Copyright 2009 Medical News Today Latest Seniors / Aging News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/seniors/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170113.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170113.php Declining kidney function is linked to a higher risk of heart failure, heart attack, peripheral arterial disease, and early death in individuals with or without kidney disease, according to a pair of studies appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The findings indicate that poor kidney function may raise an individual's risk for cardiovascular complications. Cardiovascular / Cardiology Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170119.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170119.php A gene associated with longevity in roundworms and humans has been shown to affect the function of stem cells that generate new neurons in the adult brain, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The study in mice suggests that the gene may play an important role in maintaining cognitive function during aging. Neurology / Neuroscience Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170142.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170142.php The Cornea and Laser Eye Institute is participating in a research study to determine if an investigational corneal inlay can safely and effectively reduce the need for reading glasses. Dr. Peter Hersh, the study doctor, will perform the procedures. The investigational AcuFocus Corneal Inlay (ACI) is intended to improve near vision in patients with presbyopia, which is the loss of near vision, and reduce dependency on reading glasses. Eye Health / Blindness Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170076.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170076.php AARP, the influential retirees' lobby, is expected to endorse House Democrats' plan to overhaul the health system today, the Associated Press reports, citing unnamed officials. "Backing the 10-year, $1.2 trillion House bill is a tricky move for AARP. Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169987.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169987.php Technology is no longer what it used to be: Computers have replaced typewriters and landlines are in rapid decline. Technological advances are being made every day, making many of our lives easier and allowing information to be more accessible and available. However for some people, such as the aging population, technological progress can in fact be more limiting. Psychologists Neil Charness and Walter R. IT / Internet / E-mail Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169906.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169906.php House Republicans unveiled their health reform proposal Tuesday night. Their alternative health care bill "would reward states for reducing the number of uninsured, limit damages in medical malpractice lawsuits and allow small businesses to band together and buy insurance exempt from most state regulation," The New York Times reports. Health Insurance / Medical Insurance Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169946.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169946.php Osteoporosis Linked to Bronchiectasis (#8660) Patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis may have a high incidence of osteopenia and osteoporosis. Researchers from Scott & White Hospital and Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine in Texas reviewed the records of 113 patients admitted to the hospital with acute exacerbation of bronchiectasis. The mean age of the patients was 63 years, 76 percent were Caucasian, and 70 percent were women. Respiratory / Asthma Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169912.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169912.php Small business owners lobby Congress while trade associations and a seniors' group worry about what lawmaker's efforts to overhaul the nation's health care system could mean for them. The Las Vegas Sun reports that Las Vegas small business owners went to Washington Tuesday to tell lawmakers about their desire for health reform. Health Insurance / Medical Insurance Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169842.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169842.php When searching for basketball videos online, a long list of websites appears, which may contain a picture or a word describing a basketball. But what if the computer could search inside videos for a basketball? Researchers at the University of Missouri are developing software that would enable computers to search inside videos, detect humans and specific objects, and perform other video analysis tasks. IT / Internet / E-mail Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169764.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169764.php If worms are any indication, all the sugar in your diet could spell much more than obesity and type 2 diabetes. Researchers reporting in the November issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, say it might also be taking years off your life. By adding just a small amount of glucose to C. elegans usual fare of straight bacteria, they found the worms lose about 20 percent of their usual life span. Seniors / Aging Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169775.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169775.php Night-shift workers should avoid drinking coffee if they wish to improve their sleep, according to research published in the journal Sleep Medicine. A new study led by Julie Carrier, a Université de Montréal psychology professor and a researcher at the affiliated Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur Sleep Disorders Centre, has found the main byproduct of coffee, caffeine, interferes with sleep and this side-effect worsens as people age. Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169776.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169776.php Researchers at Iowa State University have found an essential key to possibly cure Parkinson's disease and are looking for others. Anumantha Kanthasamy, a distinguished professor of biomedical sciences and W. Eugene and Linda R. Lloyd Endowed Chair in Neurotoxicology at the ISU College of Veterinary Medicine, has been working to understand the complex mechanisms of the disease for more than a decade and thinks he has found hope for the cure. Parkinson's Disease Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169733.