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Scientists have discovered the key to stopping Alzheimer’s disease in its earliest stages. The breakthrough paves the way for a ‘statin-like’ drug that could be taken by millions to prevent dementia. Cambridge University researchers have found a naturally occurring molecule that can slow the formation of plaques in the brain. Amyloid plaques are closely associated with declining memory and other Alzheimer’s symptoms. The discovery raises the prospect of a treatment which could be routinely taken in middle age to stop dementia. It could even result in a pill that could be used to treat dementia in the same way that...

A Chinese girl with a rare medical problem has the appearance of a child - despite being 19-years-old. Zeng Yushan was born in June 1994 in the township of Huzhu in Fushun County in south-western China's Sichuan Province. At seven years old, she stopped growing and was diagnosed with a tumour on her pituitary gland, which caused a deficiency in growth hormones. The pituitary gland is found behind the bridge of the nose and below the base of the brain, and is about the size of a pea. It releases hormones growth and puberty hormones, among others, directly into the...

Lillian Palermo tried to prepare for the worst possibilities of aging. An insurance executive with a Ph.D. in psychology and a love of ballroom dancing, she arranged for her power of attorney and health care proxy to go to her husband, Dino, eight years her junior, if she became incapacitated. And in her 80s, she did... But one day last summer, after he disputed nursing home bills that had suddenly doubled Mrs. Palermo’s copays... Palermo was shocked to find a six-page legal document waiting on her bed. It was a guardianship petition filed by the nursing home, Mary Manning Walsh,...

A new procedure can quickly and efficiently increase the length of human telomeres, the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes that are linked to aging and disease, according to scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Treated cells behave as if they are much younger than untreated cells, multiplying with abandon in the laboratory dish rather than stagnating or dying. The procedure, which involves the use of a modified type of RNA, will improve the ability of researchers to generate large numbers of cells for study or drug development, the scientists say. Skin cells with telomeres lengthened by...

Researchers could be closing in on a "fountain of youth" drug that can delay the effects of aging and improve the health of older adults, a new study suggests. Seniors received a significant boost to their immune systems when given a drug that targets a genetic signaling pathway linked to aging and immune function, researchers with the drug maker Novartis report. The experimental medication, a version of the drug rapamycin, improved the seniors' immune response to a flu vaccine by 20 percent, researchers said in the current issue of Science Translational Medicine. The study is a "watershed" moment for research...

I recently marked a particular anniversary of my birth.  I won’t say my age but it’s a prime number multiplied by ten, older than 30 and not yet 70.  I didn’t mark the day in any particular way.  Yeah there was a “happy birthday” from my wife and kids, but no huge celebration.   I didn’t want one. Passing that milestone makes one somewhat introspective and brooding about the arc of one’s life.  I was just twenty, for God’s sake!  What happened to all those years?  I still feel like a big kid.  I still watch Looney Tunes (love Road...

In case anyone needed another reason to love chocolate, a new study suggests that a natural compound found in cocoa, tea and some vegetables can reverse age-related memory loss. The findings suggest that the compound increases connectivity and, subsequently, blood flow in a region of the brain critical to memory, the researchers said. Researchers said that if a person had the memory of a typical 60-year-old at the beginning of the study, after three months, on average, that person’s memory would function more like a 30- or 40-year-old’s. The researchers also cautioned that more work is needed because of the...

Drink a 20-ounce soda daily, and you may be causing your cells to age as much as they would if you smoked, a study suggests. Researchers investigated DNA from 5,309 adults, focusing on telomeres, the caps on the ends of our cells' chromosomes, Time reports.

Many Baby Boomers already dread “the talk” –- suggesting their aging parents surrender car keys –- but now two geriatric experts say another thorny, family question must be asked of some elderly folks. Is it time to give up your gun? In a recently published paper, the two physicians offer a five-point checklist meant to help caregivers assess whether firearms remain safe in the hands and homes of older Americans, particularly if the gun owners are exhibiting unclear thinking or depression. “Just like with some (older) people, it’s not if you should stop driving, but when,” said Dr. Ellen M....

Two teams of scientists published studies on Sunday showing that blood from young mice reverses aging in old mice, rejuvenating their muscles and brains. As ghoulish as the research may sound, experts said that it could lead to treatments for disorders like Alzheimer’s disease and heart disease. “I am extremely excited,” said Rudolph Tanzi, a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, who was not involved in the research. “These findings could be a game changer.” The research builds on centuries of speculation that the blood of young people contains substances that might rejuvenate older adults. In the 1950s, Clive...

