upnorth healthwatch may 2005

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Where patients come first.

IS IN GOOD HANDS.HEALTH

TAKE IT FROM

JACK:OUR COMMUNITY’S

Jack RuttgerOwner, Ruttger’s Bay Lake Lodge

sjmcmn.org

I’ve lived in the Brainerd Lakes area mywhole life. I’ve been a patient, a boardmember and a neighbor of St. Joseph’sMedical Center.

Those experiences have given me the opportunityto see how this amazing hospital contributes toour community on so many levels.

As a patient, I’ve experienced firsthand the compassionate care that St. Joseph’s provides to its patients. And, as a lifelong member of the community, I’ve heard time and time again frompeople who have had similar experiences tomine. The world-class facilities and technology at St. Joseph’s are a big part of its success, butthe people are what make this hospital special.

The staff has always been deeply committed to putting patients first, and it shows in so many ways.

The Business of HealingI have a bit more insight than most people intohow St. Joseph’s operates. I served on its boardof directors for six years, and also served foranother six years on its foundation’s board. I’vebeen on the finance committee of the BenedictineHealth System. I know how hard everyone works,from the administration on down, to make sureSt. Joseph’s continues to serve the community at the highest level possible. I know how theyrecruit the best doctors, and maintain theirincredible staff. I know the deep feelings theyhave for their patients.

I also know the important role St. Joseph’s plays in our region’s economy. As a provider of over 1,000 rewarding jobs, it’s by far thearea’s largest employer. A $26-million expansion and renovation project is infusing millions in construction services and material costs into the community, and could add many more newjobs when construction is completed this year.

As the owner of a local business, I have a greatdeal of respect for St. Joseph’s because the people there do business the same way I do. They listen to their customers, and they take care of them in every way they can.

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I• N• N• D• F• T• N• R

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magine...ever sharing a pizza with a friendo beer or Big Macs®ry, tasteless bread at $5.00 a loafinding nothing to eat at dinner parties or business meetingshinking twice about licking a stampo communion waferseading labels on makeup, medications, all food items and toothpaste

ust a normal day... you have Celiac Disease

hat is Celiac Disease?liac Disease is an inherited autoimmune disorder that affects the digestive process of the small intestine. When a person who s celiac disease consumes gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and oats, the individualʼs immune system responds by acking the small intestine. Undiagnosed and untreated, celiac disease can lead to numerous other conditions; osteoporosis, fertility, neurological conditions, and cancer just to name a few.

hat are the symptoms?mptoms are unique to each individual but may include the following: anemia, joint pain, fatigue, weakness, irritability, inability

concentrate, infertility, osteoporosis, diarrhea, constipation, nausea, vomiting, intestinal gas, bloating, growth problems in ildren, abdominal distention, cramps, headaches, and depression.

ow common is Celiac Disease?liac disease affects 2.2 million Americans-more than multiple sclerosis, cystic fi brosis, autism, Chronʼs disease, and Parkinsonʼs

sease combined. However, most people with celiac disease are unaware that they have it. This is partially due to the mistaken lief that Celiac Disease is a rare condition. Many doctors do not know how to evaluate patients for celiac disease, so they donʼt t for it. Americans at risk for celiac disease continue to consume gluten in their diets, increasing the damage caused by celiac

sease and impacting their present and future health.

ainerd Lakes Area Celiac Group meets the 2nd Thursday of every month.. Francis church basement at 7:00 p.m.r a meeting schedule or additional information about meetings, please contact:nnifer [email protected]

na @ 829-1290rel @ 829-5946aron @ 546-5469

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get their parents to buy it for home use.In West Virginia, almost 43 percent of the nearly 6,000 chil-

dren screened for heart disease risk were considered over-weight or obese; more than 25 percent were obese.

“We are in a crisis in terms of childhood obesity not only inWest Virginia but in America,” said Linda Carson, a professor inWVU’s School of Physical Education who is coordinating thestudy.

Prescreening tests on the overweight children have alreadyraised concerns. Researchers expected to find problems withblood pressure and cholesterol, but they also found that bloodflow to the arteries was being disrupted. The condition can leadto diabetes and heart disease.

Researchers at Syracuse University in New York also havebeen looking at the potential for improved cardiovascular andphysiological effects among children using the game. And atPenn State, researchers are studying how much energy chil-dren use playing games like Dance Dance Revolution.

In West Virginia, Robrietta Lambert, a physical educationteacher at Franklin Elementary in Pendleton County, believesshe already knows what all the studies will find. She has beenusing the video game in her classes since last fall.

“It improves cardiovascular health as well as eye-hand coor-dination,” Lambert said. “Kids who don’t like other thingsbloom on this. If they don’t like basketball, jumping rope or ballactivities, they like this.”

Players stand on a 3-foot-square metal mat with an arrow oneach side — pointing up, down, left and right. Arrows scroll upthe television screen to the beat of more than 100 tunes chosenby the player. As an arrow moves across the screen, the playersteps on the corresponding arrow on the platform. Hiddensongs are uncovered as players improve their speed andscores.

Sounds easy enough, but throw in combinations of multiplearrows, add the quick speed at which veterans play, and thegame is as challenging as an aerobics class. Most beginners areflushed in the face after one or two songs.

At Morgantown High School, one of the 20 pilot sites, curios-ity about the flashing lights and upbeat music draw studentsinside Maxine Arbogast’s health class. The game, which wasfirst introduced as an arcade game in Japan, is attracting thesedentary and the seasoned athlete alike.

Senior Stephanie Bellman, 18, said she was already gettingaddicted after only a few days.

“I like how it creates a good mood,”she said. “Even when youmess up you laugh.”

For more information

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At the Minnesota Institute

for Minimally Invasive

Surgery (MIMIS) at the

Cuyuna Regional Medical

Center on the medical

campus at Crosby, the more

than 100 different minimally

invasive procedures our

surgeons perform improve

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From simple “same day”

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Specialists.Botox, Waxing, Collagen, Restylane, Chemical Peels, Laser Hair Removal,

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Excelsior Place residents checking out their

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“It’s a lot of fun,”Joyce Jones said. “But I can only do itabout two times for every four times he does.”

The West Virginia Public Employees InsuranceAgency, which covers 215,000 state workers, teachersand their dependents, believes it is the first insuranceprovider to use the game to cut costs. Konami DigitalEntertainment America, which distributes the Japanesegame in the United States, knows of no other state orinsurance agency using the game for its health benefits.

“Today’s kids are tomorrow’s members,” said theinsurance group’s Nidia Henderson. “Obesity claims lastyear cost us $77 million. We have to curtail those costs.”

The insurer is providing a game console, dance padand software for the six-month, $60,000 study. WestVirginia University is providing the medical screeningsand tracking results.

The students, all children of PEIA-covered employees,are required to meet with researchers, play the game aprescribed amount of time, wear a pedometer andmaintain a log. They get to keep the game software andpad.

So far, about a dozen kids have started playing thegame. They will be re-evaluated after three months andagain at the end of the study.

PEIA is also funding part of a two-year pilot projectwith the state Education Department to put the game in20 schools for use in physical education and healthclasses. They hope children who play it at school will

K.D. Jones, 11, ofCampbells Creek,W.Va., danced at hishome to control avideo game. Jones isone of 85 childrenbeing recruited bythe West VirginiaPublic EmployeesInsurance Agency toparticipate in an at-home study usingthe video gameDance DanceRevolution toincrease physicalactivity.

Continued from Page 21

5

The strength of a campus.

our other physicians is an

entire medical campus

dedicated to enhancing

every aspect of human

life. From prenatal care to end-of-life

dignity and compassion, we’re here to help you

and your family live as healthily as you can for as

long as you can.

To find out more, call 1-888-546-4343

or 1-218-54-MIMIS, or visit our website at

www.mimismn.org.

This is state-of-the-art

health care at one,

easy-to-

reach,

easy-to-deal-with location.

From the miracles of

minimally invasive surgery

to superb primary care

physicians and support

services, this is the medical campus at Crosby,

where we’re dedicated to you. Every day.

Key:1. Rehabilitation Services2. Emergency Services3. Surgery Center4. Multi-specialty physician clinic5. Assisted Living6. Eye Clinic7. Long-term care8. Retail pharmacy9. Helipad

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Senior Health & Fitness DayWednesday, May 18, 2005

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS8:00-9:00AM Senior W.A.V.E. Water Aerobics9:00-10:00AM Coffee Social • Chair Massage

Compliments of Jean Kruger10:00-11:30AM Weight Bearing Exercises

to prevent osteoporosis11:45-12:30 Free Lunch (Reservations Required)

Featured Speakers:Todd Wiedell, OptometristCrosby Eye Clinic

The Diabetic EyeKathie Phillips,

Senior Outreach SpecialistSenior Linkage Line

2006 Medicare Changes

ASK US ABOUT THE Blueprint for Health® fitness discounts program

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FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL:Hallett Community Center

470 8th St NECrosby, MN • (212)-546-2616

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Promoting Health, Wellness and Recreation For All

More than four million Americans suf-fer from Alzheimer’s, a disease that eatsaway at the brain until a person can’t func-tion anymore.

In the story, “Coping with Alzheimer’s,”I interviewed three people whose spous-es have the disease. I cannot fathom howhard it would be to have your spouse,someone you’ve been married to formore than 40 years, not remember whoyou are. All of the memories you’ve creat-ed together are gone. The eyes of the per-son you know and love look back at youwith an empty stare. For family members,watching a loved one battle Alzheimer’smust be torturous.

Area hospitals, nursing homes andother care facilities offer support groupsfor patients and their family memberswho are dealing with various diseases.Sharing struggles and other experienceswith people who have been through thesame thing can make coping easier.

This issue of HealthWatch also includesstories about a dental clinic on wheels andan eye doctor who can’t see most colors.

Story ideas are appreciated. Please e-mail me([email protected]) if youhave a subject you’d like to see covered inan upcoming issue.

Heidi LakeEditor

From the editor

2221

2426

ble of contentsCOVER STORY:Color deficiency

DISEASE:Coping with Alzheimer’s

HIGH TECH:Telesurgery

LINKS:Breast cancer and hormonetherapy

ON THE MOVE:Dental clinic on wheels

WANTED:Rural Minnesotans who chew tobacco

DANCE:Video game helps kidslose weight

CHIROPRACTICS:Study could link ADHD,back adjustments

Cover photo/Nels NorquistThe number 45 is hidden in a mass of color in acolorblind test book.

o we areisher — Terry McColloughrtising — Gloria Vande Braker — Heidi Lakehic Desinger — Cindy Spilman

thWatch is a quarterly publicationrainerd Dispatch

HealthWatch online atpnorthhealthwatch.com

For advertising opportunities call GloriaVande Brake at (218) 855-5825.

