New research suggests that keeping physically fit can also help to keep your brain in tip-top shape in later life. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that three areas of the brain - the frontal, temporal and parietal cortexes - that are adversely affected by aging stay in better shape if a person keeps physically fit.
Preliminary study results suggest that it may be possible to identify men at high-risk of developing age-related memory loss by measuring levels of the stress hormone epinephrine in their urine. Dr Arun Karlamangla and colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles studied 154 seniors aged 70 and over who were in good physical and mental shape.
Research carried out in Japan suggests that seniors who live on tree-lined streets within walking distance of grassy parks live longer than those who live in less green areas. Results of the five-year-long study led by Dr Takehito Takano of Tokyo Medical and Dental University in Yushima, Japan, revealed that the positive effect greenery has on five-year survival remained even after other factors that influence longevity such as age, gender, and marital and socio-economic status were considered.
Results of another study have added support to the theory that seniors who regularly consume small amounts of alcohol are less likely to develop dementia than teetotallers are. Chengxuan Qiu of the Karolinska Institute and the Stockholm Gerontology Research Center in Stockholm, Sweden, and his colleagues found that seniors aged 75 and over who drank less than two alcoholic drinks each day were half as likely as non-drinkers to develop dementia over the six-year study period.
Having plenty of money in the bank and a good sex life are the keys to a long and healthy old age, according to Professor Ian Philp - the British governments old-age "tsar". Research has shown that sexually active seniors are healthier and tend to live longer than those who are celibate. However, Philp believes that a big bank balance is just as important when it comes to health in old age, saying: "There's a proven correlation between wealth and health at any time of life, but especially so at old age.
Results of a recent study in rats suggests that seniors can help to keep their muscles toned and healthy be following a low-calorie diet. Loss of muscle strength and tone is often seen as an inevitable part of the aging process, however results of a recent study suggest that we may be able to do something to prevent this.
The American Lung Association has criticized the government for not fully enforcing clean air laws after results of the association's State of the Air 2002 report revealed that more than half of all US citizens breathe polluted air that could damage their health. The report revealed that nearly 400 counties fitted with ozone monitors have smog levels above legal limits, furthermore nearly three-quarters of seniors and children who suffered an asthma attack last year live in one of the offending counties.
Recent study results suggest that eating bananas and other potassium-rich foods could lower the risk of stroke. The study of more than 5,600 seniors by researchers from The Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, revealed that those with the lowest dietary intake of potassium were 1.5-times more likely to have a stroke within the next 8-years.
Dr. Terri R. Fried and colleagues at the Yale University School of Medicine studied seniors' preferences for residing at home or in hospital during treatment for an acute illness such as heart failure or pneumonia, and found that seniors are about evenly split between choosing to go to the hospital versus home treatment for an acute illness.
Results of a recent study have revealed that the seniors of today have a better memory than those just five years earlier. Results calculated from a series of memory tests carried out on more than 15,000 adults aged 70 and over showed that while memory problems do increase with age, the percentage of adults with severe memory problems dropped to 4% in 1998, compared with more than 6% in 1993.
