Seniors/Aging News

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 9 (HealthDay News) -- The low-density lipoprotein receptor may help reduce brain damage caused by Alzheimer's disease, a new study suggests. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - Talk about unnecessary misery: One in five Medicare patients winds up back in the hospital within a month — even worse, one in four patients with heart failure. Full Story »

MIAMI - Lawmakers have wooed seniors skeptical of the health care overhaul by emphasizing the plan would close the "doughnut hole" — a gap in Medicare drug coverage that can cost thousands of dollars a year. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate made little progress on a broad healthcare overhaul on Tuesday, as members battled over cuts in coverage for the elderly and failed to vote on two pending amendments. Full Story »

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with a history of constipation may be at increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease down the road, research hints. Full Story »

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women on Medicaid have a harder time scheduling a timely appointment for a diagnostic mammogram than women with Medicare coverage, new research shows. Full Story »

SATURDAY, Nov. 28 (HealthDay News) -- For many seniors, the holiday season can trigger melancholy as they think about lost loved ones, struggle with health issues or worry about money problems, according to the American Geriatrics Society. Full Story »

CHICAGO (Reuters) - By 2034, nearly twice as many Americans will have diabetes and spending on the disease will triple, further straining the U.S. health system and testing the viability of Medicare and other government health insurance programs, U.S. researchers said on Friday. Full Story »

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Thanksgiving is a time of eating turkey, gathering with family -- and sometimes taking your elderly loved one to the emergency room. Full Story »

TUESDAY, Nov. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Falls are a leading cause of death among older Americans, and new research confirms that chronic pain contributes to those accidents. Full Story »

TUESDAY, Nov. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Seniors who take antidepressants, sedatives and other psychotropic medications may be at increased risk for falls, a new review shows. Full Story »

For older people, gabbing on a cell phone while walking across the street may increase the chances of being run over, according to a new study, although earlier research did not find the same connection among younger people. Full Story »

NEW YORK (Reuters) - High-cost urban U.S. hospitals may face debt rating downgrades if large cuts to Medicare funding are implemented as part of U.S. health care reform, Moody's Investors Service said on Monday. Full Story »

THURSDAY, Nov. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Seniors who eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and who have good cognitive function are much less likely to die from heart disease than those who have poorer cognitive function and eat fewer fruits and vegetables, a new study has found. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Thursday to boost Medicare payments to physicians in a move that could help shore up support from doctors for a sweeping Democratic-backed healthcare overhaul. Full Story »

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Taking the B vitamin niacin offers no additional benefit to seniors with coronary artery disease who are already prescribed cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, U.S. researchers say. Full Story »

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Lifelong exercise helps seniors keep their hearts healthy, new research shows. Full Story »

MARIETTA, Pa. - Malaria. Tuberculosis. Alzheimer's disease. AIDS. Pandemic flu. Genital herpes. Urinary tract infections. Grass allergies. Traveler's diarrhea. You name it, the pharmaceutical industry is working on a vaccine to prevent it. Full Story »