94% of Nursing Homes Violate Federal Care Standards

The 15,000 nursing homes in the United States are occupied by at least 1.5 million elderly and invalid Americans, about two-thirds of whom are covered in Medicaid or Medicare programs.  In addition to covering the cost of care to many, at a cost of more than $75 billion each year, the federal government requires an annual inspection of each and every nursing home.  The most recent round of inspections uncovered shocking statistics, according to Daniel R. Levinson, inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the government agency charged with licensing and regulating these homes. Read more

Odds For Suicide High in Older Problem Gamblers

Casinos and the games played within them can be loads of fun and the thrill of winning is unbeatable. Unfortunately, there are more people not winning in a casino near you than there are people winning. When the lure of the game becomes so strong the gambling causes financial, professional, and emotional devastation, the gambling has progressed to a point considered a problem. And older problem gamblers, those 55 and older, are more likely to consider, even attempt, suicide at rates about six times that of the population in general. Read more

Fewer Strokes When Elderly Patients Take Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs

By 2010, an estimated 20% of the United States population will be 65 years old or older.  It’s this same age group that experiences the highest number of heart attacks and strokes but cholesterol-lowering drugs, which stave off these events, aren’t prescribed as often for people in this age bracket as they are for younger patients.  Researchers at Wayne State University have just published their research findings that  indicate these drugs are just as beneficial for older patients as they are for younger ones. Read more

Flu Vaccination Does Not Prevent Death in Elderly?

Many people think getting a flu vaccination will protect them from getting the flu and, by extension, reduce the number of deaths attributed to an influenza outbreak.  New research, however, reveals the flu vaccination does not prevent death in elderly patients to the degree widely believed.  With meticulous evaluation strategies upon which to base their conclusion, a team of researchers in Alberta, Canada, suggests the flu vaccine’s benefits have been exaggerated over time and that “good” patients may sway the outcome of studies of the vaccine. Read more

13% Older Americans Report Mistreatment

As many as 13% of all Americans between the ages of 57 and 85 say they’ve been mistreated verbally, financially, or physically at some point during the past year.  The finding is said to be very helpful as the medical establishment learns more effective ways of dealing with the country’s aging population. Read more

Run to Slow Aging Process

The Stanford University School of Medicine has released the results of a long-term study that explores how a lifetime of running affects the aging process. The multitude of benefits derived from running have surprised even the research team. Read more

Eat Fish Often for Mental Clarity in Senior Years

Researchers in Finland have just published their findings on a study that compared a diet rich in fish to a diet with little, if any, fish and discovered that the fishy diet eaters reduced their risk of stroke, with their rate of risk diminished where fish consumption was highest.  As long as the fish wasn’t fried, anyway. Read more

FDA Announces Selection of This Season’s Flu Vaccine

The typical vaccination for influenza contains three strains of the influenza virus, carefully chosen to bring the greatest relief to the largest audience. One or two of those virus strains changes each year, based on year-round, worldwide collaboration on influenza tracking and data analysis. This year, in a highly unusual move, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has chosen three strains entirely different from last year’s flu vaccines, according to an August 5 FDA press release. Read more

Prostate Cancer Screening No Longer Recommended for Men 75+

One of the most widely used prostate cancer screening techniques can detect cancer many years before other evidence of the disease develops.  Prostate cancer is a slow-growing cancer, often taking ten years or longer to become evident.  It is the slow-growing nature of this particular form of cancer that has led the US Preventive Services Task Force to recommend the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test be eliminated from routine medical screening in men age 75 and older as well as for younger men in certain situations. Read more

Flu Vaccine Seems Less Effective for Elderly

The final results of a study involving thousands of male and female pneumonia patients, aged from 65 to 94, has revealed a questionable degree of benefit of annual influenza vaccinations in the elderly population.  In spite of the findings, however, Michael L. Jackson, a co-author of the report describing the study, says he still wants his grandmother to get her annual flu shots. Read more

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