Tag Archives: ageing

Growing elderly population will result in care shortage, warn Swiss researchers

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London: The growing ageing population means that there will be a shortage of people to care for them, according to new research published in the British Medical Journal.

Many people fear that population ageing will generate a demand for long term care that will outpace the supply of formal care. So to anticipate the future long term care needs of the oldest people, researchers in Switzerland suggest introducing the “oldest old support ratio.”

Their ratio is based on four age groups – the young, those of working age, younger retired people (aged 50-74), and the oldest people (aged 85 and over) – and provides information on the number of people potentially available to care for one person aged 85 or over.

Based on current trends, they estimate that the young retired generation will have to play a greater caring role in the future.

They illustrate this by using trends in Switzerland and the United States. For example in Switzerland, the oldest old support ratio has fallen from 139.7 in 1890 to 13.4 in 2003 and the same trend applies in the US. These ratios are expected to decrease to 3.5 in Switzerland and 4.1 in the United States by 2050.

These forecasts highlight the large fall in the potential pool of informal carers, say the authors. And they warn that failure to anticipate the consequences of these expected trends today will be a mistake that will be heavily paid for tomorrow.

The use of this new ratio should help make governments realise the implications of the substantial intergenerational changes that are occurring and aid policy makers to formulate adequate policies, they conclude.

“We need to face up to the huge cost of care in both the formal and informal sector,” add experts in an accompanying editorial.

In England it is estimated that 8.5 million people provided informal care in 2000, 3.4 million of whom cared for people over 65 years. Informal care is often unseen and unmeasured and usually falls to families, but as the retirement age increases and families become increasingly fragmented, we do not know if they will be around to help, or indeed, will be willing to help. And with the crisis in pensions, there will be less money for people to buy additional care.

“First world countries have swapped infant mortality and childhood illness for the burden of care of the elderly,” they write. “Caring for the oldest old is the price of affluence.”

Over 50’s taking too many risks abroad

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London: Bungee jumping, skydiving, abseiling, and swimming with sharks are just some of the adventures that the over 50’s are enjoying on their holidays – but the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) warns at the same time of an upsurge in cases of over 50’s needing consular assistance abroad.

Over 50’s now represent 35% of all trips abroad and the new research from the FCO reveals that nearly 70% of over 50’s say they are more adventurous with their trips now then ten years ago. Over a third have visited more than 20 countries and almost a fifth have taken part in adventure activities like bungee jumping or abseiling on recent holidays. And with 25% looking to swim with sharks or 15% wanting to skydive in future on holiday the FCO is advising the over 50’s to start making better preparations for their adventurous travels.

In recent years cases of over 50’s approaching Foreign Office consuls have increased – from more lost passports to cases seeking help with hospital costs because of a lack of travel insurance. The FCO believe the majority of the problems are due to over 50’s not making proper preparations before they leave.

Steve Jewitt-Fleet from the Consular Communications Team at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), said: “In our recent research we were surprised to discover that a massive 65% of over 50’s asked, didn’t take out travel insurance on their last trip and out of those, 47% felt they didn’t need it. In addition, nearly half didn’t research their destination and only 27% made a note of their credit card number. As we have noticed an increasing number of over 50’s swapping relaxing holidays in Marbella for treks in the Himalayas, we would like to see more over 50’s being better prepared for their trips to ensure they are fully covered for any eventuality.”

This trend has prompted the FCO to join forces with Lonely Planet to launch ‘World Wise’, an advice book aimed at older travellers which includes a host of simple advice to ensure that they are fully prepared to have the most exciting travels without any unpleasant experiences. ‘World Wise’ is available to download at the FCO website www.fco.gov.uk/travel or in all Hayes and Jarvis stores. The FCO has also produced a TV filler aimed at this audience advising them to be better prepared.

Tony Wheeler, founder of Lonely Planet, is sixty this year and says: “It is clear that not only are there more over 50’s than ever before, but that they are travelling more and being more adventurous with their travels. It is no longer all about two weeks in Spain or saving up for a cruise – we are the generation who thinks retirement is the chance to do all the things we ever wanted to, from safaris to sailing down the Mekong. It’s great to see the FCO thinking specifically about this audience and we were really pleased to work with them to launch World Wise.”

FCO advice to over 50’s travelling abroad

Take out fully comprehensive travel insurance that covers you for all activities you choose to do
Buy a guide book and read up on your destination so you have an idea of the geography – your hotel in relation to the main tourist area etc
Know the local laws and customs e.g. acceptable behaviour and alcohol laws
Check out the travel advice at the FCO website www.fco.gov.uk/travel, or by phone from the FCO’s Travel Advice Unit on (0870 6060 290)
Remember to check that your passport is valid, in good condition and that the ‘Next of Kin’ details are filled in. Take a photocopy and keep it with you
Ensure you take adequate back-up funds (credit or ATM cards, travellers’ cheques) for every eventuality and take copies of vital numbers
Keep the contact details of the nearest British Consulate with you; they could prove invaluable in times of trouble
In Europe apply for an European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) – online at www.dh.gov.uk/travellers, by phone on 0845 6062030 or at the Post Office. This entitles you to reduced cost, sometimes free, healthcare in most European countries* should you need it. EHIC is not a substitute for travel insurance

Half a million elderly abused in UK, says Help the Aged

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London Half a million elderly people in the UK are suffering some form of abuse or neglect, according to Help the Aged.

A major survey by the charity claims they face physical, emotional, sexual or financial mistreatment.

But campaigners say that, despite the size of the problem, more than one-third of people have never heard of elder abuse.

And a quarter of those questioned admitted they would not know how to spot if an older person was suffering.

Help the Aged is launching a national campaign – Enough is Enough – to draw attention to the problem.

Supported by TV presenter Esther Rantzen, it aims to raise awareness of the warning signs and give advice on how to help.

Ms Rantzen told BBC News 24: “As a nation we’re not very good at valuing older people. They’re sort of detritus, they’re a bit of sort of rubbish.

“It’s all about younger people these days and when you start getting white hairs and wrinkles on your face you’ve had your time… why don’t you push off to a care home.

“If we treat older people with respect, if we value them and treat them as precious the way we regard children now, that would do a great deal to provide the comfort and protection that vulnerable old people need.”

Help the Aged says many people in Britain wrongly believe elder abuse is most likely to be carried out in care homes by professional staff.

In fact, it claims the largest proportion of abusers are related to their victim and that 64% of abuse occurs in the older person’s own home.

Paul Cann, director of policy at Help the Aged, said: “These figures signal a frightening ‘Not in my back yard’ public attitude, fuelling existing myths that abuse of older people is largely carried out in professional settings, or by primary carers and never close to home.

“We know this simply isn’t the case. Elder abuse can happen anywhere and by anyone, and is more likely to occur within the family home, by someone in a position of trust.

