Health Notes Health Notes (May 12, 2004)

Panic study

Stanford University School of Medicine researchers are recruiting volunteers for a study that aims to identify ways to prevent mothers from passing down panic disorder to their daughters. The study will involve 30 mothers -- 15 with panic disorder and 15 without -- and their daughters ages 12 to 17. The daughters must not have been diagnosed with panic disorder.

Volunteers will be paid $50 for their participation in two, two-hour visits, which will include interviews, questionnaires and a computer test.

The study will examine physical symptoms and thought patterns of daughters whose mothers have panic disorder. The disorder is marked by unpredictable attacks of anxiety accompanied by symptoms such as heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness and trembling. Twice as many women as men are afflicted with panic disorder. Experts say mothers with the disorder often pass it down to their daughters.

Women and girls interested in participating in the study should call 723-6308, or e-mail lead researcher Kimberly Wilson, a fellow in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, at kwilson@stanford.edu.

Run for research

A 10-K run and 5-K walk/run is set for Sunday, May 23, to raise money for brain tumor research. The event is sponsored by the Future Brain Cancer Institute, a newly established nonprofit project based in Palo Alto.

The fundraising event will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Baylands Athletic Center at 1900 Geng Road, in Palo Alto.

The institute was established late last year by Meredith Warshaw and her daughter, Elizabet Warshaw-Vickery, following the death of Dr. Brian Vickery from brain cancer. Dr. Vickery was the husband of Meredith and father of Elizabet.

For more information or to register, log on at www.saveyourbrain.org.

Alzheimer program benefit

Watercolor images painted by people with Alzheimer's disease will be auctioned off Friday, May 14, as part of a fundraiser for the Alzheimer's Association in Mountain View.

As part of the association's "Memories in the Making" program, many people with the disease are able to express themselves through art, sometimes bringing up long-forgotten memories, program director Toni Morley said.

A 6 p.m. reception and silent auction followed by a live auction will take place in Ralston Hall on the Notre Dame de Namur University campus at 1500 Ralston Ave. in Belmont. Tickets to the event are $100 per person. For more information, call Natalia Goebel at 962-8111, extension 328.

Yoga workshop

A free yoga workshop for breast cancer survivors is set for 12:30 p.m. Friday, May 21, in Menlo Park. Sponsored by the Community Breast Health Project of Palo Alto, the workshop's focus will be on restoration and strengthening.

Lunch, courtesy of Draeger's market, will be served after the workshop.

No yoga experience is necessary. For more information or to reserve a spot in the workshop, call 326-6686. More information about CBHP can be found at www.cbhp.org.

More yoga

Yoga as a means to mitigate the pain of arthritis is the topic of a free program on Saturday, May 22, at the Insight Meditation Center, 1205 Hopkins Ave., in Redwood City.

The program, "Yoga and Meditation," will be held from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. It is sponsored by the Arthritis Foundation. For more information, call 1-800-464-6240.

Alzheimer's support group

A support group for family members and caregivers of people who suffer from Alzheimer's disease will meet on Wednesday, May 19, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the library of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, 975 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park.

The group is sponsored by the Alzheimer's Association of the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. Participants share practical information, offer mutual support, and learn new ways of coping with dementia.

More information about the support group may be obtained by calling Sue Sheehan at 851-0296. Additional information about the association may be obtained by logging on at www.alznorcal.org, or by calling 1-800-660-1993.

Teen wellness center opens at high school

A new teen wellness center for high school students opened recently on the campus of Sequoia High School at 1201 Brewster Ave. in Redwood City.

Among the services offered are physical exams, anonymous HIV testing, diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases and chronic conditions such as acne and asthma, information on family planning and reproductive health care, and a range of counseling referral services for students and families, said Susan Berghouse, spokeswoman for the Sequoia Union High School District.

The entrance to the wellness center is near the tennis courts on James Avenue. Hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information, call 366-2927.

The center is the result of a partnership with Redwood City 2020, San Mateo County's Youth and Family Enrichment Services agency, and county hospitals and the county Human Services Agency. The Board of Trustees of the Sequoia Union High School District approved placing the center on the high school campus.

Nonprofits get grants for children's health

Four nonprofits in South San Mateo County have received $435,000 in grants from the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health to protect children from abuse and promote their emotional and behavioral health.

The grant is one of 10, totaling $1.2 million, the foundation has awarded to charities and agencies that serve children, youth and their families in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

Local recipients of two-year grants are:

** Bay Area Community Resources, $75,000, to provide after-school, weekend and summer activities for middle school kids in East Palo Alto.

** El Concilio of San Mateo County, $110,000, for its Healthy Youth program, which provides youth activities for 9- to 13-year-olds in East Palo Alto, North Fair Oaks and Redwood City.

** Family Support Center of the Mid-Peninsula, $100,000, for a program to prevent child abuse by providing home visits to at-risk families in East Palo Alto and Belle Haven.

** Redwood City Family Centers, $150,000, to support child abuse prevention programs at family resource centers in east Redwood City and North Fair Oaks.

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