It may seem the stuff of gothic horror novels, but transfusions of young blood could reverse the ageing process and even cure Alzheimer’s Disease, scientists believe. Throughout history, cultures across the globe have extolled the properties of youthful blood, with children sacrificed and the blood of young warriors drunk by the victors. It was even rumoured that the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il injected himself with blood from healthy young virgins to slow the ageing process. Now scientists have found that young blood actually ‘recharges’ the brain, forms new blood vessels and improves memory and learning. In parallel research, scientists...

In a group of studies published Sunday in the journals Science and Nature Medicine, researchers say old mice who were infused with the blood of spry younger mice showed clear improvements in memory, sensory function, strength and endurance. Researchers say a specific protein, found in the blood of mice and humans, appears to be at the root of this rejuvenation. They say they hope to test the protein's effect on humans in clinical trials in the next few years.

A Generation Of Old People Is About To Change The Global Economy The Economist Apr. 27, 2014, 9:22 AM    In the 20th century the planet’s population doubled twice. It will not double even once in the current century, because birth rates in much of the world have declined steeply. But the number of people over 65 is set to double within just 25 years. This shift in the structure of the population is not as momentous as the expansion that came before. But it is more than enough to reshape the world economy. According to the UN’s...

Women feel invisible to the opposite sex at the age of 51, it emerged yesterday. A detailed study of 2,000 women revealed a large percentage felt they no longer received the level of attention they once did after hitting 51. Many even went as far as to admit they felt ‘ignored’. The women claimed their confidence plummeted after hitting 50 and blamed greying hair, having to to wear glasses or even struggling to find fashionable clothes. The lifestyle study, commissioned by herbal remedies company, A.Vogel, also found more than two thirds of women over 45 had walked into a room...

To really understand what’s going on with the American economy, don’t look at the headlines. Don’t look at the unemployment rate or the trade balance or the deficit. Don’t even look at what’s happening today at all: Look at what happened 46 years ago. And what happened then? Fewer Americas were being born, points out Harry S. Dent Jr. in “The Demographic Cliff: How to Survive and Prosper During the Great Deflation of 2014-2019” "Don’t blame politicians, the decline of manufacturing, education or cheap foreign imports for the economic stagnation that has already begun and will continue for many years....

Older women with higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood had slightly less brain shrinkage than women with low fatty acid levels in a new study. The results may suggest that omega-3s protect the brain from the loss of volume that happens with normal aging and is seen more severely in people with dementia, the researchers say.

The brains of older people only appear to slow down because they have so much information to compute, much like a full-up hard drive, scientists believe. Older people do not decline mentally with age, it just takes them longer to recall facts because they have more information in their brains, scientists believe. Much like a computer struggles as the hard drive gets full up, so to (sic) do humans take longer to access information, it has been suggested. Researchers say this slowing down it is not the same as cognitive decline. “The human brain works slower in old age,” said...

Like many people in late middle age, I find myself wondering if my next dog will be different. I have long shared my life with retrievers — active, field-bred dogs who throw themselves with joy into every situation (and every puddle of water bigger than a dinner plate). Their boisterousness is infectious: My dogs make me happy. But in 10 years, or 15, or 20, will I be up to the demands of dogs like these? Or will a nice, quiet little spaniel be the dog I need? My answer may be different than others, even among people of similar...

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (CBSDC) – Accelerated aging and a greater likelihood of suffering from an age-related illness at a younger age are two consequences being linked to African-American men who have experienced high-levels of racism throughout their lives. A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine finds that African-American men who reported high levels of racial discrimination, or who have internalized anti-black attitudes, have an increased risk of premature death and chronic disease than white people. Previous research has documented African-Americans’ shorter life expectancy and greater risk of chronic diseases, but this new study is the first to...

Hospice patients are expected to die: The treatment focuses on providing comfort to the terminally ill, not finding a cure. To enroll a patient, two doctors certify a life expectancy of six months or less. But over the past decade, the number of “hospice survivors” in the United States has risen dramatically, in part because hospice companies earn more by recruiting patients who aren’t actually dying, a Washington Post investigation has found. Healthier patients are more profitable because they require fewer visits and stay enrolled longer. The proportion of patients who were discharged alive from hospice care rose about 50...