“If more people understood what elder abuse is and its impact on those affected, instead of treating it as a taboo, we’d be one step closer to tackling this national scandal.”

Elder abuse in the UK

46% of abusers are related to their victims
25% of abusers are sons and daughters
80-89 year olds are most at risk

A new booklet produced by Help the Aged lists tell-tale signs which concerned friends and relatives should look out for.

These include the person becoming withdrawn or depressed, changes to their appearance such as weight loss or an over-emphasis on insisting everything is fine.

Ms Rantzen added: “Elder abuse not only has a devastating effect on older people, it shocks and appals their loved ones and indeed the whole nation.

“What kind of country allows older people to suffer and looks away?”

Help the Aged is also calling for:

* a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of elder abuse

* compulsory training in the prevention and recognition of abuse for anyone working with the elderly

* elder abuse to be given the same priority as child abuse

* greater awareness among the legal profession to ensure abusers are brought to justice

To support the campaign, Help the Aged has also produced a moving documentary in which an actor tells the story of an abuse victim in her own words.

Story fromBBC News

Breast growth in boys down to essential oils

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London: A US study has linked the incidence of abnormal breast growth in young boys to cosmetic products formulated with lavender and tea tree oil.

The research, conducted by scientists for the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), suggests that a group of toiletry products, including gels, shampoos and lotions, appears to spark off a chemical reaction that causes a number of pre-pubescent boys to grow breasts.

Known as prepubertal Gynecomastia, it is a rare condition that affects the normal serum concentrations of endogenous steroids in other wise healthy boys. The study, centered on three boys aged seven to ten, found that Gynescomastia resolved in each patent following use of toiletry products known to contain the essential oils.

The research discovered that pure lavender and tea tree oils can mimic actions of estrogens and inhibit androgens, a combination that gives them unique endocrine disruption properties that increases estrogen levels, leading to an increase in breast size.

Speaking about the results, Kenneth Korach, from the NIEHS, recommended that parents of boys with the condition should check the ingredients in the cosmetic and toiletry products that they are using, just to rule out any link to these essential oils.

”Although we found an association between exposure to these essential oils and gynecomastia, further research is needed to determine the prevalence of prebutertal gynecomastia in boys using products containing lavender and tea tree oils,” Korach said.

”Results of such epidemiological studies are important to tell us how strong the association is between topical application of the oils and the condition.”

The researchers say they do not yet know which chemicals in the oils caused the changes. However, once identified, this evidence could lead to warning labels against children using such products.

However, the study also revealed t the researchers belief there will be no long term effects on the young boys’ hormonal levels.

World’s oldest person dies at 114

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Hartford: The world’s oldest person, Emma Faust Tillman, has died in the US aged 114.

Mrs Tillman, the daughter of former slaves, died “peacefully” on Sunday night, said an official at a nursing home in Hartford, Connecticut.

Mrs Tillman had lived independently until she was 110 and had never smoked or drank, her family and friends said.

She only became the world’s oldest person last week, after the death of a 115-year-old man in Puerto Rico, the Guinness Book of World Records said.

“She was a wonderful woman,” said Karen Chadderton, administrator of Riverside health and Rehabilitation Center in Hartford.

Mrs Tillman had been very religious and had always attributed her longevity to God’s will, according to her family and friends.

She was born on 22 November 1892 on a plantation near Gibsonville in North Carolina.

In an interview with a local historical society in 1994, Mrs Tillman said her parents had been slaves.

Longevity appears to be common in Mrs Tillman’s family – three of her sisters and a brother lived past 100.

Japan’s Yone Minagawa, who was born in 1893, is now believed to be the world’s oldest person.

Scientists discover longevity gene

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New York: A gene variation that helps people live long lives also protects their memories and their ability to think and learn, say researchers from the US Institute of Aging Research.

The Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York carried out a study of 282 older Ashkenazi Jews whose ancestors came from northern Europe found that those who had the gene variant were twice as likely to have good brain function as those who did not. The study looked at 158 people 95 and older and 124 people between the ages of 75 and 85.

The team discovered that the variant increases the size of cholesterol particles in the blood, making them much less likely to lodge in blood-vessel linings and cause heart attacks and strokes. They also thought the altered gene may protect against the development of Alzheimer’s disease, although they are not sure how it does so.

The report published in the Journal of Neurology says that scientists are currently trying to develop drugs to mimic the effect of the gene variation for people who don’t possess it.

Britons in denial about growing old

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London: Britons are refusing to face the reality of old age and are leaving the UK at the mercy of a caring time bomb.

When it comes to thinking about their care needs, Britons are putting their heads in the sand, with a half (49 percent) of people claiming not to be worried about who will look after them when they are old. While four out of ten (42 percent) are prepared to sit back saying they are too young to care about what will happen to them in older life.

And according to BUPA’s annual Health of the Nation survey, almost one in ten (9 percent) of over-65s are still refusing to believe they should think about their care needs.

The nation’s failure to grasp the true impact of old age and the care required does not stop there. Nearly a third (30 percent) believe they will be able to look after themselves, one in four (27 percent) think their partners should shoulder the burden, while 26 percent expect it to be the responsibility of their children. Just 20 percent say they will look to the state.

A recent survey of 19,000 people living in BUPA Care Homes has shown that most residents, have problems with mobility, suffer from incontinence and are confused and forgetful. The survey also revealed that nine out of ten residents had a medical reason for seeking specialist nursing care and that the average age of a resident in a BUPA care home is 83 years old.

The Health of the Nation research underlines the need for greater awareness of the risks of ageing, only a third (33 percent) of the population have admitted to worrying about getting old and have considered whether they may need to go into a care home.

Money is a major concern of those growing old. Half said they worry about using all their savings for care in their old age. However, four out of ten (44 percent) of people say they would rather be cared for in a residential home than be a burden on their family

Dr Clive Bowman, medical director of BUPA Care Services said:

“It is deeply worrying to see people taking an attitude of ‘it won’t happen to me’ as it encourages a reluctance to face reality. Few people realise that one person in five over the age of 80 develops dementia.

“Ageing well is a success story. Planning for ageing badly is increasingly a necessity. If people think now about how they would wish to be cared for – should the need arise – they will be better prepared for later life.”

To receive BUPA’s free ‘Planning for your needs in later life’ guide or a copy of the ‘Choosing a care home’ checklist, please call 0800 00 10 10 (free from the UK).

