Feature Channels: Aging

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Researchers at UdeM's audiology school find that musicians have faster reaction times than non-musicians – and that could have implications for the elderly.

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A research team established that years of bilingualism change how the brain carries out tasks that require concentrating on one piece of information without becoming distracted by other information. This makes the brain more efficient and economical with its resources.

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Latest Research Highlights from ACSM

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It’s not every day a researcher draws from their own experiences as the basis for a published study but that’s exactly what Miles Taylor, associate professor of sociology at Florida State University, has done in her latest paper addressing what she calls the structural burden of caregiving.

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A song is just a song, but as time goes by, something as random as a song’s length could be the difference in whether you miss an important deadline or arrive late for an appointment, suggests time-management research from Washington University in St. Louis.

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A Saint Louis University geriatrician says her patients frequently feel better when she reduces the number of medicines they take. She advocates older adults who take five or more medications talk their doctors annually about triaging their pill boxes.

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Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have uncovered the mechanism that cells use to find and destroy an organelle called mitochondria that, when damaged, may lead to genetic problems, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, inflammatory disease, and aging.

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In a new study, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have shown how two genes “balance” each other to maintain normal cell function. A disruption in one of the genes, called spns1, can induce degradation and premature “senescence”—or aging—while the other gene, called atp6v0ca, can jump in to suppress that degradation.

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University of Michigan researchers find it’s not only risk factors like lower limb strength and precise perception of the limb’s position that determine if a geriatric patient will recover from a perturbation, but also complex and simple reaction times.

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The holidays are supposed to be a time of joy and celebration, but we all know they can be stressful even under the best of circumstances. Add to the mix a relative with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) or dementia, and caregivers and family members can quickly become overwhelmed.

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Vision scientists may have discovered how to reduce pedestrian collisions in crowded and chaotic open space environments like bus terminals, shopping malls and city plazas involving individuals with partial blindness. Researchers have determined from which direction collisions with partially blind pedestrians are most likely to originate. This understanding will guide the development of new glasses that expand the sight of a person with limited peripheral vision.

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An expert at Rutgers University’s Care2Caregivers helpline shares tips on how families can celebrate the holidays with loved ones suffering from an illness that affects memory

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• Risks of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are higher in older kidney transplant recipients than in older adults in the general population. • Among kidney transplant recipients, those who developed dementia or Alzheimer’s disease had higher rates of organ loss and patient death than those who did not develop these conditions.

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• In a recent study, patient and organ survival rates were similar following transplantation using kidneys from donors aged 50-59 years, 60-69 years, 70-79 years, and ≥80 years. • Kidney discard rates were similar for kidneys from donors aged 50 to 79 years, but the rate was strikingly higher among kidneys from octogenarian donors.

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People who have protein in their urine, which is a sign of kidney problems, may also be more likely to later develop problems with thinking and memory skills or even dementia, according to a meta-analysis published in the December 14, 2016, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Protecting the body against oxidative stress

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In an important step in the battle against osteoporosis, a serious brittle bone disease that affects millions, researchers have identified more than a dozen genes amid the vast human genome likely responsible for bone density and strength. The crafty approach the researchers used to find these genes – essentially identifying needles in a haystack – could speed the development of new and better treatments for osteoporosis and many other diseases.

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Our brain’s changing structure, not simply getting older and wiser, most affects our attitudes to risk, according to new research.

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Age itself is not the determining factor in how an individual views or tolerates risk when making decisions; instead, it is the age-related decline in the volume of gray matter in our brains, research by NYU’s Institute for the Interdisciplinary Study of Decision Making shows.

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New research from BYU exercise science professors finds that pro-inflammatory molecules actually go down in the knee joint after running.

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Trends of self-reported past-month binge alcohol use and alcohol use disorder were examined among adults age 50 and older. The researchers found significant increases in past-year alcohol use, past-month alcohol use, past-month binge drinking, and alcohol use disorders.

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6 tips from Jeff Moore, who runs the compounding pharmaceutics lab at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, for finding the right cream or lotion to protect your skin from harsh winter weather.

