Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health

Hypertension Predicts Dementia in Seniors Losing Ability to Organize, Make Decisions

Control of high blood pressure in this senior citizen group could cut in half the projected 50% five-year rate of progression to dementia’

Feb. 8, 2010 - High blood pressure appears to predict the progression to dementia in senior citizens with impaired executive functions (ability to organize thoughts and make decisions) but not in those with memory dysfunction, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Read more...

Aging News & Information

Hand-Grip Strength Associated with Death, Disability Risks Also Applies to the ‘Oldest Old’

Researchers find that handgrip strength has a greater impact on mortality as people age

Feb. 8, 2010 – A weak handgrip has long been associated with premature death, disability and other health problems in middle-aged and older people. A new study of those called the “oldest old” – age 85 or older – finds it again associated with poor chances of survival and as a useful tool to assess mortality. Read more...

Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens

Older Women Mysteriously Not Taking Tamoxifen to Prevent Breast Cancer

Tamoxifen (Nolvadex) can reduce the risk of developing breast cancer; NCI wanted to know how many women aged 40 to 79 were taking it

Feb. 8, 2010 - Researchers with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have found that the prevalence of tamoxifen – brand name, Nolvadex -  use for the prevention of breast cancer among older women without a personal history of breast cancer is very low. Read more...

Medicare News

Medicare Pays Doctors More for Bladder Biopsies in Office; Dramatic Increase Occurs?

Medicare’s hope was to save money by escaping hospital costs but it has opposite effect

Feb. 8, 2009-Increased Medicare payments to physicians for outpatient surgeries for bladder cancer have led to a dramatic rise in the number of these procedures being performed and an overall increase in cost to the healthcare system. That is the conclusion of a new study published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The findings indicate that some Medicare policies aimed at decreasing costs may instead be contributing to an increase in healthcare expenditures. Read more...

Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements for Seniors

Just a Couple of Sodas a Week May Double the Risk of Pancreatic Cancer

No association was seen between fruit juice consumption and pancreatic cancer

Feb. 8, 2010 - Consuming two or more soft drinks per week increased the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by nearly twofold compared to individuals who did not consume soft drinks, according to a report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Read more...

Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens

Major Chronic Disease for Senior Citizens, Osteoarthritis, Under Attack by New Initiative

CDC, Arthritis Foundation, Ad Council launch ‘Moving is the Best Medicine’

Feb. 4, 2010 – A major new initiative has been launched to, hopefully, dramatically reduce the impact of osteoarthritis on Americans – senior citizens in particular. The chance of developing this chronic joint ailment increases with age and by age 65, half the senior population has x-ray evidence of osteoarthritis. Read more...

Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens

ADT Therapy for Prostate Cancer Can Increase Heart Risk Factors

Androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) may increase cardiovascular risk, but unclear whether it’s linked to increased death from heart disease

Feb. 3, 2010 - Androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT), commonly used to treat prostate cancer, can worsen heart risk factors and may increase the risk of heart attack and/or cardiac death, although the relationship between ADT and heart attack or cardiac death has not been definitively established, according to a science advisory published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association and CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. Read more...

Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens

Older Female Cancer Survivors Have More Health Issues Than Cancer Free Contemporaries

As cancer survivors live longer, questions arise about what kind of care long-term survivors require

Feb. 3, 2010 - Older married women who survived cancer had more health problems than married women without cancer in a study of women - 245 in each group. The lead researcher of the study from Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences is calling for more research with older cancer survivors. Read more...

Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens

Stroke Victims Recover Thinking, Learning, Memory by Taking Antidepressant Lexapro

Changes in neuropsychological performance resulted in an improvement in related activities of daily living

Feb. 1, 2010 - Patients who received the antidepressant Lexapro (escitalopram) following a stroke appeared to recover more of their thinking, learning and memory skills than those taking placebo or participating in problem-solving therapy, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Read more...

Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health

Study Shows Cigarette Smoking Jumps Risk for Alzheimer’s; All Research Not Trustworthy

Industry-affiliated studies = smoking protects against the development of AD; independent studies = smoking increases the risk of AD

Feb. 1, 2020 - A UCSF analysis of published studies on the relationship between Alzheimer’s disease and smoking indicates that smoking cigarettes is a significant risk factor for the disease. The study group also determined that the myth that smoking offers protection from AD has been perpetuated by tobacco industry-affiliated studies. Read more...

Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens

Avastin and Lucentis Equally Effective Treating ‘Wet’ Aged-Related Macular Degeneration

Leading cause of blindness in senior citizens, AMD becoming leading concern

Feb. 1, 2010 – Although there has been concern about the drug Avastin (bevacizumab) being used to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD) although it was originally approved as a cancer drug, a new study by Kaiser Permanente Southern California finds it just as effective as Lucentis (ranibizumab). Read more...

Aging News & Information

Falls by Senior Citizens Caused by Poor Central and Side Vision, Study Finds

Recommends advising patients 60 and older, even with normal vision, on their increased fall risk and need to take extra precautions

Feb. 1, 2010 – Falls by senior citizens are common and a major concern of many in the medical field. It has been well established seniors with reduced central vision – the ability to see clearly in front of them, which is often diminished by age-related macular degeneration (AMD), are more likely to fall. Now, a new study finds falls are also common among the elderly with poor peripheral vision. Read more...

Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens

Cancer Risk from Low Dose Radiation of CT Scan May Be Solved by Epigentics’ or NIH Study

Two reports in radiology journal: Epigenetics may determine risk of low-dose radiation... and explain mechanisms of aging, human development, and the origins of cancer, heart disease, mental illness, etc.

Feb. 1, 2010 – Concern about the cancer risk from low level radiation, particularly low-dose radiation delivered from computed tomography (CT) scans, has been growing in the medical community. Some suggest that about 1.5 to 2 percent of all cancers in the USA might be caused by the clinical use of CT. A new study by NIH and the possibility of epigenetics to better understand this risk are two of the reports in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR). Read more...

Aging News & Information

Healthy People Need Less Sleep as They Age; Seniors Should Not Be Sleepy in Daytime

Senior citizens slept about 20 minutes less than middle-aged adults, who slept 23 minutes less than young adults in study

Feb. 1, 2010 – Healthy senior citizens without sleep disorders can expect to have a reduced "sleep need" and to be less sleepy during the day than healthy young adults. A new study indicates that during a night of eight hours in bed, total sleep time decreased significantly and progressively with age. Read more...

Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens

Overweight Senior Citizens 70 Plus Less Likely to Die in 10 Years; Different than Young People

People who survive to 70 in reasonable health have different set of risks and benefits associated with the amount of body fat to younger people; study questions current BMI guidelines for older adults

Feb. 1, 2010 – Those diets that many senior citizens started at the first of the year may not be as critical as assumed. A new study of men and women who were between the ages of 70 and 75 as the research began found those classified as “overweight” less likely to die over a ten year period than those in the “normal” weight range. Read more...

Senior Citizens and Internet

National Library of Medicine Launches Mobile MedlinePlus to Meet Needs of On-the-Go Public

Compact Website designed to meet needs of smart phones, other hand-held devices - not iPhone 'app' - read below

Jan. 29, 2010 - Wondering what the side effects are for your new prescription? Go to Mobile MedlinePlus (http://m.medlineplus.gov) while you’re waiting for the pharmacist to fill your order! Read more...

Reverse Mortgage News for Seniors

Reverse Mortgage Rules for Seniors Living in Condominiums Changed by HUD

Senior condominium owners are affected by this new procedure; author worried that senior borrowers may wait too long

By Michael Branson, CEO, All Reverse Mortgage Company

Jan. 29, 2010 - I still get a call about once a week with borrowers asking when they will be able to do a reverse mortgage on their unit in a cooperative project. After all, co-op's were included in the list of acceptable properties when the Home Economic Recovery Act (HERA) passed in 2008 but the programs to include them just have not been implemented by HUD / FHA as of this date. Read more...

Grandparent News

Grandpa's Broken Hip Appears to Indicate Weaker Bones for His Grandsons

Osteoporosis common in older women; as many as half of all women and a quarter of men older than 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis

Jan. 29, 2010 - A new study shows that hip fractures in grandfathers are linked to low bone density and reduced bone size in their grandsons, according to a report in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Read more...

Senior Citizen Alerts

Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens

Victoza (liraglutide) Gets FDA Approval as New Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes

Seniors aged 60 with type 2 diabetes are about one-third of all adults with this chronic disease

Jan. 27, 2010 - Victoza (liraglutide), a drug intended to help lower blood sugar levels along with diet, exercise, and selected other diabetes medicines, was approved on January 25 for a once-daily injection to treat type 2 diabetes in some adults.. It is not recommended as initial therapy in patients who have not achieved adequate diabetes control on diet and exercise alone, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Read more...

Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health

Older Brains of Senior Citizens Make Good Use of ‘Useless’ Information in Decision-Making

Older adults show 30% advantage over younger adults; may be the wiser decision-makers because they pick up so much more information

Jan. 26, 2010 - The aged brain of a senior citizen has a weakened ability to filter out irrelevant information, which sounds like bad news for older people. A new study, however, suggests this may actually give the older folks a memory advantage over younger people. Read more...

Exercise & Fitness for Senior Citizens

Physical Activity Leads to Healthier Aging Say Four New Studies of Senior Citizens

Papers in Archives of Internal Medicine detail associations between exercise and cognitive function, bone density and overall health

Jan. 25, 2010 – Four articles in the current issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, add to the mountain of research that finds physical activity can be a major contributor to healthier aging. These studies found older women who survived the longest exercised in middle age, exercise helped cognitive skills (two studies) and it added to bone density of senior citizens. Read more...

Medicare News

Senior, Physician, Military Groups Urge Fix to Medicare’s Annual Crisis in Physician Pay

Almost yearly physician’s face mandated cut in pay that is then reversed by Congress

Jan. 25, 2010 - Focusing on looming Medicare physician cuts of 21 percent scheduled to begin on March 1, the American Medical Association (AMA), AARP and the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) have joined together in an “unprecedented” multi-state event to urge a lasting fix to this annual crisis. Read more...

Social Security News

Social Security Opens Access to Data About Disability Hearings, Processes at Data.gov

Commissioner Astrue says it is part of ‘President Obama’s commitment to creating an unprecedented level of openness in government’

Jan. 25, 2010 – What has to be seen as a good step forward in helping Americans find their way more quickly through the approval process to receive disability assistance from Social Security, the agency has made available public Online access  to data about beneficiaries and the agency’s disability and hearing processes. Read more...

Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens

Lighter Sedation for Elderly Surgery Patients May Reduce Risk Of Confusion, Disorientation

Elderly seldom afraid of dying… they just want to know if they’ll return to the same mental and physical level as before surgery

Jan. 24, 2010- A common complication following surgery in senior citizens is postoperative delirium, a state of confusion that can lead to long-term health problems and cause some elderly patients to complain that they “never felt the same” again after an operation. But a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests that simply limiting the depth of sedation during procedures could safely cut the risk of postoperative delirium by 50 percent. Read more...

Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens

Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health

Drowsiness, Staring, Other Mental Lapses by Senior Citizens May Signal Alzheimer's Disease

Seniors with mental lapses were 4.6 times more likely to have dementia than those without mental lapses

Jan. 18, 2010 - Older people who have "mental lapses," or times when their thinking seems disorganized or illogical or when they stare into space, may be more likely to have Alzheimer's disease than people who do not have these lapses, according to a study published in the January 19, 2010, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Read more...

Medicare News

Medicare’s Coverage of Bariatric Surgery at Certified Facilities Improved Results

Patients benefited from shorter length of stay, lower complication rates, no significant change in hospital mortality rates

>> Second study finds morbidly obese live longer with gastric bypass (see below first story)

Jan. 18, 2010 – When Medicare decided to approve coverage for bariatric weight-loss surgery, the agency also established a requirement that senior citizens could only be treated at certified institutions. The results have been better results and more minimally invasive procedures, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Read more...

Caregiver & Elder Care News

Stress of Caring for Spouse Increases Risk of Stroke, Especially for Black Men

Male spouse caregivers may need special support to offset increased strain-related health risk

Jan. 15, 2010 - The stress of caring for a disabled spouse appears to significantly increase the caregiver’s risk of future stroke, especially among African-American men, says a researcher report in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. Read more...

Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements for Seniors

Fractures that Plague Senior Citizens Can be Reduced by Taking Calcium with Vitamin D

Large study supports growing consensus that combined calcium and vitamin D is more effective than vitamin D alone in reducing fractures

Jan. 14, 2010 – The risk of bone fractures, a major cause of disability, loss of independence and death for senior citizens, can be reduced for people of any age and any sex by taking calcium with vitamin D supplements on a daily basis, according to a study of nearly 70,000 patients. Read more...

Health & Medicine for Senior Citizens

Inconsistent Use of Surveillance Colonoscopy Concerns Authors of Two Studies

Patients with a history of advanced polyps are at particular risk and should be monitored closely with timely surveillance, researchers says

Jan. 14, 2010 – Surveillance colonoscopy, performed to monitor patients who have had precancerous polyps (adenomas) found on a previous colonoscopy, is both overused and underused in with serious implications for health care and health care spending. Read more...