Geriatrics News and Research

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AMCs should adjust and adapt to new health care reform laws: New England Journal

Academic Medical Centers must adjust and adapt to the new health care reform laws or risk marginalization in the new health care arena, according to a New England Journal of Medicine Perspective article published online February 2.

3 Feb 2011

Health care jobs can be tough to find but primary care docs are in short supply

News outlets report on the health care workforce, including how the primary care physician supply is getting tighter as baby boomers' health needs increase.

24 Jan 2011

Interventions for preventing falls in older persons should include an exercise component

In the first update of the American Geriatrics Society and the British Geriatric Society's guidelines on preventing falls in older persons since 2001, they now recommend that all interventions for preventing falls should include an exercise component and that a number of new assessments should be used, including; feet and footwear, fear of falling, and ability to carry out daily living activities.

13 Jan 2011

Behavioral therapies help improve bladder control in men following prostate cancer surgery

Behavioral therapies such as pelvic-floor-muscle training and bladder-control strategies can reduce incontinence episodes by more than 50 percent in men following prostate-cancer surgery, according to new research from the Center for Aging at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Birmingham/Atlanta Veterans Affairs Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center.

12 Jan 2011

Growth hormone may be hazardous for middle aged and older people

A compound which acts in the opposite way as growth hormone can reverse some of the signs of aging, a research team that includes a Saint Louis University physician has shown. The finding may be counter-intuitive to some older adults who take growth hormone, thinking it will help revitalize them.

24 Dec 2010

Lilly Endowment grants funds to Manchester College to establish School of Pharmacy

A small Midwest college that is producing alumni with sizeable reputations in the science world has received a $35 million grant from Lilly Endowment to launch a School of Pharmacy.

21 Dec 2010

Iowa moves forward on health exchange; Texas medical school highlights geriatrics; Concerns grow about prisoners' mental health needs

Republican lawmakers on the state level are largely against the new health reform law—but they aren't against all of the behemoth legislation. Virginia dominated headlines this week when a federal judge ruled the individual mandate to buy insurance unconstitutional on Monday. Much less noticed: the very next day, a task force appointed by Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell recommended that the state implement a health insurance exchange earlier than federal guidelines require (Kliff, 12/16).

17 Dec 2010

Study finds no association between vitamin D and parathyroid hormone levels in cardiovascular mortality of older adults

According to New Study Published in The American Journal of Medicine, there is burgeoning public interest in possible wide-ranging health benefits from vitamin D, including cardiovascular health.

16 Dec 2010

U-M's participation in Medicare Physician Group Practice Demonstration Project helps save over $15 million

Medicare patients with a host of physical problems are getting better care at the University of Michigan Health System, and U-M staff have saved more than $15 million on the cost of that care over four years.

13 Dec 2010

Research programs embody the promise of anti-aging medicine.

Sometimes the value of research lies as much in exposing false remedies as in discovering true breakthroughs. Scientists at the country's first school of gerontology and in laboratories around the University of Southern California do both, mindful of their responsibility to a society focused on healthful aging.

13 Dec 2010

Cognitively-impaired human research subjects need better protection

Practices for protecting human research subjects with Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions that make them incapable of giving informed consent are widely variable and in need of more concrete ethical and legal guidance, according to a study in IRB: Ethics & Human Research.

7 Dec 2010

New clues on surviving to be 100 years old

University of Georgia research has provided new clues on surviving to be 100 years old, finding that how we feel about ourselves and our ability to adapt to an accumulation of challenging life experiences may be as or more important than health factors.

2 Dec 2010

VCU receives $1 million to improve health care for geriatric patients

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine has received a Next Steps in Physicians' Training in Geriatrics grant totaling nearly $1 million from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation to support programs to train medical students, residents and physicians in geriatrics.

1 Dec 2010

Sinai Hospital's endocrinologist helps people to manage diabetes

Nearly 27-million people live with diabetes and 57-million more are pre-diabetic. Not only can this disease be life threatening, but it can take a huge toll on families and on those who have it- if it's not treated properly.

30 Nov 2010

Survey on palliative care for patients with dementia

A new national survey conducted by researchers from Indiana University and the Regenstrief Institute has found that while palliative care may be available for those with dementia, there are significant barriers to providing or receiving services to relieve the pain, eating difficulties and other symptoms associated with dementia.

17 Nov 2010

New model of care for rural-dwelling adults

A novel project set in a rural community near Rochester, N.Y., to screen elderly people for unmet needs showed that, indeed, there is a great opportunity to match older adults with professional assistance. This new model of care for rural-dwelling adults is described this month in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

11 Nov 2010

Depression in nursing home residents often unrecognized

Depression affects approximately 30 to 40 percent of nursing home residents, but it often goes unrecognized, according to American Geriatrics Society, which can lead to lower quality of life or even suicide. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found a series of indicators, other than changes in mood that are associated with the development of depression in nursing home residents.

10 Nov 2010

Brain training improves real-world activities of older adults

A new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) proves that the right kind of brain training can produce cognitive improvements that transfer to real-world skills. The study, available online and in the November 2010 issue of JAGS found that older drivers who completed 10 sessions of speed-of-processing training or reasoning training had an approximately 50 percent reduction in at-fault motor-vehicle collisions (MVC) compared to the control group.

8 Nov 2010

IU's cost-saving model of home-based care management for low-income older adults earns recognition

A model program developed at Indiana University to provide care to low-income older adults in their homes has earned recognition for its effective approach and cost-saving benefits in a leading national medical journal.

3 Nov 2010

New primary care models needed to improve care and outcomes for older adults

In an article published in November 3 edition of Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Chad Boult, MD, MPH, MBA, professor of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, calls for key improvements to primary care in order to improve the health of the nation's most costly patients-older adults with multiple chronic conditions.