Fox Chase finds all-biologic regimen efficacious and well-tolerated in elderly lung cancer patients

SAN FRANCISCO (August 1, 2009)Previously untreated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients over the age of 70 respond well to a combination of bevacizumab and erlotinib, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers reported today at the annual meeting of the International Association for the Study of L...

Caring for Elderly Parents Is Tougher During Hard Times

NAPLES, Fla., July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- AgingCare.com, a website dedicated to adult children caring for their elderly parents, has gathered the top ten issues that affect caregivers. These issues are the most popular topics on the AgingCare.com community forum ( www.agingcare.com/C...

The Psychology of Frailty: An Identity Crisis Among the Elderly - Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation's Dr. Howard Fillit to Co-Chair Symposium

PARIS and NEW YORK, JULY 6 /PRNewswire/ -- "People are actually more afraid of frailty than they are of dying," says Dr. Howard Fillit , Executive Director of Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation , but "most elderly people, unless they die suddenly, will go through a 4-6 year period of increa...

47,000 Elderly Hurt in Walker, Cane Mishaps Each Year

Older women most often the victims of these falls, CDC says MONDAY, June 29 (HealthDay News) -- Each year, more than 47,000 elderly Americans are treated at hospital emergency departments for injuries from falls that involve walkers and canes, according to a federal government study re...

Frail elderly disaster

Planning for emergencies must take into account the growing numbers of frail elderly people who will by virtue of shifting demographics be involved in any natural or manmade disaster, according to US researchers writing in the International Journal of Emergency Management . As the world's popu...

Ben-Gurion U of the Negev study demonstrates link between appetite and elderly mortality

BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL, May 12, 2009 A new study by a Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researcher reveals a linkage between elderly people's appetite and mortality rates, with those who report impaired appetite more likely to die sooner. The study, published in the May issue of the Journa...

Quality of life survey highlights need for holistic approach in elderly residential care

Choice, privacy and a sense of identity are just some of the things that older people living in residential care need to maintain a good quality of life, according to research in the May issue of the Journal of Advanced Nursing . Researchers from the National University of Ireland (NUI), Galwa...

Healthcare Gathering Addresses Increasing Need of Caring for the Nation's Elderly Population

LOS ANGELES, April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- In direct response to America's aging population and the acknowledged gaps in geriatric care, healthcare professionals recently gathered in Los Angeles to find creative approaches to address one of the nation's most pressing healthcare needs - caring for a soc...

Low Blood Sugar Events Increase Dementia Risk in Elderly Patients With Type 2 Diabetes, Kaiser Permanente Study Finds

OAKLAND, Calif . , April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) episodes that require a visit to the hospital are associated with increased risk of dementia in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, according to a Kaiser Permanente Division of Research study in the Journal o...

Drug Utilization Review Reveals Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use Among Elderly Population

Prime Therapeutics to present findings at AMCP Conference in April ST. PAUL, Minn., April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Research conducted by Prime Therapeutics (Prime) revealed a significant reduction in inappropriate prescription medication use among older adults when a retrospective drug...

New Dakim Campaign Promotes Brain Fitness for Seniors with Elderly Holding Signs Declaring 'My Brain Is Not Retired'

SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 26 /PRNewswire/ -- A new ad campaign from Dakim, Inc. features senior citizens holding signs that declare "My brain is not retired" and "My mind is in your hands" in a bid to broaden the use of dementia-fighting brain fitness tools in senior living communities. T...

Diabetics and Elderly May Fare Better With Bypass

Study finds that for some groups, survival odds after angioplasty are not as great FRIDAY, March 20 (HealthDay News) -- A major international study pinpoints which people with major heart artery blockages would be better off having bypass surgery than artery-opening angioplasty. "By...

Some Elderly Heart Failure Patients Get Little Help From Meds, Study Finds

Experts say new drugs and guidelines are needed to treat diastolic dysfunction,,,, THURSDAY, March 12 (HealthDay News) -- Elderly people suffering from a type of heart disease called diastolic heart failure do not seem to benefit from the commonly prescribed heart failure drugs, resear...