Get glamorous hands

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Glamorous girls’ hands work hard – surely they deserve some extra special TLC…with Johnson’s Baby Soothing Naturals Intense Moisture Cream and according to to a survey this is what girls in the UK do to their hands in just one week:

· 2, 400 minutes typing away at keyboards

· 6 hours lugging around shopping bags with the latest Louboutins

· 60 minutes filing broken nails

· 35 minutes sloughing off dead skin cells in the shower

· 2 fake tan applications

· 14 make-up applications

· 30 minutes washing up glasses and spills from a girly wine session

Johnson’s Baby Soothing Naturals Intense Moisture Cream is a natural way to soothe and relieve dry skin from first use. Its non-greasy formulation moisturises for up to 24 hours, combining Johnson’s Baby mildness with the most pure form of Vitamin E and Olive Leaf Extract – both of which have skin beneficial antioxidant properties, to soothe and protect. A third component, Skin Essential Amino Acids and Minerals, strengthens the skin’s delicate barrier.

This is the first time this powerful combination of naturally sourced ingredients has been used together and is proven to be more effective than each ingredient alone in soothing, moisturising and relieving dry skin, even extra dry patches, from very first use.

Developed for the most delicate skin, you can be sure your hands will be left Johnson’s Baby soft…naturally! And it comes in a handy tube, ideal to pop in your latest Fendi handbag, so you can get a quick moisture fix, whenever and wherever you need to. With its mild, fresh scent and skin softening properties the Johnson’s Baby Soothing Naturals Intense Moisture Cream is a perfect skin solution.

Introducing NEW Johnson’s Baby Soothing Naturals – A natural way to soothe and relieve dry skin from first use. The soothing, non-greasy formulations moisturise skin for up to 24 hours.

Johnson’s Baby Soothing Naturals Intensive Moisture Cream costs 100ml, £1.99 Johnson’s Baby Soothing Naturals Nourishing Lotion: 250ml, £2.49

60 is the new 40, according to new survey on ageing

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London: Cosmetic surgery is altering not just how people look but how they feel by changing perceptions of middle age, says a new study by global research group AC Nielsen.

It surveyed people in 42 countries and found 60% of Americans, the world’s biggest consumers of cosmetic surgery and anti-ageing skincare, believe their sixties are the new middle age.

On a global scale, three out of five consumers believed forties was the new thirties.

“Our forties are being celebrated as the decade where we can be comfortable and confident in both personal and financial terms. The majority of global consumers really believe life starts at forty,” AC Nielsen Europe President and CEO Frank Martell said.But that doesn’t mean they want to look their age.

Healthier eating, longer lifespans and higher disposable incomes have helped to hold back the years. However, for many people the biggest boost is coming from the surgeon’s scalpel, the survey found.

Confirming Russians’ status among the world’s biggest consumers of luxury goods, 48% of them, the highest percentage globally, said they would consider cosmetic surgery to maintain their looks. One in three Irish consumers, 28% of Italians and Portuguese, and one in four US, French and British consumers felt the same.

“Cosmetic surgery has become more acceptable and financially it’s become affordable. Our mothers might have gone to Tupperware parties but this generation is more likely to be invited to Botox parties,” Martell said.

With wrinkle-buster botox now considered mainstream, Martell’s tip for the next beauty trend was fat-removing liposuction in your lunch break.

“Lunchtime ‘lipo’ is likely to become the next cosmetic “special” on the menu,” he said.

AC Nielsen’s findings underline how a quest for youth has created one of the world’s fastest growing businesses.

Cosmetic surgery surged 35% in Britain in 2005 compared with a year earlier, data showed from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons.

Top sellers in the United Kingdom are botox at £400, eye surgery at £5 000 and combined face and eyelift at £8 000.

“We’re seeing more and more facial procedures, particularly people having their eyes done, we are getting people of all ages, even people in their eighties are getting surgery to refresh them,” said Douglas McGeorge, president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons.

Those who blanch at the idea of going under the knife are fuelling another boom with sales of anti-ageing skincare the fastest growing in the skincare business, AC Nielsen said.

And to tap that multibillion-dollar seam, companies are scrambling to discover ever more unusual products.

French beauty group Clarins will launch in January what it says is the world’s first spray to protect skin from the electromagnetic radiation created by cellphones and electronic devices like laptops.

It says the spray contains molecules derived from microorganisms living near undersea volcanoes and from plants which survive in extreme conditions such as alongside motorways and in Siberia

UK adults who reach 65 will live longer than ever

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London: Adults who reach the age of 65 will live longer than ever before, according to statistics from the Office for National Statistics.

Men who pass the milestone should live to 81, while women should reach the age of 85.

But although women still live longer the gender gap is closing. Men who reach 65 can expect to live for another 16.6 years while women at the same age can hope for a further 19.4 years.

The gap is just 2.8 years. But in the mid-1980s, men of 65 could expect another 13.2 years while women expected at least 17.2. Life expectancy at birth throughout Britain is also rising. Men will on average live to almost 77 and women to 81. In 1983 life expectancy at birth for men was only 71 and for women 77.

The figures also highlight a geographical gap, with the top ten areas for life expectancy for newborn children all in England, and half of these in the south east.

In Glasgow, men on average die before they are 70 while the life expectancy for women is also the lowest, at just under 77.

In contrast, the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea has the highest life expectancy. Men there live on average to 82 and women to

The statistics also reveal the number of years men and women can expect to live healthily before disability begins to affect them. The men of Hart in Hampshire enjoy 68.8 years, compared with Easington in Durham at 50.5 years.

For women, those living in Elmbridge in Surrey enjoy 70.5 years com-86. 19.4 years. pared with those in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, who had just 54.1 years.

There was a clear North-South divide in the time people could expect to live without a disability.

Highest expectations are in the East, South-East, and South-West of England and the lowest in the North-East, the North-West and Wales.

The disability figures may be skewed, however, because they are based on replies to the notoriously inaccurate 2001 national census.

This asked if people suffered from a long-term disability and may have encouraged false replies from those without a disability who are nevertheless claiming state benefits.

The statistics show Kensington and Chelsea is the area where both men and women can expect to live longest. Top ten areas for men also included Wokingham, Brentwood and Horsham.

The top ten areas for women included Rutland, Guildford and the New Forest.

Worst areas for men included Glasgow, Manchester and Blackpool, while Liverpool and Hartlepool were among those for women.

Stem cell hope for diabetes

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New Orleans: Scientists have used stem cells from human bone marrow to repair defective insulin-producing pancreatic cells responsible for diabetes in mice.

The treatment also halted damage to the kidneys caused by the condition.

Researchers from New Orleans’ Tulane University are hopeful it can be adapted to treat diabetes in humans.

Stem cells are immature cells which have the capacity to turn into any kind of tissue in the body.

The US team treated diabetic mice who had high blood sugar and damaged kidneys.

One group of mice were injected with stem cells. After three weeks they were shown to be producing higher levels of mouse insulin than untreated mice and had lower blood sugar levels.

The injections also appeared to halt damaging changes taking place in the glomeruli, the bulb-like structures in the kidneys that filter the blood.

Researcher Dr Darwin Prockop said: “We are not certain whether the kidneys improved because the blood sugar was lower or because the human cells were helping to repair the kidneys.

“But we suspect the human cells were repairing the kidneys in much the same way they were repairing the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.”

Dr Prockop said his team were planning to carry out trials in patients with diabetes.

“The physicians will be selecting patients with diabetes whose kidneys are beginning to fail.

“They will determine whether giving the patients large numbers of their own adult stem cells will lower blood sugar, increase secretion of insulin from the pancreas and improve the function of the kidney.”

Theoretically, pancreatic beta cells produced from a patient’s own bone marrow could be used to treat diabetes, overcoming the requirement for immunosuppression following islet transplantation.

However, a way to prevent transplanted cells from being destroyed by the body is needed as this is why Type 1 diabetes develops in the first place.

Stress of London life ages skin

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London: Living in London prematurely ages your skin by three-and-a-half years, according to new research.

Pollution, smoking, stress and poor sun-care are the principal contributing factors, said the study by a skin treatments firm.

It suggested people in north-east London were likely to have the oldest skin in the country, appearing nearly four years older than they should.

Lack of sleep, bad diet and poor sun-care were to blame, the study said.

Dermatologist Dr Sean Lanigan said: “The skin is a barometer for our general well-being so those not feeling comfortable in theirs should address various lifestyle factors.”

Researchers devised the “skin age” formula based on factors such as stress, sleep levels, diet, social habits, and pollution levels that all can contribute to premature skin ageing.

Exercise may protect eyes from ageing

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New York: Taking regular exercise may help reduce the risk of age-related eye diseases, scientists at the University of Wisconsin have discovered.

The researchers examined 4,000 men and women over a 15 years period, carrying out eye tests and recording levels of exercise, says their report in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) destroys the functionality of light sensitive cells behind the eye. The scientists found those with an active lifestyle were 70% less likely to develop the degenerative eye disease than those with a sedentary lifestyle.

AMD s the leading cause of severe vision loss in the over-50s in the developed world and affects central vision, needed for driving. The study of people aged between 43 and 86 began in 1988 and they were assessed every five years.

The research examined their exercise habits and eye health and found one in four had an active lifestyle and nearly one in four climbed more than six flights of stairs a day.

After taking into account other risk factors such as weight, blood fat levels and age, active participants were 70% less likely to develop AMD than those who did little exercise. It also showed regular walkers were 30% less likely to get the disease.

Authors of the report did warn however that diet may also explain the findings.

Americans living longer than ever before

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New York: Life expectancy in the US has almost doubled in the last century. When the US population reached 100 million in 1915, the average lifespan was 54 years. When the population hit 200 million in 1967, it was around 70.

Today, with a population of 300 million the average lifespan of someone living in the US is nearly 78.

Some experts on aging believe that within 50 years, the average person living in an industrialized nation with good access to health care will live to be at least 100.

During the first half of the 20th century revolutionary advances in medicine and public health were responsible for raising the average life expectancy in the U.S. by more than 20 years — from age 47 in 1900 to age 68 in 1950.

According to the CDC, the 10 greatest medical and public health achievements of the 20th century were:

* Vaccination against disease, resulting in the eradication or elimination of major diseases of the early 20th century, such as smallpox and polio
* Control of infectious disease through improved sanitation, clean water sources, and the introduction of antibiotics
* Improvements in motor-vehicle safety
* Improved workplace safety
* Improved food safety
* Decline in deaths from heart disease and strokestroke
* Smaller families with longer birth intervals due to family planning
* Better prenatal care
* Fluoridation of drinking water
* Public health efforts to reduce smoking

The biggest single factor in the increase in life expectancy during the latter half of the 20th century and beyond has been the improvement in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiovascular disease, the experts agree.

In just the last 25 years, there has been an almost 50% reduction in deaths from strokestroke and heart attacks in the U.S.

Cancer deaths are also declining, driven largely by public health efforts to educate Americans about the dangers of smoking. Lung cancer deaths among men have been declining since the mid-1970s, and increases among women have begun to stabilize.

Dramatic reductions in infant mortality and easier access to emergency care have also helped increase life expectancies in the last three decades of the 20th century.

Americans are living longer but are they living better? Are the extra years worth it in quality-of-life terms? Or are they filled with avoidable suffering related to failing health?

Certainly, most people who make it to their eighth decade experience age-related health challenges. The average 75-year-old has three chronic health conditions, and the list of chronic diseases that are linked to aging seems endless. Heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetesdiabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseaseParkinson’s disease, and arthritisarthritis are just a few.

But there is some intriguing clinical evidence that in spite of their health problems, older people today really are happier, healthier, and are functioning better than their parents or grandparents.

Scientists develop new test for early detection of Alzheimer’s

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Lancaster: Scientists at Lancaster University have developed a new technique, utilising one of the latest advances in sub-atomic technology, which could potentially allow the early diagnosis of diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease through a simple test for certain proteins in body fluids.

At present, by the time these diseases are diagnosed, using clinical criteria, much damage to the brain has already occurred. Future, more advanced drug treatments are likely to be most effective if given as early as possible during the course of these diseases.

The breakthrough technique also allows scientists to monitor the effectiveness of drugs and other inhibitors on the aggregation of key proteins that accumulate in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders.

The process involves monitoring protein aggregation in the blood and so is non-invasive. It can generate results rapidly, so potentially speeding up the drug discovery process. The research was partly funded by the Alzheimer’s Society.

Central to the success of the breakthrough was the latest protein measurement equipment from Farfield Scientific, Crewe, UK. This equipment utilises a laser-based technology known as dual polarisation interferometry to detect and study both the structure and aggregation of disease-related proteins.

The new technique, based on the use of Farfield equipment, allows the precise measurement in vitro of the protein interactions that lead to aggregation, in real time. The technique can detect these interactions at a very early stage, and it is at this early stage of aggregation that these proteins are thought to be toxic to brain cells, so leading to the onset of disease.

It also possible that the detection of early-stage protein aggregates in body fluids could lead to advances in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and other diseases. The Farfield equipment is capable of recording changes smaller than 0.1 angstroms (one hundredth of a nanometre) – considerably smaller than the size of the molecule’s constituent atoms.

Studying changes in the structure of biologically important molecules in real time delivers revealing insights into mechanisms involved in diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, breast cancer and heart disease. Proteins are very large complex molecules that can fold into a variety of different shapes or conformations. This 3D shape is extremely important and can radically affect the protein’s properties. Misfolded proteins are also the source of prion-based diseases – the suspected infective agent for diseases such as BSE in cows and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans. How these ‘rogue’ proteins behave at a molecular level is a key to understanding the mechanisms of these diseases. This dual polarisation interferometry technique behind the breakthrough
uses the principle of optical interference, where two light sources are made to interact (or interfere) with each other to produce a ‘fringe’ pattern demonstrating the wave-like nature of light. The Farfield system employs two waveguides with a laser light source.

