Turning 100 isn’t such a big deal anymore. That according to a recent Associated Press article. America’s population of centenarians has roughly doubled in the past 20 years to around 72,000 and is projected to at least double again by 2020, perhaps even increase seven-fold, according to the Census Bureau....
Archives: June 2011
Irregular Activity / Sex Can Be Dangerous – Consistency is Key
Being a couch potato six days of the week and deciding to ride a bike, work in the yard, go hiking, and/or have sex on day seven – well it could kill you. A recent USA Today article looked at how bouts of exercise and sex may be riskier to...
National Health and Aging Trends Study Will Offer Holistic Ongoing Monitoring of Senior Trends
The National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) is a new resource for the scientific study of functioning in later life. The NHATS is being conducted by the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, with data collection by Westat, and support from the National Institute on Aging.æ NHATS...
Healthy Older Drivers Make Mistakes Too
According to an article in MSNBC from My Health News Daily, a new study suggests that aging is associated with an increase in crucial driving mistakes, even among healthy people with safe driving records. The oldest people, between ages 85 and 89, made four times as many critical errors in...
COPD Drugs Could Cause Urinary Problems
A specific class of drugs used to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may result in urinary problems for patients. The medications are in a drug class called inhaled anticholinergics. That includes: Spiriva (tiotropium) Atrovent (ipratropium bromide) Combivent (ipratropium combined with albuterol). Canadian researchers analyzed the medical records of 565,000...
Vitamin D May Prevent Macular Degeneration
Women might be able to prevent macular degeneration by consuming a diet with high levels of Vitamin D. Macular degeneration, a progressive eye disease that can take away one’s vision, affects one in 10 Americans over the age of 40. Research from investigators at New York University’s Lagone Medical Center...
New Alzheimer’s Biomarkers Could Detect Alzheimer’s Sooner and Lead to Therapies
New guidelines released by the Alzheimer’s Association and the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Aging identify new diagnostic criteria and new biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease. The guidelines identify previously unrecognized phases of the disease. The three new phases refer to the disease’s progression, starting before well-known...
Medical Errors Hospitalizing Seniors Most
According to data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the number of patients treated in a hospital after a bad reaction to medication grew 52% between 2004 and 2008. More than half of the errors involved seniors over the age of 65. Taking or being given the wrong...
Focus Group Participants for Caregivers of those with Brain Disorders Needed
The Society for Neuroscience has recently announced it will build a new brain information website, BrainFacts.org. This public information initiative of The Kavli Foundation, The Gatsby Charitable Foundation, and the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) will launch in spring 2012. This website will provide a wealth of information, including facts about...
Botox May Dampen Emotions
@ballyscanlon, Getty Images A recent article in Forbes cited a study in the journal Social Psychology and Personality Science that found that Botox may not only numb facial muscles, but also numb users perceptions of other people’s emotions. Researchers concluded that äóìif muscular signals from the face to the brain...