Feature Channels: Seniors

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

Older adults with type 1 diabetes typically have low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, for more than an hour a day, suggests research to be presented Monday, March 25 at ENDO 2019, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society, in New Orleans, La.

• share
• favorite_border

Seemingly harmless fluid-filled spaces around the cerebral small vessels, commonly seen on brain MRIs in older adults, are now thought to be associated with more compromised cognitive skills, according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Centerstudy published in Neurology.

• share
• favorite_border

Reducing traumatic injuries sustained by older adults who fall begins with reducing their risk of falls. Research from the University of Vermont suggests that free community-based events are effective in educating and establishing fall risk reduction strategies among older adults.

• share
• favorite_border

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) refers to having problems with your memory and decision-making abilities.

• share
• favorite_border

Having a parent with Alzheimer’s disease has been known to raise a person’s risk of developing the disease, but new research suggests that having second- and third-degree relatives who have had Alzheimer’s may also increase risk. The study is published in the March 13, 2019, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

• share
• favorite_border

After recently gaining accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, along with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, will soon begin offering the first training program in the El Paso area for geriatric psychiatry.

• share
• favorite_border

Between 2004 and 2017, dog-walking-related fractures in people 65-or-older more than doubled

• share
• favorite_border

Drinking enough water is a concern for everyone, but the elderly are particularly prone to underhydration and dehydration. A new UCLA School of Nursing study shows that these conditions are likely to be under-recognized, bringing on health problems ranging from urinary tract infections to frequent falls.

• share
• favorite_border

Montreal health-care professionals develop 27 daily exercises for patients to stay in shape once they return home and avoid falls.

• share
• favorite_border

One in four older adults say they feel isolated from other people at least some of the time, and one in three say they lack regular companionship, according to a new national poll. Those feelings of loneliness showed up most in people aged 50 to 80 who also reported they had health issues and unhealthy habits, the poll shows. The new findings amplify research that has shown links between chronic loneliness and health issues ranging from memory loss to shorter lives.

• share
• favorite_border

People who are witnessed by a bed partner to have stopped breathing during sleep may have higher accumulations of an Alzheimer’s disease biomarker called tau in an area of the brain that helps with memory, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 71st Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, May 4 to 10, 2019.

• share
• favorite_border

Medical marijuana may bring relief to older people who have symptoms like pain, sleep disorders or anxiety due to chronic conditions including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, neuropathy, spinal cord damage and multiple sclerosis, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 71st Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, May 4 to 10, 2019. The study not only found medical marijuana may be safe and effective, it also found that one-third of participants reduced their use of opioids. However, the study was retrospective and relied on participants reporting whether they experienced symptom relief, so it is possible that the placebo effect may have played a role. Additional randomized, placebo-controlled studies are needed.

• share
• favorite_border

In a study of older people with no clinical diagnosis or signs of dementia when hospitalized to repair hip fractures, Johns Hopkins researchers say they found biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease in most of the patients’ spinal fluid samples. The researchers say results of their study add to evidence that brain alterations that lead to poor balance in older people may underpin both increased risk of hip-fracturing falls and Alzheimer’s disease, and that hip fracture itself may therefore serve as a first sign of undiagnosed disease.

• share
• favorite_border

Northwestern Memorial Hospital was among the first in the country to provide older patients with a dedicated geriatric Emergency Department (ED) and now it is the first hospital in Illinois to achieve Level One Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA), the highest tier of the new interdisciplinary geriatric standards set forth by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP).

• share
• favorite_border

• People with kidney failure are nearly ten times as likely as other Medicare beneficiaries to undergo lower extremity amputation during their final year of life. • Despite having a poor prognosis, individuals with kidney failure who had a lower extremity amputation in their last year of life had a greater likelihood of admission to—and prolonged stays in—acute and subacute care settings during this time. They also were more likely to die in the hospital and discontinue dialysis, and to spend fewer days receiving hospice services.

• share
• favorite_border

Keck School of Medicine of USC scientists have developed the first standardized framework for clinicians to document physical findings on older patients for better evidence in abuse cases

• share
• favorite_border

A high-protein, low-calorie diet helps older adults with obesity lose more weight, maintain more muscle mass, improve bone quality and lose “bad” fat, according to results from a new randomized controlled trial led by Wake Forest University researcher Kristen Beavers.

• share
• favorite_border

Project CLEAR clinical trial finds that the application of antiseptic soap, mouthwash, and nose ointments prevent post-discharge MRSA infections and hospitalizations. Patients

• share
• favorite_border

The psychosocial care team helps patients and their caregivers and family members address issues including managing distress, depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress associated with diagnoses and treatments. The team also helps patients and caregivers to feel less overwhelmed and more in control, as well as improving self-care and communication with loved ones and their health care providers.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Health have identified a novel mechanism and potential new therapeutic target for Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers in Finland recently found that lifestyle choices can help older adults stay mentally sharp. Now scientists at Wake Forest School of Medicine hope to find confirmatory evidence this is indeed the case by coordinating a large, national clinical trial sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association through a $28 million grant.

• share
• favorite_border

The benefits of exercise are widely known but kinesiologists at McMaster University have for the first time found that physical activity may help fight depression in seniors by stimulating muscle-generated mood boosters.