A waveguide is an optical structure that guides light. The changes in the behaviour of light passing through the device enable parameters such as the size, density and mass of molecules attached to the sample surface to be determined extremely accurately.

“The technique can be used to gain a better understanding of many diseases
at a molecular level”, says Professor David Allsop of Lancaster University.
‘This is done by measuring protein structures as they interact with each other, with other proteins or with candidate drug molecules.

The Farfield technology does offer a real advantage over other techniques because of its ability to measure protein changes and molecular interactions very precisely and accurately, in real time. This could lead to some major advances in the diagnosis and treatment of human disease’.

Dr Simon Carrington, Marketing Director of Farfield Group sees even greater potential for the technology adding, “There is a real chance that this technology will quickly lead to major advances in our ability to diagnoseand treat Alzheimer’s disease.

Additionally, there is now no reason why this technology should not play a significant role in scientific research into many other medical areas, such as CJD, where the prospects of early diagnosis have been elusive.

About Farfield Group Farfield Group Limited is an innovator and global supplier of newanalytical technologies and instruments that address the emerging and evolving measurement demands of the Biophysics, Nanotechnology and Telecommunications communities, which combined represent the most demanding measurement challenges facing research over the next decade.

Osteoarthritis may signal faster “biological ageing”

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London: Osteoarthritis, the degenerative inflammatory bone disease, may be a sign of faster “biological ageing,” suggests research published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

The finds resulted from a study of 1100 people, aged between 30 and 79. Most of them were female twins who were evaluated by the Twin Reserach and Epidemiology Unit and Kings College London.

X-rays of both hands were taken of all participants to check for signs of osteoarthritis and a blood sample was taken to assess “biological ageing” in white cell DNA.

Biological ageing is likely to be reflected by the gradual shortening of telomeres, the length of DNA which caps the tips of chromosomes. A host of factors make them shorten over time, including insufficient repair of the damage caused by oxygen free radicals (oxidative stress).

Oxygen free radicals are the unstable molecules produced as a by-product of normal bodily processes, as well as external factors, such as tobacco, alcohol, and sunlight.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, with the hands being one of the sites most often affected. Its frequency rises dramatically with age, but it is still not known exactly what causes it.

Unsurprisingly, the findings showed that white cell telomere lengths were associated with chronological age. The older a person was, the shorter they were.

But among the 160 people with hand osteoarthritis, the telomere length was significantly shorter than among those without the disease, even after taking account of influential factors, such as obesity, age, sex, and smoking.

All those with hand osteoarthritis were over 50, and the amount of telomere shortening was equivalent to that accrued over 11 years in healthy people (178 base pairs).

Telomere length was also significantly associated with the severity of osteoarthritis. The more severe the disease, the shorter was the telomere length.

The authors suggest that both the ageing process and osteoarthritis share biological factors in common, including oxidative stress and low level chronic inflammation.

Gene trigger for stem cell shut down in ageing

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Biologists have uncovered a gene that shuts down stem cells as people age.

They say the gene known as p16-Ink4a gradually reduces the ability of stem cells to proliferate, thus reducing the risk of cancer.

The discovery, reported in the scientific magazine Nature, was made in an experiment on mice, but the scientists believe that it applies to humans too.

The finding indicates that many degenerative diseases of ageing are caused by an active shutting down of the stem cells that renew the body’s various tissues and are not just a passive disintegration of tissues under daily wear and tear.

Senior author Dr Norman E Sharpless of the University of North Carolina said: “I don’t think aging is a random process — it’s a program, an anticancer program.”

The finding that stem cells are switched off with age is not encouraging for those who wish to use a patient’s own adult stem cells to treat disease.

The gene plays a central role in the body’s defenses against cancer, and it produces two quite different proteins that interact with the two principal systems for deciding whether a cell will be allowed to divide.

One of the proteins had also been noted to increase substantially with age. The cells of a 70-year-old produce 10 times as much of the Ink4 protein as those of a 20-year-old.

In the experiment the scientists genetically engineered a mouse strain with the gene knocked out. They found that the mouse cells had an extra ability to proliferate when the Ink4 protein was not present. At the same time the mice were highly prone to cancer which they developed as early as a year.

The researchers assume, but have not yet proved, that the increasing amounts of Ink4 as a person ages will thrust the stem cells into senescence, meaning that they can never divide again. The evolutionary purpose is evidently to avert the risk that a damaged stem cell might evade controls and proliferate into a tumor.

One implication is that therapists who hope to increase longevity have to tackle a system that may be hard to cheat. An intervention that reduces Ink4 production to prevent the age-related decline of stem cells will also increase the risk of cancer.

Dr Sharpless said that so far the only intervention known to increase lifespan was a calorically restricted diet which also reduced cancer, at least in laboratory mice. The reason, he said, is probably because such diets reduce cell division, the prime source of cancer risk.

For cell therapists, the dual activity of Ink4 may be “a hard box to get out of,” he said, unless they use cells that are somehow much younger than the patient.

Some proposals for stem cell therapy with adult stem cells envisage taking a patient’s stem cells, making them divide in the laboratory and putting them back in the patient to build new tissue.

The researchers said they did not yet know what stimulus makes cells increase their production of the Ink4 protein as a person grows older. Their suspicion is that the usual factors implicated in aging like mutation and oxidative damage to tissues would turn out to have a role in making cells produce more Ink4.

Longevity – it’s all in the genes

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LOS ANGELES – A World War 1 veteran has defied health experts by living until the age of 112, despite a diet of that included sausages and waffles.

George Johnson who lived in Richmond was considered California’s oldest living person at 112 until he died last Wednesday, as a result of pneumonia. Mr Johnson’s wife died in 1992 at the age of 92.

Dr L Stephen Coles, of the Gerontology Research Group at the University of California in Los Angeles said that Mr Johnson’s genes had contributed to his longevity.

Mr Coles commented: “A lot of people think or imagine that your good habits and bad habits contribute to your longevity. But we often find it is in the genes rather than lifestyle.”

Johnson, who was blind and living alone until his 110th birthday when a caregiver began helping him, built the Richmond house by hand in 1935 and got around using a walker in recent years.

Johnson was the only living Californian considered a “supercentenarian,” a designation for those ages 110 or older, Coles said. His group is now in the process of validating a Los Angeles candidate who claims to be 112 years old.

Coles participated in an autopsy Thursday that was designed to study Johnson’s health.

“All of his organs were extremely youthful. They could have been the organs of someone who was 50 or 60, not 112. Clearly his genes had some secrets,” Coles said.

