Elder mistreatment ranging from physical abuse and neglect to financial fraud is a silent epidemic in the US. In The Con Game: A Failure of Trust , expose it and show you how to protect yourself and your loved ones. The numbers are staggering. Experts estimate that between 1 and 2 million Americans age 65 and older have… Continue reading There Is a Con Game Being Played on America’s Elderly
Tag: Aging Well
The Secret to a Longer Life? Be a Female.
Human supercentenarians share at least one thing in common: over 95 percent are women. Scientists have long observed differences between the sexes when it comes to aging, but there is no clear explanation for why females live longer. In a discussion of what we know about stem cell behavior and sex, published June 4th 2015… Continue reading The Secret to a Longer Life? Be a Female.
Tablets Can Help Older People Cross the “Digital Divide”
Michigan State University researchers have found a way to make it easier for older people to get online, breaking down some of the barriers that can keep them from getting connected. Since you’re reading this on ThirdAge, you clearly don’t have that problem! However, some of your friends or family members might. Why not share… Continue reading Tablets Can Help Older People Cross the “Digital Divide”
An Enzyme’s Role in Muscle Wasting of Older Women
Researchers at the University of Birmingham in the UK have identified the role of an enzyme in muscle wasting and associated age-related problems. The team believes that inhibiting it could hold the key to developing ways of preventing, or reversing, the adverse effects. The research, published in May 2015 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology… Continue reading An Enzyme’s Role in Muscle Wasting of Older Women
Can Arts, Crafts and Computer Use Preserve Your Memory?
People who participate in arts and craft activities and who socialize in middle and old age may delay the development in very old age of the thinking and memory problems that often lead to dementia, according to a new Mayo Clinic study published in the April 8TH, 2015 online issue of Neurology, the medical journal… Continue reading Can Arts, Crafts and Computer Use Preserve Your Memory?
How to De-Clutter Your Home
By Andrea Warshaw Wernick FILE IT: Papers often account for a lot of our clutter. This is because we put them in different spots — on the counter, on the table, on our desk, in a drawer or on top of our dresser. No wonder we can’t find anything! Designate an in-box tray or spot in… Continue reading How to De-Clutter Your Home
The Use of Canes and Other Mobility Devices Is on the Rise Among Older Adults
America’s population of senior citizens is growing, and with it a reliance on canes, wheelchairs and scooters. The use of walking aids has increased by 50 percent in the past decade, according to a study done at the University of Vermont and published in May 2015 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The… Continue reading The Use of Canes and Other Mobility Devices Is on the Rise Among Older Adults
Gerontological Society of America Tackles White House Policies on Aging
In anticipation of the forthcoming 2015 White House Conference on Aging (WHCoA), The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) has produced a special issue of The Gerontologist that outlines a vision for older adults’ economic and retirement security, health, caregiving, and social well-being for the next decade and beyond. And because this year also marks the… Continue reading Gerontological Society of America Tackles White House Policies on Aging
Standardizing Criteria for Age-Related Muscle Loss
The term “sarcopenia”, from the Greek “sarco” meaning flesh and “penia” meaning deficiency, is most often used to describe age-related loss in muscle mass and strength, and it is commonly considered analogous to osteoporosis. Yet unlike osteoporosis, which can be diagnosed based on widely accepted clinical criteria, sarcopenia is not recognized as a clinical condition… Continue reading Standardizing Criteria for Age-Related Muscle Loss
America’s Aging Population Will Need More Neurosurgeons
By 2030, chronic subdural hemorrhage (SDH) – also know as subdural hematoma or brain bleeds — will be the most common adult brain condition requiring neurosurgical intervention in the U.S., according to a study conducted by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City and published March 20th 2015 online in the Journal… Continue reading America’s Aging Population Will Need More Neurosurgeons
Ageism and Its End
Until I turned sixty-six, retired, and officially joined the ranks of “the olds,” I lived for decades as an unreflecting and unapologetic ageist. I’m not a mean-spirited person. I pride myself on being open-minded and progressive. I’ve always tried to guard against bias in my thoughts and actions, and to fight bigotry wherever it cast… Continue reading Ageism and Its End
The Beauty of Aging
by Eve Marx How did I feel seeing Joni Mitchell’s 71-year-old face splashed across the cover of a national magazine? What was my reaction to the image of writer Joan Didion’s 80-year-old visage shilling for the designer Celine? Was it shock? Amusement? Was it indignation I felt, or was it a touch of jealousy? I’m… Continue reading The Beauty of Aging
How’s Your Health? Daily Habits vs. Genetics
I was having lunch at a restaurant and I overheard some older folks talking about their health. The conversation was about the connection between what they ate and the risk of suffering from a heart attack—the consensus being that their diet was not really that important and their genes were. They were pre-programmed for a… Continue reading How’s Your Health? Daily Habits vs. Genetics
Health Benefits of Alcohol May Have Been Exaggerated
Any health benefits from alcohol may be limited to women aged 65 and over – and even then may have been exaggerated by existing studies, according to research done in the UK and published February 2015 in The BMJ . A release from the journal notes that high alcohol consumption has been associated with more… Continue reading Health Benefits of Alcohol May Have Been Exaggerated
What Is Successful Aging?
Scholars have long debated what successful aging is, how to measure it, and how to promote it. The February 2015 issue of The Gerontologist lays the groundwork for building consensus on the topicwhile pointing out that the answer may differ among academics and the general public, as well as across populations and demographic groups. A… Continue reading What Is Successful Aging?
Five Ways to Control the Aging Process
What is one element of growing older that has surprised me? Control. You may think you don’t have much, but all of us have more control than we think in terms of our own aging process. I always assumed I’d grow old like my parents. In fact, after my dad died at age 60 from… Continue reading Five Ways to Control the Aging Process
Excess Iron Promotes Aging
It’s been known for decades that some metals, including iron, accumulate in human tissues during aging and that toxic levels of iron have been linked to neurologic diseases, such as Parkinson’s. Common belief has held that iron accumulation happens as a result of the aging process. But research in the nematode C. elegans in the… Continue reading Excess Iron Promotes Aging
Preventing Unnecessary Hospitalizations of Frail Older Adults
A study from Indiana University and Regenstrief Institute researcher-clinicians reports on the first year of the implementation of OPTIMISTIC, an acronym for Optimizing Patient Transfers, Impacting Medical quality and Improving Symptoms: Transforming Institutional Care. The team developed and implemented this innovative program to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations of nursing facility residents. Their paper, “The OPTIMISTIC approach:… Continue reading Preventing Unnecessary Hospitalizations of Frail Older Adults