Gerontology News and Research

RSS

Gerontology is the study of the social, psychological and biological aspects of aging.

GSA selects Penn professor as 2012 recipient of Maxwell A. Pollack Award for Productive Aging

The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) - the nation's largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging - has chosen Mary Naylor, PhD, RN, FAAN, of the University of Pennsylvania as the 2012 recipient of the Maxwell A. Pollack Award for Productive Aging.

15 Aug 2012

National HCGNE announces $1.38M in awards to Claire M. Fagin Fellows, Patricia G. Archbold Scholars

The National Hartford Centers of Gerontological Nursing Excellence (HCGNE) today announced $1.38 million in awards to the latest cohort of Claire M. Fagin Fellows and Patricia G. Archbold Scholars studying gerontological nursing in academic settings across the U.S.

14 Aug 2012

Only 19% of seniors with lung disease quit smoking within two years

A recent study of adults age 50 to 85 found that only 19 percent of those diagnosed with lung disease quit smoking within two years.

1 Aug 2012

Self-neglect predicts hospice use among elderly

Both the presence and severity of self-neglect in the elderly independently predict hospice use, and are not mediated by the presence of health-related factors, show results published in the Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics.

25 Jul 2012

Deep look into how brain mechanisms for memory retrieval differ between adults and children

Neuroscientists from Wayne State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are taking a deeper look into how the brain mechanisms for memory retrieval differ between adults and children.

25 Jul 2012

Elder abuse in low-income Latino communities goes largely unreported

A sobering new study by researchers from the University of Southern California Davis School of Gerontology finds that elder abuse in low-income Latino communities goes largely unreported. More than 40 percent of Latino elders told Spanish-speaking interviewers that they had been abused or neglected in the last year - yet only 1.5 percent of victims said they had ever reported the abuse to authorities.

20 Jul 2012

Studies describe ability of targeted exercise training on cognitive impairment and dementia

Four studies reported today at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2012 (AAIC 2012) describe the ability of targeted exercise training to promote improved mental functioning and reduced risk for cognitive impairment and dementia in cognitively healthy older adults and those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

16 Jul 2012

TRIL Clinic's novel technologies could increase accuracy in assessment of falls risk in older people

1 in 3 people over the age of 65 suffer from a fall every year in Ireland. Two-thirds of this group fall again within 6 months, leading to risk of hospitalisation and significant health decline. Today in St James's Hospital, Dublin, Seán Sherlock T.D., Minister for Research and Innovation, launched the TRIL Clinic's novel suite of technologies that could potentially increase accuracy in the assessment of falls risk in older people.

6 Jul 2012

Social interventions may help slow or treat age-related dementia

Scientists at Arizona State University have discovered that older honey bees effectively reverse brain aging when they take on nest responsibilities typically handled by much younger bees.

4 Jul 2012

GSA becomes home to Coordinating Center for National HCGNE

Effective July 1, The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) has become home to the Coordinating Center for the National Hartford Centers of Gerontological Nursing Excellence (HCGNE), also known as the Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity Initiative.

3 Jul 2012

Research examines link between metabolic syndrome and cognitive disorders

No effective treatments are currently available for the prevention or cure of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most frequent form of dementia in the elderly. The most recognized risk factors, advancing age and having the apolipoprotein E Ɛ4 gene, cannot be modified or treated. Increasingly, scientists are looking toward other risk factors to identify preventive and therapeutic strategies.

15 Jun 2012

ACE program can help hospitals lower health care costs

Creating specialized hospital units for elderly people with acute medical illness could reduce national health care costs by as much $6 billion a year, according to a new study by UCSF researchers.

11 Jun 2012

First study to look at link between vitamin D and onset of new mobility disability in older adults

Older adults who don't get enough vitamin D - either from diet, supplements or sun exposure - may be at increased risk of developing mobility limitations and disability, according to new research from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

30 May 2012

Elsevier, AAGP partner to publish American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announces that it has entered into an agreement with the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) to publish The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry (AJGP) beginning in January 2013.

3 May 2012

Middle-aged and older adults with diabetes show substantial survival rates

Middle-aged and older adults with diabetes showed substantial survival rates in a new University of Michigan Health System study of retirees.

3 May 2012

Research on how cells cope with stress could lead to more effective cancer treatment

Both radiation and many forms of chemotherapy try to kill tumors by causing oxidative stress in cancer cells. New research from USC on a protein that protects cancer and other cells from these stresses could one day help doctors to break down cancer cells' defenses, making them more susceptible to treatment.

7 Apr 2012

Study explores risk of re-hospitalization among stroke patients

Stroke patients receiving in-patient rehabilitation are more likely to land back in the hospital within three months if they are functioning poorly, show signs of depression and lack social support according to researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston. Hospital readmission for older adults within 30 days of discharge costs Medicare roughly $18 billion annually.

7 Apr 2012

Unmarried baby boomers face poorer economic and health outcomes

Nick and Bobbi Ercoline, the couple depicted on the "Woodstock" soundtrack album cover, have now been happily married for over 40 years. However, a new special issue of The Gerontologist showing the Ercolines as they look today - a portrait of successful aging - finds that their unmarried baby boomer counterparts generally fare much poorer in terms of economic, health, and social outcomes.

5 Apr 2012

Ventria completes VEN100 phase 2 trial on antibiotic-associated diarrhea

Ventria Bioscience has announced the successful completion of a phase 2 clinical trial of its lead therapeutic candidate, VEN100. The study was conducted by a team of investigators from the Department of Epidemiology, Division of Infectious Diseases, and Division of Geriatric Medicine at Johns Hopkins University.