Feature Channels: Aging

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UCLA Health experts are available to discuss a wide variety of topics of interest for the month of November.

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Researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery found that a low-impact exercise program in senior centers in New York City’s Chinatown and Flushing, Queens communities helped decrease pain, improve mobility and enhance quality of life for many participants.

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It's tempting to dip into the leftover Halloween treats, but new research out of York University has found eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, combined with regular exercise, leads to better cognitive functioning for younger and older adults, and may delay the onset of dementia.

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Each individual’s skin care routine should be based on her age and her skin’s specific needs. To kick off National Healthy Skin Month, three board-certified dermatologists discuss the top skin care concerns of women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, and provide skin care tips for each age group.

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Is social media good for you, or bad? Well, it’s complicated. A study of 12 million Facebook users suggests that using Facebook is associated with living longer – when it serves to maintain and enhance your real-world social ties.

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More than one in four older adults have not engaged in planning for end-of-life care or directives, despite significant public efforts to encourage the practice. This is especially true for African Americans, Latinos and those with less education and income, according to a study by researchers at UC San Francisco.

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A research team at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center has been awarded a three-year grant for $2 million by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to compare the effectiveness of cognitive-behavior therapy and yoga on anxiety in older adults.

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During their first year, clinicians at the new Montefiore Einstein Center for the Aging Brain (CAB) saw significant improvements in their ability to identify patients with dementia symptoms and more quickly identify signs of depression and anxiety. This first year data has been published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The Center’s model, which follows a three-step evaluation and management plan from clinicians in Geriatrics, Neuropsychology and Neurology, examines referred patients for evaluation of cognitive complaints based on daily activities, demographic information, additional medical conditions, and medication review.

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Atherosclerosis is a disease in which arteries narrow due to plaques. That narrowing can lead to heart attacks and strokes — both of which are leading causes of death in the U.S. Now, in a paper published in Science, Mayo Clinic researchers and colleagues show that senescent cells drive plaque formation in animal models of atherosclerosis.

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Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that supplementing healthy mice with a natural compound called NMN can compensate for the loss of energy production that is typical of aging. Older NMN-supplemented mice showed improved energy metabolism, reducing typical signs of aging such as gradual weight gain, loss of insulin sensitivity and declines in physical activity.

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Patients could soon be diagnosed with early-stage arthritis several years before the onset of physical and irreversible symptoms, thanks to a new test developed by researchers at the University of Warwick. Led by Dr Naila Rabbani of Warwick Medical School, the researchers developed a test that can provide an early diagnosis of osteoarthritis (OA) and also distinguish this from early-stage rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other self-resolving inflammatory joint disease.

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The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) announced today the relaunch of CognitiveVitality.org, its brain health and dementia prevention website. The streamlined, easy-to-navigate site separates fact from fiction and empowers people to make smarter choices for their brain health.

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A study sheds new understanding on the mechanisms of the diabetic retinopathy - which is the most prominent complication of diabetes and the leading cause of blindness in working age individuals - as it uncovered a program of accelerated aging of the neurons, blood vessels and immune cells of the retina in areas where blood vessels had been damaged.

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Research in C. elegans shows the popular supplement engages longevity genes to increase lifespan and prevent the accumulation of toxic proteins linked to many age-related diseases

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A study of patient electronic medical records and genome sequences from adults with age-related hearing impairment by researchers at UC San Francisco and Kaiser Permanente Northern California, identified two genetic variations linked to the hearing disorder.

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For many people, the prospect of aging is scary and uncomfortable, but Florida State University Assistant Professor Dawn Carr says that research reveals a few tips that can improve our chances of a long, healthy life.

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Study: Older men adhere closely to an idealized masculinity script that is incompatible with the realities of later life

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Researchers are testing cutting-edge treatments for people who want to see up close without reading glasses and finding promising results, according to studies presented this week at AAO 2016, the 120th annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. A new method that uses lasers to reshape a small part of the cornea, and a separate technique using painless electrostimulation, may be effective in treating presbyopia, the blurry near vision people develop around age 40.

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Hundreds of researchers on the leading edge of exercise science will meet at the Integrative Biology of Exercise meeting in Phoenix (Nov. 2–4). Symposia topics will cover brain cell stress responses, metabolic diseases, mitochondrial signaling, sedentary behavior, exercise and pregnancy, cardiovascular disease, aging, stem cells and more.

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Babies born to women aged 40 and over from assisted reproduction have fewer birth defects compared with those from women who conceive naturally at the same age, according to new research from the University of Adelaide.

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People who closely follow the Mediterranean diet – especially by eating fruit – may be more than a third less likely to develop age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness, according to a study presented today at AAO 2016, the 120th annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The study is the first to identify that caffeine may be especially protective against AMD.

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Stress isn't good for your waist line. For older married couples, the added pounds may be caused by a spouse's long-term stress levels.

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High folate (vitamin B9) consumption is associated with an increased risk for a nerve-damage disorder in older adults who have a common genetic variant linked to reduced cellular vitamin B12 availability

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Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have confirmed that mutation-caused dysfunction in a process cells use to transport molecules within the cell plays a previously suspected but underappreciated role in promoting the heritable form of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but also one that might be remedied with existing therapeutic enzyme inhibitors.

