On Aging

Experimental Drug Provides New Approach To Fighting Alzheimer's

6:24am October 20, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

A new experimental drug is designed to slow down Alzheimer's by protecting brain cells from toxins associated with the disease. That's a different approach from other Alzheimer's drugs, which have tried to eliminate those toxins.

Queue Listen Now

Proponents of arbitration say the system is more efficient than going to court for both sides, but arbitration can be costly, too. And a 2009 study showed the typical awards in nursing home cases are about 35 percent lower than the plaintiff would get if

Suing A Nursing Home Could Get Easier Under Proposed Federal Rules

6:34pm October 19, 2015

by Ina Jaffe

Many families must sign a binding arbitration agreement when a loved one is admitted to a nursing home, pledging not to sue if something goes wrong. Proposed rules would ban that requirement.

Queue Listen Now

Alan Hoffman, shown with his wife Nancy at their home in Dumfries, Va., found that his Parkinson's symptom improved when he took a cancer drug.

Can A Cancer Drug Reverse Parkinson's Disease And Dementia?

5:29pm October 17, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

People with Parkinson's and related forms of dementia improved dramatically when they took a leukemia drug called nilotinib. Researchers say the drug seems to help brain cells eliminate toxins.

California Doctors Get Advice On How To Provide Aid In Dying

4:16pm October 13, 2015

by April Dembosky

Now that California has legalized aid in dying, doctors there need to know what to say to patients. They're getting help from doctors in Oregon, who have been answering these questions for decades.

Having a loved one take at least two weeks off work increased the likelihood that terminally ill cancer patients could die at home.

To Die At Home, It Helps To Have Someone Who Can Take Time Off Work

11:55am October 09, 2015

by Lynne Shallcross

A lot of things can affect whether a person can die at home as wished rather than in a hospital. One is whether a relative is able to take more than a few days off work to care for them.

Despite Sweeping Aid-In-Dying Law, Few Will Have That Option

10:00am October 09, 2015

by Robin Marantz Henig

People with uncertain prognoses or dementia can't end their lives under California's new medical aid in dying law. Proponents say those limits reflect the uncertainties of death, and of politics.

Debbie Ziegler holds a photo of her late daughter, Brittany Maynard, after the California State Assembly approved a right-to-die measure on Sept. 9. Maynard died on Nov. 1, 2014.

California Governor Signs Landmark Right-To-Die Law

5:18pm October 06, 2015

by April Dembosky

After months of impassioned debate over the ethics of physician-assisted suicide, California will become the fifth state to allow people who are terminally ill to hasten death with lethal drugs.

"My brain used to be my best friend," says Greg O'Brien, a journalist with early onset Alzheimer's. But he can't trust it anymore, he says. Alzheimer's is, in some ways, changing who he is.

As A Father's Alzheimer's Progresses, Family Learns To Love Him As He Is

1:42pm October 04, 2015

by Rebecca Hersher

As his disease advances, Greg O'Brien finds his personality shifting, too. "I know I can't go back to who I was before," he says. "I've got to learn to live with the new me."

Health & Safety

Pruning Back Prescriptions For Better Health

11:27am September 30, 2015

by John Henning Schumann

There comes a time when a drug that once helped a patient may be unnecessary or even harmful. Figuring out when to cut back is difficult, but the potential benefits are substantial.

Michael Doucleff Sr. (right) talks to a longtime customer at Duke Bakery in Alton, Ill.

Could Delaying Retirement Be Great For Your Health?

3:34pm September 25, 2015

by Michaeleen Doucleff

Scientists have found that working in one's 60s and 70s is associated with better physical and mental health. Even part-time work may be enough to reap the benefits.

Queue Listen Now