Geriatrics News and Research

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Disturbingly high rate of home care patients are being admitted to hospital suffering from pneumonia

A two-year study showed home-care patients suffering from Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP is acquired outside of hospitals) account for 25 of every 1,000 people who visited emergency rooms suffering pneumonia.

26 May 2005

The inability to care for yourself puts you at greatest risk of death in a hospital

Underweight elderly patients who have difficulty performing routine daily activities such as eating and bathing are at greatest risk to die in the hospital, new Saint Louis University research shows.

25 May 2005

Older adults with insomnia report falling asleep faster with Ramelteon

Results from a Phase 3 clinical study presented at the 2005 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Geriatrics Society showed that bedtime administration of ramelteon, an investigational compound currently under review for the treatment of insomnia, significantly reduced time to fall asleep in older adults with chronic insomnia. Additionally, no rebound insomnia or withdrawal effects were observed.

18 May 2005

High nighttime blood pressure linked to increased blood sugar levels

People whose blood pressure doesn't drop significantly overnight tend to have more cardiovascular problems.

15 May 2005

"Among middle-aged African-Americans, there's this huge fear of falling"

Fear of falling, once believed to be mostly a senior citizen problem, is striking African-American middle-aged adults with negative consequences to their health, new Saint Louis University research finds.

9 May 2005

Contrary to common wisdom, sleeping pills may not increase fall risk

In nursing homes across the country, elderly people with insomnia often go untreated, because of the perception that sleeping pills increase the risk of falls and injuries that are a bane of old age.

6 Apr 2005

Vegetarians who don't cook their food have abnormally low bone mass

Vegetarians who don't cook their food have abnormally low bone mass, usually a sign of osteoporosis and increased fracture risk. But a research team at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis also found that raw food vegetarians have other biological markers indicating their bones, although light in weight, may be healthy.

28 Mar 2005

First study to report that successful treatment of depression in older adults helps independent living

Successful treatment of depression not only improves older adults' emotional health, but also helps them perform such daily activities as remembering to take medications, according to a study published in the March 2005 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society by Indiana University School of Medicine researchers.

14 Mar 2005

More standardized geriatric training needed across all medical specialties

The changing medical needs of the growing 65-and-over population in the United States are not being met by current medical education, University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers warn.

27 Feb 2005

People drink less alcohol as they age

A new UCLA study shows that people drink less alcohol as they age--but drinking among those who were born in earlier years showed a faster decline than among people born more recently.

22 Feb 2005

Gene therapy helps generate bone around dental implants

A University of Michigan research team has found that introducing a growth factor protein into a mouth wound using gene therapy helped generate bone around dental implants, according to a new paper in the February issue of the journal Molecular Therapy.

3 Feb 2005

Low carbohydrate diet may prevent Alzheimer's disease

Researchers found that a low carbohydrate diet that reduced total caloric intake by 30% prevented the development of a fundamental feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in mice genetically engineered to develop the disease. The diet eliminated amyloid plaque development, which is the underlying pathology in AD.

12 Jan 2005

Indian curry may be the next Alzheimer's weapon

A dietary staple of India, where Alzheimer's disease rates are reportedly among the world's lowest, holds potential as a weapon in the fight against the disease.

28 Dec 2004

Clinical care of community-dwelling older adults with advanced chronic diseases would be enhanced by identifying and alleviating the range of symptoms they experience

In a study to determine the prevalence of a range of symptoms among older persons living independently with advanced chronic diseases, researchers at Yale have found that the majority experienced multiple moderate or severe symptoms.

8 Dec 2004

Geriatricians call for creative and wide-reaching solutions to end-of-life care for patients with dementia

Three University of Chicago geriatricians are calling for creative and wide-reaching solutions to the problem of sub-optimal end-of-life care for patients with dementia.

14 Oct 2004

Study of mental health of assisted living residents has found a higher rates of mental health problems than expected

The first large scale comparative study of the mental health of assisted living residents has found a higher rate than expected of a range of mental health problems in this rapidly growing population.

27 Sep 2004

A low salt diet can be extremely dangerous for elderly people

Professor Füsgen presented his findings at the European Geriatrics Congress in Vienna, which ended yesterday (September 19). They show that the symptoms of hyponatraemia (low sodium level in the blood), which are tiredness, difficulty in concentrating and loss of balance, can develop into confusion and even coma if left untreated.

20 Sep 2004

Are Latin America and the Caribbean ready to meet the health challenges of the coming senior boom?

Advances in medicine and public health have dramatically increased life expectancy in Latin America and the Caribbean.But is the region ready to meet the challenges of the coming "senior boom"?

31 Aug 2004

Athletic shoes best at reducing risk of falling in older adults

Falls are the most frequent cause of fatal injury to older Americans, and non-fatal falls, which are also common, can curtail mobility and quality of life for older adults.

22 Aug 2004

$Longer rehabilitation by six months helps elderly patients to more fully recover from hip fractures$

Longer rehabilitation by six months helps elderly patients to more fully recover from hip fractures

Extending supervised outpatient rehabilitation by six months helps elderly patients more fully recover from hip fractures, according to the first controlled study of its kind. The study also showed for the first time that these patients, previously thought to be too frail for weight training, can benefit from progressive resistance exercise training.

20 Aug 2004