http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Experts led by Newcastle University are designing and building a system aimed at combating malnutrition in older people in hospitals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-tackling-malnutrition-older-patients-wards.html Health Tue, 29 Nov 2011 07:52:38 EST news241775523 Good balance and mobility are essential to help you perform most activities involved in every-day life, as well as many recreational pursuits. Keeping your balance is a complex task, involving the co-ordination between a person's muscles and sensors which detect balance and are part of the nervous system. In older people many factors such as reduced muscle strength, stiff joints, delayed reaction times and changes in the sensory system all add up to reduce a person's ability to keep in balance. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-evidence-base-older-people.html Health Wed, 09 Nov 2011 05:05:04 EST news240037492 Older people with low levels of vitamin B12 in their blood may be more likely to lose brain cells and develop problems with their thinking skills, according to a study published in the September 27, 2011, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Foods that come from animals, including fish, meat, especially liver, milk, eggs and poultry, are usually sources of vitamin B12. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-vitamin-b12-brain-shrinkage-cognitive.html Neuroscience Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:00:04 EST news236267527 Researchers whose findings on the detrimental impact of some common medicines on elderly people were widely reported earlier in the summer have found that taking a few of these medicines does not appear to cause further cognitive impairment in those already suffering from dementia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-reassurance-dementia-impact-common-drugs.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sun, 18 Sep 2011 19:00:01 EST news235570613 (Medical Xpress) -- University of Queensland researchers have called for urgent action following a study that reveals older Australians are being over prescribed psychotropic drugs, resulting in serious safety and cost concerns. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-older-australians-overprescribed-psychotropic-drugs.html Medications Fri, 19 Aug 2011 07:40:01 EST news232957851 Researchers funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have discovered a new mechanism controlling ageing in white blood cells. The research, published in the September issue of the Journal of Immunology, opens up the possibility of temporarily reversing the effects of ageing on immunity and could, in the future, allow for the short-term boosting of the immune systems of older people. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-possibility-temporarily-reversing-aging-immune.html Medical research Tue, 16 Aug 2011 09:22:25 EST news232705333 New generation antidepressants, known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are associated with an increased risk of several severe adverse outcomes in older people compared with older tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), finds a study published on bmj.com today. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-antidepressants-necessarily-safest-older-people.html Medications Wed, 03 Aug 2011 04:30:01 EST news231560653 When looking at a picture of many trees, young people will tend to say: "This is a forest". However, the older we get, the more likely we are to notice a single tree before seeing the forest. This suggests that the speed at which the brain processes the bigger picture is slower in older people. In a new study published in the July-August issue of Elsevier´s Cortex, researchers have found that these age-related changes are correlated with a specific aspect of visual perception, known as Gestalt perception. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-older-people-harder-wood-trees.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 25 Jul 2011 09:38:46 EST news230805379 (AP) -- This week's heat wave may be uncomfortable, but you're healthy, active and feel just fine. So what if you're over 65? Think again. Feeling good doesn't mean you're safe. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-over-and-not-worried-about.html Health Tue, 19 Jul 2011 17:37:05 EST news230315807 A side effect of many commonly used drugs appears to increase the risks of both cognitive impairment and death in older people, according to new research led by the University of East Anglia (UEA). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-drug-side-effect-linked-health.html Medications Fri, 24 Jun 2011 04:21:26 EST news228108027 (PhysOrg.com) -- Just as grey hair and wrinkles are widely accepted as a natural part of ageing, so is an increased risk of falling, which can happen for many reasons and with devastating consequences, including increased likelihood of injury, hospitalisation and even death. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-older-people-fall-attention-feet.html Health Tue, 21 Jun 2011 10:22:25 EST news227870507 Tai chi has particular health benefits for older people, including helping to prevent falls and improving mental wellbeing, reveals a review published ahead of print in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-tai-chi-falls-mental-health.html Health Mon, 16 May 2011 19:02:12 EST news224791293 The first results from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), a national study of 8,000 older people aged 50 and over in Ireland, were launched this week by the Minister for Health and Children, Dr James Reilly. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-results-older-people-ireland.html Health Wed, 11 May 2011 10:47:17 EST news224329618 (PhysOrg.com) -- Your great aunt may be slowing down as she grows older, but a study created in a Brandeis laboratory reveals that she’s probably better than you are at perceiving a genuine smile. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-older-adults-phoney.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 12 Apr 2011 12:30:01 EST news221828442