Latest Senior Health News

20May
2022

Risk Factors for Dementia May Change With Age

Risk Factors for Dementia May Change With AgeFRIDAY, May 20, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Dementia risk factors appear to shift with age, and experts say knowing that could help people make lifestyle changes to reduce their chances of developing the disease."Dementia is a complicated disease and risk prediction scores need to be tailored to the individual," said Emer McGrath of the National University of Ireland Galway, lead author of a new study. "Our findings support the use of age-specific risk prediction scores for dementia instead of a one-size-fits-all approach."For the study, the researchers analyzed data collected from nearly 4,900 Americans enrolled in the Framingham Heart Study. The participants were followed from roughly age 55 to 80, and were tracked from age 65 to see who developed dementia.Participants who had diabetes...

Could Eye Trouble Bring Lower Scores on Seniors'...

20 May 2022
Could Eye Trouble Bring Lower Scores on Seniors` Thinking Tests?FRIDAY, May 20 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Poor eyesight makes it harder to read and easier to trip. But it can also lead to a misdiagnosis of mild mental decline in older people, according to a new, small study. That can happen if someone's thinking abilities are assessed using vision-dependent tests, researchers explained. They noted that as many as 1 in 4 people older than 50 have undiagnosed vision problems such as cataracts or age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which could skew visual assessments of their mental sharpness. AMD doesn't cause complete vision loss but severely impairs the ability to read, drive, cook and even recognize faces. It has no effect on mental function (cognition).Visual impairments affect about 200 million seniors worldwide, said study leader Anne...

Frail, But Living at Home: Program Helps Elderly Stay Strong

19 May 2022
Frail, But Living at Home: Program Helps Elderly Stay StrongTHURSDAY, May 19, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- It’s never too late to start exercising -- and the right activities might help you stay independent in your home.While building healthy habits at an earlier age can have some long-term benefits, adding physical activity can help at all ages, new research suggests.A new study found that physically frail elderly people and low muscle mass (sarcopenia) were able to reduce their level of "mobility disability" by 22% over three years, using a program that included specific changes to their exercise habits and diets.The formula for success involved adding extra walking, along with strength, flexibility and balance exercises, to their daily routine. It also included increasing their protein intake, according to the paper published May 11 in the...

Study in Rats Offers Hope for New Parkinson's Therapy

19 May 2022
Study in Rats Offers Hope for New Parkinson`s TherapyTHURSDAY, May 19, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Experimental stem cell replacement therapy for Parkinson's disease shows promise in rats and will soon be tested in a human clinical trial, researchers say."We cannot be more excited by the opportunity to help individuals who suffer from [a] genetic form of Parkinson's disease, but the lessons learned from this trial will also directly impact patients who suffer from sporadic, or non-genetic forms of this disease," said study co-author Jeffrey Kordower. He is director of the ASU-Banner Neurodegenerative Disease Research Center at Arizona State University, in Tempe. Parkinson's disease causes damage to a specific type of neuron in the brain that produces a chemical messenger called dopamine.The lack of dopamine causes physical symptoms such as...

Injections of Your Own Fat Could Help Arthritic Hands

17 May 2022
Injections of Your Own Fat Could Help Arthritic HandsTUESDAY, May 17, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Liposuction typically is used to flatten your stomach or shape up your booty, but a new study argues that it could also help people suffering from arthritis of the fingers.Injections of body fat into aching, arthritic finger joints appear to produce significant and lasting improvements in hand function and a decrease in pain, German researchers report in the May issue of the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.People who underwent the experimental procedure started with pain levels of 6 points on a 10-point scale, but three to four years later reported their finger arthritis pain at a median 0.5 points, according to results from their small-scale pilot study. Median means half had higher pain levels, half lower."That was for us the most...
RSS
1345678910Last
HealthDay

Copyright © 2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved.