Physical activity appears to be associated with a reduced risk or slower progression of several age-related conditions as well as improvements in overall health in older age, according to a commentary and four articles published in the January 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Rush University Medical Center is leading a nationwide clinical trial of a nutritional drink to determine whether it can improve cognitive performance in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's.
Those over the age of 65 should consider an abdominal aortic aneurysm screening.
Researchers from the Sbarro Institute for Molecular Medicine and Cancer Research at Temple University in Philadelphia and the Human Health Foundation in Spoleto, Italy, have found that MECP2, a gene that modifies the chromatin in the cell, has an important role in stem cell aging.
A common complication following surgery in elderly patients is postoperative delirium, a state of confusion that can lead to long-term health problems and cause some elderly patients to complain that they “never felt the same” again after an operation. But a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests that simply limiting the depth of sedation during procedures could safely cut the risk of postoperative delirium by 50 percent.
Chronically ill older adults who are closely supported by a nurse-physician primary care team are twice as likely to rate their health care as high-quality than those who receive usual care. Guided Care patients were also 70 percent more likely to rate the time they had to wait for an appointment when sick as “excellent” or “good”, and 50 percent more likely to rate the ability to get phone advice as “excellent” or “good.”
Older people who have “mental lapses,” or times when their thinking seems disorganized or illogical or when they stare into space, may be more likely to have Alzheimer’s disease than people who do not have these lapses, according to a study published in the January 19, 2010, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
A recent study, published in the January issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, demonstrates that in elderly patients undergoing hip fracture repair under spinal anesthesia with propofol sedation, the prevalence of delirium can be decreased by 50 percent with light sedation, compared to deep sedation.
In light of Alzheimer Awareness Month, experts from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) are available to discuss the impact of Alzheimer’s on people and the health care system, and the newest potential interventions.
A study published in the January 13, 2010 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience links a loss of smell function in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) model animals with amyloid beta (protein) accumulation in the brain, a distinguishing hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Research conducted by NYU Langone Medical Center suggests that olfactory dysfunction, a common symptom of AD, may serve as an early diagnostic tool for the disease.
Preliminary research suggests that variation of a gene for a plasma protein is associated with slower age-related memory decline and a lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer disease (AD), according to a study in the January 13 issue of JAMA.
Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found that a “longevity gene” helps to slow age-related decline in brain function in older adults. Drugs that mimic the gene’s effect are now under development, the researchers note, and could help protect against Alzheimer’s disease.
Friday, January 8, 2010, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ACTEMRA® (tocilizumab), a new biologic response modifier for adult patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
A fast-acting compound that appears to improve cognitive function impairments in mice similar to those found in patients with progressive Alzheimer’s disease has been identified by scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Program in Drug Discovery. Researchers hope to one day replicate the result in humans.
The use of atypical antipsychotics to treat elderly patients with dementia appears to have decreased following a 2005 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory regarding the risks of these medications in this population, according to a report in the January 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Regularly practicing yoga exercises may lower a number of compounds in the blood and reduce the level of inflammation that normally rises because of both normal aging and stress, a new study has shown.
“Principles of Rational Prescribing,” a web-based lesson developed by faculty at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, was voted "Educational Product of the Year" recently among products developed by 40 academic geriatrics programs in the United States.
Forgot where you put your car keys? Having trouble recalling your colleague’s name? If so, this may be a symptom of subjective cognitive impairment (SCI), the earliest sign of cognitive decline marked by situations such as when a person recognizes they can’t remember a name like they used to or where they recently placed important objects the way they used to. Studies have shown that SCI is experienced by between one-quarter and one-half of the population over the age of 65. A new study, published in the January 11, 2010, issue of the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia, finds that healthy older adults reporting SCI are 4.5 times more likely to progress to the more advanced memory-loss stages of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia than those free of SCI.
Study suggests that participating in volunteer activities may prevent frailty in older adults.
Using laboratory mice that had been bred to have brain changes similar to Alzheimer’s disease, scientists were able to reduce two characteristic features of the disease by modifying the mice’s immune systems with a special peptide (MOG45D) related to the myelin sheath that insulates nerve cells and nerve fibers. As a result, anti-inflammatory cells were recruited from the blood into the brain, dampening the local inflammatory response.
A new type of brain scan, called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), appears to be better at detecting whether a person with memory loss might have brain changes of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study published in the January 6, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
People are fascinated about why we do what we do. College students are studying many aspects of psychology, from birth through aging.
Inheritance of an extra copy of the gene- ß -amyloid precursor protein, APP, in individuals with Down syndrome leads to the inevitable development of early onset Alzheimer’s disease, known to be linked to the deposition of Amyloid ß peptide or Aß in the brain. However, a new study published online in PNAS identifies ßCTF, a small protein found in APP, as a novel factor for the development of Alzheimer’s disease related endosome abnormalities, which have also been tied previously to the loss of brain cells in Alzheimer’s disease.
Need a little extra incentive to kick the habit? Just in time for New Year’s resolutions, a UCLA study finds that even after age 80, smoking continues to increase one’s risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in Americans over 65.
It’s never too early or too late to start working toward the goal of improving brain health. So perhaps the New Year is the perfect time to consider how one achieves a long and satisfying life. A book recently publishing by American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., called Successful Cognitive and Emotional Aging may be just the tool to help find some answers to the age-old question.