E-mail your comments [email protected] or writeto:

Heidi LakeBrainerd DispatchPO Box 974Brainerd, MN 56401

Several USDA officials recently saw first-hand how the technology works. Tim Ryan,USDA deputy undersecretary, and SteveWenzel, USDA state director, were amongabout a dozen people who watched a livedemonstration of a minimally invasive surgeryat the hospital using telesurgery. The demon-stration was performed by Dr. SayeedIkramuddin, a surgeon at Fairview-UniversityMedical Center in Minneapolis, who per-formed a gastric bypass surgery on a patient.

The spectators watched the surgery beingdone at Fairview on one of the monitors in theoperating room in Crosby. Drs. HowardMcCollister and Paul Severson, directors ofthe minimally invasive surgery department atCRMC, led the demonstration.

McCollister said the USDA grant allowedthe hospital to get things rolling.

McCollister said they train with surgeonsfrom around the world through telesurgery.

The technology also is beneficial to patientsin the area, he said.

“People in this area have been here foreverand don’t want to drive to the cities,”McCollister said. “They want to stay home and

they can have sophisticated surgeries here.”Tom Reek, chief executive officer at CRMC,

said the technology has helped the hospitalrecruit surgeons to the hospital.

Reek said the hospital performs more than

100 different types of minimally invasive pro-cedures.

“Telesurgery has opened the world to us,”said Reek.

Wenzel said the grant money for theCrosby hospital was a good investment. Hesaid it has brought many medical opportuni-ties to the hospital and it has created econom-ic development in the area.

He said telesurgery keeps residents in thearea, whether they are patients or medicalprofessionals.

The hospital employs more than 600 peo-ple, including nearly 100 employees in theminimally invasive surgery area.

After watching the demonstration, Ryansaid taxpayers were getting a good return ontheir money.

“It’s good to see that we are hitting themark,” said Ryan of this grant program.

JENNIFER STOCKINGER can be reached [email protected] or855-5851.

“People in this area havebeen here forever and

don’t want to drive to thecities. They want to stayhome and they can havesophisticated surgeries

here.”

—Howard McCollister

Co-director of the minimallyinvasive surgery at CRMC

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Dr. Tim LeMieur (left); Tim Ryan, deputy undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Steve Wenzel, USDA state director; Dr. Paul Severson;and Dr. Howard McCollister discussed the details of telesurgery capabilities in an operating room at Cuyuna Regional Medical Center.

CROSBY — For the past three years surgeons atCuyuna Regional Medical Center in Crosby havebeen able to consult with surgeons from around theworld through telesurgery, thanks to a grant from theU.S. Department of Agriculture.

The USDA granted $500,000 to hospitals in Crosby,Aitkin and Moose Lake to purchase telesurgery equip-ment. Crosby installed the equipment in its minimallyinvasive surgery department. This type of surgery isdone through small incisions, using specialized tech-niques and technical equipment. Story/Jennifer Stockinger

Photo/Steve Kohls

Local hospitals receive grant for telesurgery

7

Brad Adams, an optometrist at the Wal-Mart Vision Center in Baxter, is color deficient and has trouble seeing certain colors, suchas brown and green.

Color deficient eye doctor still diagnoses patientsBAXTER — It’s not easy for a

color-deficient optometrist to testpatients for color deficiency.

With a colorblind test, if a personcan read the number hidden in amass of color on each page of thetest, they are not color deficient.

When Brad Adams, anoptometrist at the Wal-Mart VisionCenter in Baxter, tests patients forcolor deficiency they could rattleoff any number and Adams wouldnot see it.

Because Adams cannot read the

numbers on the test, he has themmemorized. The colorblind test isa book of 10 pages of differentnumbers. Each page has printeddots of different chromaticity toproduce patterns that can be iden-tified as numbers by a person whohas no trouble seeing color.

Adams does not hide the fact heis color deficient from his patients.After he finishes the colorblindtest with his patients he usuallysays, “I can’t read the numbers any-way.”

Story/Jennifer StockingerPhotos/Nels Norquist

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g color deficient does not conflict withs’ optometry career. He said the biggestm he has is when a patient asks howd contacts look on them. He has tohe question to somebody else on staff.ms said not all optometrists test theirts for color deficiencies. He said hects the test more out of curiosity. Healf of his younger patients don’t knowave a color deficiency and 5-10 percentpatients fail the test.ms sees more colors than just blackhite. Adams can see about 25 colorsthe average person can see about 200.s said a person who is color deficientuble seeing different hues.

stels are harder (to see) and I don’t get the fantastic colors from the fireworks,”dams. “Yellows are more saturated.”orblindness or a color deficiency is typ-a genetic condition. Adams said therere cases where a person can becomedeficient from an eye disease. It is alsor a person to be truly colorblind, whereannot see colors at all, Adams said.ut 8 percent of males and about a halft of females have some sort of color

deficiency. Males are more likely to be bornwith the color deficiency because it is causedby defects in the “X” chromosome. Maleshave an “X” and a “Y” chromosome and if the“X” chromosome is defective they will have acolor deficiency. Females have two “X” chro-mosomes and each chromosome must beaffected in order for them to be colorblind orhave a deficiency.

A female whose “X” chromosome is defec-tive is a carrier of the eye condition. Adamssaid his mother is a carrier of the color defi-ciency. Adams and his brother both havecolor deficiencies and his two sisters could becarriers.

Adams said his wife, Kim, does not have acolor deficiency, but their two daughters, Elle,14, and Madison, 9, are carriers.

Many types of color deficiencies arecaused by a defect in any of the three conecells on the retina. Each cone represents thecolors red, green and blue. Adams said mostpeople with a color deficiency have abnormalred and green cones and have trouble seeinggreen and brown, purple and blue and brownand maroon.

Adams has the color deficiency called

deuteranomalous where green is the weakercolor. People with deuteranomalous peoplehave a hard time discriminating the differ-ence in hues in red, orange, yellow andgreen.

Adams said the main thing he has troublewith is matching his clothes because he can’tsee the fine lines between matching colors.He said he has a hard time with greens andbrowns, blues and grays, and navy and black.

“I have an olive green shirt that I think is alight chocolate brown,” said Adams.

Adams said he basically remembers whatshirt and pants combinations he can wear. Hiswife also helps him pick out clothes.

“I joke around with him that I’ll make himpick out his own clothes,” said Kim.

Brad Adams said when he used to wearneckties a lot he labeled each tie to showwhat shirt it matched.

Adams said when he is grilling steaks orother meat he has to ask his wife to check themiddle of the meat to make sure it is done.

“We cook our steaks quite well,” he said.Adams did not find out he had a color defi-

ciency until he turned 18. He was trying to getinto the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland and

lorblind test is af 10 plates. The

have printed dotsrent chromaticityuce patterns that

identified as num- a person who hasble seeing color.

mbers seven (left) are shown in this

Uhlman has only seen two or three patients on hormone therapywho were diagnosed with breast cancer. Uhlman said it is hard to sayif those women developed the cancer from being on hormone thera-py or if they would have developed the breast cancer anyway.

“Breast cancer is so prevalent in our society,” she said. “One patientwas only on hormone therapy for a couple of months when she wasdiagnosed with breast cancer. I don’t think she developed it frombeing on the hormone therapy.

“Plus lots of cancers lay dormant in our body and when we addestrogen it can trigger that cancer.”

Dr. Tim Yeh, hematologist and medical oncologist at BMC, said therisk of being diagnosed with breast cancer from being on hormonetherapy may be small, but to the woman who gets the tumor it is a bigdeal.

“I see women who were on estrogen who developed breast cancerwho are fighting for their lives,” said Yeh. “But we don’t know for sureif they got the breast cancer from the hormone therapy. They couldhave developed it anyway.”

Yeh said if a woman lives to age 85, her risk of being diagnosed withbreast cancer is 11 percent.

Yeh sees about 240 patients a month and 25 percent of his patientshave breast cancer. He sees one or two new patients a week who havebreast cancer.

However, Yeh said the numbers can be deceiving. He said breastcancer is a cancer that can be managed for a number of years, so hesees many of his patients regularly. A patient with lung cancer may diesooner after being diagnosed, said Yeh.

Yeh said the Women’s Health Initiative study is a good study andwomen considering hormone therapy should carefully read it and doresearch to make an informed decision.

Yeh said the patient and the physician need to take a hard look athormone therapy and the patient should have good reasons if theydecide to go on it. Yeh said many patients will go on hormone therapybecause that has been the popular treatment.

“We have to avoid popular perception,” said Yeh. “Anyone whotakes estrogen for problems needs to carefully weigh the benefits andthe risks.”

Yeh agreed with Uhlman that patients should take the smallest doseof hormone therapy as possible for the shortest amount of time. Yehalso said it should be carefully monitored.

“It (breast cancer) hits home hard when they see me,”said Yeh. “Therisks of breast cancer may be small (when on hormone therapy), butthe risks are real. You don’t want to be the one.”

Wilson said hormone therapy has been a lifesaver for her. WhenWilson had a hysterectomy her symptoms were severe and she said, “Iwasn’t going to be without it (hormone therapy).”

Wilson first tried the patch and Premarin to try to alleviate hersymptoms. She said she didn’t get the full effects of the patch andPremarin gave her headaches and she was always tired.

For the past two years, Wilson has been on a low dose of Cenestin,an oral pill, and she has not had one problem.

“I feel healthier than ever before,” said Wilson. “I don’t have anymood swings and I lost the weight I gained on the other hormones.

“My doctor recommends that the dose be lowered so I would even-tually be off, but I want to stay on it because I have been so healthy.”

Wilson said her biggest fear is getting breast cancer. She fears get-ting off the hormone therapy and experiencing the menopausal symp-toms again. Her symptoms included hot flashes, mood swings, weightgain and heavy cramping.

JENNIFER STOCKINGER can be reached at [email protected] or 855-5851.

Is there a link between hormone therapyand breast cancer?

This is one of the main questions that cross-es the minds of many women going throughmenopause who are considering hormonetherapy.

When Tammy Wilson of Staples went onhormone therapy nearly five years ago thethought of getting breast cancer crossed hermind, but it did not stop her.

“I wasn’t too worried about it,” said Wilson.“I know others on hormone therapy who did-n’t get breast cancer so I guess I was not afraidof it.”

Hormone therapy, also called hormonereplacement therapy, is a form of drug thera-py in which a person is given estrogen and/orprogesterone to supplement the declininglevels of the hormones that occur in the bodyduring menopause.

Women on hormone therapy have a smallchance of being diagnosed with breast can-cer, a hormone-dependent disease whereestrogen can stimulate the growth of tumors.

Dr. Carol Uhlman, obstetrician at theBrainerd Medical Center who specializes inwomen going through menopause, said thenumber of patients on hormone therapy whohave been diagnosed with breast cancer wassmaller than she initially thought.

Uhlman said after reading a national studypublished in a 2004 magazine calledManaging Menopause, she found out morespecifics of the connection between breastcancer and hormone therapy. The magazinereleased a study about hormone therapy thatwas gathered by the Women’s HealthInitiative. The study can be found online atwww.whi.org.

