Health News

Manpower MS Walk

BANGOR – The Bangor-Brewer Manpower MS Walk will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 9, at the Brewer Auditorium. The event is the Maine chapter’s major fund-raiser.

The assessment by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society that the prevalence rate of MS in Maine is 70 percent higher than the national average – reason enough to hope that many people will participate in the annual Maine Chapter Manpower MS Walk. The MS Society reports that approximately 3,000 Mainers, or one in 400, have been diagnosed with the disease.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or more severe and may include paralysis or loss of vision. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with women much more heavily impacted than men. The unpredictable physical and emotional effects can last a lifetime and have an impact on the entire family. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but research advances continue to offer hope to those affected by the disease.

More than 4,000 walkers statewide are expected to participate in the walk. But local volunteers say registrations are coming in at a slower rate than desired. To register for the walk, visit www.msmaine.org or call (800) 526-8890.

Sleep Awareness Week

BANGOR – St. Joseph Healthcare’s Center for Sleep Medicine will celebrate National Sleep Awareness Week with a community open house 3-7 p.m. Thursday, March 31, at the center, 268 Center St. The event will include tours of the center, educational information and refreshments.

In celebration of National Sleepless Awareness Week, “Mike and Mike in the Morning” on KISS 94.5 FM will hold an Extreme Snoring Escape contest throughout the week. Listeners will be invited to submit their stories of dealing with loved ones who snore by e-mailing TheMikeAndMikeShow

@hotmail.com, faxing 942-8039, or calling (800) 339-5477.

A winner will be chosen on Friday, April 1, and will receive two complimentary consultations with Dr. Roslinde Collins, medical director of St. Joseph Healthcare’s Center for Sleep Medicine, a sleep study and, if needed, a complimentary continuous positive airway pressure machine for the loved one.

The Center for Sleep Medicine diagnoses and treats a wide range of sleep disorders. Sleep studies are performed in one of the four bedrooms in the center. Each patient bedroom is designed to replicate a homelike atmosphere. During sleep, the center’s state-of-the-art equipment monitors each patient’s brain wave activity, breathing and other vital signs.