Category Archives: Old Age

Reviews: “A New Way Of Thinking About Aging”

“People 50 and older hold the vast majority of wealth in the country, but we’re producing products and services for people who don’t have nearly as much money to spend…”

by Alexander Gelfand

April 27, 2023: Thanks to advances in medicine and public health, people are living longer, healthier lives. The world’s population of people 60 and older is growing five times faster than the population as a whole. Global life expectancy has doubled since 1900, and experts say that children born in developed countries now have a good chance of living to 100.

A “silver tsunami” is already sweeping the U.S. labor force: the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that 36% of people ages 65–69 will remain on the job in 2024 — up significantly from the 22% who were working in 1994.

These longer-lived, longer-working individuals generate an ever-bigger slice of global GDP and control an expanding tranche of global wealth. In her recent book Stage (Not Age)Golden estimates that the “longevity economy” is worth more than $22 trillion — $8.3 trillion in the United States alone.

That may be a conservative figure: AARP (the organization formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons) estimates that people over 50 already account for half of consumer spending worldwide, or $35 trillion. (This range of figures may have to do with how “older adult” is defined: The term is variously used to refer to people over the ages of 65, 60, or — sorry, Gen Xers — 50.)

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Medicine: AI Verifies ‘Brain Age’ To Detect Alzheimer’s

National Science Foundation (March 13, 2023) – Harnessing the power of AI, researchers calculate our brain’s age leading to earlier detection of Alzheimer’s and other cognitive diseases.

Researchers at USC have developed a new artificial intelligence model that more accurately captures brain age. This study could result in earlier detection of Alzheimer’s and other cognitive diseases and provide important information about how quickly our brains age.

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Epigenetics & Aging: DNA Breakage & Repair Effects

Harvard Medical School – A 13-year international study in mice demonstrates that loss of epigenetic information, which influences how DNA is organized and regulated, can drive aging independently of changes to the genetic code itself.

It also shows that restoring the integrity of the epigenome reverses age-related symptoms.

Learn more at https://hms.harvard.edu/news/loss-epi…

Health Plans: Pros & Cons Of Medicare Advantage

Consumer Reports – November 2022:

For More Information

When you’re ready to start reviewing plans, check out the Medicare plan finder tool, which will let you compare Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug plans available in your area. You can also get this information by calling Medicare at 800-633-4227.

If you’re looking for a Medigap plan, you can also start at medicare.gov, where you can compare the different types of coverage, as well as find the policies available in your ZIP code.

Another good resource is the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), which provides free guidance over the phone. To find your state’s program, go to shiphelp.org or call 877-839-2675.

Aging: ‘Healthy Longevity’ Journal – November 2022

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Inside the November 2022 Issue:

Research & review on #Alzheimers, global burden of benign prostatic hyperplasia, #WHO def of vitality capacity, IPD meta on social connection &  #cognition#oralhealth for older people & more.


Hope on the horizon for Alzheimer’s disease treatment?

Social connectedness and cognitive decline

Time to take oral health seriously

Fall 2022: ‘Rejuvenating The Aging Brain’ – Scripps Research Magazine Cover

REJUVENATING THE AGING BRAIN

As humans live longer, they’re at increased risk of developing devastating NEURODEGENERATIVE diseases, such as Alzheimer’s—in a treatment landscape with few options and little hope. At Scripps Research, scientists are closer than ever to understanding how these diseases harm the brain and identifying possible drugs to stop them.

“This early preclinical work may identify proteins that protect against cognitive loss. We know it’s a long path to get to a drug, but we’re creating the foundation. We know there’s an entire landscape of potential molecular interactions that maintain healthy synapses, and any of these proteins could be a drug target.”— Hollis Cline, PhD

Website

Old Age: ‘Hyperexcitable Neurons’ Interrupt Sleep

For many older adults, a good night’s rest is elusive. The implications of chronically poor sleep can be far-reaching and include a decline in cognitive functioning and detrimental effects on health and general well-being. Fortunately, relief may be in sight.

A new study led by investigators at the Stanford University School of Medicine shows that neurons in the lateral hypothalamus, a brain region, play a pivotal role in sleep loss in old mice. More specifically, the arousal-promoting hypocretin neurons become hyperexcitable, driving sleep interruptions.

Read the full story: https://stan.md/3JQ7z77

Luis de Lecea, PhD, is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford Medicine. He is the study’s senior author and hopes the finding could pave the way to new drug treatments for age-related sleep problems in humans.

Shi-Bin Li, PhD, is an instructor in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences department at Stanford Medicine. He is also a basic life research scientist in the de Lecea lab, and is the lead author of the study.

Women’s Health: How Mammograms Can Reveal Cardiovascular Disease

The routine mammograms women receive to check for breast cancer may also offer clues to their risk for heart disease, new research suggests.

White spots or lines visible on mammograms indicate a buildup of calcium in breast arteries. This breast arterial calcification is different from coronary artery calcification, which is known to be a marker for higher cardiovascular risk. For the study, researchers followed 5,059 postmenopausal women (ages 60 to 79) for six and a half years. They found that those with breast arterial calcification were 51% more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke than those without calcification. The study was published March 15, 2022, in Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging.

Front Covers: ‘Harvard Medicine’ – Autumn 2021