The study reported 41 in every 10,000women on hormone therapy taking estrogenand progestin will develop breast cancer,while 33 in every 10,000 women who were noton hormone therapy and took a placebo pillwill develop breast cancer in a given year.

The study also found that the breast cancerfound in women on hormone therapy and thecancer found in women on a placebo pill hadsimilar characteristics. However, the tumors inthe women on hormone therapy tended to belarger and more spread throughout the body.

Uhlman said the amount of risk a womanhas depends on what type of hormone thera-py she is on. She said a woman who had a hys-terectomy and is taking an estrogen-only hor-

mone therapy has a lower risk of developingcancer. A woman who has not had a hysterec-tomy and still has her uterus cannot takeestrogen alone because of the added prog-estin in her body.

Uhlman also said the shorter amount oftime a woman is on hormone therapy, the bet-ter her chance of not developing breast can-cer.

Women usually go on hormone therapywhen they go through menopause or havehad a hysterectomy. Hormone therapy is amethod of therapy to alleviate menopausesymptoms, such as hot flashes, night sweats,vaginal dryness, sleep disruptions anddepression.

Uhlman said women typically experiencethe same menopausal symptoms as theirmothers. Some women have their menstrualcycle end and they never experience anymenopausal symptoms.

Uhlman said about 10-15 percent of herdays are spent consulting women onmenopause and of those, 5-10 percent ofthem are on hormone therapy. Uhlman said

before she recommends hormone therapyshe consults the patient about natural ways totry to get rid of the symptoms, such as eatinghealthy and exercising. She also looks at thepatient’s family history.

Every woman is different and one type ofhormone therapy may work on one person,but may not work on another, Uhlman said.

Hormone therapy comes in several differ-ent forms, including patches, gels and pills,such as Premarin. Side effects of hormonetherapy include bleeding, breast tenderness,facial rash, nausea and blood clots.

Once a patient and physician decide to usehormone therapy, Uhlman said she recom-mends patients be on it for no more than twoyears.

Uhlman said many women are againstusing Premarin because the pill is made out ofhorse urine. Other prescriptions includePrempro, Estradiol and Gynodiol.

“What usually drives patients’ prescriptionsis their insurance,” said Uhlman. “It’s expen-sive and a person can pay about $30 to $40 amonth.”

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Doctors weigh in on hormone therapy and breast cancer links

Dr. Carol Uhlman (left), obstetrics doctor at Brainerd Medical Center, performed a thyroid test onTammy Wilson of Staples. Wilson has been on hormone therapy for nearly five years.

Story and photo/Jennifer Stockinger

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he failed his color vision test. “They told me I was color deficient and I

was like, ‘Wow,’” said Adams. “Before this Iassumed I saw the same colors everyone elsedid.”

When Adams found out about the colordeficiency, he said he was more disappointedthat he did not get accepted into the academy.He said he always wanted to be a Navy pilot.

Forced to switch career paths, he attendedthe University of Iowa, where he received abachelor’s degree in psychology in 1989. Hesaid he wanted to be in a health-relatedcareer, but was not sure which field.

Adams eventually decided optometryschool was for him and he attended theSouthern California College of Optometrywhere he earned his degree in 1993.

His first job as an optometrist was for theNavy in Pensacola, Fla., where he practiced forthree years. He then wanted to look at work-ing for a private practice.

He looked at practices in Iowa, where hewas born and raised, and in other places inthe Midwest. Adams said his college room-mate worked at a Wal-Mart Vision Center inMankato and told him there was an openingat the Wal-Mart in Baxter.

Adams said his plan was to take the posi-tion in Baxter, while continuing his search for

private practices in other pMidwest.

He started working for the vBaxter in 1996 and after a few mstopped his job search.

“They treat me so well her

Types of color deficienciesThere are many types of colo

depending on a person’s conretina. Of the three cones, onsents the color red, the seconsents green and the last cone re

Anomalous trichromasy — Tcommon form of color deficileast severe. This is where theresensitivity in one or more of theson’s ability to discriminate betreduced, but does not eliminception.

Protanomaly — One out of be found with protanomaly. Athis form of color deficiency haing red. This person would sayviolet looks like another shade

Deuteranomaly — One outwill be deuteranomaly. A perform of color deficiency has tgreen and identifying the diffeof red, orange, yellow and greecolors appear shifted toward re

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r deficiencies, cells on the

e cone repre-d cone repre-presents blue.his is the mostency and it is is a shift in the cones. A per-

ween colors isate color per-

100 males will person withs trouble see-

that the colorof blue. of five malesson with thisrouble seeingences in huesn because thed.

Dichromacy — Persons who are missing acone have dichromacy. This person cannotsee a difference between red, orange, yellowor green.

Protanopia — One out of 100 males sufferfrom protanopia and their brightness of red,orange and yellow is reduced. Reds may beconfused with black or dark gray. Violet,lavender and purple are indistinguishablefrom various shades of blue because theirreddish components are dimmed.

Deuteranopia — One out of 100 males suf-fer from deuteranopia, which is similar toprotanopia, but without the abnormal dim-ming. Red, orange, yellow and green meanvery little to this person.

Achromatopsia and blue cone monochro-macy — This is a total loss of all color vision.This person must wear dark sunglasses in thedaylight or in bright indoor conditionsbecause their vision comes from their rods,not their cone cells.

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Good Samaritan provides services to qualified individuals without regard to race,color, sex, age, national origin, religion or disability.

The HealthPartners Research Foundation recentlycompleted a pilot study in which 40 percent of snuffand chew users who worked with phone coaches quitsuccessfully. The group that only received a self-helpquit manual had a 25 percent quit rate.

"Our pilot study results showed we can have a sig-nificant impact on helping snuff and chew users quit,with minimal intervention," said Boyle. "We saw animpact even among heavy users of snuff."

A recent statewide survey found more than 100,000snuff and chew users in Minnesota. The ChewFreeMinnesota quitting program is aimed at two groups oftobacco users who are often overlooked: Rural resi-dents and nonsmokers.

"We want to focus outside the metro area wheresurveys show snuff and chew use rates are almost dou-ble those in the metro area,” said Boyle. “TheChewFree quitting program also provides a resourceto snuff and chew tobacco users who typically havefewer quitting resources than do cigarette smokers."

The study, which is free to participants, will be con-ducted entirely by phone and mail. Research partici-pants will also be asked to complete surveys to helpevaluate the quitting program.

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phone coaching works for individ-uals quitting chew. The study isnamed ChewFree Minnesotaand is open to all Minnesotaadults who live outside the

Twin Cities metro area.The Brainerd area is in a

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snuff and chew use in thestate. The rate, about 13 per-

cent of men, is more than doublethat of the metro area and thenation as a whole.

"Many people mistakenlybelieve that chewing tobacco andsnuff have few risks," said Dr.Raymond Boyle, of theHealthPartners ResearchFoundation. "Regular users are atsignificant risk for oral cancers andaddiction. Recent studies showthat almost three-fourths of dailysnuff or chew users have non-can-cerous or pre-cancerous lesions inthe mouth. Snuff and chew usersalso experience significant gumrecession and bone loss surround-ing the teeth."

Researchers seek snuff and chewusers who want to quit

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Coping with Alzheimer’s

Lila Handeland (left), John Handeland, Edward “Bud” Range and Lois Range relaxed at Bethany Good Samaritan Village. Lila Handeland andBud Range suffer from Alzheimer’s.

It starts out with simple things — forget-ting an old friend’s name or putting a glassin the wrong cupboard — but whenAlzheimer’s strikes, the outcome isinevitable.

Watching your spouse’s mind deteriorateto the point they don’t even know who youare can be devastating.tory/Heidi Lake

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Lois Range said her husband, 77-year-old Edward “Bud”ange, doesn’t know who she is when she visits him atethany Good Samaritan Village in Brainerd. In thedvanced stages of Alzheimer’s, he hasn’t been able to walkr talk for several years.

“It’s like he’s dead already,” Range said of her husband,ho she visits daily.Doris Anderson can relate to Range’s thinking.

nderson’s husband, Hal, 78, also suffers from Alzheimer’s.“The person you used to know and love is gone,” she

aid.Hal Anderson used to write a weekly column, “Hiking

ith Hal,” published in the Dispatch until about five yearsgo. In 2000 Hal was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s; today heccompanies Bud Range at Bethany.

The progression of the disease varies from person toerson. Kathy Dobson, director of social services forakewood Health System, said the average age of onset ishe 70s, but people typically develop Alzheimer’s symp-oms before that.

Dobson said people in the early stages of Alzheimer’sften try to hide their symptoms from friends, family mem-ers and doctors, sometimes not getting diagnosed untilears later.

“Some people are good at covering up their symptoms,”he said. “They’re scared, and it’s embarrassing.”

Although there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, medication isvailable to slow the progression of the disease. Dobsonaid symptomatic people should see their doctor immedi-tely because many treatable illnesses resemblelzheimer’s.

Study tries video dance game as weight-loss effort for kids

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Likemany other 11-year-old boys, K.D.Jones loves sports. But at 5 feet, 175pounds, he found his weight and hisasthma an obstacle.

His doctor wanted him to lose 50pounds, and he is hoping a newhealth study using a video dancegame will help him get down to 125by the end of summer in time toplay football.

Jones is one of 85 children in anat-home study trying the popularDance Dance Revolution video

game to boost their activity. Thestudy is being done by WestVirginia’s public employees insur-ance group in hopes it will lead tobetter health and lower costs.

Jones lost about 10 pounds bychanging his diet. Now, after twoweeks playing the game, he has lostanother 10.

“I feel a lot better,” he said. “It’s alot easier to play basketball now.”

His enthusiasm has his mother,who also struggles with her weight,giving the game a try.

Story/Allison BarkerPhoto/Jeff GentnerAssociated Press

Dancing off the pounds

Continued on Page 28

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Symptomatic Alzheimer’s patients start with forgettingsmall things — names of people, names of objects, thingsthey’ve done — and progresses into anxiety and personali-ty changes.

John Handeland and his wife, Lila, loved camping. Overthe years, they’ve visited all 65 state parks in Minnesota.

“All of a sudden (Lila) didn’t want to go anymore,” JohnHandeland said.

Lila Handeland used to be sociable, according to her hus-band, but after Alzheimer’s hit, she became introverted.

“She used to talk constantly, and all of a sudden she did-n’t want to be with a group of people,”John Handeland said.

The Ranges were also avid campers until Bud Range’sanxiety set in.

“We’d get there and he wouldn’t come out of the camperthe whole time,” Lois Range said of her husband. “Or we’dget somewhere and he’d want to go home right away.”

Dobson said people with Alzheimer’s don’t like to travelbecause they get disoriented if they’re outside their usualelement.

“They need a routine. Otherwise it becomes more obvi-ous something is wrong,” Dobson said.

As the disease progresses, people get disoriented easier.Range said her husband used to get lost in their house, soshe resorted to putting yellow tape on the carpet so hecould find his way from the bedroom to the bathroom andblue tape to other rooms in the house.

“Bud got to the point where he couldn’t remember howto use a shovel or mow the lawn,” Lois Range said. “Or he’dgo to the cemetery to walk around and would forget tocome back. I’d have to look for him.”

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Edward “Bud”Range doesn’t knowwho his wife, LoisRange, is eventhough she visitshim daily at BethanyGood SamaritanVillage. Bud Range,77, has lived atBethany for the lasttwo years afterbeing diagnosedwith Alzheimer’s.

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Range, Handeland and Anderson sharedstories of their spouse’s battle withAlzheimer’s and had to laugh at some oftheir memories.

Doris Anderson remembered telling herhusband she refused to drive with him any-more because his driving skills were lack-ing. John Handeland remembered scouringthe house for a missing water pitcher, laterfinding it in the wrong cupboard, behindthe pots and pans.

“You have to laugh or you’ll cry other-wise,” Doris Anderson said.

Over time, Alzheimer’s attacks the brain,causing problems with physical functionand memory, eventually leading to death.Dobson said in the final stages ofAlzheimer’s, people lose the ability to eatand drink.

“They don’t grasp the ideas of chewingand swallowing,” she said.

Dobson said people usually enter a carefacility or nursing home in the middlestages of the disease. Family members oftenfind it difficult to care for an Alzheimer’spatient when they need help with personalcare (washing or brushing their own teeth),or they start wandering.

“The scariest thing for families is whenthey realize their (loved one) isn’t safe any-

more,” Dobson said.John Handeland knew he couldn’t c

tinue caring for his wife at home when started wandering. He couldn’t get sleep because he was so worried his wwould wander off in the middle of the ni

“I had to spend 10 hours a day withjust to keep her in bed,” he said. “It’s ftrating because there’s nothing you canto help them.”

Dobson said people with Alzheimusually end up in long-term care or nurhomes, but assisted living and foster homare among other options for people inbeginning stages of the disease.

“There will be more and more optiout there, especially when the bboomers get older,” Dobson said.

Watching a family member’s health driorate and putting them in a long-term cfacility can be difficult. HandelaAnderson and Range attend an Alzheimsupport group at Bethany twice a monttalk about their experiences and pain.

“You learn from each other. You’re the only one going through it,” Range sa

HEIDI LAKE can be reached at [email protected]

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How Alzheimer’s disease affects the brainScientists believe that whatever triggers

Alzheimer’s disease begins to damage the brainyears before symptoms appear.

When symptoms emerge, nerve cells thatprocess, store and retrieve information havealready begun to degenerate and die. Scientistsregard two abnormal microscopic structures called“plaques” and “tangles” as the hallmarks ofAlzheimer’s disease. Amyloid plaques are clumpsof protein fragments that accumulate outside ofthe brain’s nerve cells. Tangles are twisted strandsof another protein that form inside brain cells.Scientists have not yet determined the exact rolethat plaques and tangles may play.

Risk factors for Alzheimer’s diseaseThe greatest risk factor associated with

Alzheimer’s disease is increasing age. The older aperson is the greater the risk of developing the dis-ease.

A family history of Alzheimer’s is also a knownrisk. When all people of the same age are com-pared, those who have a parent or sibling with thedisease are two to three times more likely to devel-op Alzheimer’s than individuals who do not. Thelikelihood of developing the disease increases asthe number of affected relatives increases.

Source: Alzheimer’s Association

The legislation says as long as thehygienist works under the contract of adentist who authorizes and acceptsresponsibility, the hygienist can performlimited procedures.

“The purpose of this legislation is toprovide a greater scope of services to agreater number of people, especially inrural areas,” said Carol Embertson of theMinnesota Dental Association.

Following months of research and plan-ning, Wilson found a company inColumbus, Ohio, to build her clinic, and inOctober 2004 she drove it home toDeerwood. To get the word out about thelakes area’s only mobile dental clinic, Wilsonsent letters to administrators at area schools,nursing homes and group homes.

Although business isn’t quite what sheexpected, Wilson is confident her businessventure will succeed.

“I’ve never really failed at anything,” shesaid. “Right now it’s growing at a pace I cankeep up with, but I do hope it gets bigger.”

Wilson works full time as a hygienist at TheSmile Center and hits the road about once aweek in her mobile clinic. Currently, she visitsschools in Pierz and Crosslake where shetreats about 10 students on a typical day.

Julie Woitalla, district nurse for Pierzschools, said about 50 Pierz students, pre-

school through 12th grade, signed up for theprogram.

“I was surprised more students didn’t signup, but it’s probably because the program is inits first year,” she said. “I hope to bring it intothe schools annually.”

Because nursing home patients take longerto move from their rooms to the handi-capped-accessible dental truck, only aboutseven patients are treated per visit. Wilsongoes to nursing homes in Aitkin and Crosby.

To qualify for dental care from Lakes AreaMobile Smiles, patients must have eitherMinnesotaCare, medical assistance or have noinsurance at all. With MinnesotaCare or med-ical assistance, patients don’t pay anything,and Wilson is reimbursed from the state ofMinnesota. Uninsured patients are charged

the same discounted rates the state pays.“My fees (for uninsured people) are set

at what the state would be charged throughMinnesota Care or medical assistance,”Wilson said.

Because she isn’t a dentist, the proce-dures Wilson performs are limited. Allpatients must have a permission slip signedby a parent or guardian before they can beseen.

Wilson works in collaboration with Dr.Jerry Utley at The Smile Center. She saidshe often talks with Utley, asking questionsand showing him questionable spots on X-

rays.Services provided at Lakes Area Mobile

Smiles include teeth cleaning, fluoride treat-ments, X-rays, sealants and oral hygieneinstruction. Overall, patients receive a limitedoral evaluation, where any potential problemsare recorded and given to a parent orguardian.

“I have seen a lot of students, especially inthe high school grades, who have not had pre-ventive care because their parents couldn’tafford it or they just didn’t go,” Woitalla said.“If the kids get good preventive care, we won’thave (dental) problems.”

HEIDI LAKE can be reached at 855-5879 [email protected]

Inside Rebecca Wilson’s 28-foot truck is adental office suited with a dental chair,X-ray equipment, sterilizer and all thetools regular dental offices have. Wilsonis also a hygienist at The Smile Center inDeerwood.

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Hygienist opens dental office on wheels

Rebecca Wilson, adental hygienist,posed outside hermobile dental office.Wilson started LakesArea Mobile Smiles tooffer dental work forqualified people innursing homes,schools and grouphomes.

A dental office on wheels. Nowthat’s something you don’t nor-mally see cruising down the high-way — unless you live in theBrainerd lakes area.

On the outside, it looks like alarge white delivery truck. But onthe inside many patients can’tbelieve their eyes. It looks andeven smells like a regular dentaloffice, the only difference beingit’s housed inside a 28-foot truck.

Lakes Area Mobile Smiles is adrivable dental office providingconvenience to students and nurs-ing home patients.

“Some parents don’t have timeto pick up their kids from school

and bring them to the dentist,”said Rebecca Wilson, owner ofLakes Area Mobile Smiles. “Wehave everything you’d have in adental office, except on a smallerscale.”

Wilson, a registered dentalhygienist, has worked at The SmileCenter in Deerwood for nearlyfour years. When she heard aboutthe approval of state legislationgiving hygienists the ability to starttheir own clinic, a light bulb wentoff in Wilson’s head.

“There’s always been a smallentrepreneur part of me,”she said.“My dad was a business ownerand I guess it rubbed off on me.”

Story/Heidi LakePhotos/Nels Norquist

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al chiropractors study links betweenstments, lifestyle, ADHD

hiropractor at Lakes Chiropractic, worked with a young patient at theinerd.

Story/Renee RichardsonPhoto/Nels Norquist

Can chiropractic adjustments com-bined with increased exercise, betterdiet and a healthier lifestyle act as analternative to drugs for children withattention deficit hyperactivity disorder?

A study involving two lakes area doc-tors of chiropractic hopes to help shedmore light on the subject.

The doctors of chiropractic — JimDavis, Lakes Chiropractic of Brainerd,and Murray Smith, Cuyuna FamilyChiropractic of Crosby — hope to pub-lish study findings this winter. Davis saidthe study showed children under carehad a 54 percent decrease in theirADD/ADHD behaviors during the study.

Davis said they are not claiming chiro-practic care is a treatment for attentiondeficit disorder or ADHD. But they arestudying the effects of a child’s spine cor-rections for what are commonly calledpinched nerves along with increasedexercise, better dietary choices and ahealthier lifestyle on ADHD.

“We are combining all those thingsinto one treatment,” Davis said.

The chiropractic care looks at howpinched nerves affect the body’s abilityto move and how they interfere with thebody’s nervous system. Davis suggestedthinking of the body’s movement as awindmill that turns and charges a battery.

“Movement charges our brain,” hesaid.

Exercise is readily linked to greater physical and mentalhealth. Davis said the cerebellum is the brain’s quarter-back, coordinating movement that in turn fires the brainitself. The cerebellum is the part of the brain concernedwith fine motor coordination and body movement, pos-ture and balance. The cerebellum is attached to the rearportion of the brain stem.

Davis likened the vertebrae to a circuit breaker panel. Ifthe vertebrae can be thought of as a circuit breaker in thebody, a misaligned vertebrae can act as a short circuit thatinterferes with the body’s wiring or nerves. Davis reporteda pinched nerve may be caused by trauma or bad posture.Other causes may include mental stress and anxiety ortoxins, which can include a poor diet, Davis said.

Whether chiropractic care along with increased exer-cise, better diet and a healthier lifestyle can be an alterna-tive to medications for ADHD is not confirmed. Studiesthat look at how people are affected by this type of treat-ment is one way to add to the medical community’sknowledge.

Davis and Smith hoped to have 30 patients participate inthe study between the two offices. They do not chargethose taking part in the study. Smith said the goal is toincrease research knowledge on the subject and be ableto publish those findings.

For Davis, an important study aspect included an abilityto look at alternatives to solving the puzzle of ADHD thatdo not rely only on prescribing drugs to children.

“Let’s try everything possible first before we put themon a very powerful drug they may have to stay on for therest of their lives,” Davis said.

Davis said 90 percent of Ritalin, the drug often used totreat attention deficit disorder, is consumed in the UnitedStates, which represents 5 percent of the world’s popula-tion.

In order to qualify for the study:• Patients had to be medically diagnosed with ADHD.• They must be 17 years old or younger.• They must have a vertebral subluxation, commonly

called a pinched nerve, which can interfere with the com-munication and function of the body’s nervous system.

• They must agree to follow a six-month adjustmentschedule, take supplements and change their diet to thebest of their ability.