• share
• favorite_border

Intensive control of blood pressure in older people significantly reduced the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment, a precursor of early dementia, according to the National Institutes of Health-supported Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial Memory and Cognition in Decreased Hypertension, or SPRINT MIND.

• share
• favorite_border

New research suggests that exercise-induced muscle changes could help boost mood in older adults. The study is published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology—Cell Physiology.

• share
• favorite_border

Hospitalizations for cardiovascular disease rose precipitously in Orleans and Jefferson parishes after Hurricane Katrina. The increase in rates lasted for more than one month after landfall and rates were higher among the older black population, compared to the older white population.

• share
• favorite_border

Older patients with a diagnosis of chronic sinusitis — a disease of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses that often persists over many years — have a unique inflammatory signature that may render them less responsive to steroid treatment, according to a new study published by Vanderbilt researchers.

• share
• favorite_border

There is little benefit for those over 70 taking higher dose vitamin D supplements to improve their bone strength and reduce the risk of falls, new research has revealed.

• share
• favorite_border

Emergency and urgent hospitalizations are associated with an increased rate of cognitive decline in older adults, report researchers at Rush University Medical Center. Results of their study, published in the Jan. 11, 2019, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, shows that hospitalization may be a more of a major risk factor for long-term cognitive decline in older adults than previously recognized.

• share
• favorite_border

UC San Diego Health opens a state-of-the-art unit to treat seniors requiring emergency health care. The Gary and Mary West Emergency Department at UC San Diego Health in La Jolla is the first in California to treat qualifying patients over the age of 65 in a dedicated emergency care space.

• share
• favorite_border

Two-thirds of stroke survivors are in complete mental health despite the impact of their stroke, according to a large, nationally representative Canadian study conducted by researchers at the University of Toronto's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.

• share
• favorite_border

In a new study, researchers recommend that healthcare leaders address the growing global demand for home care with a greater investment in delivery, affordability and quality.

• share
• favorite_border

Better use of standard assessment tools could help long-term care homes identify which new residents are at risk of hospitalization or death in the first 90 days of admission.

• share
• favorite_border

A high proportion of older people with hearing aids, especially those with lower incomes, report having trouble hearing and difficulty accessing hearing care services, according to a study from researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study found that age-related hearing loss increased the risk of depression symptoms.

• share
• favorite_border

If your holidays will include elderly visitors, it may be important to do some advance planning to help ensure their safety. Dr. Sonja Rosen, chief of Geriatric Medicine at Cedars-Sinai, offers tips to prevent falls and keep older guests comfortable.

• share
• favorite_border

The cost of heating and cooling the home, and increasing social isolation are significant factors in health risk of older adults during extreme weather, according to a new study by the University of Warwick.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research (CHOPR) describes the quality of end of life care in nearly 500 U.S. hospitals, utilizing nearly 13,000 bedside nurses as informants of quality. The study has been published online first. It will also be in a future issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

• share
• favorite_border

The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing (JHSON) will receive the largest grant ever given by the Rita & Alex Hillman Foundation to a single nurse-driven innovation, marking JHSON’s leadership in transformative models of care that focus on social determinants of health. The grant, totaling nearly $3 million, will fund large-scale, national implementation of JHSON’s Community Aging in Place Advancing Better Living for Elders (CAPABLE) program.

• share
• favorite_border

3-D printing can cut the cost of adaptive aids that help people with hand arthritis. Current products are quite expensive, and more so to create customized versions, but 3-D printing drops the cost by an average of 94 percent for 20 different handheld devices.

• share
• favorite_border

Duke Health researchers have previously shown that introducing bone marrow stem cells to a bone injury can expedite healing, but the exact process was unclear. Now, the same Duke-led team believes it has pinpointed the “youth factor” inside bone marrow stem cells -- it’s the macrophage, a type of white blood cell, and the proteins it secretes that can have a rejuvenating effect on tissue. Nature Communications will publish the findings online on Dec. 5.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

We laugh at the meme—even those of us over a certain age—of the toddler, hand pressed over his eyes in utter frustration, telling grandma for the umpteenth time how to open a browser on her computer. Or the photo of the older couple staring at a cell phone, with him asking her to make sure to take two pictures so he can have one as well.

• share
• favorite_border

An antibiotic, minocycline, can increase the lifespan of roundworms by preventing the build-up of proteins during aging, a study in the open-access journal eLife reports.

• share
• favorite_border

Just as the population of older adults is increasing worldwide, so too is the number of older adults who consume alcohol. Older adults are more sensitive to the adverse effects of alcohol due to age-related health impairment and physiological changes in metabolism and body composition. This study looked at how at-risk drinking among older adults changes over time.

• share
• favorite_border

Three presentations to be given at the American Public Health Meeting Nov. 12-12 in San Diego.

• share
• favorite_border

SAN FRANCISCO – Data from a new study presented this week at The Liver Meeting® – held by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases – found that hospitalizations and death are increasing among Medicare recipients with hepatocellular carcinoma, mainly due to co-existing alcoholic liver disease, hepatitis C virus infection (commonly called HCV) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (commonly called NAFLD).

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

Longitudinal study of claims data shows that older adults with untreated hearing loss generated an average of 46 percent more in total health care costs over 10 years versus those who don’t have hearing loss

• share
• favorite_border

Research from the UK Sanders-Brown Center on Aging has identified two potential ways to predict VCID – the second leading cause of dementia behind Alzheimer's disease