“Everything in his body that we looked at was clean as a whistle, except for his lungs with the pneumonia,” Coles said. “He had no heart disease, he had no cancer, no diabetes and no Alzheimer’s.

“This is a mysterious case that someone could be so healthy from a pathology point of view and that there is no obvious cause of death.”

The family was in favor of an autopsy. Relatives said Johnson wanted them to allow it if it would help science.

Born May 1, 1894, Johnson’s father managed the Baltimore and Ohio Railway station in Philadelphia.

Johnson was working in 1917 as a mail sorter for the U.S. Post Office when he was drafted into the Army. The war ended a year later, and he never served in combat.

Two years later, he and his wife moved to Northern California.

“It was a great adventure in those days. We were young and wanted the experience,” Johnson said in a March interview with the Contra Costa Times.

The couple settled in Fresno and remained there until 1935, when they bought property in Richmond. They used lumber salvaged from dismantled buildings to build their house.

During World War II, Johnson worked at the Kaiser shipyard in Richmond and later managed the heating plant at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland.

He remained in good health and continued driving until he was 102, when his vision began to fail.

Gerontology Research Group http://www.grg.org

Angry people age faster

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Harvard: Angry people get older quicker, US scientists have found.

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Heath monitored 650 men and discovered that those who are unable to control their temper showed signs of ageing sooner. It is thought that anger causes changes in the immune system causing deterioration.

The study is published in the current issue of the medical journal Thorax and measured the lung capacity of men over a period of years since 1986. It reveals a correlation between anger and a deterioration in lung capacity.

Dr Paul Lehrer, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry in New Jersey, said: ‘Increased chronic anger may have particularly harmful effects on the body.

‘It often reflects chronic personality maladjustment or, in some cases, chronic exposure to job or marital dissatisfaction which perpetuate anger.

‘Although the exact pathways whereby chronic anger contributes to chronic physical deterioration are not known, it is not hard to imagine how the wear and tear associated with chronic anger could produce physical deterioration.’

Hostility and anger have long been associated with health problems.

The flood of stress chemicals and metabolic-changes in the body that accompany feelings of anger can lead to high blood pressure, headaches, digestion problems and skin complaints such as eczema.

More serious conditions such as asthma, depression and heart disease and strokes can follow.

According to Dr Lehrer, anger and hostility alter neurological and hormonal processes, which in turn may disturb the immune system, producing chronic inflammation.

He added: ‘Indeed it is hard to find a disease for which emotion or stress plays absolutely no part in symptom severity, frequency, or intensity of flare-ups.’

Arteries of heart disease sufferers age prematurely

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Cambridge: Heart disease suffers have advanced deterioration of their arteries, according to scientists at Cambridge University.

In early stages of heart disease arteries will be between five and 15 years older than a person’s real age. But in advanced cases they will be more than 40 years older.

Professor Martin Bennett, British Heart Foundation professor of cardiovascular sciences, whose research group at Cambridge University led the research, said that a combination of high blood pressure, smoking and high cholesterol aged the arteries prematurely.

The study published in the journal Circulation Research, used discarded human tissue from heart bypass and transplant patients to examine artery cell ageing.

Prof Bennett’s team, which collaborated with surgeons and pathologists from Papworth Hospital, near Cambridge, found the smooth muscle cells of diseased blood vessels showed evidence of ‘ accelerated’ damage.

Europeans living longer, says new EU study

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Brussels: A 14-nation study comparing life expectancy and health of Europeans has found that people are living longer across the board, but differences are still notable between countries.

In 2003, Portugal had the lowest life expectancy at birth for men, some four years less than the highest, Sweden. Women’s life expectancy was lowest in Denmark and highest in France. Italy and France were the top two nations for life expectancy among women. Like in the recent World Cup final, Italy again narrowly beat France in term of male life expectancy.

Between 1995 and 2003, life expectancy at birth rose in all 14 European countries surveyed by an average of three months per year for men and two months for women, notes the report from the first year’s work of the European Health Expectancy Monitoring Unit (EHEMU), a project funded by the European Commission’s EU Public Health Programme (2004-2007).

“Whether the extra years of life gained were spent in good or bad health remains a crucial question,” commented Professor Carol Jagger in a statement from the University of Leicester, which co-leads the EHEMU project.

Disability-free life expectancy varied more widely across the EU countries, she continued, “but this may be due to cultural differences in how people report disability”. Ranking countries by the number of years people live without disability is not feasible using current data, the researcher suggested.

“However, the trends between 1995 and 2001 will be less sensitive to such differences so we can compare how disability-free life expectancy is tracking life expectancy between countries,” she confirmed.

The report found that, between 1995 and 2001, Belgium, Italy and Spain appeared to be the healthiest countries as both men and women’s disability-free life expectancy at birth was increasing faster than life expectancy.

In Denmark, Great Britain and Portugal, disability-free life expectancy was increasing at the same rate as life expectancy. Other countries showed differences between men and women: in the Netherlands men’s disability-free life expectancy increased faster than life expectancy but women’s disability-free life expectancy declined over the period, so Dutch women were living longer but the extra years were spent in poor health.

The main aim of EHEMU is to provide a central facility for the coordinated analysis and synthesis of life and health expectancies. The project teams are based at CRLC and the University of Montpellier, France; the University of Leicester, UK; the Scientific Institute of Public Health, Belgium; and the French National Institute of Demography, INED.

“We now have to explore the reasons for these differences through in-depth analyses,” said Professor Jagger. A number of factors could be responsible for the variations, such as smoking and diet, as well as the prevalence of diseases commonly resulting in disability, including stroke and coronary heart disease.

“The new EU structural indicator Healthy Life Years, which will be based on more comparable data, is an important step forward in monitoring the health of our ageing European populations for future planning,” she concluded.

Several research Framework Programme-funded projects are investigating the political implications of key social issues such as ageing and health. The AHEAD ‘Scientific Support to Policy’ project is gauging how an ageing population affects health care demand. Another, called HealthBASKET, is providing policy-makers with high-quality information to inform their decisions on health care services and costs across the Union. In addition, the EU-funded SHARE study presented its first detailed findings on health, ageing and retirement earlier this year. These are discussed in a coming Headlines story ‘Getting old: sharing the burden’.

Hands are real givaway of age, says new study

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New York: Hands reveal a person’s real age, says a study in the June issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

Roxanne Guy, MD, President elect of ASPS says: “A primary motivation to have plastic surgery is to look and feel better, often by seeking a younger looking appearance. However, looking younger after your facelift or eyelid surgery can conflict with aged hands that simply do not match the face.

“After the face, hands are the second most visible, tell-tale sign of one’s age. If your goal is to look more youthful or you are bothered by the appearance of your hands, you may seriously want to consider hand rejuvenation.”

In the study, people examined photographs of female hands and were asked to estimate the women’s ages. In the majority of cases, participants were able to accurately estimate the age of each woman in the photographs.