• They must fill out appropriate questionnaires. Examination of the diet includes looking at the role

food allergies or food sensitivities can play in producinghyperactive symptoms. The Lancet medical journal studyof 185 children reported that 116 of them showed markedimprovements when placed on a hypo-allergenic diet sup-plemented by calcium, magnesium and zinc along withmultiple vitamins. Davis reported studies have shownADHD symptoms also were reduced by supplementingessential fatty acids, with sources that include fish oils.

Davis and Smith have about 15 patients involved in thestudy and are still seeking additional participants.

RENEE RICHARDSON can be reached at [email protected] or 855-5852.

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Local chiropractors study links betweenadjustments, lifestyle, ADHD

Jim Davis, chiropractor at Lakes Chiropractic, worked with a young patient at theoffice in Brainerd.

Story/Renee RichardsonPhoto/Nels Norquist

Can chiropractic adjustments com-bined with increased exercise, betterdiet and a healthier lifestyle act as analternative to drugs for children withattention deficit hyperactivity disorder?

A study involving two lakes area doc-tors of chiropractic hopes to help shedmore light on the subject.

The doctors of chiropractic — JimDavis, Lakes Chiropractic of Brainerd,and Murray Smith, Cuyuna FamilyChiropractic of Crosby — hope to pub-lish study findings this winter. Davis saidthe study showed children under carehad a 54 percent decrease in theirADD/ADHD behaviors during the study.

Davis said they are not claiming chiro-practic care is a treatment for attentiondeficit disorder or ADHD. But they arestudying the effects of a child’s spine cor-rections for what are commonly calledpinched nerves along with increasedexercise, better dietary choices and ahealthier lifestyle on ADHD.

“We are combining all those thingsinto one treatment,” Davis said.

The chiropractic care looks at howpinched nerves affect the body’s abilityto move and how they interfere with thebody’s nervous system. Davis suggestedthinking of the body’s movement as awindmill that turns and charges a battery.

“Movement charges our brain,” hesaid.

Exercise is readily linked to greater physical and mentalhealth. Davis said the cerebellum is the brain’s quarter-back, coordinating movement that in turn fires the brainitself. The cerebellum is the part of the brain concernedwith fine motor coordination and body movement, pos-ture and balance. The cerebellum is attached to the rearportion of the brain stem.

Davis likened the vertebrae to a circuit breaker panel. Ifthe vertebrae can be thought of as a circuit breaker in thebody, a misaligned vertebrae can act as a short circuit thatinterferes with the body’s wiring or nerves. Davis reporteda pinched nerve may be caused by trauma or bad posture.Other causes may include mental stress and anxiety ortoxins, which can include a poor diet, Davis said.

Whether chiropractic care along with increased exer-cise, better diet and a healthier lifestyle can be an alterna-tive to medications for ADHD is not confirmed. Studiesthat look at how people are affected by this type of treat-ment is one way to add to the medical community’sknowledge.

Davis and Smith hoped to have 30 patients participate inthe study between the two offices. They do not chargethose taking part in the study. Smith said the goal is toincrease research knowledge on the subject and be ableto publish those findings.

For Davis, an important study aspect included an abilityto look at alternatives to solving the puzzle of ADHD thatdo not rely only on prescribing drugs to children.

“Let’s try everything possible first before we put themon a very powerful drug they may have to stay on for therest of their lives,” Davis said.

Davis said 90 percent of Ritalin, the drug often used totreat attention deficit disorder, is consumed in the UnitedStates, which represents 5 percent of the world’s popula-tion.

In order to qualify for the study:• Patients had to be medically diagnosed with ADHD.• They must be 17 years old or younger.• They must have a vertebral subluxation, commonly

called a pinched nerve, which can interfere with the com-munication and function of the body’s nervous system.

• They must agree to follow a six-month adjustmentschedule, take supplements and change their diet to thebest of their ability.

• They must fill out appropriate questionnaires. Examination of the diet includes looking at the role

food allergies or food sensitivities can play in producinghyperactive symptoms. The Lancet medical journal studyof 185 children reported that 116 of them showed markedimprovements when placed on a hypo-allergenic diet sup-plemented by calcium, magnesium and zinc along withmultiple vitamins. Davis reported studies have shownADHD symptoms also were reduced by supplementingessential fatty acids, with sources that include fish oils.

Davis and Smith have about 15 patients involved in thestudy and are still seeking additional participants.

RENEE RICHARDSON can be reached at [email protected] or 855-5852.

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Hygienist opens dental office on wheels

Rebecca Wilson, adental hygienist,posed outside hermobile dental office.Wilson started LakesArea Mobile Smiles tooffer dental work forqualified people innursing homes,schools and grouphomes.

A dental office on wheels. Nowthat’s something you don’t nor-mally see cruising down the high-way — unless you live in theBrainerd lakes area.

On the outside, it looks like alarge white delivery truck. But onthe inside many patients can’tbelieve their eyes. It looks andeven smells like a regular dentaloffice, the only difference beingit’s housed inside a 28-foot truck.

Lakes Area Mobile Smiles is adrivable dental office providingconvenience to students and nurs-ing home patients.

“Some parents don’t have timeto pick up their kids from school

and bring them to the dentist,”said Rebecca Wilson, owner ofLakes Area Mobile Smiles. “Wehave everything you’d have in adental office, except on a smallerscale.”

Wilson, a registered dentalhygienist, has worked at The SmileCenter in Deerwood for nearlyfour years. When she heard aboutthe approval of state legislationgiving hygienists the ability to starttheir own clinic, a light bulb wentoff in Wilson’s head.

“There’s always been a smallentrepreneur part of me,”she said.“My dad was a business ownerand I guess it rubbed off on me.”

Story/Heidi LakePhotos/Nels Norquist

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Range, Handeland and Anderson sharedstories of their spouse’s battle withAlzheimer’s and had to laugh at some oftheir memories.

Doris Anderson remembered telling herhusband she refused to drive with him any-more because his driving skills were lack-ing. John Handeland remembered scouringthe house for a missing water pitcher, laterfinding it in the wrong cupboard, behindthe pots and pans.

“You have to laugh or you’ll cry other-wise,” Doris Anderson said.

Over time, Alzheimer’s attacks the brain,causing problems with physical functionand memory, eventually leading to death.Dobson said in the final stages ofAlzheimer’s, people lose the ability to eatand drink.

“They don’t grasp the ideas of chewingand swallowing,” she said.

Dobson said people usually enter a carefacility or nursing home in the middlestages of the disease. Family members oftenfind it difficult to care for an Alzheimer’spatient when they need help with personalcare (washing or brushing their own teeth),or they start wandering.

“The scariest thing for families is whenthey realize their (loved one) isn’t safe any-

more,” Dobson said.John Handeland knew he couldn’t con-

tinue caring for his wife at home when shestarted wandering. He couldn’t get anysleep because he was so worried his wifewould wander off in the middle of the night.

“I had to spend 10 hours a day with herjust to keep her in bed,” he said. “It’s frus-trating because there’s nothing you can doto help them.”

Dobson said people with Alzheimer’susually end up in long-term care or nursinghomes, but assisted living and foster homesare among other options for people in thebeginning stages of the disease.

“There will be more and more optionsout there, especially when the babyboomers get older,” Dobson said.

Watching a family member’s health dete-riorate and putting them in a long-term carefacility can be difficult. Handeland,Anderson and Range attend an Alzheimer’ssupport group at Bethany twice a month totalk about their experiences and pain.

“You learn from each other. You’re notthe only one going through it,” Range said.


How Alzheimer’s disease affects the brainScientists believe that whatever triggers

Alzheimer’s disease begins to damage the brainyears before symptoms appear.

When symptoms emerge, nerve cells thatprocess, store and retrieve information havealready begun to degenerate and die. Scientistsregard two abnormal microscopic structures called“plaques” and “tangles” as the hallmarks ofAlzheimer’s disease. Amyloid plaques are clumpsof protein fragments that accumulate outside ofthe brain’s nerve cells. Tangles are twisted strandsof another protein that form inside brain cells.Scientists have not yet determined the exact rolethat plaques and tangles may play.

Risk factors for Alzheimer’s diseaseThe greatest risk factor associated with

Alzheimer’s disease is increasing age. The older aperson is the greater the risk of developing the dis-ease.

A family history of Alzheimer’s is also a knownrisk. When all people of the same age are com-pared, those who have a parent or sibling with thedisease are two to three times more likely to devel-op Alzheimer’s than individuals who do not. Thelikelihood of developing the disease increases asthe number of affected relatives increases.

Source: Alzheimer’s Association

The legislation says as long as thehygienist works under the contract of adentist who authorizes and acceptsresponsibility, the hygienist can performlimited procedures.

“The purpose of this legislation is toprovide a greater scope of services to agreater number of people, especially inrural areas,” said Carol Embertson of theMinnesota Dental Association.

Following months of research and plan-ning, Wilson found a company inColumbus, Ohio, to build her clinic, and inOctober 2004 she drove it home toDeerwood. To get the word out about thelakes area’s only mobile dental clinic, Wilsonsent letters to administrators at area schools,nursing homes and group homes.

Although business isn’t quite what sheexpected, Wilson is confident her businessventure will succeed.

“I’ve never really failed at anything,” shesaid. “Right now it’s growing at a pace I cankeep up with, but I do hope it gets bigger.”

Wilson works full time as a hygienist at TheSmile Center and hits the road about once aweek in her mobile clinic. Currently, she visitsschools in Pierz and Crosslake where shetreats about 10 students on a typical day.

Julie Woitalla, district nurse for Pierzschools, said about 50 Pierz students, pre-

school through 12th grade, signed up for theprogram.

“I was surprised more students didn’t signup, but it’s probably because the program is inits first year,” she said. “I hope to bring it intothe schools annually.”

Because nursing home patients take longerto move from their rooms to the handi-capped-accessible dental truck, only aboutseven patients are treated per visit. Wilsongoes to nursing homes in Aitkin and Crosby.

To qualify for dental care from Lakes AreaMobile Smiles, patients must have eitherMinnesotaCare, medical assistance or have noinsurance at all. With MinnesotaCare or med-ical assistance, patients don’t pay anything,and Wilson is reimbursed from the state ofMinnesota. Uninsured patients are charged

the same discounted rates the state pays.“My fees (for uninsured people) are set

at what the state would be charged throughMinnesota Care or medical assistance,”Wilson said.

Because she isn’t a dentist, the proce-dures Wilson performs are limited. Allpatients must have a permission slip signedby a parent or guardian before they can beseen.

Wilson works in collaboration with Dr.Jerry Utley at The Smile Center. She saidshe often talks with Utley, asking questionsand showing him questionable spots on X-

rays.Services provided at Lakes Area Mobile

Smiles include teeth cleaning, fluoride treat-ments, X-rays, sealants and oral hygieneinstruction. Overall, patients receive a limitedoral evaluation, where any potential problemsare recorded and given to a parent orguardian.

“I have seen a lot of students, especially inthe high school grades, who have not had pre-ventive care because their parents couldn’tafford it or they just didn’t go,” Woitalla said.“If the kids get good preventive care, we won’thave (dental) problems.”


