Aging

The plant-based Mediterranean diet is an ongoing diet fad, and proponents now have some new ammunition - it is associated with improved cognitive function in a study of older adults in Spain, according to a paper in JAMA Internal Medicine. A randomized clinical trial included 447 cognitively healthy volunteers (223 women, average age almost 67) who were considered high cardiovascular risk and were enrolled in the Prevencion con Dieta Mediterranea nutrition intervention. Of the participants, 155 individuals were assigned to supplement a Mediterranean diet with one liter of extra virgin olive…

Alzheimer's disease may affect as many as 5.5 million Americans and treatment costs are high with inconsistent benefits so one goal of science it to help stave off the disease or prevent it completely.  A research paper has correlated a compound found in green tea and exercise with slowing the progression of the disease in mice. More speculative is that it may reverse its effects.  Increases in inflammation have been linked to Alzheimer's disease patients and recent studies have suggested the benefits of dietary antioxidants in reducing the risk of AD. Based on previous research…

Health interventions to increase exercise in older people are making senior citizens a giant class in a way we don't do with other demographics - in the modern world there is a big difference between someone 65 and someone 80, it is not simply 15 years, but advertising treats everyone with gray hair the same, yet don't do it with Generation X and Millennials. To learn about effective exercise awareness, psychologists at Northumbria University surveyed some 144 participants aged 65 to 95 who completed questionnaires about their current health and wellbeing, vitality, motivation to exercise and…

A study in Science has tied the aging process to the deterioration of tightly packaged bundles of cellular DNA known as heterochromatinand say that the genetic mutations underlying Werner syndrome, a disorder that leads to premature aging and death, results in the deterioration of these bundles. The discovery used stem cell and gene-editing technologies and could lead to ways of countering age-related physiological declines by preventing or reversing damage to heterochromatin. Werner syndrome is a genetic disorder that causes people to age more rapidly than normal. It affects around one in…

A new study forecasting how life expectancy will change in England and Wales has predicted people will live longer than current estimates - and that means they could have an oncoming economic train wreck because of the need for additional investments in health and social services and pensions for the elderly. Not everyone will share in this equally. Income equality in Wales and England will mean life expectancy inequality, as more and more wealthy people use private health care rather than the government-funded kind. But birth rates have stopped declining, which means they have to begin…

By 2030, life expectancy in England and Wales is expected to reach 85.7 years for men and 87.6 years for women, losing the gap between male and female life expectancy from 6 years in 1981 to just 1·9 years by 2030, according to a new study.  Between 1981 and 2012, national life expectancy in England and Wales increased by 8·2 years in men (to 79·5 years) and 6·0 years in women (to 83·3 years). However, national progress has come at the cost of rising inequalities, and the gap between the top and bottom 1% of life expectancies in local authority districts of England and Wales has…

The first national investigation of Medicare coverage of biologic disease-modifying drugs (DMARDs) found that in starting a single biologic DMARD, patients face more than $2,700 in co-payments each year before receiving relief from catastrophic coverage. During the initial phase of coverage, most people are expected to pay a striking 29.6% of total biologic drugs costs (just under one-third) out-of-pocket, creating an enormous financial burden for patients with chronic, rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.  Rheumatoid arthritis  is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting…

Some studies find that the immune system, which protects our bodies from foreign invaders, plays a part in Alzheimer's disease, though the actual role of immunity in the disease is a mystery. A new Duke University study in mice suggests that in Alzheimer's disease, certain immune cells that normally protect the brain begin to abnormally consume an important nutrient: arginine. Blocking this process with a small-molecule drug prevented the characteristic brain plaques and memory loss in a mouse model of the disease. The brains of people with Alzheimer's disease show two hallmarks -- 'plaques'…

Human DNA accumulates damage over time and older bodies can't repair it as well as younger, leading to the obvious conclusion that damage builds up over time and leads to an irreversible dormant state known as senescence. Cellular senescence is believed to be responsible for some of the telltale signs of aging, such as weakened bones, less resilient skin and slow-downs in organ function. DNA damage also seems to play a role in conditions called progerias, which cause premature aging. Progeria patients have mutations in genes responsible for DNA damage repair. Now researchers from the…

A national survey suggests that slightly more than half of the older adults in the United States are now taking a daily dose of aspirin, even though its use is not recommended by the Food and Drug Administration for most people who have not yet had a heart attack or stroke. The analysis observed that aspirin use is continuing to surge, especially among adults who are using it for "primary prevention," meaning in order to prevent an initial cardiovascular event, and in some cases to prevent cancer. In this survey of more than 2,500 respondents aged 45-75, 52 percent reported current aspirin…