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Growing up in a warm family environment in childhood is associated with feeling more secure in romantic relationships in one's 80s, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The findings show that men who grew up in caring homes were more adept at managing stressful emotions when assessed as middle-aged adults, which helps to explain why they had more secure marriages late in life.

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A multi-institute study led by Monash University has revealed for the first time the mechanism that regulates fluid intake in the human body and stops us from over-drinking, which can cause potentially fatal water intoxication. The study challenges the popular idea that we should drink eight glasses of water a day for health.

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Identifying frailty in older patients could increase their chances of surviving surgery, as well as improve their overall outcomes.

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Sue Griffin, Ph.D., an internationally known Alzheimer’s disease researcher at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), leads a team that has received a five-year, $10 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the causes and possible treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.

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Researchers have found clues to the causes of age-related hearing loss. The ability to track and understand speech in both quiet and noisy environments deteriorates due in part to speech processing declines in both the midbrain and cortex in older adults.

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The call for abstracts opens Friday, Sept. 30, for the second annual Optimal Aging Conference, hosted by the Univeristy of Louisville Institute for Sustainable Health & Optimal Aging and the Kentucky Association for Gerontology. The conference will be held June 11-13, 2017.

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Why do some people lead a perfectly healthy lifestyle yet still die young? A new international study suggests that the answer lies in our DNA.

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Older adults can develop cardiovascular risk factors later in life, according to a study from UAB.

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New research from North Carolina State University finds that older adults have comparable response times to young adults when tasked with taking control of a semi-autonomous vehicle.

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One in 6 women in the U.S. takes antidepressants to improve her well-being, but what is she to do when the medication that is meant to help disrupts another area of her life?

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Why do some people lead a perfectly healthy lifestyle yet still die young? A new international study suggests that the answer lies in our DNA.

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Across North America, the workforce is going grey. In Canada, labour market participation rates of people 55 and over are rapidly increasing, from about 23 per cent in the mid-1990s to 37 per cent in 2015. In the US, those numbers are also on the rise — from 12 per cent in 1992 to 21 per cent in 2012. Concordia researchers provide practical tools to combat on-the-job ageism — and increase production

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Poverty and perceived hardship over decades among relatively young people in the U.S. are strongly associated with worse cognitive function and may be important contributors to premature aging among disadvantaged populations, report investigators in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

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To advise policymakers and health leaders on the key healthcare challenges facing the next presidential administration, the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) launched the Vital Directions for Health and Health Care initiative. Aging experts John Rowe, MD, the Julius B. Richmond Professor of Health Policy and Aging at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health; Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN, of the John A. Hartford Foundation; and Mailman School of Public Health Dean Linda P. Fried, MD, and colleagues were asked to provide guidance to inform U.S. policy on better health for an aging population and recommend priority opportunities.

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Heavy drinking can lead to neurophysiological and cognitive changes ranging from disrupted sleep to more serious neurotoxic effects. Aging can also contribute to cognitive decline. Several studies on the interaction of current heavy drinking and aging have had varied results. This study sought to elucidate the relations among age, heavy drinking, and neurocognitive function.

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Inherited methylation—a form of epigenetic regulation passed down from parents to offspring—is far more dynamic than previously thought and may contribute to changes in the brain and other tissues over time. This finding by Whitehead Institute scientists challenges current understandings of gene regulation via methylation, from development through adulthood.

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Growing up in a well-off home can benefit a child’s physical health even decades later — but a lack of parent-child warmth, or the presence of abuse, may eliminate the health advantage of a privileged background, according to a Baylor University study.

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A $1.9 million grant to Indiana University from the National Institutes of Health's National Eye Institute will advance basic research on the eye with applications to blindness caused by genetic disorders and aging.

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Incorporating laughter into a physical activity program that is focused on strength, balance and flexibility could improve older adults’ mental health, aerobic endurance and confidence in their ability to exercise, according to a study led by Georgia State University.

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Wayne State University has received a $3.6 million grant from the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health for a project that will advance knowledge of brain aging, its relation to cognitive performance and the role of common vascular and metabolic risk factors in shaping the trajectories of aging. The funded project extends the longitudinal study of healthy volunteers from the metro Detroit area.

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A research team led by a Northwestern University scientist has discovered that male animals, through their invisible chemical “essence,” prime female animals for reproduction but with the unfortunate side effect of also hastening females’ aging process. The females sense the two signals and respond by altering their physiology. These findings in roundworms, which echo those made in mammalian studies, could lead to therapies that delay puberty and prolong fertility in humans as well as combat aging.

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The Brain Health Summit will be the first meeting of medical experts, government agencies and other interested non-profit groups convening to discuss delayed cognitive recovery and postoperative delirium in elderly patients after surgery and anesthesia. The Brain Health Summit will explore the assessment and identification of at-risk patients, evaluate the need for educational materials for patients and their health care providers to increase patient safety, and promote advocacy efforts to fund research regarding these complications.

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Why do we – and the fruit flies that sometimes inhabit our kitchens – seek out protein-full foods when we’re running on empty? And what does that preference mean for the odds of living a longer life, whether it’s measured in decades for a human, or days for a fly? New research suggests that a brain chemical may have a lot to do with both questions.