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169733.php Juvaris BioTherapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company developing adjuvanted vaccines for infectious diseases, announced that it has begun enrolling patients in a Phase 2 clinical trial of its lead compound, JVRS-100, as an adjuvant for seasonal influenza vaccines in the elderly population. Immune System / Vaccines Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169701.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169701.php Penn Medicine will lead a new national $45 million clinical trial to test whether testosterone therapy can favorably affect certain conditions affecting older men. Low serum testosterone may contribute to a number of problems affecting older men, including decreased ability to walk, loss of muscle mass and strength, decreased vitality, decreased sexual function, impaired cognition, cardiovascular disease and anemia. Men's health Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169707.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169707.php NFC is a recent technology offering short-range wireless connectivity which enables smart mobile consumer devices to interact quickly and easily when brought close together or touching. Set up is fast and systems can be intuitively easy to use. The technology brings the touch paradigm to applications, allowing services such as mobile payment or ticketing by simply touching a reader with a mobile phone. IT / Internet / E-mail Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169541.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169541.php A new US study found that cataract surgery is likely to benefit pateints with all stages of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), from mild to advanced. The multicenter study, which is published in the November issue of Ophthalmology, was the work of Dr Emily Y Chew, Deputy Director, Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications at the National Eye Institute (NEI), in Bethesda, Maryland, and colleagues. Eye Health / Blindness Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169412.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169412.php News outlets detailed the House health care reform bill and reaction from members. The Congressional Budget Office estimated its net cost to be $894 billion over 10 years. The New York Times: "The bill is similar in size and scope to one taking shape in the Senate, where Democrats' control is more tenuous and the outcome less certain. Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169419.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169419.php The New York Times reports on unlikely Medicaid fraud suspects including a Manhattan painter and mime with properties in the Hamptons, a freelance artist whose two Manhattan apartments are valued at more than $1 million each and a dentist in the Bronx, all "were among 11 people indicted recently on charges that they fraudulently obtained Medicaid benefits. ... Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169463.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169463.php A study in the Nov.1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that retirement is followed by a sharp decrease in the prevalence of sleep disturbances. Findings suggest that this general improvement in sleep is likely to result from the removal of work-related demands and stress rather than from actual health benefits of retirement. Results show that the odds of having disturbed sleep in the seven years after retirement were 26 percent lower (adjusted odds ratio of 0. Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169489.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169489.php A new study led by researchers in the UK found that an overall healthy "whole food" diet comprising a high proportion of fruits, vegetables and fish, protected middle aged people against depression compared to a processed food diet containing a high proportion of high fat dairy food, processed meat, fried food, refined grains and sugar-laden desserts. Depression Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169317.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169317.php The Elders Living at Home Program (ELAHP) at Boston Medical Center has received a three-year, $864,400 Aging in Place Grant from the Administration on Aging (AoA). The grant will be used to develop, implement and evaluate an intervention to support formerly homeless elders who have already transitioned to housing but need support to maintain it. ELAHP was one of 14 recipients nationwide to receive this grant from the AoA's new Community Innovations for Aging in Place Initiative. Seniors / Aging Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169320.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169320.php Physician-researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) received a nearly $16 million grant from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to fund the development of a stem cell-based treatment for age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss and blindness among the elderly. Mark Humayun, M.D., Ph.D. Eye Health / Blindness Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169293.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169293.php Andrew Harrop, Head of Public Policy for Age Concern and Help the Aged, said: 'Giving people more choice and control through receiving an individual budget as a cash payment is a good thing; however not everyone will want them. 'For many older people, care is often organised in a short period of time, often following a hospital admission. An older person with new care needs won't always know how they're going to manage when they get home. Seniors / Aging Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169218.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169218.php An analysis by the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare shows that health care reform proposals, which allow Medicare to negotiate the lowest drug prices for beneficiaries in Part D, would save $24 billion each year. That savings would be more than enough to close the Part D coverage gap known as the "doughnut hole" and address other deficiencies in the Part D plan. Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169194.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169194.php Researchers from Tufts University School of Medicine have determined that patients over 65 years of age with knee osteoarthritis (OA) who engage in regular Tai Chi exercise improve physical function and experience less pain. Tai Chi (Chuan) is a traditional style of Chinese martial arts that features slow, rhythmic movements to induce mental relaxation and enhance balance, strength, flexibility, and self-efficacy. Arthritis / Rheumatology