Inside Rebecca Wilson’s 28-foot truck is adental office suited with a dental chair,X-ray equipment, sterilizer and all thetools regular dental offices have. Wilsonis also a hygienist at The Smile Center inDeerwood.

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Symptomatic Alzheimer’s patients start with forgettingsmall things — names of people, names of objects, thingsthey’ve done — and progresses into anxiety and personali-ty changes.

John Handeland and his wife, Lila, loved camping. Overthe years, they’ve visited all 65 state parks in Minnesota.

“All of a sudden (Lila) didn’t want to go anymore,” JohnHandeland said.

Lila Handeland used to be sociable, according to her hus-band, but after Alzheimer’s hit, she became introverted.

“She used to talk constantly, and all of a sudden she did-n’t want to be with a group of people,”John Handeland said.

The Ranges were also avid campers until Bud Range’sanxiety set in.

“We’d get there and he wouldn’t come out of the camperthe whole time,” Lois Range said of her husband. “Or we’dget somewhere and he’d want to go home right away.”

Dobson said people with Alzheimer’s don’t like to travelbecause they get disoriented if they’re outside their usualelement.

“They need a routine. Otherwise it becomes more obvi-ous something is wrong,” Dobson said.

As the disease progresses, people get disoriented easier.Range said her husband used to get lost in their house, soshe resorted to putting yellow tape on the carpet so hecould find his way from the bedroom to the bathroom andblue tape to other rooms in the house.

“Bud got to the point where he couldn’t remember howto use a shovel or mow the lawn,” Lois Range said. “Or he’dgo to the cemetery to walk around and would forget tocome back. I’d have to look for him.”

Edward “Bud”Range doesn’t knowwho his wife, LoisRange, is eventhough she visitshim daily at BethanyGood SamaritanVillage. Bud Range,77, has lived atBethany for the lasttwo years afterbeing diagnosedwith Alzheimer’s.

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Lois Range said her husband, 77-year-old Edward “Bud”Range, doesn’t know who she is when she visits him atBethany Good Samaritan Village in Brainerd. In theadvanced stages of Alzheimer’s, he hasn’t been able to walkor talk for several years.

“It’s like he’s dead already,” Range said of her husband,who she visits daily.

Doris Anderson can relate to Range’s thinking.Anderson’s husband, Hal, 78, also suffers from Alzheimer’s.

“The person you used to know and love is gone,” shesaid.

Hal Anderson used to write a weekly column, “Hikingwith Hal,” published in the Dispatch until about five yearsago. In 2000 Hal was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s; today heaccompanies Bud Range at Bethany.

The progression of the disease varies from person toperson. Kathy Dobson, director of social services forLakewood Health System, said the average age of onset isthe 70s, but people typically develop Alzheimer’s symp-toms before that.

Dobson said people in the early stages of Alzheimer’soften try to hide their symptoms from friends, family mem-bers and doctors, sometimes not getting diagnosed untilyears later.

“Some people are good at covering up their symptoms,”she said. “They’re scared, and it’s embarrassing.”

Although there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, medication isavailable to slow the progression of the disease. Dobsonsaid symptomatic people should see their doctor immedi-ately because many treatable illnesses resembleAlzheimer’s.

John Handelandcarries tea bags inhis pocket so he’sprepared to makehis wife her dailycup of tea when hevisits her at BethanyGood SamaritanVillage. LilaHandeland wasdiagnosed withAlzheimer’s in 2000.

Study tries video dance game as weight-loss effort for kids

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Likemany other 11-year-old boys, K.D.Jones loves sports. But at 5 feet, 175pounds, he found his weight and hisasthma an obstacle.

His doctor wanted him to lose 50pounds, and he is hoping a newhealth study using a video dancegame will help him get down to 125by the end of summer in time toplay football.

Jones is one of 85 children in anat-home study trying the popularDance Dance Revolution video

game to boost their activity. Thestudy is being done by WestVirginia’s public employees insur-ance group in hopes it will lead tobetter health and lower costs.

Jones lost about 10 pounds bychanging his diet. Now, after twoweeks playing the game, he has lostanother 10.

“I feel a lot better,” he said. “It’s alot easier to play basketball now.”

His enthusiasm has his mother,who also struggles with her weight,giving the game a try.

Story/Allison BarkerPhoto/Jeff GentnerAssociated Press

Dancing off the pounds

Continued on Page 28

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Coping with Alzheimer’s

Lila Handeland (left), John Handeland, Edward “Bud” Range and Lois Range relaxed at Bethany Good Samaritan Village. Lila Handeland andBud Range suffer from Alzheimer’s.

It starts out with simple things — forget-ting an old friend’s name or putting a glassin the wrong cupboard — but whenAlzheimer’s strikes, the outcome isinevitable.

Watching your spouse’s mind deteriorateto the point they don’t even know who youare can be devastating.Story/Heidi Lake

Photos/Nels Norquist

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cent of men, is more than doublethat of the metro area and thenation as a whole.

"Many people mistakenlybelieve that chewing tobacco andsnuff have few risks," said Dr.Raymond Boyle, of theHealthPartners ResearchFoundation. "Regular users are atsignificant risk for oral cancers andaddiction. Recent studies showthat almost three-fourths of dailysnuff or chew users have non-can-cerous or pre-cancerous lesions inthe mouth. Snuff and chew usersalso experience significant gumrecession and bone loss surround-ing the teeth."

Researchers seek snuff and chewusers who want to quit

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Good Samaritan provides services to qualified individuals without regard to race,color, sex, age, national origin, religion or disability.

The HealthPartners Research Foundation recentlycompleted a pilot study in which 40 percent of snuffand chew users who worked with phone coaches quitsuccessfully. The group that only received a self-helpquit manual had a 25 percent quit rate.

"Our pilot study results showed we can have a sig-nificant impact on helping snuff and chew users quit,with minimal intervention," said Boyle. "We saw animpact even among heavy users of snuff."

A recent statewide survey found more than 100,000snuff and chew users in Minnesota. The ChewFreeMinnesota quitting program is aimed at two groups oftobacco users who are often overlooked: Rural resi-dents and nonsmokers.

"We want to focus outside the metro area wheresurveys show snuff and chew use rates are almost dou-ble those in the metro area,” said Boyle. “TheChewFree quitting program also provides a resourceto snuff and chew tobacco users who typically havefewer quitting resources than do cigarette smokers."

The study, which is free to participants, will be con-ducted entirely by phone and mail. Research partici-pants will also be asked to complete surveys to helpevaluate the quitting program.

For more information about this study, or to takepart in the study, call Chris Enstad at 1-888-SNUFF-FREE(1-888-768-3337).

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he failed his color vision test. “They told me I was color deficient and I

was like, ‘Wow,’” said Adams. “Before this Iassumed I saw the same colors everyone elsedid.”

When Adams found out about the colordeficiency, he said he was more disappointedthat he did not get accepted into the academy.He said he always wanted to be a Navy pilot.

Forced to switch career paths, he attendedthe University of Iowa, where he received abachelor’s degree in psychology in 1989. Hesaid he wanted to be in a health-relatedcareer, but was not sure which field.

Adams eventually decided optometryschool was for him and he attended theSouthern California College of Optometrywhere he earned his degree in 1993.

His first job as an optometrist was for theNavy in Pensacola, Fla., where he practiced forthree years. He then wanted to look at work-ing for a private practice.

He looked at practices in Iowa, where hewas born and raised, and in other places inthe Midwest. Adams said his college room-mate worked at a Wal-Mart Vision Center inMankato and told him there was an openingat the Wal-Mart in Baxter.

Adams said his plan was to take the posi-tion in Baxter, while continuing his search for

private practices in other places in theMidwest.

He started working for the vision center inBaxter in 1996 and after a few months Adamsstopped his job search.

“They treat me so well here it would be

hard to leave,” said Adams. “I have a goodcrew here.”

JENNIFER STOCKINGER can be reached [email protected] 855-5851.

Types of color deficienciesThere are many types of color deficiencies,

depending on a person’s cone cells on theretina. Of the three cones, one cone repre-sents the color red, the second cone repre-sents green and the last cone represents blue.

Anomalous trichromasy — This is the mostcommon form of color deficiency and it isleast severe. This is where there is a shift in thesensitivity in one or more of the cones. A per-son’s ability to discriminate between colors isreduced, but does not eliminate color per-ception.

Protanomaly — One out of 100 males willbe found with protanomaly. A person withthis form of color deficiency has trouble see-ing red. This person would say that the colorviolet looks like another shade of blue.

Deuteranomaly — One out of five maleswill be deuteranomaly. A person with thisform of color deficiency has trouble seeinggreen and identifying the differences in huesof red, orange, yellow and green because thecolors appear shifted toward red.

Dichromacy — Persons who are missing acone have dichromacy. This person cannotsee a difference between red, orange, yellowor green.

Protanopia — One out of 100 males sufferfrom protanopia and their brightness of red,orange and yellow is reduced. Reds may beconfused with black or dark gray. Violet,lavender and purple are indistinguishablefrom various shades of blue because theirreddish components are dimmed.

Deuteranopia — One out of 100 males suf-fer from deuteranopia, which is similar toprotanopia, but without the abnormal dim-ming. Red, orange, yellow and green meanvery little to this person.

Achromatopsia and blue cone monochro-macy — This is a total loss of all color vision.This person must wear dark sunglasses in thedaylight or in bright indoor conditionsbecause their vision comes from their rods,not their cone cells.

Source: WebExhibits, an Online museum

Is there a link between hormone therapyand breast cancer?

This is one of the main questions that cross-es the minds of many women going throughmenopause who are considering hormonetherapy.

When Tammy Wilson of Staples went onhormone therapy nearly five years ago thethought of getting breast cancer crossed hermind, but it did not stop her.

“I wasn’t too worried about it,” said Wilson.“I know others on hormone therapy who did-n’t get breast cancer so I guess I was not afraidof it.”

Hormone therapy, also called hormonereplacement therapy, is a form of drug thera-py in which a person is given estrogen and/orprogesterone to supplement the declininglevels of the hormones that occur in the bodyduring menopause.

Women on hormone therapy have a smallchance of being diagnosed with breast can-cer, a hormone-dependent disease whereestrogen can stimulate the growth of tumors.

Dr. Carol Uhlman, obstetrician at theBrainerd Medical Center who specializes inwomen going through menopause, said thenumber of patients on hormone therapy whohave been diagnosed with breast cancer wassmaller than she initially thought.

Uhlman said after reading a national studypublished in a 2004 magazine calledManaging Menopause, she found out morespecifics of the connection between breastcancer and hormone therapy. The magazinereleased a study about hormone therapy thatwas gathered by the Women’s HealthInitiative. The study can be found online atwww.whi.org.

The study reported 41 in every 10,000women on hormone therapy taking estrogenand progestin will develop breast cancer,while 33 in every 10,000 women who were noton hormone therapy and took a placebo pillwill develop breast cancer in a given year.

