had a fall in the past year.

Senior's Valentine!

Essential Tremor and Parkinson's disease: What's the Difference?

ElderStore kindly invited the International Essential Tremor Foundation (IETF) to contribute guest posts to this blog. The organization appreciates the opportunity to share information about essential tremor and to reach this audience. 

ElderStore's motto - Aging with Grace and Dignity - is both apt and important to keep in mind as we grow older and tend to our needs as human beings. The IETF will certainly honor that motto in our posts.  

To begin, I'd like to share basic information about essential tremor (ET), a neurological condition that causes shaking of the head, hands, and voice. Also known as familial tremor, benign essential tremor or hereditary tremor, ET is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease (PD) and dystonia.

Actually, ET is eight times more common than PD and affects 10 million people in the United States. It is the most common movement disorder; however, because of stereotypes and a lack of awareness, many people with ET never seek medical care though most would benefit from treatment.

  

How does ET differ from PD? Members of the IETF Medical Advisory Board created a simple reference guide that lists basic distinctions between ET and PD signs and symptoms. 

Visit this link to learn more:  Essential Tremor and Parkinson's disease - How do they differ from each other?

To learn more about ET, visit our website or call us toll-free at 888.387.3667 for information about the condition, treatment, support groups, research and more.

Pete Dulin
Editor
International Essential Tremor Foundation

http://www.essentialtremor.org/

Old as the Dinosaurs!

Reduce the Risk of Alzheimer's

Report published in the Archives of Neurology suggests that staying cognitively active over a lifetime may reduce your risk of Alzheimer's Disease.

According to study author Susan Landau, a research scientist at the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at UC Berkeley, "we think that cognitive activity is probably one of a variety of lifestyle practices -- occupational, recreational and social activities -- that may be important."

In the United States, more than 5 million people have Alzheimer's disease, and it is now the sixth-leading killer in the country, according to the researchers. No cure exists for the neurodegenerative condition, but a draft of the first-ever National Alzheimer's Plan released last week laid out plans by the federal government to have effective treatment by 2025.

International Essential Tremor Foundation

ElderStore recently became a member of the International Essential Tremor Foundation.  If you or a loved one have tremors, check out their website, it is full of helpful information.  Membership provides newsletters, reports and brochures with up to date information on Essential Tremors.

Panache Laundry Cart

NEW at ElderStore - Lightweight, folding, rolling laundry cart!

ElderStore has been searching for a folding laundry cart for quite some time. And now we finally have the Panache Laundry Trolley.

Easy as One, Two Three - unfold your laundry cart, set your laundry basket inside and roll to the laundry room - no more carrying laundry baskets!

Easy rolling laundry cart holds the basket at just the right height.  The high quality, lightweight, laundry cart is designed to hold most square, oval and round laundry baskets.

The cart weighs just a bit over 8 pounds. The laundry cart folds flat (except for the wheels) for easy storage when not in use.

You can purchase this cart here or here.

Why Some People Live to 110 or Longer

HealthDay News reported on a new study by a team of U.S. researchers who found that people who live to 110 or loonger have as many disease related genes as everyone, but they may also have genetically inherited protective genes as well that help them live long lives.

The team of U.S. scientists noted that supercentenarians, as they are called, are extremely rare, with only one per 5 million people in developed nations. There is growing evidence that genetics play a major role in living to such an old age.