Aging

Education may help brains cope with cognitive decline, and treatments for high blood pressure and other health problems may decrease dementia risk.

Dementia Risk Declines, And Education May Be One Reason Why

11:50am November 22, 2016

by Ina Jaffe

The prevalence of Alzheimer's and other dementias declined by almost 3 percent from 2000 to 2012, a study finds. That could be a result of people getting more education, and better health overall.

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Volunteer Julia Torrano helps Estelle Day, 79, style her hair while she's a patient at UCLA Medical Center.

Hospital Companions Can Ease Isolation For Older People

1:43pm November 21, 2016

by Ina Jaffe

Loneliness and social isolation can affect health for the worse. A California hospital is training volunteers to provide companionship and friendly assistance.

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When Morton Pollner was diagnosed with lung cancer at age 76, he thought it was a death sentence.

Older Patients Can Benefit From Lung Cancer Surgery

8:50am November 21, 2016

by Patti Neighmond

Lung cancer affects mostly older people, but they're often not offered surgery as a treatment. A study finds that most older people can tolerate surgery, and that it extends lives.

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"It's easier to sort of face the hard things in your life when you're not alone," says hospice chaplain Kerry Egan. "That's a big part of what a chaplain does, is she stays with you."

Hospice Chaplain Reflects On Life, Death And The 'Strength Of The Human Soul'

4:08pm October 31, 2016

Kerry Egan's job is to help dying people accept their own mortality. It's profoundly sad, but it's also rewarding. "I'm constantly reminded of ... how much love people have for each other," she says.

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Vivian Guzofsky, 88, holds a baby doll at Sunrise Senior Living in Beverly Hills, Calif. Guzofsky, who has Alzheimer's disease, is calm when taking care of the dolls.

Doll Therapy May Help Calm People With Dementia, But It Has Critics

8:50am October 03, 2016

by Anna Gorman

Hugging a doll can soothe an upset toddler, and some say it can do the same for people with dementia. But critics say this form of therapy infantilizes adults.

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A new study says brain games won't make you smarter.

Brain Game Claims Fail A Big Scientific Test

8:34am October 03, 2016

by Jon Hamilton

When a team of researchers evaluated the scientific literature on brain games, they found little evidence that the products improve memory or thinking in real-world tasks.

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Walking Fends Off Disability, And It's Not Too Late To Start

6:37pm September 26, 2016

by Katherine Hobson

Nobody wants to spend the last few decades of their lives in a wheelchair. People in their 70s and 80s recovered more quickly from physical setbacks if they remained active, a study finds.

Big muscles help young men find mates. But as men get older, losing muscle mass and testosterone might actually aid in reproduction.

Flabby And Fertile: How Men Age Could Be Huge For Humans

2:13pm September 21, 2016

by Rae Ellen Bichell

When men put on a gut and grow love handles it's not such a bad thing, according to a Yale anthropologist. That pudge might help them reproduce and pass on longevity genes to their offspring.

Life, Death And Remembering Those Bright College Years

7:28am August 28, 2016

by John Henning Schumann

We think of college reunions as a time of fond memories. But as the years pass, those memories increasingly are of friends gone too soon. The lesson now is to learn to meet loss with grace.

Tsukimi Ayano's scarecrows congregate at a bus stop in Nagoro. The village used to be home to about 300 people; now there are 30.

A Dying Japanese Village Brought Back To Life — By Scarecrows

9:55am August 26, 2016

by Ina Jaffe

A remote mountain village once was home to hundreds. Now it has just 30 residents. Tsukimi Ayano, 67, is one of the younger ones. She has repopulated the village by making scarecrow-like figures.

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