Summary: The Granger causality is an economic theory used for determining whether links in events are coincidence or influenced from the events and processes. Research has shown that this economic theory can be used to better understand the influences of different parts of the brain. They used the frontoparietal cortex and the visual cortex, and used the Granger causality to determine that the frontoparietal cortex influences the visual cortex.

Comment: Researchers have been using MRI's to study the influences in the brain, but this method can only show results every two seconds, which can be too slow to see the influences. The Granger causality can be used to improve studies of brain functions and influences, and can also be used to determine the affects of lesions in certain brain areas. This method could help researchers develop better treatments for neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease.

Summary: Vitamin D has been linked to improved overall health. This vitamin affects 36 organ tissues in the body including bone marrow, breast, colon, intestine, kidney, lung, prostate, retina, skin, stomach and uterus tissues. It has also been linked to improving immune systems, insulin secretion, heart health, blood pressure, muscle, brain activity, and decreased risk of cancer. For most adults 200-600 IU of daily vitamin D is recommended, but some experts recommend up to 2000 IU daily.

Comment: Vitamin D has previously been thought to improve bone health, but this study shows that it can affect all areas of health. By increased intake of vitamin D people with Parkinson's disease can experience improved health.

Summary: This article outlines current efforts are being made to reduce racial and ethnic health care disparities. These include the Respira program, which focuses on providing asthma education and outreach to Hispanic communities. Another program is a lecture that seeks to improve knowledge of blood pressure management and diabetes. Other efforts involve grants to increase levels of minority students in medical programs, and campaigns to increase medical literacy in minority communities.

Comment: Racial and ethnic disparities exist in most areas of medical care including Parkinson's disease. These disparities can often be dangerous to the health of minority people. These programs are aiming to close the gaps in health care, which can result in better care for people with Parkinson's disease.

Summary: In an effort to clarify the rather unknown interactions between cholesterol and neurotransmitter receptors, scientists have created a computerized model using data relating to cholesterol's interaction with proteins. The results are a new model on the behavior of a neurotransmitter involved in inflammation, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, and epilepsy, among others.

Comment: Pharmacology will most likely benefit from these findings. Drugs interacting with this receptor can now be made more specifically, effectively and correctly.

Summary: Patients may experienced lower quality of care during sign outs, which is the transfer of a patients during a shift change. Researchers used oral sign-outs and written sign-outs to compare to reports of subsequent errors. It was found that doctors are often more confused about the patient information rather than factual details. Examples of such problems are doctors not fully understanding the clinical condition, or doctors not knowing the reasoning behind a test.

Comment: It is suggested that sign-out procedures become a part of medical school curriculum to raise the quality of patient care. Patients should also be aware that after and during a sign-out their doctors may not be fully informed about their conditions and test. Being able to close these safety gaps at sign-out can allow patients to receive the best care possible.

Summary: Researchers found that sticking to a strict Mediterranean diet can reduce deaths from conditions such as cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. This diet is characterized by small amounts of meat and dairy, and larger amounts of vegetables, nuts, olive oil, fruits, fish, and grains. A Mediterranean diet lowered the risk of death from cancer by 6%, cardiovascular diseases by 9%, and the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease by 13%.

Comment: This research suggests that by adopting a Mediterranean type diet death rates can be lowered. They also found that the adherence rate was a factor in the benefits from the diet. This research also reinforces previous diet guidelines that are similar to a Mediterranean diet.

Summary: Abnormal, or fatal, interactions between the a-syn protein, which is involved in Alzheimer's disease, and the Abeta amyloid, which is linked to the plaque associated with Alzheimer's disease, can form hybrid, unique complexes. The hybrid complexes created can result in combined neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease.

Comment: This research shows the relationship between Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and explains the higher risk of those with Alzheimer's also developing Parkinson's. The protein models developed can show scientists how to better prevent the conditions, and improve the symptoms of the conditions. The research team also developed a method of dynamic modeling, which allows researchers to model accurately at the atomic level.

Summary: Recent statistics show that in 2007 56% of Americans adults, which is more than 122 million people, attempted to find information about a personal health concern from a source other than their physician. This statistic is up from 38% in 2001. Education levels were a key factor in determining whether a person sought medical information, 72% of those with a graduate degree compared to 42% of those with only a high school diploma. The number of Americans using the internet for medical information doubled from 16% in 2001 to 32% in 2007.

Comment: More than half of the people reported that the information changed their general approach to their health care, and 80% reported that the information helped them better understand treatments of their condition or illness. Doctors are always a good source of medical information, but it can often be hard to consult a doctor with every concern. Finding more information on medical conditions, such as Parkinson's disease, can help patients better understand their health.

Summary: Inpatient medication reconciliation was made a National Patient Safety Goal in 2005 and nationwide attention was soon focused on the issue of errors in these medication records as patients move in and out of hospitals. However, a new study from Brigham and Women's Hospital has shown that inpatients experience and average of one and a half potentially harmful errors in their records during the course of their hospital stay. The study also attempted to identify the frequency of specific kinds of errors, at what point during a patient's stay these errors occur, and factors which put a patient at risk for errors to occur.

Comment: Dr. Jeffrey Schnipper, MD, MPH senior author and Hospitalist at BWH stated his hope that, "This information can help guide hospitals in determining where to focus their efforts for addressing this problem." He also noted that patients today are often on more medications than they have been in the past, raising the stakes along with the risks. Information collected by this study will, no doubt, have a significant effect in reducing the frequency of these errors, thus reducing the risk for all patients.

Summary: In a recent study researchers found that about 82% of Americans believe that the health care system in America needs to be reformed. 90% believed that the presidential candidates need to develop health care reform plans to improve the quality and coverage of health care. 90% also believe that it is important to have one doctor responsible for their primary care and for coordinating care with specialists. 90% also reported believing that having access to their medical records, and doctors having the same access was important.

Comment: Parkinson's disease requires the best medical care possible, and many people in America do not believe that they are getting the level of care that they need. People with Parkinson's, and all other people in America, can affect their health care system by contacting their representatives and voicing their concerns and thoughts about the current health care system.