The study also found that the breast cancerfound in women on hormone therapy and thecancer found in women on a placebo pill hadsimilar characteristics. However, the tumors inthe women on hormone therapy tended to belarger and more spread throughout the body.

Uhlman said the amount of risk a womanhas depends on what type of hormone thera-py she is on. She said a woman who had a hys-terectomy and is taking an estrogen-only hor-

mone therapy has a lower risk of developingcancer. A woman who has not had a hysterec-tomy and still has her uterus cannot takeestrogen alone because of the added prog-estin in her body.

Uhlman also said the shorter amount oftime a woman is on hormone therapy, the bet-ter her chance of not developing breast can-cer.

Women usually go on hormone therapywhen they go through menopause or havehad a hysterectomy. Hormone therapy is amethod of therapy to alleviate menopausesymptoms, such as hot flashes, night sweats,vaginal dryness, sleep disruptions anddepression.

Uhlman said women typically experiencethe same menopausal symptoms as theirmothers. Some women have their menstrualcycle end and they never experience anymenopausal symptoms.

Uhlman said about 10-15 percent of herdays are spent consulting women onmenopause and of those, 5-10 percent ofthem are on hormone therapy. Uhlman said

before she recommends hormone therapyshe consults the patient about natural ways totry to get rid of the symptoms, such as eatinghealthy and exercising. She also looks at thepatient’s family history.

Every woman is different and one type ofhormone therapy may work on one person,but may not work on another, Uhlman said.

Hormone therapy comes in several differ-ent forms, including patches, gels and pills,such as Premarin. Side effects of hormonetherapy include bleeding, breast tenderness,facial rash, nausea and blood clots.

Once a patient and physician decide to usehormone therapy, Uhlman said she recom-mends patients be on it for no more than twoyears.

Uhlman said many women are againstusing Premarin because the pill is made out ofhorse urine. Other prescriptions includePrempro, Estradiol and Gynodiol.

“What usually drives patients’ prescriptionsis their insurance,” said Uhlman. “It’s expen-sive and a person can pay about $30 to $40 amonth.”

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Doctors weigh in on hormone therapy and breast cancer links

Dr. Carol Uhlman (left), obstetrics doctor at Brainerd Medical Center, performed a thyroid test onTammy Wilson of Staples. Wilson has been on hormone therapy for nearly five years.

Story and photo/Jennifer Stockinger

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Being color deficient does not conflict withAdams’ optometry career. He said the biggestproblem he has is when a patient asks howcolored contacts look on them. He has torefer the question to somebody else on staff.

Adams said not all optometrists test theirpatients for color deficiencies. He said heconducts the test more out of curiosity. Hesaid half of his younger patients don’t knowthey have a color deficiency and 5-10 percentof his patients fail the test.

Adams sees more colors than just blackand white. Adams can see about 25 colorswhile the average person can see about 200.Adams said a person who is color deficienthas trouble seeing different hues.

“Pastels are harder (to see) and I don’t getto see the fantastic colors from the fireworks,”said Adams. “Yellows are more saturated.”

Colorblindness or a color deficiency is typ-ically a genetic condition. Adams said thereare rare cases where a person can becomecolor deficient from an eye disease. It is alsorare for a person to be truly colorblind, wherethey cannot see colors at all, Adams said.

About 8 percent of males and about a halfpercent of females have some sort of color

deficiency. Males are more likely to be bornwith the color deficiency because it is causedby defects in the “X” chromosome. Maleshave an “X” and a “Y” chromosome and if the“X” chromosome is defective they will have acolor deficiency. Females have two “X” chro-mosomes and each chromosome must beaffected in order for them to be colorblind orhave a deficiency.

A female whose “X” chromosome is defec-tive is a carrier of the eye condition. Adamssaid his mother is a carrier of the color defi-ciency. Adams and his brother both havecolor deficiencies and his two sisters could becarriers.

Adams said his wife, Kim, does not have acolor deficiency, but their two daughters, Elle,14, and Madison, 9, are carriers.

Many types of color deficiencies arecaused by a defect in any of the three conecells on the retina. Each cone represents thecolors red, green and blue. Adams said mostpeople with a color deficiency have abnormalred and green cones and have trouble seeinggreen and brown, purple and blue and brownand maroon.

Adams has the color deficiency called

deuteranomalous where green is the weakercolor. People with deuteranomalous peoplehave a hard time discriminating the differ-ence in hues in red, orange, yellow andgreen.

Adams said the main thing he has troublewith is matching his clothes because he can’tsee the fine lines between matching colors.He said he has a hard time with greens andbrowns, blues and grays, and navy and black.

“I have an olive green shirt that I think is alight chocolate brown,” said Adams.

Adams said he basically remembers whatshirt and pants combinations he can wear. Hiswife also helps him pick out clothes.

“I joke around with him that I’ll make himpick out his own clothes,” said Kim.

Brad Adams said when he used to wearneckties a lot he labeled each tie to showwhat shirt it matched.

Adams said when he is grilling steaks orother meat he has to ask his wife to check themiddle of the meat to make sure it is done.

“We cook our steaks quite well,” he said.Adams did not find out he had a color defi-

ciency until he turned 18. He was trying to getinto the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland and

The colorblind test is abook of 10 plates. Theplates have printed dotsof different chromaticityto produce patterns thatcan be identified as num-bers by a person who hasno trouble seeing color.The numbers seven (left)and 45 are shown in thistest.

Uhlman has only seen two or three patients on hormone therapywho were diagnosed with breast cancer. Uhlman said it is hard to sayif those women developed the cancer from being on hormone thera-py or if they would have developed the breast cancer anyway.

“Breast cancer is so prevalent in our society,” she said. “One patientwas only on hormone therapy for a couple of months when she wasdiagnosed with breast cancer. I don’t think she developed it frombeing on the hormone therapy.

“Plus lots of cancers lay dormant in our body and when we addestrogen it can trigger that cancer.”

Dr. Tim Yeh, hematologist and medical oncologist at BMC, said therisk of being diagnosed with breast cancer from being on hormonetherapy may be small, but to the woman who gets the tumor it is a bigdeal.

“I see women who were on estrogen who developed breast cancerwho are fighting for their lives,” said Yeh. “But we don’t know for sureif they got the breast cancer from the hormone therapy. They couldhave developed it anyway.”

Yeh said if a woman lives to age 85, her risk of being diagnosed withbreast cancer is 11 percent.

Yeh sees about 240 patients a month and 25 percent of his patientshave breast cancer. He sees one or two new patients a week who havebreast cancer.

However, Yeh said the numbers can be deceiving. He said breastcancer is a cancer that can be managed for a number of years, so hesees many of his patients regularly. A patient with lung cancer may diesooner after being diagnosed, said Yeh.

Yeh said the Women’s Health Initiative study is a good study andwomen considering hormone therapy should carefully read it and doresearch to make an informed decision.

Yeh said the patient and the physician need to take a hard look athormone therapy and the patient should have good reasons if theydecide to go on it. Yeh said many patients will go on hormone therapybecause that has been the popular treatment.

“We have to avoid popular perception,” said Yeh. “Anyone whotakes estrogen for problems needs to carefully weigh the benefits andthe risks.”

Yeh agreed with Uhlman that patients should take the smallest doseof hormone therapy as possible for the shortest amount of time. Yehalso said it should be carefully monitored.

“It (breast cancer) hits home hard when they see me,”said Yeh. “Therisks of breast cancer may be small (when on hormone therapy), butthe risks are real. You don’t want to be the one.”

Wilson said hormone therapy has been a lifesaver for her. WhenWilson had a hysterectomy her symptoms were severe and she said, “Iwasn’t going to be without it (hormone therapy).”

Wilson first tried the patch and Premarin to try to alleviate hersymptoms. She said she didn’t get the full effects of the patch andPremarin gave her headaches and she was always tired.

For the past two years, Wilson has been on a low dose of Cenestin,an oral pill, and she has not had one problem.

“I feel healthier than ever before,” said Wilson. “I don’t have anymood swings and I lost the weight I gained on the other hormones.

“My doctor recommends that the dose be lowered so I would even-tually be off, but I want to stay on it because I have been so healthy.”

Wilson said her biggest fear is getting breast cancer. She fears get-ting off the hormone therapy and experiencing the menopausal symp-toms again. Her symptoms included hot flashes, mood swings, weightgain and heavy cramping.

JENNIFER STOCKINGER can be reached at [email protected] or 855-5851.

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Brad Adams, an optometrist at the Wal-Mart Vision Center in Baxter, is color deficient and has trouble seeing certain colors, suchas brown and green.

Color deficient eye doctor still diagnoses patientsBAXTER — It’s not easy for a

color-deficient optometrist to testpatients for color deficiency.

With a colorblind test, if a personcan read the number hidden in amass of color on each page of thetest, they are not color deficient.

When Brad Adams, anoptometrist at the Wal-Mart VisionCenter in Baxter, tests patients forcolor deficiency they could rattleoff any number and Adams wouldnot see it.

Because Adams cannot read the

numbers on the test, he has themmemorized. The colorblind test isa book of 10 pages of differentnumbers. Each page has printeddots of different chromaticity toproduce patterns that can be iden-tified as numbers by a person whohas no trouble seeing color.

Adams does not hide the fact heis color deficient from his patients.After he finishes the colorblindtest with his patients he usuallysays, “I can’t read the numbers any-way.”

Story/Jennifer StockingerPhotos/Nels Norquist

Dr. Tim LeMieur (left); Tim Ryan, deputy undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Steve Wenzel, USDA state director; Dr. Paul Severson;and Dr. Howard McCollister discussed the details of telesurgery capabilities in an operating room at Cuyuna Regional Medical Center.

CROSBY — For the past three years surgeons atCuyuna Regional Medical Center in Crosby havebeen able to consult with surgeons from around theworld through telesurgery, thanks to a grant from theU.S. Department of Agriculture.

The USDA granted $500,000 to hospitals in Crosby,Aitkin and Moose Lake to purchase telesurgery equip-ment. Crosby installed the equipment in its minimallyinvasive surgery department. This type of surgery isdone through small incisions, using specialized tech-niques and technical equipment. Story/Jennifer Stockinger

Photo/Steve Kohls

Local hospitals receive grant for telesurgery

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Table of contents

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Senior Health & Fitness DayWednesday, May 18, 2005

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS8:00-9:00AM Senior W.A.V.E. Water Aerobics9:00-10:00AM Coffee Social • Chair Massage

Compliments of Jean Kruger10:00-11:30AM Weight Bearing Exercises

to prevent osteoporosis11:45-12:30 Free Lunch (Reservations Required)

Featured Speakers:Todd Wiedell, OptometristCrosby Eye Clinic

The Diabetic EyeKathie Phillips,

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More than four million Americans suf-fer from Alzheimer’s, a disease that eatsaway at the brain until a person can’t func-tion anymore.

