Aging News and Research

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Protein shortens life but leads to more children

The key to longevity is eating less protein - and not just fewer calories, as has previously been thought - scientists have discovered. But the catch is that while cutting protein may help you live longer, it may mean you'll have fewer children.

17 Feb 2008

New spine center at UT Southwestern

UT Southwestern Medical Center has launched a multidisciplinary Spine Center that features top physicians from diverse fields who work together to treat one of the most common problems plaguing our aging society: back pain.

14 Feb 2008

It's official! mega-lift ambulances confirm Australia's obesity problem

It seems that obesity has become such a problem in Australia that some states have been forced to buy super-size ambulances to cope with those patients who are so fat they cannot fit inside a regular size ambulance.

13 Feb 2008

Human growth hormone abuse raises serious health risks

Human growth hormone (HGH), when medically necessary, is a safe and effective clinical treatment for children and adults.

13 Feb 2008

Depression in seniors

Depression is sometimes viewed as a normal part of aging.

13 Feb 2008

Factors associated with exceptionally long life

A healthy lifestyle during the early elderly years—including weight management, exercising regularly and not smoking—may be associated with a greater probability of living to age 90 in men, as well as good health and physical function, according to a report in the February 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

12 Feb 2008

Disability does not necessarily follow disease in living to old age

Researchers from Boston Medical Center's (BMC) New England Centenarian Study report that for a substantial proportion of their centenarian subjects, avoiding age-related diseases (i.e. stroke, cardiovascular disease, diabetes) may not be the key to their longevity; rather, the avoidance of disability may be a key feature in their exceptional survival.

12 Feb 2008

Hostility plus depression elevates risk for heart disease

Researchers led by Jesse Stewart, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, report that hostility and depression appear to act together in a complex way to elevate inflammatory proteins in the human body, possibly putting hostility plus depression on the list of risk factors for heart disease along with high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, and smoking.

12 Feb 2008

Researchers find new U.S. trend in antibiotic resistance

A research team from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, examining bacterial isolates obtained in hospital and non-hospital clinical settings between 2000 and 2006, has identified drug-resistant strains of E. coli and Klebsiella bacteria in more than 50 blood, urine and respiratory samples.

11 Feb 2008

Mild Alzheimer's sufferers show rapid decline in financial skills over one year

New research from UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) shows that patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) have a dramatic decline in their ability to make financial decisions over a one year period.

11 Feb 2008

What gives us fingertip dexterity?

Quickly moving your fingertips to tap or press a surface is essential for everyday life to, say, pick up small objects, use a BlackBerry or an iPhone.

8 Feb 2008

Team approach to treating depression cuts medical costs

A team approach to treating depression in older adults, already shown to improve health, can also cut total health-care costs, according to a new study led by the University of Washington.

8 Feb 2008

Endurance training improves metabolism in mice

Researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have demonstrated that in mice, the use of barbells may be as important to losing weight and improving health as the use of running shoes.

7 Feb 2008

Impact of electronic personal health record on hypertension under study

Whether patients with an electronic handle on their health are more successful at beating one of the nation's leading chronic diseases is under study.

7 Feb 2008

For safety, NHLBI changes intensive blood sugar treatment strategy in trial of diabetes and cardiovascular disease

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health has stopped one treatment within a large, ongoing North American clinical trial of diabetes and cardiovascular disease 18 months early due to safety concerns after review of available data, although the study will continue.

6 Feb 2008

Both Alpha-Hydroxy and Beta-Hydroxy acid peels promise relief for acne sufferers

Chemical peels using either alpha-hydroxy acid or beta-hydroxy acid are both highly effective in treating mild to moderately severe facial acne, researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine have found - the first study to compare the two different types of acid peels as therapies for the skin disorder.

6 Feb 2008

Getting under the skin of HIV, hep C

The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is working towards a new approach to treat people with HIV/AIDS, with a drug which has already shown promise in the laboratory.

5 Feb 2008

New backing for medical devices brings Australian R&D and industry together

The development and production of high-tech medical devices in South Australia will enter a dynamic new phase in South Australia with the establishment of a $3.3 million program, based at Flinders University. Flinders will play a lead role in the Medical Devices Partnering Program, which will bring together university researchers with commercial backers, manufacturers and end-users of medical assistive technology.

5 Feb 2008

Brain stimulation to improve cognitive function

A Columbia University Medical Center research team has uncovered how stimulation of a particular brain region can help stave off the deficits in working memory, associated with an extended sleep deprivation.

5 Feb 2008

New York State Health Department begins $1.75 million campaign to promote long-term care insurance

New York State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, M.D., today announced a $1.75 million statewide media campaign to promote the purchase of long-term care insurance, including the state's Partnership for Long-Term Care, by New York residents ages 40 to 65.

4 Feb 2008