Aging
Chronic pain diagnoses are easy to obtain. Because it is symptom-based medicine and a subjective ailment, it's difficult to say what is real and what isn't.
In cases where the ailment is psychological, the treatment is also, and a new review paper finds that psychological interventions provide more relief than prescription drugs or surgery, though they are used much less frequently than traditional medical. According to the paper, almost half of American adults suffer from chronic pain, and who are you to tell anyone they are not in pain?
"Chronic pain affects 116 million American adults,…
Drinking water with a relatively high concentration of magnesium protects against hip fractures, according to results of a study by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. They found that magnesium protects against hip fracture for both men and women. They found no independent protective effect of calcium.
The study notes that there are considerable variations in the quality of drinking water in Norway. The researchers studied variations in magnesium and calcium levels in drinking water between different areas, as these are assumed to have a role in the development of bone…
Tampa, FL (Feb. 6, 2014) – Declines in the underlying brain skills needed to think, remember and learn are normal in aging. In fact, this cognitive decline is a fact of life for most older Americans.
Therapies to improve the cognitive health of older adults are critically important for lessening declines in mental performance as people age. While physical activity and cognitive training are among the efforts aimed at preventing or delaying cognitive decline, dietary modifications and supplements have recently generated considerable interest.
Now a University of South Florida (USF) study…
What shapes a man’s life?
To begin: Mom, dad, little Jenny Harrison in the 3rd grade, adolescence, acne, heartache, and the jockstrap.
And then there comes the real trauma, age 60 or so: loss of gluteofemoral adipose tissue.
As in:
Sagging of the butt
Collapse of the “gluteo-pecs”
and even...
Disappearance of the “back package.”
You know what I’m talking about. It’s that age-related reworking of your once-marvelous physique, when we replace pecs with moobs, 6-pac abs with a two-liter jug and slim leg Levy’s for old time beltless-wear.
Here is how I found out about it:
Tailor: “What is going…
With any pesticide, over-use can have harmful effects on the environment.
DDT has not been used in America for over four decades but Rutgers scholars say that exposure to DDT may also increase the risk and severity of Alzheimer's disease in some people, particularly those over the age of 60.
The cause of Alzheimer's disease, which about five million Americans have now, is not known, but scientists hypothesize that late-onset Alzheimer's may be linked to a combination of genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors. Much of the research into Alzheimer's and other…
World War II had consequences for continental Europeans. Living in a war-torn country increased the likelihood of a number of physical and mental problems later in life, according to a paper by economists.
World War II was one of the transformative events of the 20th century, causing the death of 3 percent of the world's population, up to 39 million of those in Europe, half of them civilians. Six years of ground battles and bombing resulted in widespread destruction of homes and physical capital. Discrimination and persecution were widespread, with the Holocaust as the most…
When you think of treating urinary incontinence in senior women, what is the first thing that comes to mind?
Probably not dancing. But maybe it will work, and it sounds like fun.
For a study of potential benefits of dancing (and virtual reality), researchers added a series of dance exercises via a video game console to a physiotherapy program for pelvic floor muscles. The results of the small study (24 participants) was a greater decrease in daily urine leakage than for the usual program (so, an improvement in effectiveness) as well as no dropouts from the program and a higher…
Medical researchers have found a way to reverse a cause of aging in animals - and it doesn't involve starvation.
The work relates to mitochondria, which are our cells' battery packs and give energy to carry out key biological functions, and a series of molecular eventsthat enable communication inside cells between the mitochondria and the nucleus. As communication breaks down, aging accelerates.
The background to the research is that as we age, levels of the chemical NAD, which facilitate this cellular 'communication', decline. The only way to slow the NAD drop was to…
Ignoring meaningless platitudes like 'age is all in your mind', age is more than a number of years. 'You are as young as you feel' may be more apt because factors such as health, cognitive function and disability rates are important ways to measure age in all its dimensions.
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
population researchers Warren Sanderson and Sergei Scherbov seek to reorient the way demographers study population aging, providing a new toolbox of methodologies for demographers to better understand the impacts of an aging population on society, by…
The concept of permanent neurological injury is so 20th century.
Instead, there has been gradual recognition of the brain's potential for long-term regeneration and reorganization and so rehabilitations strategies are undergoing radical changes. The potential for five new translational interventions was examined in an recent Neurology Clinical Practice article.
Medical resources are limited, so it is important to focus on areas of greatest potential, according to Dr. A.M. Barrett and co-authors, and strive for advances that translate to effective treatments in the shortest possible timeframes…