Fight Aging! Newsletter, October 19th 2020
In conclusion, we found that regardless of the presence of multimorbidity, engaging in a healthier lifestyle was associated with up to 6.3 years longer life for men and 7.6 years for women; however, not all lifestyle risk factors equally correlated with life expectancy, with smoking being significantly worse than others.
A Hydrogel Scaffold to Encourage Peripheral Nerve Regeneration
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2020/10/a-hydrogel-scaffold-to-encourage-peripheral-nerve-regeneration/
The nervous system of mammals is poorly regenerative at best. The use of implantable scaffold materials is one of th...
Source: Fight Aging! - October 18, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
“Under the radar” – Ongoing Lassa Fever Outbreak
By Dr. Stephen A. Berger
Nigeria is battling the largest recorded Lassa Fever outbreak to-date
Lassa Fever in Nigeria is a paradigm for Infectious Disease outbreaks that continue to threaten massive populations “under the radar” during the COVID-19 pandemic. As of October 3, 2020, a total of 1,112 fatal cases of COVID-19 had been reported in Nigeria.
In terms of population size, the statistical likelihood of dying from this disease in Nigeria – or in Singapore – is exactly the same. But then…nobody in Singapore is dying these days from Lassa Fever.
WHAT IS LASSA FEVER?
The disease was ...
Source: GIDEON blog - October 13, 2020 Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Kristina Symes Tags: Epidemiology News Outbreaks Source Type: blogs
Loss of Sense of Smell as an Early Biomarker for Brain Aging
Alzheimer's disease begins in the olfactory bulb, with evidence suggesting that this is related to failing drainage of cerebrospinal fluid from that part of the brain. It has been noted that a faltering of the sense of smell takes place with aging. This may be a useful way to assess the overall state of the brain on the path towards neurodegenerative conditions, but, considered as a whole, comparatively little work has taken place on this aspect of sensory decline with age.
Olfaction, from an evolutionary aspect, is the oldest of our senses. Across different species, it modulates the interactions between an organi...
Source: Fight Aging! - October 13, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Attention, Walmart Patients
By KIM BELLARD
When Walmart announced earlier this summer that it was opening an insurance agency to sell Medicare-related products and services plans, I thought, “that’s it?” When Walmart announced later in the summer that it was partnering (first with Microsoft, then with Oracle) in the bid to buy TikTok, I thought, “well, isn’t that interesting?” And when Walmart announced a few days ago that it was partnering with Clover Health to offer Medicare Advantage plans, I thought: “it’s about time.”
You know Walmart. 265 million people (worldwide) shop at its stores each week. ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - October 6, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: Health Tech Kim Bellard Walmart Source Type: blogs
$1 Hearing Aid for Age-Related Hearing Loss
Researchers at Georgia Tech have developed an ultra low-cost hearing aid, for which all the components cost in total less than $1. Designed to be worn by people with age-related hearing loss, the technology provides much of the functionality of conventional hearing aids, but at a tiny fraction of the price. The device may represent a lifeline for hundreds of millions of people worldwide who need a hearing aid but can’t afford one.
Age-related hearing loss is very common, and it can be isolating for older people. “The ability to hear makes a critical quality-of-life difference, especially to older people who may have...
Source: Medgadget - September 28, 2020 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: ENT Geriatrics Rehab Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, September 28th 2020
In conclusion, it remains unclear if brain-specific regional and temporal changes occur in the expression of the different APP variants during AD progression. Since APP is also found in blood cells, assessing the changes in APP mRNA expression in peripheral blood cells from AD patients has been considering an alternative. However, again the quantification of APP mRNA in peripheral blood cells has generated controversial results.
Brain APP protein has been analyzed in only a few studies, probably as it is difficult to interpret the complex pattern of APP variants and fragments. We previously characterized the soluabl...
Source: Fight Aging! - September 27, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Evidence for Chronic Inflammation to be a Significant Factor in Age-Related Hearing Loss
Hearing loss is a prevalent problem with age, the result of loss of sensory hair cells of the inner ear, or as seems more likely in recent years, damage to those parts of the peripheral nervous system connecting hair cells to the brain. Chronic inflammation is a noted aspect of aging, excessive activity of the immune system, and is very disruptive to tissue function and maintenance throughout the body. Researchers here provide evidence to suggest that this persistent inflammation in older individuals is an important factor in age-related hearing loss.
Age-related hearing loss (AHL) or presbycusis is a universal se...
Source: Fight Aging! - September 21, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, September 14th 2020
This study is the first to provide a direct link between this inflammation and plaque development - by way of IFITM3.