In the story, “Coping with Alzheimer’s,”I interviewed three people whose spous-es have the disease. I cannot fathom howhard it would be to have your spouse,someone you’ve been married to formore than 40 years, not remember whoyou are. All of the memories you’ve creat-ed together are gone. The eyes of the per-son you know and love look back at youwith an empty stare. For family members,watching a loved one battle Alzheimer’smust be torturous.

Area hospitals, nursing homes andother care facilities offer support groupsfor patients and their family memberswho are dealing with various diseases.Sharing struggles and other experienceswith people who have been through thesame thing can make coping easier.

This issue of HealthWatch also includesstories about a dental clinic on wheels andan eye doctor who can’t see most colors.

Story ideas are appreciated. Please e-mail me([email protected]) if youhave a subject you’d like to see covered inan upcoming issue.

Heidi LakeEditor

From the editor

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Table of contentsCOVER STORY:Color deficiency

DISEASE:Coping with Alzheimer’s

HIGH TECH:Telesurgery

LINKS:Breast cancer and hormonetherapy

ON THE MOVE:Dental clinic on wheels

WANTED:Rural Minnesotans who chew tobacco

DANCE:Video game helps kidslose weight

CHIROPRACTICS:Study could link ADHD,back adjustments

Cover photo/Nels NorquistThe number 45 is hidden in a mass of color in acolorblind test book.

Who we arePublisher — Terry McColloughAdvertising — Gloria Vande BrakeEditor — Heidi LakeGraphic Desinger — Cindy Spilman

HealthWatch is a quarterly publicationof the Brainerd Dispatch

Read HealthWatch online atwww.upnorthhealthwatch.com

For advertising opportunities call GloriaVande Brake at (218) 855-5825.

E-mail your comments [email protected] or writeto:

Heidi LakeBrainerd DispatchPO Box 974Brainerd, MN 56401

Several USDA officials recently saw first-hand how the technology works. Tim Ryan,USDA deputy undersecretary, and SteveWenzel, USDA state director, were amongabout a dozen people who watched a livedemonstration of a minimally invasive surgeryat the hospital using telesurgery. The demon-stration was performed by Dr. SayeedIkramuddin, a surgeon at Fairview-UniversityMedical Center in Minneapolis, who per-formed a gastric bypass surgery on a patient.

The spectators watched the surgery beingdone at Fairview on one of the monitors in theoperating room in Crosby. Drs. HowardMcCollister and Paul Severson, directors ofthe minimally invasive surgery department atCRMC, led the demonstration.

McCollister said the USDA grant allowedthe hospital to get things rolling.

McCollister said they train with surgeonsfrom around the world through telesurgery.

The technology also is beneficial to patientsin the area, he said.

“People in this area have been here foreverand don’t want to drive to the cities,”McCollister said. “They want to stay home and

they can have sophisticated surgeries here.”Tom Reek, chief executive officer at CRMC,

said the technology has helped the hospitalrecruit surgeons to the hospital.

Reek said the hospital performs more than

100 different types of minimally invasive pro-cedures.

“Telesurgery has opened the world to us,”said Reek.

Wenzel said the grant money for theCrosby hospital was a good investment. Hesaid it has brought many medical opportuni-ties to the hospital and it has created econom-ic development in the area.

He said telesurgery keeps residents in thearea, whether they are patients or medicalprofessionals.

The hospital employs more than 600 peo-ple, including nearly 100 employees in theminimally invasive surgery area.

After watching the demonstration, Ryansaid taxpayers were getting a good return ontheir money.

“It’s good to see that we are hitting themark,” said Ryan of this grant program.

JENNIFER STOCKINGER can be reached [email protected] or855-5851.

“People in this area havebeen here forever and

don’t want to drive to thecities. They want to stayhome and they can havesophisticated surgeries

here.”

—Howard McCollister

Co-director of the minimallyinvasive surgery at CRMC

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“It’s a lot of fun,”Joyce Jones said. “But I can only do itabout two times for every four times he does.”

The West Virginia Public Employees InsuranceAgency, which covers 215,000 state workers, teachersand their dependents, believes it is the first insuranceprovider to use the game to cut costs. Konami DigitalEntertainment America, which distributes the Japanesegame in the United States, knows of no other state orinsurance agency using the game for its health benefits.

“Today’s kids are tomorrow’s members,” said theinsurance group’s Nidia Henderson. “Obesity claims lastyear cost us $77 million. We have to curtail those costs.”

The insurer is providing a game console, dance padand software for the six-month, $60,000 study. WestVirginia University is providing the medical screeningsand tracking results.

The students, all children of PEIA-covered employees,are required to meet with researchers, play the game aprescribed amount of time, wear a pedometer andmaintain a log. They get to keep the game software andpad.

So far, about a dozen kids have started playing thegame. They will be re-evaluated after three months andagain at the end of the study.

PEIA is also funding part of a two-year pilot projectwith the state Education Department to put the game in20 schools for use in physical education and healthclasses. They hope children who play it at school will

K.D. Jones, 11, ofCampbells Creek,W.Va., danced at hishome to control avideo game. Jones isone of 85 childrenbeing recruited bythe West VirginiaPublic EmployeesInsurance Agency toparticipate in an at-home study usingthe video gameDance DanceRevolution toincrease physicalactivity.

Continued from Page 21

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dren screened for heart disease risk were considered over-weight or obese; more than 25 percent were obese.

“We are in a crisis in terms of childhood obesity not only inWest Virginia but in America,” said Linda Carson, a professor inWVU’s School of Physical Education who is coordinating thestudy.

Prescreening tests on the overweight children have alreadyraised concerns. Researchers expected to find problems withblood pressure and cholesterol, but they also found that bloodflow to the arteries was being disrupted. The condition can leadto diabetes and heart disease.

Researchers at Syracuse University in New York also havebeen looking at the potential for improved cardiovascular andphysiological effects among children using the game. And atPenn State, researchers are studying how much energy chil-dren use playing games like Dance Dance Revolution.

In West Virginia, Robrietta Lambert, a physical educationteacher at Franklin Elementary in Pendleton County, believesshe already knows what all the studies will find. She has beenusing the video game in her classes since last fall.

“It improves cardiovascular health as well as eye-hand coor-dination,” Lambert said. “Kids who don’t like other thingsbloom on this. If they don’t like basketball, jumping rope or ballactivities, they like this.”

Players stand on a 3-foot-square metal mat with an arrow oneach side — pointing up, down, left and right. Arrows scroll upthe television screen to the beat of more than 100 tunes chosenby the player. As an arrow moves across the screen, the playersteps on the corresponding arrow on the platform. Hiddensongs are uncovered as players improve their speed andscores.

Sounds easy enough, but throw in combinations of multiplearrows, add the quick speed at which veterans play, and thegame is as challenging as an aerobics class. Most beginners areflushed in the face after one or two songs.

At Morgantown High School, one of the 20 pilot sites, curios-ity about the flashing lights and upbeat music draw studentsinside Maxine Arbogast’s health class. The game, which wasfirst introduced as an arcade game in Japan, is attracting thesedentary and the seasoned athlete alike.

Senior Stephanie Bellman, 18, said she was already gettingaddicted after only a few days.

“I like how it creates a good mood,”she said. “Even when youmess up you laugh.”

For more information

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Imagine...• Never sharing a pizza with a friend• No beer or Big Macs®• Dry, tasteless bread at $5.00 a loaf• Finding nothing to eat at dinner parties or business meetings• Thinking twice about licking a stamp• No communion wafers• Reading labels on makeup, medications, all food items and toothpaste

Just a normal day...if you have Celiac DiseaseWhat is Celiac Disease?Celiac Disease is an inherited autoimmune disorder that affects the digestive process of the small intestine. When a person who has celiac disease consumes gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and oats, the individualʼs immune system responds by attacking the small intestine. Undiagnosed and untreated, celiac disease can lead to numerous other conditions; osteoporosis, infertility, neurological conditions, and cancer just to name a few.

What are the symptoms?Symptoms are unique to each individual but may include the following: anemia, joint pain, fatigue, weakness, irritability, inability to concentrate, infertility, osteoporosis, diarrhea, constipation, nausea, vomiting, intestinal gas, bloating, growth problems in children, abdominal distention, cramps, headaches, and depression.

How common is Celiac Disease?Celiac disease affects 2.2 million Americans-more than multiple sclerosis, cystic fi brosis, autism, Chronʼs disease, and Parkinsonʼs disease combined. However, most people with celiac disease are unaware that they have it. This is partially due to the mistaken belief that Celiac Disease is a rare condition. Many doctors do not know how to evaluate patients for celiac disease, so they donʼt test for it. Americans at risk for celiac disease continue to consume gluten in their diets, increasing the damage caused by celiac disease and impacting their present and future health.

Brainerd Lakes Area Celiac Group meets the 2nd Thursday of every month.St. Francis church basement at 7:00 p.m.For a meeting schedule or additional information about meetings, please contact:Jennifer [email protected] @ 829-1290Karel @ 829-5946Sharon @ 546-5469

AD SPACE COURTESY OF:

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Where patients come first.

IS IN GOOD HANDS.HEALTH

TAKE IT FROM

JACK:OUR COMMUNITY’S

Jack RuttgerOwner, Ruttger’s Bay Lake Lodge

sjmcmn.org

I’ve lived in the Brainerd Lakes area mywhole life. I’ve been a patient, a boardmember and a neighbor of St. Joseph’sMedical Center.

Those experiences have given me the opportunityto see how this amazing hospital contributes toour community on so many levels.

As a patient, I’ve experienced firsthand the compassionate care that St. Joseph’s provides to its patients. And, as a lifelong member of the community, I’ve heard time and time again frompeople who have had similar experiences tomine. The world-class facilities and technology at St. Joseph’s are a big part of its success, butthe people are what make this hospital special.

The staff has always been deeply committed to putting patients first, and it shows in so many ways.

The Business of HealingI have a bit more insight than most people intohow St. Joseph’s operates. I served on its boardof directors for six years, and also served foranother six years on its foundation’s board. I’vebeen on the finance committee of the BenedictineHealth System. I know how hard everyone works,from the administration on down, to make sureSt. Joseph’s continues to serve the community at the highest level possible. I know how theyrecruit the best doctors, and maintain theirincredible staff. I know the deep feelings theyhave for their patients.

I also know the important role St. Joseph’s plays in our region’s economy. As a provider of over 1,000 rewarding jobs, it’s by far thearea’s largest employer. A $26-million expansion and renovation project is infusing millions in construction services and material costs into the community, and could add many more newjobs when construction is completed this year.

As the owner of a local business, I have a greatdeal of respect for St. Joseph’s because the people there do business the same way I do. They listen to their customers, and they take care of them in every way they can.

32

upnorth healthwatch may 2005

Documents

celiac diseasewhat

toour community

business meetings

local business

business of healingi

cmykwhere patients

conditions osteoporosis

butthe people