Participants were also asked to compare digitally altered photographs of female hands – blemishes and hand veins were removed or jewelery and nail polish were added – to unaltered photographs to assess which hands looked younger. The majority of participants felt that the altered photos of women’s hands appeared younger. However, alterations to photos of very elderly hands – characterized by thin skin, age spots, wrinkles, deformity, veins and prominent joints – did not change the participants’ ability to distinguish the person’s age.

Overall, the physical characteristic which most commonly gave away age was prominent hand veins.

In altered images where hand veins were removed, participants significantly felt hands looked younger. Fullness and a lack of wrinkles and veins characterized the youngest looking hands. Nail polish and jewelry were also found to make hands appear younger looking.

“The good news is, although your hands may reveal more about your age than you desire, there are remedies out there,” said Dr. Guy. “A good medical skincare regimen that focuses on the hands can be highly effective in maintaining skin thickness and fullness. Non-surgical procedures like laser treatments and chemical peels can reduce age spots. Fat injections can be used to plump up hands and reduce the visibility of veins and laser ablation of unwanted hand veins can reduce veins.”

American Society of Plastic Surgeons
www.plasticsurgery.org

Anti-Ageing Conference London – Speaker Spotlight

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London: The latest advances in preventative dental health and chelation are the subject of of speaker Brian Halvorsen’s presentation to the Anti-Ageing Conference London 2006.

Mr Halvorsen BDS LDS, RCS. FRSH founded the Prestwood Dental Health Centre. Founder Member British Nutrition Society. Founder Member IAOMT (International Academy of Oral Medicine & Toxicology). Founder Member Mercury Free Society. Founder of CDP Dental TV. Section chairman BDA.

When his practice was first founded in 1977 Brian pioneered the principles of prevention, with an emphasis on dental hygiene and education and has always employed professional advisors in this areas.

In the early 80’s Brian’s concern turned to holistic dentistry and the effects of materials that were currently being used and became amalgam free in 1985. With the advancement of cosmetic dentistry as well as adhesive dentistry Brian saw the opportunity to combine non-toxic materials with less tooth destruction (non-reduction veneers) etc.

In 1986 Brian wrote and published ‘The Natural Dentist’ A Holistic Approach to Dental Disease ISBN 0-09-946720-8
Brian keeps pace with the latest dental practices through his involvement in courses and conferences on cosmetic dentistry and has acted as editor on programs for Dental TV which involved most of the worlds leading Cosmetic Dentists.

Brian lectures nationally on the subject of holistic dentistry and the safety precautions that can be taken to protect the dentist, staff and of course the patients.

Brian’s patients are often referred by doctors, naturopaths, homeopaths, nutritionists and other dentists to help diagnose potential toxicity problems. He also enjoys cosmetic dentistry including whitening as this a major part of holistic dentistry by making patient’s feel better about themselves and the huge boost in their self esteem.
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This year Anti-Ageing Conference London has the largest gathering of the world’s pre-eminent medical speakers on the subject of anti-ageing health and regenerative medicine ever to be assembled in London.

The 3rd Anti-Ageing Conference (AACL), will be held at the Royal Society of Medicine in London from the 15-17 September 2006. This event offers a unique opportunity to learn from scientists and physicians about the latest medical advances from what some may consider controversial, to the proven and new treatments for the diseases of ageing.

This event is of importance to all medical professionals who wish to be cognisant on the latest medical and scientific developments in anti-ageing and rejuvenatory medicine from around globe. It is of particular importance to scientists, nutritionists, gerontologists, chiropractors, pharmacists, pharmaceutical chemists and research specialists, nursing practitioners, naturopathic doctors, dentists, bariatricians and weight management specialists.

Among the speakers are world-renowned experts who have driven the global debate on anti-ageing medicine including Dr Robert Goldman, Chairman, American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine and Dr Ronald Klatz, Founding President, American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine; Professor Imre Zs-Nagy, Professor John Ionescu, Dr Michael Klentze. Our keynote speaker on Sunday is Dr. Deepak Chopra, one of the world’s leaders in the field of mind body medicine and Auvyredic medicine.

As well as the opportunity to hear from these world experts and put questions to our speaker panel, this event provides a unique networking opportunity for healthcare professionals. All delegates receive a high-quality bound conference manual including speaker presentations and biographical materials. The fee also includes a buffet lunch, on all three days, refreshments and an invitation to the conference cocktail reception. In addition the latest anti-ageing products from around the world will be on show in the exhibition hall.

This prestigious scientific event will be introduced by Heather Bird-Tchenguiz MBA, Chairperson, AACL; Founder and President of HB Health; Director of the World Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine; Board Member, European Society of Anti-Aging Medicine and Director, British Society of Anti-Ageing Medicine.

Heather Bird-Tchenguiz comments: “In most societies around the globe people are living longer so the importance of healthy ageing has never been greater. It is possible for older people to live full and healthy lives well into the latter part of their years but in most cases this does not happen because they and the medical professional are not always aware of the new opportunities that are available to them through anti-ageing medicine. That is what this conference is all about and why this knowledge is so vital.”

The speaker programme for Anti-Ageing London 2006 is as follows:
Friday, 15 September – Regenerative and Preventative Medicine
Prof Larry Benowitz – (TBA)
Prof Geoffrey Raisman: Spinal cord injury
Prof David Naor PhD: Involvement of CD 44 in stem cell differentiation
Prof Stephen Minger – (TBA)
Prof Stefan Krauss PhD: Neural Cell Damage
Dr Dasa Ciscova PhD: The efficacy of stem cell therapy in animal models of autoimmune diseases
Prof Tomas Ekstrom: Karolinska Institutet Sweden: Epigentics principles
Dr Tony Pellet: Umbilical Cord stem cells
Dr Miomir Knecevic – (TBA)
Dr Ralf Tonjes PhD: Paul-Ehrlich –Institut: Stem Cell signatures as a tool for quality control of
Innovative medicinal products
Andreas Junge MBA: Knowledge Management
Dr Octavi Quintana Trias: EU politics
Dr Marco Traub: Symposium Overview
Saturday, 16 September
Professor Dr Imre Zs-Nazy: The Theories of Ageing
Dr Ben Pfeifer MD Ph.D: Prostate Cancer – Unique Protocols featuring Photonutrients and the Immounomodulator
Dr Mark Babizayev: Human Cataracts – the role of Lipid Peroxidation and the efficacy of N-acetylcarnosine as a treatment
Phil Micans PharmB: Biological Age Measurement – Practicalities and Issues
Dr Jennifer Krup MD ABAAM:HRT in Women : Questions. answers and more questions
Dr Brian Halvosen BDS LDS RCS FRSH: Dentistry – Advances with an emphasis on chelation and preventative health care
Dr Robert Goldman MD PhD FAASP DO FAOASM:
Prof Alfred Wolf: Chronic stress,burn-out and CFS, A new insight and preventive options
Patrick Holford BSc DipION FBant- Nutrition and Ageing
Sunday, 17 September
Dr Deepak Chopra
Dr Julian Kenyon: Photodynamic and Sonodynamic Therapy
Professor John Ionescu PhD: New Strategies to slow skin photoageing
Sarah Noble: Advances in Spa Medicine
Dr Eric Braverman, MD: Subclinical Hyperparathyroidism: A precursor of Osteoporosis and Dementia?
Dr Michael Klentze MD PhD ABAAM: Male Hormone Replacement
Dr Paul Clayton: Alzheimer’s Disease: Pharmaco-nutritional strategies to maintain the ageing brain
Dr Ron Klatz MD: Closing remarks including ‘New horizons for the clinical specialty of Anti-Aging Medicine: The Future with Biomedical Technologies.
The programme may be subject to change
Full details of the speaker programme and speaker biographies can be viewed at www.antiageingconference.com
There are various categories of registration for this event:
Full registration £350;
Day 1 Only £200;
Day 2 only £200;
Day 3 £200.
Book on-line on the registration page at www.antiageingconference.comMembership of certain medical societies may qualify for a discount. Further information may also be requested from conference@antiageingconference.com
Telephone: +44 (0) 2075816962
The events sponsors and supporters include HB Health, the British Society of Anti-Ageing Medicine; the European Society of Anti-Aging Medicine; the World Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine and The Trans European Stem Cell Therapy Consortium.

