On Aging

Unfilled requests for public records are piling up as the government claims it is being overwhelmed by Obamacare.

Feds Claim Obamacare Launch Is Hindering Government Transparency

4:53pm March 25, 2015

by Fred Schulte

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has a backlog of some 3,000 FOIA requests and says it may need 10 years or more to dig out from under some large cases.

If You're Going To Die Soon, Do You Really Need Statins?

4:30pm March 23, 2015

by Nancy Shute

Many older people are taking a lot of meds, and some drugs may not be doing them much good. When terminally ill people went off statins, they said they felt better. And it didn't increase their risk.

Laury Sacks and her husband, Eric. The actress and writer developed frontotemporal dementia in her late 40s and died in 2008 at age 52.

'Looks Like Laury' Shines The Power Of Friendship On A Failing Mind

8:09am March 23, 2015

by Deborah Franklin

When actress and writer Laury Sacks started losing words fast, her best friends, who happened to be filmmakers, captured her experience. Looks Like Laury, Sounds Like Laury shows how they reached her.

Is the benefit from antipsychotic drugs for people with dementia symptoms worth the risk?

Health & Safety

Risks Run High When Antipsychotics Are Prescribed For Dementia

8:29am March 19, 2015

by Scott Hensley

Results from an analysis of veterans' health records show a higher risk of death among people taking antipsychotic drugs for symptoms of dementia than has been documented before.

Prion protein can be infectious, spreading from cell to cell in the brain. Here four nerve cells in a mouse illustrate how infectious prion protein moves within cells along neurites — wire-like connections the nerve cells use for communicating with adja

Mad Cow Research Hints At Ways To Halt Alzheimer's, Parkinson's

9:18am March 10, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

Corinne Lasmezas began her career studying a disease that destroys the brains of cattle. Now she's using what she learned to search for drugs that can stop human brain diseases.

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Greg and Mary Catherine O'Brien with their kids, at daughter Colleen's marriage to Matt Everett last August. Greg has early-onset Alzheimer's. From left, Brendan O'Brien, Greg O'Brien, Colleen O'Brien, Matt Everett, Mary Catherine O'Brien, and Conor O'Bri

Supporting A Spouse With Alzheimer's: 'I Don't Get Angry Anymore'

8:45pm March 08, 2015

by Rebecca Hersher

Mary Catherine O'Brien says when she married her husband, Greg, in 1977, he was funny and outgoing. Alzheimer's disease has stolen much of that, she says, but the two are closer than ever.

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Along with sperm, the in vitro procedure adds fresh mitochondria extracted from less mature cells in the same woman's ovaries. The hope is to revitalize older eggs with these extra "batteries." But the FDA still wants proof that the technique works and is

Fertility Clinic Courts Controversy With Treatment That Recharges Eggs

4:57pm March 06, 2015

by Rob Stein

The technique aims to rejuvenate a woman's eggs using mitochondria from cells extracted from her ovaries. A Toronto clinic's first births are due soon, and some doctors are worried about side effects.

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Janice Ledtke and Pacho Lane chat during a speed dating event in The Age of Love.

Speed Dating For Seniors Who Aren't Interested In Slowing Down

6:55pm March 05, 2015

by Ina Jaffe

A new film follows daters ages 70 to 90 looking for love in five-minute intervals. "Speed dating for seniors" may sound funny, but The Age of Love is really about our lifelong need for intimacy.

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AndroGel, a testosterone replacement made by AbbVie, is seen at a pharmacy in Princeton, Ill.

Health & Safety

FDA Mandates Tougher Warnings On Testosterone

5:03pm March 04, 2015

by Rob Stein

The agency says the labels for testosterone drugs must state they aren't approved to fight aging and may increase the risk for heart attacks and strokes.

About 1 in 3 patients with dementia who live in nursing homes are being sedated with antipsychotic drugs, the GAO says. Outside nursing homes, about 1 in 7 dementia patients are getting the risky drugs.

GAO Report Urges Fewer Antipsychotic Drugs For Dementia Patients

1:16am March 03, 2015

by Ina Jaffe

Strong drugs are rarely warranted to control the behavior of dementia patients, specialists say. But antipsychotic medicine is being overprescribed, and not just among residents of nursing homes.

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