Walking News and Research

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Cognitive processes related to gait velocity

Psychologists wanting to help old people safely cross the street and otherwise ambulate around this busy world have found that from age 70 and up, safe walking may require solid "executive control" (which includes attention) and memory skills.

27 Mar 2006

Cognitive processes related to gait velocity: results from the Einstein Again study

27 Mar 2006

Regular exercise closes the fitness gap between young and old

According to new research the older we get the harder we have to work to keep fit.

26 Mar 2006

Hip surgery in the elderly and obese, orthopaedic research emphasizes need for complete preoperative assessments

As many Americans continue to grow older, another large part of the population is faced with the growing problem of obesity: both of these conditions can adversely impact mobility and ultimately, patients' independence.

23 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

Nature play before age 11 fosters adult environmental appreciation

If you want your children to grow up to actively care about the environment, give them plenty of time to play in the "wild" before they're 11 years old, suggests a new Cornell University study.

14 Mar 2006

Creative new therapies for atherosclerotic disease

Patients with a build-up of plaque in arteries in the heart, brain and leg face a high risk of major cardiovascular complications.

14 Mar 2006

New device for fixing holes in hearts of young stroke patients

As many as one in four adults is walking around with a "hole" between the upper chambers of the heart. Most of them will never know it.

14 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

Using a growth factor to stimulate production of circulating endothelial progenitor cells improves cell production and mobility in arterial disease

Using a growth factor to stimulate production of circulating endothelial progenitor cells increases the numbers of these vascular regenerative cells, improves mobility, and potentially could improve blood vessel function in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

13 Mar 2006

Rundown neighborhoods triple risk for disabilities

A comparison of residential areas in the St. Louis region reveales that late middle-aged and older African-Americans who live in rundown neighborhoods with poor air and street quality are three times more likely to develop difficulties walking, standing, or lifting than those in cleaner, better-maintained areas.

13 Mar 2006

Anxiety restricts blood flow in some patients

The fear of public speaking might cause some people to do more than just break out in a cold sweat and battle stomach-churning butterflies - it could prove to have consequences for their heart health.

13 Mar 2006

Important milestone in understanding the neural circuitry that coordinates walking movements

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified an important circuit in the spinal cord that controls the speed with which our leg muscles contract and relax.

9 Mar 2006

Trials on MS drug Tysabri renews hope for sufferers

According to the results of two new trials the multiple sclerosis (MS) drug Tysabri significantly reduces the progression of the disease.

5 Mar 2006

Physical symptoms that mark frailty often reversible

In a study to determine how older people progress through different states of frailty, researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that the physical symptoms that mark frailty are often reversible and therefore amenable to intervention.

1 Mar 2006

Cell-death mechanism linked to developmental and degenerative brain disorders

Conclusive evidence that neurodevelopmental disorders such as mental retardation and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and ataxias can be caused, at least in part, by specific gene defects that interfere with the electrical impulses of rapid-firing brain nerve cells called bursting neurons.

1 Mar 2006

Association between body size and the built environment

Researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health are studying the link between the urban environment and how it might contribute to the cause or origins of obesity.

1 Mar 2006

For some with partial spinal cord injury, two different therapies show positive results

Body weight-supported treadmill training isn't more effective than conventional mobility rehabilitation for restoring movement to those with partial spinal cord injury, according to a new study.

28 Feb 2006

Humans ignore motion and other cues in favor of a fictional stable world

Would you notice if all the objects around you simultaneously moved farther away? In a virtual-reality laboratory in Oxford, researchers have obtained the puzzling finding that humans can be "blind" to changes like this.

23 Feb 2006

More time exercising not intensity results in long-term weight loss

Women fighting the post-pregnancy weight battle face a lot of challenges, not the least of which is just finding the time to exercise. New research from Duke University suggests that more time exercising -- not intensity -- results in long-term weight loss.

21 Feb 2006