Scientists know that the production of IFITM3 starts in response to activation of the immune system by invading viruses and bacteria. These observations, combined with the new findings that IFITM3 directly contributes to plaque formation, suggest that viral and bacterial infections could increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease development. Indeed, researchers found that the level of IFITM3 in human brain samples correlated with levels of certain viral infections as well as with gamma-secretase activ...
Source: Fight Aging! - September 13, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Mechanisms by which Hearing Loss Might Contribute to the Onset of Dementia
There is a correlation between age-related hearing loss and cognitive decline. Is this because similar mechanisms of cell and tissue damage disrupt both the function of the brain and nerve cells in the ears, or is this because hearing is important in the ongoing operation of the brain? Supporting evidence exists for both options. Here, researchers discuss ways in which loss of hearing might disrupt brain function.
Hearing loss in midlife has been estimated to account for 9% of cases of dementia. Acquired hearing loss is most commonly caused by cochlear damage, while dementia is due to cortical degeneration that ty...
Source: Fight Aging! - September 8, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
A Caregiver ’s Struggle: Balancing an Elder's Sense of Purpose with Their Safety
Photo credit Zubair Khan
...This post really struck a chord with me. Most seniors need to feel useful to enjoy a high quality of life. They maintain a sense of purpose by sticking to their everyday routines and engaging in activities and hobbies they enjoy. But if caregivers believe an elder’s actions are risky or downright dangerous, when should they step in? As caregivers, we walk a thin line between keeping our loved ones safe and helping to preserve their independence. One of my first experiences with this concept occurred with my elderly neighbor and first care recipient. Joe was in his 80s and lived in his own home...
Source: Minding Our Elders - September 7, 2020 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Neuralink: Thumbs up or down so far?
Elon Musk’s Neuralink is neuroscience theater (MIT Technology Review):
Rock-climb without fear. Play a symphony in your head. See radar with superhuman vision. Discover the nature of consciousness. Cure blindness, paralysis, deafness, and mental illness. Those are just a few of the applications that Elon Musk and employees at his four-year-old neuroscience company Neuralink believe electronic brain-computer interfaces will one day bring about.
None of these advances are close at hand, and some are unlikely to ever come about. But in a “product update” streamed over YouTube on Friday, Musk, also the founder of SpaceX ...
Source: SharpBrains - August 31, 2020 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Cognitive Neuroscience Technology Brain-Computer Interfaces electrochemical Elon Musk FitBit Neuralink skull Source Type: blogs
Covid-19 and Deafness: Why the Protocols Fall Short
I am hard-of-hearing; I wear two hearing aids, and Covid-19 has made all forms of human interaction extraordinarily difficult.
The post Covid-19 and Deafness: Why the Protocols Fall Short appeared first on The Hastings Center. (Source: blog.bioethics.net)
Source: blog.bioethics.net - August 21, 2020 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Susan Gilbert Tags: Health Care communicating COVID-19 disability Hastings Bioethics Forum Social Distancing syndicated wearing masks Source Type: blogs
Synchronising Your Mind: The NeoRhythm Review
In the movie The Matrix, the protagonist, Neo, is able to learn decades worth of kung fu techniques without any prior knowledge of martial arts, simply by plugging his brain into a computer. Within minutes, he utters the famous line: “I know kung fu”.
It’s just a hunch, but the device under review today, the NeoRhythm headband, feels a bit like it was intended to be a real-world version of what Neo experienced. (Notice how they both have Neo in their names? Again, just a hunch). Wear the NeoRhythm and it will help you achieve more through neurostimulation, claims Omnipemf, the company behind the device.
Alt...
Source: The Medical Futurist - August 20, 2020 Category: Information Technology Authors: Prans Tags: Health Sensors & Trackers device digital health mindfulness Source Type: blogs
Telehealth and Telework Accessibility in a Pandemic-Induced Virtual World
Blake E. Reid (University of Colorado), Christian Vogler (Gallaudet University), Zainab Alkebsi (National Association of the Deaf), Telehealth and Telework Accessibility in a Pandemic-Induced Virtual World, U. Colo. L. Rev. Online (Forthcoming, 2020): This short essay explores one dimension of... (Source: HealthLawProf Blog)
Source: HealthLawProf Blog - August 19, 2020 Category: Medical Law Authors: Katharine Van Tassel Source Type: blogs
White Fragility
Earlier this week I read the book White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, which is about how resistant white people can be when it comes to discussing and learning about systemic racism.
I thought the book had some interesting insights, although it was more academic and less emotional than I expected. I was expecting something punchier and more story-based whereas sometimes this book felt like a corporate training manual. I also thought it was a bit short relative to the weightiness of the topic. Overall I still found it worth reading, so I’d recommend it if you’re curious about it.
I took the main lesson to b...
Source: Steve Pavlina's Personal Development Blog - August 15, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Steve Pavlina Tags: Relationships Values Source Type: blogs
