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Gerontology
Common medical practices that older patients should question
Some treatments and procedures become routine despite lacking strong evidence to show that they’re beneficial – and recent studies have called a few of...
Why statins are good for over-70s – Oxford study
British researchers say that most people over 70 should think seriously about taking statins – because they are cost-effective and linked to better health...
Diabetes drug linked to lower dementia risk – Korean study
A drug used to treat type 2 diabetes may reduce the risk of dementia by 35%, according to a large study carried out by...
Older patients' survival gains from dialysis ‘modest’ – US study
A recent US study has found that over three years, older patients with kidney failure who started dialysis immediately survived for only a short...
Scientists identify bursts of ageing at 44 and 60
Scientists have found that the human body undergoes two dramatic bouts of rapid physical transformation on a molecular level, with the shifts in abundance...
Doctors flag painkiller prescribed ‘for everything’
Huge numbers of older people are taking the non-opioid pain medication gabapentin for a variety of conditions, including itching, alcohol dependence and sciatica, with...
Video of 64 eyeballs offers insight into eye aging – German study
There is no doubt that time takes its toll on our eyes, and now a funky, Hitchcockian video of 64 eyeballs, all rolling and...
Dental trial with generic drug to test anti-ageing efficacy
A drug that was first approved by the FDA for use in transplant patients in the late 1990s is being prescribed off-label by some physicians with...
Approval at last for Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug
After decades of trying to develop a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, and several hiccups along the way, Eli Lilly has finally won FDA approval...
Anxiety in older men may be tied to higher Parkinson’s risk
People over 50 with anxiety may be up to twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s disease as their peers without anxiety, and are more...
BP meds double bone-fracture risk in elderly patients – US cohort study
Nursing home patients who take blood pressure drugs have a higher than normal risk of life-threatening bone fractures, which can then often trigger a...
Cheap diabetes drug may delay ageing, say US scientists
An inexpensive drug taken by millions of people to control diabetes may do more than lower blood sugar, with research suggesting it might have...
Is ageing without illness possible?
By addressing the root causes of ageing, American geroscientists are in search of a particular holy grail – hoping to stave off the disability...
Prioritise quality of life, not longevity, for elderly: UK health chief
England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, has called for a cultural shift in medicine away from maximising lifespan and towards improving quality of life...
Hanging out with family can reduce death risk – UK cohort analysis
Scottish researchers suggest that those who socialise regularly with friends or family outside their household live longer than those who never do, according to...
Tea, coffee drinkers less frail in old age – Singapore study
A daily cup of tea or coffee can keep you stronger in old age, recent research has suggested, with the study team finding that...
Stable weight for women tied to exceptional longevity – US analysis
Older women who maintain a stable weight may be nearly twice as likely to live to 90 to 100 years old, although unintentional weight...
The man on a quest to live forever
America’s Bryan Johnson (46) is working on “the most significant revolution in the history of homo sapiens” in pursuit of a singular goal: to...
Time to rethink what we call ‘old age’
CNN chief medical correspondent Dr Sanjay Gupta believes you should make the most of whatever age you are, and that changing your mindset can...
Old age weight loss linked to early death – Australian cohort study
A recent study, which assessed healthcare records of more than 16 000 pensioners and followed them for four-and-a-half-years, found that elderly men who lose...
Men could live to 140 as human lifespan increases, say scientists
Human lifespan has been increasing over recent decades and is expected to swell again after a setback caused by the pandemic, with one scientist...
Reduced calories slows down ageing – US trial
Trials monitoring long-term calorie restriction showed a slowing down of biological ageing, with participants, who restricted their daily intake of food and drink by...
Smell sense can determine frailty risk – Johns Hopkins study
A recent study has added to a growing body of evidence that loss of smell is a predictive marker for an increased risk of...
Psychological factors substantially contribute to biological ageing – CHARLS study
Feeling unhappy, depressed or lonely could escalate the ageing processes more rapidly than smoking or even certain diseases, suggests the findings from an “ageing...
Mystery of why humans die around 80 may finally be solved – Cambridge study
The mystery of why humans die at around 80, while other mammals live much shorter or longer lives, may finally have been solved by...
Gut microbe metabolism implicated in longevity — Japan study of centenarians
In people over the age of 100, an enrichment in a distinct set of gut microbes that can generate unique bile acids might contribute...
Gut microbe metabolism implicated in longevity — Japan study of centenarians
In people over the age of 100, an enrichment in a distinct set of gut microbes that can generate unique bile acids might contribute...
Hyperbaric oxygen: Clinical trial reverses 2 cellular processes linked to ageing
An Israeli study indicates that hyperbaric oxygen treatments (HBOT) in healthy ageing adults can stop the ageing of blood cells and reverse the shortening...
Two studies examine lifestyle factors in becoming a centenarian
Not smoking and remaining socially engaged are significant markers of living past 100, according to a New Zealand analysis of 292 centenarians, while a...
Diluted blood rejuvenates tissue and reverses signs of ageing — animal study
A US study found that age-reversing effects found that the rejuvenating effect of “young” blood on old mice can be achieved by simply diluting...
Mortality risk increases in older patients with low BP
A large-scale study led by the University of Exeter and funded by NIHR, analysed 415,980 electronic medical records of older adults in England. The...
Widowhood accelerates cognitive decline in those at risk for Alzheimer's disease
The death of a spouse often means the loss of intimacy, companionship and everyday support for older adults. A study finds that widowhood can...
Deal me in — playing games can protect cognitive skills in old age
People who play non-digital games – such as cards, crosswords and board games – are more likely to stay mentally sharp in later life,...
Rethinking old age: 70 is the new 65, says UK Office of National Statistics
It may be time to rethink how we measure and define old age in the UK because more people are surviving into their late...
Slow walkers at age 45 have older brains and bodies
The walking speed of 45-year-olds, particularly their fastest walking speed without running, can be used as a marker of their ageing brains and bodies,...
Age as a litmus test for choosing the next US president
With three Democrats in their 70s vying to challenge the 73-year old Donal Trump, the oldest first-term president in US history, age’s importance will...
Losing hearing in middle age may increase dementia risk
Hearing loss in middle age is associated with higher odds of cognitive decline and dementia in later years, Reuters Health reports a large study...
Daily 'tickling' of the vagus nerve may improve mood and sleep
Scientists found that a short daily therapy, stimulating the vagus nerve with an electrical current, delivered for two weeks led to both physiological and...
Master athletes demonstrate what is physically possible in later life
A growing band of of "master athletes" demonstrate that "we often confuse the effects of inactivity with the ageing process itself", write Stephen Harridge and Norman...
Poor sense of smell in older adults linked to 50% increased mortality risk
A new Michigan State University study suggests that older adults with poor sense of smell may see an almost 50% increase in their risk...