Mortality risk greater for elderly women who nap daily

San Francisco, Calif. - March 04, 2009 A new study appearing in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society has found that older women who reported taking daily naps had a significantly greater risk of dying. The results of the study are in contrast to a number of prior studies which have indica...

In Elderly Women, Hip Fractures Often Follow Arm Breaks

Problem may stem from the way older people fall, expert says,, MONDAY, March 2 (HealthDay News) -- Elderly women who suffer a broken upper arm are five times more likely than normal to break a hip within a year after the arm fracture, a finding from a new study that might help in effor...

Arm Fractures Indicate Greater Risk of Hip Fractures in Elderly Patients

Understanding the relationship between the two events may help prevent future fractures ROSEMONT, Ill., March 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Elderly women with upper arm fractures are five times more likely than the general population to experience a broken hip in the 12 months following the ar...

Adapting Gait May Help Elderly Avoid Falls

Volunteers trained on moveable platform kept better balance in a slippery situation FRIDAY, Feb. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Repeatedly exposing people to situations where the footing is unstable helped train them to maintain their balance on slippery floors and avoid falls, says a Universi...

Latest Version of Stimulus Bill Hits Elderly Hardest

NEW YORK, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Medicare now pays for treatments deemed safe and effective. The stimulus bill would change that and apply a cost-effectiveness standard set by a new bureaucracy, the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research. The Federal ...

Advocates Call on Legislature to Stop Proposed Rx Cuts to the Elderly and Poor

Governor's Budget Eliminates EPIC and Medicaid Wrap Coverage for Prescription Drugs ALBANY, N.Y., Jan. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Members of the New York State Medicare Part D Coalition, including AARP, the Empire Justice Center, Medicare Rights Center, The Legal Aid Society, Selfhelp Co...

High blood pressure may make it difficult for the elderly to think clearly

Adding another reason for people to watch their blood pressure, a new study from North Carolina State University shows that increased blood pressure in older adults is directly related to decreased cognitive functioning, particularly among seniors with already high blood pressure. This means that ...

Lenalidomide safe as single therapy for elderly CLL patients

SAN FRANCISCO ― The oral medication lenalidomide is safe and well-tolerated for elderly patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a group without a well-defined frontline therapy for their disease, researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reported today at the ...

New Study Data: JANUVIA™ (sitagliptin) Significantly Reduced Blood Sugar Levels and Was Not Associated with Hypoglycemia in Elderly Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

New data presented at the 61st Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America showed JANUVIA™ (sitagliptin), a diabetes medicine from Merck & Co., Inc., significantly reduced blood sugar levels in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes and was not associated with hypo...

Home-based diet and exercise intervention improves elderly cancer survivors' physical function

PHILADELPHIA - A home-based program to improve exercise and diet led to significant, clinically meaningful improvement in body weight and physical function among older long-term cancer survivors in preliminary findings from the RENEW (Reach-out to ENhancE Wellness) trial, according to Wendy Demar...

Antipsychotic Drug Use Up in Elderly Despite Warnings

Canadian study suggests cautions fail to alert docs to effectiveness of alternative therapies MONDAY, Aug. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Safety warnings slowed the use of antipsychotic drugs in seniors with dementia. But the overall use of the drugs in the elderly increased, a finding which ...

Research finds America's elderly suffering abuse

A new study concludes that nearly 13 percent of America's aged citizens suffer some form of abuse. Specifically, nine percent of adults reported they have suffered from verbal mistreatment, 3.5 percent suffer financial mistreatment, and 0.2 percent suffer physical mistreatment. This data was repor...

Long-term care workers struggle with elderly population boom

As America's aging population increases, so does its need for long-term care. And the workers who provide these services often lack the support they need particularly in the area of pay and work relationships, according to "Better Jobs Better Care: New Research on the Long-Term Care Workforce," ...

More Than Temperature Puts Elderly at Risk in Heat

Medications, lifestyle are also contributing factors to hyperthermia, agency warns SUNDAY, Aug. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Because aging affects the body's ability to respond to summer heat, older adults are particularly at risk for heat-related illnesses such as heat stroke, heat fatigue...

