The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved tetrabenazine (Xenazine®) for the treatment of chorea in people with Huntington disease (HD). This is the first drug approved for the treatment of any symptom of HD. The FDA based this decision on the results of a randomized, placebo-controlled double-blind, multicenter study and other supporting studies.

About Huntington Disease
Huntington disease affects between 4 and 7 out of every 100,000 people. The classic signs of HD include the development of chorea or involuntary, rapid, irregular, jerky movements that may affect the face, arms, legs, or trunk. Other symptoms may include a gradual loss of thought processing and acquired abilities to think and reason (dementia). The person with HD may have trouble with memory, abstract thinking, and judgment; improper perceptions of time, place, or identity (disorientation); increased agitation; and personality changes. Although symptoms typically become evident during the fourth or fifth decades of life, the age at onset may vary and ranges from early childhood to late adulthood (even up to age 70 or 80).

HD is transmitted in an autosomal-dominant manner. That is, only one mutated copy of the gene IT15 is necessary for a person to have HD. Every child of a person with HD has a 50% chance of inheriting the mutated gene.

For more information on HD, please visit the WE MOVE web site at wemove.org/hd. While you are visiting the web site, check out the HD discussion forum by clicking on the discussion tab at the top of the home page. Once you’ve registered, you can share your thoughts and ask questions about living with HD.

About Tetrabenazine
People with HD have overactive dopamine systems in their brains. Tetrabenazine reduces the amount of dopamine in the brain and subsequently reduces the abnormal movements or chorea in people with HD. The FDA granted orphan drug status to Xenazine.

Serious side effects reported with use of tetrabenzine include depression and suicidal thoughts and actions. Tetrabenazine should not be used in patients who are actively suicidal or in patients with untreated depression. Concerns about the risk of suicide are heightened in all people with HD.

To view the FDA’s announcement, go to http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01874.html

Each of us have a lust for youthfulness which causes us to yearn for that special cream which grants us our wish, even blinding us to the truth of the product. However, in a new aspect of the present situation, an elder can look as good as a yearling!

The average elder may find his or herself inquiring in an investigation, \”what may I consider to be an effective elixir for my curse of wrinkles?! Certainly there is a cream among these falsities which should rule over the lines on my face!\”

The confusion is due to the wealth of choices. The manufactures are driven to come up with always new combinations of ingredients that claim to be able to diminish the appearance of wrinkles. Yes, we know - or should know by now - that the only wrinkle cream that carries the official stamp of is the good old vitamin A cream, Retinol.

However, we also know that the official stamp of approval is slow in coming. In the meantime, we would not want to miss out on all the potential goodness contained in the multitude of wrinkle cream jars that almost daily hit the market!

But we cannot declare all anti-age creams on the market today useless, because the fact is that with each application of the different types of cream, wrinkles and lines disappear, making it nearly impossible to give age-diminishing credit to any one brand.

To put honest information in logical terms, Vitamin A creams work well, but it has been proven that creams with AHA (alpha hydroxyl acids), antioxidants based on derivatives of vitamins A, C, and E, coenzyme Q10, collagen or copper work the best. A more recent study has been done on the possible effects of orchid extract. However, it is not possible to put all the ingredients together into one magical wrinkle-reducer.

Therefore, your best bet would be to periodically change from a cream that contains one type of wrinkle-fighting ingredient to a cream that contains another type of wrinkle-fighting ingredient. That way, your skin will over time get a variety of possibly beneficial ingredients. It is often a good idea to go by what your friends recommend, even though what is the best anti wrinkle cream for your friend is not necessarily the best for your specific skin type. Listen to your skin, and it will soon tell you what it likes and what it does not like!

In the end, there really is no Lord of All Ageless Creams, but there is strength in multitude. For best effects, an elder should do heavy research and select a cream wisely, then continue to work magic with the elixir for at least three months. It has been said by great lords that the greatest cause for an elder’s ageless cream to be unsuccessful is the elder’s unwillingness to keep using the same cream.

Advice For Nurses

Being a nurse takes dedication and perseverance. It’s not the most glamorous of duties and may be demanding but at the same time it can be one of the most rewarding of careers because you get to see your patients recovering from serious ailments under your care while you make sure their safety and treatment are being taken care of.

Nursing as a job needs the true dedication of its practitioners. There are many things that could deter a new nurse from the job. Things like latex allergies or the violence in the environment could be factors.

Problems on Latex Allergy - This is one of the most common problems that you may encounter as a nurse. You may develop rashes all over your hands. The rashes are caused by powders that are on the latex gloves that you use to perform treatments and other health care procedures. Sometimes, you do not just get rashes but also experience an anaphylactic shock.

There are cotton liners or synthetic gloves that you can buy to replace a powdered pair of gloves. However, using this is only appropriate if you need to wet your hands while working.

Always request for powder-free gloves if you don’t want this problem recurring. You may still use the powdered one if there are no available powder-free gloves. Just be sure to dry your hands after washing them.

Violence in the Environment - Being a nurse does not keep you away from violence, especially in the workplace. Since all people in the hospital are busy, their temperaments also become shorter. If you are a nurse who works in a remote area, your location alone makes you susceptible to assault. Even nurses who work in mental health centers and emergency rooms are highly vulnerable to danger, be it emotional, psychological or physical.

The secret to a problem like this is familiarity. Get to know your patients more than you think you should. Learn about their history, especially those who are known to have violent behavior. Also, be familiar with patients who have a history of alcoholism, drug addiction or dementia. This way, you will be able to guard yourself from harm.