Anti Ageing Conference London
PO Box 50622
London SW6 2YP
United Kingdom
Tel : +44 (0) 20 7581 6962
Fax : +44 (0) 20 7589 1273

Moderate drinking may help brain function, says new US study

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New York: A study of more than 7,000 older women has revealed that those who regularly drink a moderate amount of alcohol have better brain function that abstainers.

The study, carried out by researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina in the US was published in the journal of Neuroepidemiology found that women who had two to three drinks a day had better cognitive function, including memory, concentration, verbal skills and reasoning.

Lead researcher, Mkike Espeland, PhD said the research confimed other studies that moderate consumption of alcohol may provide some medical benefits.

Espeland, a professor of public health sciences and chairman of the Department of Biostatistical Sciences, said understanding whether alcohol affects specific areas of cognition may shed light on the mechanisms that make it protective.

He conjectures that alcohol increases levels of “good” cholesterol and lowers the risk of stroke, that it may decrease the formation of plaque that is associated with Alzheimer’s disease and that it may increase the release of brain chemicals that affect learning and memory. He added that the findings were not a reason for women to change their current drinking habits.

The researchers used information from the 7,460 women in the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS), a large national study to assess the effects of hormone therapy on dementia and cognitive function. They also used statistics from 2,299 of these women who were also enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative Study of Cognitive Aging (WHISCA), which involved annual standardized testing of specific areas of cognitive performance. All women in the studies were 65 and older.

The information from this large group of women confirmed earlier findings from the researchers (based on a subset of 4,461 WHIMS participants,) that those who drank moderate amounts of alcohol (up to two or three drinks a day) performed better on tests for cognitive function. Using data from the WHISCA participants, they were able to pinpoint specific areas of cognition that were affected.

Previous studies have also indicated that moderate levels of alcohol intake reduce the risk of dementia and decline in cognitive function. Espeland said, however, that the results must be interpreted with caution.

The researchers adjusted for other factors that might affect the results, such as education level and family income, and still found the same pattern of moderate alcohol intake associated with better cognitive function and less risk of dementia.

The study received support from the National Institute on Aging, a part of the National Institutes of Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Espeland’s co-researchers were Laura Coker, Ph.D., and Stephen R. Rapp, Ph.D., also from Wake Forest Baptist, Robert Wallace, M.D., from the University of Iowa College of Medicine, Susan Resnick, Ph.D., from the National Institute on Aging, Marian Limacher, M.D., from the University of Florida, Lynda Powell, M.D., from Rush University Medical Center, and Catherine Messina, Ph.D., from State University of New York at Stony Brook.

www.wfubmc.edu

Are you ageing from the inside out?

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London: The UK think-tank, the Office of Health Economics recently reported that the life expectancy gap between men and women is shrinking. Women can now expect to live just four-and-a-half years longer than men – the smallest difference for almost thirty years. So a female born in 2002 has an expected life expectancy of 80.7 years, while a boy born the same year has a life expectancy of 76.2 years.

The report concludes that the reason for the slowing in life expectancy is that women are adopting the same lifestyles as men – smoking, binge-drinking and suffering the stresses of full-time jobs.

The fact is that very few people die a natural death. Most of the illnesses from which we suffer and die are far from natural – obesity, diseases of the heart and cardiovascular system, cancer, Alzheimer’s, stroke, diabetes. More often than not, they are the result of our lifestyles, and caused by smoking, drinking alcohol to excess, taking too little exercise, over-eating, poor nutrition and stress. These degenerative diseases, it is estimated, account for 90% of all medical treatment needed in old age.

Nevertheless, as a result of medical intervention and improved nutrition, there has been a huge spurt in longevity in the 20th century. An extra 20 years has been added to the average lifespan, bringing the average global life expectancy to 66 years. Life expectancy in Ancient Rome was 22 and in the Middle Ages 35. Today many people live to more than 115 years.

Despite the fast-pace of medical discoveries, such as cure-alls like stem cells there is nothing we can do to change our chronological age and death is evitable at some stage. What we can do, though, is take measures to change our biological age, to give ourselves a better quality of life so that we can be more active and healthier for longer. A fit body and an agile mind make it easier to cope in today’s demanding workplace.

The first step in preventing degenerative disease is to obtain a comprehensive snapshot of your current state of health. This can be done with an annual blood screening test. Regular blood testing is the single most important tool available to prevent degenerative disease through early detection.

Blood screening assesses the status of numerous systems in the body, monitoring for cardiovascular risk factors, blood sugar levels, liver and kidney function, immune system wellness, and optimal hormone balance. Regular testing also monitors mineral balance and red blood cells size and number.

Unfortunately this kind of preventative blood testing is not routinely offered by the NHS, but it is the key to any serious anti-ageing or preventative programme. It can determine your risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, liver conditions, anaemia and diabetes and prevent other conditions associated with hormone imbalances, such as fatigue, obesity, osteoporosis and depression.

Dr John Moran who runs a medical practice in London’s Wimpole Street says: “Most of my patients come to me because they are not satisfied with their GP. I undertake a detailed investigation of the patient’s current health which begins with a series of blood tests, which are different for men and woman and also age. The next level is to replace what is missing and to retest to ensure that everything is happening as it should.”