Overweight elderly Americans contribute to financial burdens of the US health care system

Atlanta, GA July 24, 2008 Being overweight or obese is not only a personal issue that affects one's health but is also a public health issue that impacts other people in society. A new study in the journal Health Services Research reveals that the extra Medicare cost associated with overweight...

William F. McMurry - Lead Class Counsel Obtains $16.4 Million Settlement for Elderly Clients

LOUISVILLE, Ky., July 17 /PRNewswire/ -- William F. McMurry, a Nationally Board Certified Specialist in Medical Malpractice and Legal Malpractice, obtained today final Court approval of a settlement in the first nationwide class action suit ever certified by a Kentucky state court judge. The s...

Third of Elderly Patients Take Companion to See Doctor

Study found it improved satisfaction with visit by 15% to 19% TUESDAY, July 15 (HealthDay News) -- More than one-third of elderly patients on Medicare take a companion with them for routine medical visits. And patients who are accompanied on such visits tend to be more satisfied wi...

New Film Exposes Bruce Wasserstein and Lazard-linked Elderly Care Facilities Exploiting Seniors

ACTION: Activists take to streets for 'Rolling matinee' throughout U.S. to debut film targeting Lazard CEO NEW YORK, July 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Workers and residents from controversial assisted living provider Atria Senior Living will join members of the Service Employees Internatio...

Long-term care fraught with uncertainties for elderly baby boomers

GAINESVILLE, Fla. The continued decline of the nursing home once the mainstay care for the frail elderly and an upsurge in popularity of assisted living will lead to many dramatic changes in long-term care, according to a University of Florida expert and editor of a new book on the subject. ...

Guidelines for care of elderly patients ignored

Guidelines for the treatment of older patients with respiratory conditions are routinely ignored. Research published today in the open access journal BMC Health Services Research shows that recommended treatments are given to only a small minority of eligible patients. Benjamin Craig from the...

Medical Director for Renowned Los Angeles Jewish Home Offers Top Tips to Elderly in Coping With Searing Temperatures Across U.S.

RESEDA, Calif., June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- As heat waves plague much of the United States with the hottest days yet to come, the medical director for the famed nonprofit Los Angeles Jewish Home -- one of the country's largest single-source provider of senior housing in Los Angeles -- has offered ...

TB treatment for the elderly likely requires a boost to immune response

COLUMBUS, Ohio Manipulating the immune system in elderly people appears to be the most likely way to help older patients wage an effective battle against tuberculosis, a new study suggests. Mathematical modeling of how mice respond to TB infection suggests that potential therapy options for e...

Hormone may hold key to helping elderly men live longer

Elderly men with higher activity of the hormone IGF-1or insulin-growth factor 1appear to have greater life expectancy and reduced cardiovascular risk, according to a new study accepted for publication in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). IGF-1 is a hormone similar in m...

Antipsychotics Dangerous for Elderly With Dementia

Study finds those on drugs more likely to wind up in hospital or die MONDAY, May 26 (HealthDay News) -- Elderly people with dementia who are given antipsychotics, even for a very short period of time, are more likely to end up in the hospital or even die, new research shows. However...

Regular prostate-specific antigen screening may be discontinued in certain elderly populations

ORLANDO, FL, May 21, 2008Men aged 75-80 with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels less than 3 ng/ml may be able to discontinue their regular prostate cancer screenings, according to new research presented today during the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA). Jo...

Reduced emergency room visits for elderly patients attributed to 'virtual' health care team approach

Elderly patients suffering from chronic illnesses who receive virtual care from a team of medical experts linked together via phone, fax and e-mail, make fewer emergency visits than patients who do not receive this kind of coordinated team care approach according to a new study by Rush University ...

Penn study finds elderly heart patients with ICD devices live longer after heart failure

WASHINGTON, D.C. Elderly patients diagnosed with congestive heart failure who receive implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death live longer than those that do not, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvanias School of Medicine. ...