"Mildly High Cholesterol at Midlife Linked to Alzheimer’s"

A study by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research that analyzed the medical records of their long-time plan participants revealed that men and women with significantly elevated levels of cholesterol in their 40s were 57 percent more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than their peers.

Of the ten thousand original participants in the study, roughly 600 developed a mental disability in their later years. Even those with only mildly elevated cholesterol were 50% more likely than those with normal levels to develop dementia. Though the study is not far reaching, and does not directly correlate high cholesterol to dementia, the authors of the study caution the public to maintain healthy lifestyles and be aware of "modifiable risk factors."

You can read a synopsis of the study published in the NY Times.

Want to learn more about Alzheimer's and dementia? Take a look at our resource guides for Alzheimer's Disease and Aging and Disabilities.

Physical Activity in Youth with Disabilities

Next Friday, August 14 2009, Dr. John Librett will give a talk in the HPER building of the IUB campus on active living for children and youth with disabilities. Librett is the executive director of SPLORE, a non-profit organization based in Salt Lake City, Utah that offers inclusive recreation and education programs.

A press release for the event reads: "Obesity among children and youth with disability is nearly twice that of children without disability. Consequently their health status is further compromised by the lack of physical activity, access to facilities, programs, and services, and social networks of the general population." Librett hopes to establish a partnership with researchers at IU to pursue potential solutions.

Librett invites "professionals in health promotion, special education, disability services, rehabilitation, special physical education, therapeutic recreation and associated disciplines" to the talk. You can contact compton@indiana.edu or call 812-856-6055 for more information.

Second Workshop on Making Businesses Accessible

The City of Bloomington is offering a second workshop to educate builders, contractors and architects on federal and state regulations regarding accessibility of buildings for people with disabilities.

The City’s aim is to help businesses and organizations understand how to be fully accessible as they design and construct their buildings.

The City’s Council for Community Accessibility received funding through the Indiana Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities and ADA-Indiana for its project entitled “Making Businesses Accessible: If We Build It Right, They Will Come!” The first workshop, offered on July 28, was a great success, with 33 building inspectors from Monroe and surrounding counties attending.

The final workshop will be on Wednesday, Aug. 19, for architects, builders and contractors, from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at City Hall, 401 N. Morton Street, Bloomington. The event is free for participants, and lunch will be provided.

Presenting will be representatives from the U.S. Access Board and the Great Lakes ADA Center, a program of the Department of Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The Great Lakes ADA Center provides information, materials, technical assistance and training on the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The U.S. Access Board is an independent Federal agency devoted to enhancing accessibility for people with disabilities. It provides technical assistance and training on accessible design criteria and enforces accessibility standards that cover federally funded facilities.

For further information about the workshop, please contact Craig Brenner, Special Projects Coordinator, City of Bloomington Community and Family Resources Department, at 349-3471 or brennerc@bloomington.in.gov, or Barbara McKinney, Human Rights Director, City of Bloomington Legal Department, at 349-3429 or mckinneb@bloomington.in.gov.

The Differentiated School

The differentiated school: making revolutionary changes in teaching and learning by Carol Tomlinson, Kay Brimijoin, and Lane Narvaez is an essential read for school administrators and educational planners. The authors provide guidelines for "change toward differentiation" in K-12 schools, with case studies of middle and high-schools that have successfully trained teachers and implemented programs to adjust for the needs of individual students of all abilities.

Interested in this book? Indiana resident? Email us!

Not an Indiana resident? Find this book at your local library through WorldCat.

iPods do not interfere with Pacemakers

A recent media frenzy has attempted to whip up panic about the dangers of portable music players to people with pacemakers. But you don't have to toss out those MP3s and iPods just yet: a study in BioMedical Engineering has shown that such devices are incapable of producing a magnetic field strong enough to interfere with modern pacemakers (read about it in ScienceDaily).

The study shows that the Apple iPod's magnetic field is hundreds of times less than that required to effect pacemakers even when the earbuds hang directly over the chest. Moreover, the voltage produced by this field is so low that it cannot be detected by highly sensitive equipment.

So put your hearts at ease: listening to your favorite tunes will not cause an implanted pacemaker to go on the fritz.