Older adults who used the herbal supplement Ginkgo biloba for several years did not have a slower rate of cognitive decline compared to adults who received placebo, according to a study in the December 23/30 issue of JAMA
To assist physicians in caring for a patient demographic that is rapidly growing in size, JAMA is launching a new series, “Care of the Aging Patient: From Evidence to Action.”
People who have Alzheimer’s disease may be less likely to develop cancer, and people who have cancer may be less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study published in the December 23, 2009, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Researchers are trying to decode why aging prevents sleep from enhancing memory. Psychologist Rebecca Spencer is trying to isolate the stage of sleep that provides the learning benefit and to discover more about the role of sleep in learning. Funding is from the National Institute on Aging.
Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have discovered that restricting consumption of glucose, the most common dietary sugar, can extend the life of healthy human-lung cells and speed the death of precancerous human-lung cells, reducing cancer’s spread and growth rate.
Is there any redeeming value in the hours that teens spend transfixed by these video games? According to a new study regular gamers are fast and accurate information processors, not only during game play, but in real-life situations as well.
A diet rich in methionine, an amino acid typically found in red meats, fish, beans, eggs, garlic, lentils, onions, yogurt and seeds, can possibly increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
The study, led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is the first of its kind to demonstrate that social service programs can have the added benefits of improving the cognitive abilities of older adults. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the researchers found that seniors participating in a youth mentoring program made gains in key brain regions that support cognitive abilities important to planning and organizing one’s daily life.
UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have provided the most extensive account to date of the unique observable characteristics seen in patients with an extremely rare premature aging syndrome.
As the national discussion of health care focuses on costs, a new study from North Carolina State University shows that it might be more accurate to think of health care spending as an investment that can spur economic growth. The study also shows that government projections of health care costs and financing may be unduly pessimistic.
Aging is the single greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. In their latest study, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies found that simply slowing the aging process in mice prone to develop Alzheimer’s disease prevented their brains from turning into a neuronal wasteland.
More than half of HIV patients experience memory problems and other cognitive impairments as they age, and doctors know little about the underlying causes. New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests HIV-related cognitive deficits share a common link with Alzheimer's-related dementia: low levels of the protein amyloid beta in the spinal fluid.
If obesity trends continue, the negative effects on the U.S. population will overtake benefits gained from declining smoking rates, according to a U-M/Harvard study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Older adults who reported chronic musculoskeletal pain in two or more locations, higher levels of severe pain, or pain that interfered with daily activities were more likely to experience a fall than adults who did not reports these types of pain, according to a study in the November 25 issue of JAMA.
The National Institute on Aging (NIA), one of the 27 centers and institutes that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded a $163,000 grant to Julia Lee, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology, to pursue a research initiative into the science of cancer and aging. Her research will focus on the maintenance of chromosome ends — called telomeres — and how telomeres function in both the aging process and the growth of cancer cells.
Older adults who take several types of psychotropic medications—such as antidepressants or sedatives—appear more likely to experience falls, according to an analysis of previous studies reported in the November 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
In a step toward using human saliva to tell whether those stiff joints, memory lapses, and other telltale signs of aging are normal or red flags for disease, scientists are describing how the protein content of women’s saliva change with advancing age. The discovery could lead to a simple, noninvasive test for better diagnosing and treating certain age-related diseases in women.
A new non-surgical skin-tightening procedure that dermatologists say smoothes and firms up baggy skin uses radio waves. The outpatient Thermage treatments can be done all over the body. The focused waves promote collagen remodeling and continue to tighten for weeks afterward.
A new study co-authored by University of Virginia economics professor Steven Stern suggests that you shouldn't assume a home-care professional can better care for your parent than you can.
Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine set out to address a question that has been challenging scientists for years: How do dietary restriction—and the reverse, overconsumption—produce protective effects against aging and disease? An answer lies in a two-part study led by Charles Mobbs, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience and of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, published in the November 17 edition of the journal Public Library of Science Biology.
In a study that promises to improve diagnosis and monitoring of Alzheimer’s disease, scientists at the University of California, San Diego have developed a fast and accurate method for quantifying subtle, sub-regional brain volume loss using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The study will be published the week of November 16 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS).
Baby Boomers may well be entering their 60s suffering far more disabilities than their counterparts did in previous generations, The findings, may be due in part to changing American demographics.
Seniors who neglect themselves, risking their own health and safety, tend to be individuals with limited social networks and little social engagement, according to a study by Rush University Medical Center.
Everyone expects their bodies to change as they get older. From wrinkles and sagging skin to brittle bones and aches and pains, the aging process is inevitable. In addition, there are a number of medical dermatologic conditions that surface with age that can cause people even more stress. Fortunately, dermatologists can help diagnose and treat these conditions no matter when they strike.
Saint Louis University research could lead to better medicines for Alzheimer's disease.
RSS
Medicine keyboard_arrow_right
Sciencekeyboard_arrow_right
Life keyboard_arrow_right
Business keyboard_arrow_right
Journal News keyboard_arrow_right
By Location keyboard_arrow_right
Meetings, Grants, and Events keyboard_arrow_right