Feature Channels: Aging

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What special considerations must physicians make when managing epilepsy in older adults? Who is considered an “older adult,” anyway? Dr. Anca Arbune interviews two authors of a recent critical review by an ILAE task force.

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A new study provides novel insight into the benefits of exercise, which should motivate adults to keep moving throughout their lifetime, especially during middle age. Long-term exercise profoundly benefits the aging brain and may prevent aging-related memory function decline by increasing the survival and modifying the network of the adult-born neurons born during early adulthood, and thereby facilitating their participation in cognitive processes.

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Living in a low-oxygen environment extended life spans, preserved neurologic function in mice.

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A University of California, Irvine-led team of researchers have discovered that the oldest-old, those who live to be 90+ and have superior cognitive skills, have similar levels of brain pathology as Alzheimer’s patients, however, they also have less brain pathology of other neurodegenerative diseases that cause memory and thinking problems.

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Taking a daily multivitamin may help slow age-related memory decline, a study has found.

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Far more older adults these days log on to secure websites or apps to connect with their health information or have a virtual health care appointment, compared with five years ago, a new poll shows. But it also reveals major disparities, with some groups of older adults less likely to use patient portals, or more likely to have concerns about them.

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Low-load blood flow-restricted resistance exercise helped counter age-related muscle decay “with a modest exercise volume and in a very time-efficient manner.” The study is published ahead of print in the Journal of Applied Physiology. It was chosen as an APSselect article for May.

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The gut microbial community structure—communities of bacteria, viruses and fungi that live in the intestines—influences the inflammatory response in the lungs of aging mice, according to researchers from the Institute of Functional Anatomy at Charité, the Medical University of Berlin in Germany.

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A community study involving 101 participants aged between 38 to 91 years old has found that weekly 10-min exposure to very low levels of pulsed electromagnetic field using the BIXEPS device developed by researchers from the National University of Singapore significantly improves mobility, especially in the elderly. This painless therapy produces comparable results to exercise, and also improves body composition and reduces pain

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Blood vessel abnormalities in the eye are a major factor in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, according to research from Cedars-Sinai investigators published in the peer-reviewed journal Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.

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Skin cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer in the United States, with over 5 million cases diagnosed annually. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that melanoma alone accounts for more than 8,000 deaths each year. Thankfully, skin cancer is highly preventable, making it crucial to prioritize protection. Below are some of the latest headlines in the Dermatology channel.

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When it comes to older adults, depression affects more than 7 million of the 35 million Americans aged 65 years or older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Getting a family member or a close friend who is an older adult to seek and use mental health help can be a challenging task, especially when it comes to dealing with depression. If an older adult you know is exhibiting signs of depression, the tips below can help you better communicate with the individual and guide them in seeking the professional help they need.

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The Division of Geriatric Medicine at Hackensack University Medical Center is proud to announce it is the first and currently only hospital in the state of New Jersey to offer a formal program aimed at preventing falls in older adults.

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While it has been long understood that limiting the amount of food eaten can promote healthy aging in a wide range of animals, including humans, a new study from University of Michigan has revealed that the feeling of hunger itself may be enough to slow aging.

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The anti-dementia medication lecanemab and its ancillary costs could add $2 billion to $5 billion in annual Medicare spending if the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) revise their coverage decision. Currently, the medication is covered only for patients who are enrolled in clinical trials.

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May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Get your mental health news here.

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It’s a common misconception that older adults need less sleep than those younger, but many get fewer hours due to insomnia and various health problems, including sleep apnea and heart trouble. In addition to a reduced quality of life, long-term health consequences of poor sleep include high blood pressure, weight gain, stroke, heart attack, diabetes, memory problems, and even increased risk of death, said Deborah Freeland, M.D., Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and a member of UTSW’s Division of Geriatric Medicine.

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Nearly 4 million people in Texas are over the age of 65, making up nearly 15% of the state’s population, according to a 2019 report. By the year 2050, 1 in 4 adults in the United States will be older than 65. As the population of older adults continues to grow, so does the need for quality health care and powerful research.