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Measuring the brain activity of healthy, older adults while they walk and talk at the same time may help predict their risk of falls later, according to a study published in the December 7, 2016, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries among older Americans and all too often lead to physical decline and loss of independence. Now, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have found that measuring the brain activity of healthy older adults while they’re walking and talking can predict their risk of falling. Their research is published today in the online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have made an important discovery toward the development of drugs to treat age-related memory loss in diseases like Alzheimer’s.

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Scientists have identified a gene involved in cell metabolism and energy production that is overactive in a deadly form of brain cancer known as glioblastoma, according to a study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The findings suggest that inhibiting that gene may improve the outlook for glioblastoma patients.

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December 1, 2016 — (BRONX, NY) —The National Institutes of Health has awarded researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Pennsylvania State University a five-year, $12.2 million grant to continue studies on the aging brain, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. More than five million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease—a number that is expected to double by 2040 as baby boomers age.

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U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert A. McDonald has appointed Thomas A. Cavalieri, DO, Dean and Professor of Medicine at the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, to serve on the VA National Academic Affiliations Council.

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Walking is a milestone in development for toddlers, but it’s actually only one part of the complex cognitive task known as gait that includes everything from a person’s stride length to the accompanying swing of each arm. A Mayo Clinic study recently published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease found that problems associated with gait can predict a significant decline in memory and thinking.

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A defect in a gene that produces dopamine in the brain appears to accelerate the onset of Parkinson’s disease, according to new research from Iowa State University. The effect is particularly dramatic for young-to-middle-age adults.

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A new study led by researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear found that vestibular thresholds begin to double every 10 years above the age of 40, representing a decline in our ability to receive sensory information about motion, balance and spatial orientation. The report was published online ahead of print in Frontiers in Neurology.

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Nearly 90 percent of patients at long-term care facilities don’t take advantage of dental services, even when they are free, a recent study by University at Buffalo researchers has found.

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Participating in yoga is relatively safe, according to a new study from UAB which was the first large scale analysis of yoga injuries. Yoga-related Injury rates are rising, especially in older participants.

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A Florida State University researcher has found that younger women’s concerns about wrinkles and deteriorating health cause them to have lower emotional well-being than those women who’ve passed the so called ‘midlife crisis’ phase.

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The average age of a woman giving birth for the first time has risen dramatically in the United States over the past 40 years, driven by factors like education or career. A new study by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine found that women choosing to become first-time mothers later in life may increase their chances of living into their 90s.

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As part of a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation, Indiana University has received over $670,000 to establish "HomeSHARE," the first networked system of smart homes designed to advance research on older adults.

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Older adults who eat at congregate meal-serving sites may come to the meals with significant nutritional deficits. Congregate meals are delivered through the Area Agencies on Aging, administering state and federally funded meal and nutrition education programs with outreach services. Collectively, about 425 congregate sites in Florida serve thousands of meals daily.

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Johns Hopkins School of Nursing Associate Professor Sarah L. Szanton, PhD, ANP, FAAN, was named one of the top 50 "2016 Influencers in Aging" by Next Avenue, a digital publication covering issues for older Americans.

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Middle-age adults living with a combination of arthritis, heart disease or diabetes, and depression are more likely to experience disability and limited involvement in society

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RPB-supported vision researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have contributed key data to a new study that identifies a natural compound that slows typical signs of aging in mice. The study, published today in Cell Metabolism, shows that older mice drinking water supplemented with NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide) resembled younger mice in measures of metabolism and energy production.

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Body clock function can break down when light and temperature levels throughout the day are out of sync, finds new UCL research in fruit flies.

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Gene mutations that affect drug metabolism may explain higher hospitalization rates for some older adults taking multiple medications, according to researchers from Columbia University.

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If you’re trying to lose weight, what are your chances of success? Your brain may hold the key. Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center believe they may have found a way to predict who will be successful in their weight-loss efforts with a quick, non-invasive brain scan.

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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.