Caregiving is more often than not an unexpected event. Many caregivers have a daily routine caring for a loved one. Some caregivers continue working; some stay at home to caregive. Most important is the caregiver’s ability for self-care including attending to healthcare and medical needs. Care-receiving is also an unexpected and unwelcome event; who wants… Continue reading Caregiving and Cancer
Category: Senior Health
Aging is part of the cycle of life. Senior living can be full of health, growth, and well-being. Learn more about senior health and key health issues here.
Optimal Care for Older Cancer Patients
In a paper published in November 2015 in the European Journal of Cancer, EORTC, researchers identified health related quality of life (HRQOL) components that should be considered as most relevant for achieving optimal care for older cancer patients. A release from the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer quotes Dr. Andrew Bottomley, Head… Continue reading Optimal Care for Older Cancer Patients
Is An Arthritis Cure In Our Own Body?
Arthritic cartilage, long considered untreatable, could actually be treated by a substance in the patient’s own body. The discovery was made by researchers at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). Their early study indicates that arthritic cartilage could be treated by a patient’s own ‘microvesicles’ that are able to travel into cartilage cells and deliver… Continue reading Is An Arthritis Cure In Our Own Body?
Can Permanent Hearing Loss Be Reversed?
Hearing loss may one day become a thing of the past thanks to a new discovery by researchers from Case Western Reserve Unity School of Medicine. The researchers discovered that a movement of protein in the inner indicates the possibility of a of repair and renewal mechanism. Hearing is possible when hair bundles protruding from… Continue reading Can Permanent Hearing Loss Be Reversed?
Brain’s Immune System Could Help Fight Alzheimer’s
The brain’s immune system could be harnessed to help clear the amyloid plaques that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research. “This research confirms earlier observations that, when activated to fight inflammation, the brain’s immune system plays a role in the removal of amyloid beta,” said M. Kerry O’Banion, M.D., Ph.D., a… Continue reading Brain’s Immune System Could Help Fight Alzheimer’s
Older Adults Better At Correcting Quiz Errors
When it comes to learning new things, older adults don’t always lag behind younger people, according to new research. The study, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, shows that older adults were actually better than young adults at correcting their mistakes on a general information quiz. “The take home… Continue reading Older Adults Better At Correcting Quiz Errors
Is Your Hearing Loss a Symptom of Diabetes?
We face so many concerns as we age, especially when it comes to our health. It seems like the media reminds us every day to worry about what we eat, how often we exercise, and what symptoms should send us running to our doctor’s office. It’s not surprising so many of us neglect our hearing… Continue reading Is Your Hearing Loss a Symptom of Diabetes?
A Protein May Help Fight Aging Memory
Investigators have discovered an interesting way that may improve memory and learning in aging brains: by increasing the quantity of a protein in nerve cells. The study, led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System (VA) and University of California (UC) San Diego School of Medicine, was published… Continue reading A Protein May Help Fight Aging Memory
“Health Risk Assessment” Questionnaire Benefits Non-Disabled Elderly
Implementation of a collaborative care model among community-dwelling older people using a health risk assessment instrument resulted in better health behaviors and increased use of preventative care, according to a study published in October 2015 in PLOS Medicine. The trial, conducted by Andreas Stuck from the University Hospital Bern and University of Bern, Switzerland, and… Continue reading “Health Risk Assessment” Questionnaire Benefits Non-Disabled Elderly
A Search for Better Hearing-Loss Treatments
Researchers have made a discovery that paves the way for understanding the “genetics of hearing” and may eventually lead to better treatment for hearing loss. Almost 40 million Americans suffer from hearing loss. There is no way to reverse this condition, largely because auditory hair cells, which sense sound and relay that information to the… Continue reading A Search for Better Hearing-Loss Treatments
Dying at Home: Pros and Cons
Dying at home could be beneficial for terminally ill cancer patients and their relatives, according to research published in October 2015 in the open-access journal BMC Medicine. On the other hand, an article published the same week in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) contends that home is not always the best or preferred place to… Continue reading Dying at Home: Pros and Cons
Four in 10 Older Adults Burdened by Demands of Health Care System
Nearly four in ten older adults say that managing their health care needs is difficult for them or their families, that medical appointments or tests get delayed or don’t get done, or that all of the requirements of their health care are too much to handle, according to a research done at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg… Continue reading Four in 10 Older Adults Burdened by Demands of Health Care System
In-Person Contact Is Critical to Seniors’ Mental Well-Being
In a study of adults aged 50 years and older, the probability of experiencing depressive symptoms steadily increased as the frequency of in-person, but not phone or written/email contact, decreased. The article was published in October 2015 in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. A release from the publisher reports that people without in-person social… Continue reading In-Person Contact Is Critical to Seniors’ Mental Well-Being
High-Volume Facilities Better for Nursing Hip Fractures
There isn’t a lot of information available to help family caregivers choose the best skilled nursing facility for an elderly loved one who breaks a hip, but a September 2015 study done at Brown University suggests a potentially useful quality indicator: the facility’s number of hip fracture patients during the prior year. The sweeping new… Continue reading High-Volume Facilities Better for Nursing Hip Fractures
Evaluating Frailty in Seniors
Fifteen percent of older Americans living at home or in assisted living settings are frail, a diminished state that makes people more vulnerable to falls, chronic disease and disability. Another 45 percent are “pre-frail,” or at heightened risk of becoming physically diminished. A study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found frailty… Continue reading Evaluating Frailty in Seniors
People Who Have AMD Can Use Desk Top Touch Screens Accurately
Older adults with central vision loss caused by age-related macular degeneration (AMD) have no problem with accuracy in performing touch screen tasks, according to a study in the October 2015 issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer. A release from the… Continue reading People Who Have AMD Can Use Desk Top Touch Screens Accurately
ICU Is Best for Older, Low-Risk Patients With Pneumonia
Among Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized with pneumonia, intensive care unit (ICU) admission of patients, which appeared to be discretionary, was associated with improved survival and no significant differences in Medicare spending or hospital costs compared with patients admitted to general wards. That is the finding of a University of Michigan study published in the September 22/29… Continue reading ICU Is Best for Older, Low-Risk Patients With Pneumonia
Researchers Discover Alzheimer’s “Subtypes”
Alzheimer’s disease, long thought to be a single disease, really consists of three distinct subtypes, according to a UCLA study. The discovery could eventually lead to new treatments for the debilitating neurological disorder. Additionally, the study found that one of the three variations, the cortical subtype, appears to be fundamentally a different condition than… Continue reading Researchers Discover Alzheimer’s “Subtypes”