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May is a month to recognize the importance of cancer research, with both Brain Tumor Awareness Month and National Cancer Research Month taking center stage. Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC is dedicated to advancing our understanding of cancer and developing new ways to treat and prevent it. Teams of investigators are working to uncover the molecular mechanisms that drive cancer growth, migration, and metastasis.

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In honor of Mother’s Day, American Greetings and the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement at Cleveland Clinic have partnered to encourage the celebration of women everywhere and raise critical research funds in the process.

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In a study of 17 people from five families, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they found that ultra-lengthy DNA endcaps called telomeres fail to provide the longevity presumed for such people. Instead, people with long telomeres tend to develop a range of benign and cancerous tumors, as well as the age-related blood condition clonal hematopoiesis.

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A new study by NYU School of Global Health published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society reports that regular Internet usage was associated with approximately half the risk of dementia compared to non-regular usage.

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Renowned pharmacoepidemiologist, Dr. Tobias Gerhard, is named new director of the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research.

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For millions of Americans that suffer from seasonal allergies (pollen and mold), climate change is exacerbating an earlier, longer, and overall worse allergy season.

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UC San Diego researchers describe how exposure to ambient air pollution, such as car exhaust and power plant emissions — is associated with a measurably greater risk of developing dementia over time.

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Stress causes the levels of Alzheimer's proteins to rise in females' brains but not males' brains, according to a new study in mice by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. This difference may contribute to women's greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

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Researchers have long known there are sex disparities when it comes to the prevalence and severity of knee osteoarthritis, a disease that causes cartilage degeneration. Now, investigations underway at UT Southwestern Medical Center point to biological differences in the knee cartilage of male and female animals that could explain substantial variances in rates of osteoarthritis between the sexes and may eventually lead to tailored treatments that take these into account.

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This agreement will enable FAU and Insightec to collaborate to advance scientific knowledge about the use of focused ultrasound to treat brain diseases, including Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. By harnessing acoustic energy, Insightec’s innovative technology uses focused ultrasound to treat diseases in different ways.

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A roundup of the latest medical discoveries and faculty news at Cedars-Sinai for April 2023.

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Researchers have developed a biosynthetic “clock” that keeps cells from reaching normal levels of deterioration related to aging. They engineered a gene oscillator that switches between the two normal paths of aging, slowing cell degeneration and setting a record for life extension.

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A national pilot program designed to improve outcomes for elderly surgical patients is scalable and can be implemented in a wide range of hospital types—from community hospitals to urban academic medical centers, according to a study published this week in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS).

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Illinois researchers identified cells in the hippocampus that could be chemogenetically turned off to make young mice show signs of cognitive decline associated with aging. They are using this new mouse model to search for ways to prevent or reverse age-related learning and memory problems.

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Cedars-Sinai geriatrics experts will present their latest advances in research and care at the annual scientific meeting of the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) in Long Beach, California, May 4-6.

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Johns Hopkins University researchers have found that traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) were the second most common injury among adults treated in U.S. emergency rooms for injuries related to walking a leashed dog from 2001 to 2020.

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As the movement toward “deprescribing” medications among older adults grows, a new poll shows strong interest in this idea, with 80% of adults aged 50 to 80 open to stopping one or more of the prescription medicines they’ve been taking for more than a year, if a health care provider said it was possible. Already, 26% said they have done so in the past two years - though some had done it without talking to a health provider.

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In a study conducted at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), researchers found that the use of peripheral nerve blocks in total knee and total hip arthroplasty were associated with a consistent reduction in risk for postoperative complications in patients with a lower comorbidity burden. In particular, the most consistent reduction in risk of complications and use of hospital resources was in older patients with no comorbidity burden. These findings were presented at the 2023 Spring American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA) Annual Meeting and were acknowledged as one of the President’s Choice Abstracts.1

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Researcher will discuss the study which involved a sleeping aid known as suvorexant that is already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for insomnia, hints at the potential of sleep medications to slow or stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.