On Aging

Several times a week, Mike Quaglia dons bright red boxing gloves and pummels a hundred-pound punching bag. He has Parkinson's disease, and the boxing helps alleviate his symptoms.

Robert Schwimmer was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2013 and wants to hasten death if he finds himself in agonizing pain. His family stands ready to help, but have legal and spiritual concerns.

In The Age of Dignity, Ai-jen Poo says getting older should be viewed not from a place of scarcity and fear but as an opportunity. And, she writes, the U.S. must fix its flawed care system.

As vessels become more porous, researchers say, they allow toxins in the bloodstream to reach, and damage, delicate brain cells and raise the risk for dementia.

Surveys show Americans would prefer not to die in a hospital. Yet, in New York City, the majority of people do. But the reason is not simple.

The number of Americans over the age of 65 is expected to double in 35 years. That means more families grappling with what to do when a loved one can't live alone anymore.

Way too many residents of U.S. nursing homes are on antipsychotic drugs, critics say. It's often just for the convenience of the staff, to sedate patients agitated by dementia. That's illegal.