February 22, 2012

Resource Center: Aging

Longevity. We all want it, except why does aging have go along with it? As we age we increase our risk for developing conditions like heart problems, cardiovascular disease, and stroke; type 2 diabetes; high blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides; obesity; osteoporosis; and cancer. Not to mention frailty, balance problems, osteoarthritis, erectile dysfunction, cognitive decline, dementia, loss of fertility, and insomnia. The rate of brain diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and mood problems like depression and anxiety may also rise with age. For women, the transition into menopause can bring symptoms like hot flashes, mood swings, weight gain, hair loss, and changes in sex drive.

Luckily, geriatric medicine has made a lot of progress in understanding the aging process. Even more, researchers continue to develop new tools to treat diseases – and to prevent them from occurring in the first place. While there is an undeniable genetic component in the risk of developing disease, there is also much you can do, through the lifestyle choices you make every day, to reduce your risk. Eating a healthy diet, not smoking, drinking modest amounts of alcohol, and exercising regularly actually work to keep you feeling younger longer, and more and more evidence shows just how they work, on a molecular level. Here you’ll find basic information along with the latest developments and cutting edge research on aging, illness, and prevention.

Aging Basics

Add Life to Your Years: Exercise is the key to remaining youthful and independent. Even those with physical problems can benefit greatly from a modest program of physical activity. In fact, exercise is the treatment of choice for certain diseases. >

Osteoporosis: Treating and Preventing the Most Common Bone Disorder in Women and Men: Osteoporosis is one of the most common disorders in the U.S. While women are particularly susceptible to developing osteoporosis, men should not consider themselves immune. Family history, smoking, heavy drinking, being too thin, and having an early menopause are some of the things that increase your risk. Here’s everything you need to know about risk factors, prevention, and treatment. >

Aging News

Grapes – and Wine? – and Alzheimer’s: The polyphenol antioxidants in grape seed extract may reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Skip the Colonic: Colon cleanses sound healthy, but can pose serious, even fatal, risks.

Personality Traits Linked to Weight Gain: Impulsivity and lack of self control can lead to weight gain.

Easing Menopause: Estrogen For the Brain: Getting estrogen to your brain is the quickest way to reduce some of menopause's worst symptoms, like hot flashes and memory loss.

Healthy Aging

A (Very) Little Exercise Helps:
Even mild exercise, like walking and mopping, improve heart and blood vessel function.

Preventing Atrial Fibrillation:
The heart condition can be reduced with healthy lifestyle choices.

Foiling Salt’s Effects:
Regular exercise can reverse the effect that salt has on blood pressure.

Obesity and Heart Attacks:
Just being obese increases risk for heart attack-related death.

Can We Really Slow Aging?:
Wrinkles, age spots, laugh lines, crow’s feet, and dry, dull skin, are all signs of age. Do "anti-aging" products work?

Mentally and Physically Fit:
A Mediterranean diet and moderate exercise help presesrve cognitive functioning and may ward off Alzheimer’s disease.

100 Years Plus:
Who are the oldest of the old, and what can these centenarians tell us about longevity and aging?

Feel Younger:
A series by geriatrician, Dr. John Morley. What you can do to stay vigorous into your 90s.

Healthcare

Health Literacy Reduces Risk:
Being knowledgeable about your health status gives you an edge in staying healthy.

Finding the Best Hospital:
The best medical care may be closer than you think.

Americans Are Unhealthier than Brits:
Is our healthcare system to blame?

New Osteoporosis Screening Guidelines:
Even if you’re young, you may have risk factors. It may be time for a bone mineral density (BMD) test.

Determining Breast Cancer Risk:
Most breast cancer patients do not have a family history.

Did Your Doctor Make a Mistake?:
Whether in diagnosis or treatment, it may not be medical malpractice after all.

Brain and Mind

Brisk Walking Good for the Brain:
Walking improves blood flow to the brain in seniors. Can it help with cognitive decline?

Depressed? Retire.:
Fatigue, depression, and chronic health problems improve with retirement.

Ibuprofen and Parkinson’s:
Can the NSAID drug reduce your risk of PD?

Worrying about Falling Can Make It Happen:
The self-fulfilling prophecy applies to falls, too.

Mediterranean Diet Helps the Aging Brain:
This heart-healthy diet of nuts, omega-3s and phytochemicals has also been shown to stave off cognitive decline.

Advances in Alzheimer’s:
Researchers detail how beta-amyloid plaques accumulate in the brain.