Seniors News and Research

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Do older people quit smoking for the wrong reasons?

Research published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that elderly women are more likely to quit smoking than elderly men, while results are just the opposite for studies among younger populations.

23 Mar 2006

Mammography rates better with shared care

If follow-up mammography is an indicator of quality breast cancer care, then older survivors who receive shared care--provided by both a primary care physician and a cancer specialist--are better cared for than those who don't.

21 Mar 2006

Novel vaccine approach to listeria - potential protection against other intracellular bacterial pathogens

When bacterial pathogens attack the surface of a cell, vaccine-induced antibodies can mount a formidable defense and fend off the bad bugs.

21 Mar 2006

Long-term treatment effective in preventing future depressive episodes

People age 70 and older who continued taking the antidepressant that helped them to initially recover from their first episode of depression were 60 percent less likely to experience a new episode of depression over a two-year study period than those who stopped taking the medication

20 Mar 2006

Vaccinated adults less likely to die from pneumonia

Adults hospitalized for pneumonia who have received the pneumococcal vaccine are at a lower risk of dying from the disease than those who haven't been vaccinated, according to an article in the April 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

19 Mar 2006

Regular exercise closes the fitness gap between young and old

Researchers found in a study comparing sedentary adults in their 60s and 70s with those in their 20s and 30s, that older men and women had to use much more oxygen to walk at the same speed as their younger counterparts.

17 Mar 2006

Cleaner air equates to a longer life

Researchers in the U.S. say reductions in fine particulate air pollution appears to have an affect on mortality.

16 Mar 2006

Older people are far more likely to successfully quit smoking

Older women appear to quit smoking and stay off cigarettes in higher numbers than men in their age group, and older men and women are more likely to quit if they have recently received a diagnosis of cancer, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

15 Mar 2006

Taking medications to lower blood pressure may be associated with a lower incidence of Alzheimer's disease

Taking medications to lower blood pressure, particularly those known as diuretics, may be associated with a lower incidence of Alzheimer's disease, according to a study in the May 2006 print issue of Archives of Neurology.

15 Mar 2006

Decitabine improves myelodysplastic syndrome treatment

A potent member of a new class of drugs increases survival in some patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), and may become the new standard of therapy for this group of pre-cancer disorders

14 Mar 2006

Decitabine improves patient outcomes in myelodysplastic syndromes

Decitabine, a new drug undergoing Phase III efficacy trials, provides palliative therapy for patients with the bone marrow disease called Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS), according to a new study.

14 Mar 2006

Smoking and CYP2D6 gene avert Parkinson's

It has long been known that smoking offers some protection against developing Parkinson's disease and now a Queensland University of Technology PhD researcher has found out part of the reason why.

13 Mar 2006

New tools in the fight against pneumococci

New tools in the fight against pneumococci - the bugs targeted by vaccines recently announced by the Department of Health - are described by a team led by scientists from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.

13 Mar 2006

Elderly people should not be afraid to exercise

Older people generally have to work harder than younger people to walk as fast or do other exercise, but some of the difference may be due to reduced exercise efficiency, which can be reversed with training.

13 Mar 2006

Photodynamic therapy may be an effective treatment for infections of the oral cavity

Researchers found that the bacteria S. mutans, as well as fungal organisms of the genus Candida, cultured from HIV patients, were highly susceptible to killing with minimal doses of PDT, both in laboratory dishes and on biofilms grown on denture material.

13 Mar 2006

Influenza-associated hospitalization in a subtropical city

A new study shows that tropical and subtropical countries suffer far more illness and death during flu outbreaks than previously imagined, with both hospital admissions and deaths rising considerably during a flu outbreak.

13 Mar 2006

Reports of doctor shortages are wrong

Recent news reports that threaten a shortage of doctors to treat the burgeoning elderly population are wrong, according to researchers at Dartmouth Medical School's Center for the Evaluative Clinical Sciences (CECS).

9 Mar 2006

Exposure to fine particle air pollution significantly increases the risk for cardiovascular and respiratory disease

New data from a four-year study of 11.5 million Medicare enrollees show that short-term exposure to fine particle air pollution from such sources as motor vehicle exhaust and power plant emissions significantly increases the risk for cardiovascular and respiratory disease among people over 65 years of age.

9 Mar 2006

Major biomarker candidates for Alzheimer's disease explored

Alzheimer's disease - specific biomarkers clearly are needed for the differential diagnosis of cognitive impairment in the elderly.

8 Mar 2006

Chocolate milk could be key to longer life

The popular saying goes that 70 is the new 60 and 60 is the new 50, unfortunately for much of New Zealand's ageing population declining muscle function means it simply isn't true.

7 Mar 2006