Futurity.org » aging

Older flies with sexy smell turn on males

Mary Masson-Michigan — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:01:47 +0000

U. MICHIGAN (US) — Changes in pheromone production that occur with age can reduce sexual attractiveness, according to a recent study with fruit flies.

Pheromones are chemicals produced by an organism to communicate or attract another. The new study, published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, examined how pheromones play a role in the sexual attractiveness and aging process of the common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, says Scott D. Pletcher, senior author of the study, associate professor in the department of molecular and integrative physiology at the University of Michigan.

Lifelong musicians may keep ears in tune

Wendy Leopold-Northwestern — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:05:24 +0000

NORTHWESTERN (US) — Age-related delays in neural timing are not inevitable and can be avoided or offset with musical training, according to a new study.

Published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, the study is the first to provide biological evidence that lifelong musical experience has an impact on the aging process.

After exercise, muscles have more stem cells

Steve McGaughey-Illinois — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:20:19 +0000

U. ILLINOIS (US) — A single bout of exercise in mice leads to an increase in the type of stem cell that aids in healing injury or disease in skeletal muscle.

Researcher Marni Boppart and her collaborators have shown for the first time that just one exercise session in mice leads to an accumulation of what are called muscle-derived mesenchymal stem cells (or mMSCs).

Middle-lane driving keeps seniors safe

Richard Ashby-Leeds — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:57:25 +0000

U. LEEDS (UK) —Driving in the middle lane is a built-in mechanism older adults use to stay safe behind the wheel.

A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance shows how older people naturally adapt when they can no longer move with the freedom they once had. The finding could offer new ways of helping patients recover after losing motor skills, for example, after a stroke.

Stem cells: Fountain of youth for old mice?

Anita Srikameswaran-Pittsburgh — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:02:11 +0000

U. PITTSBURGH (US) — Mice bred to age too quickly live longer, healthier lives after being injected with stem cell-like progenitor cells derived from the muscles of young, healthy animals.

Instead of becoming infirm and dying early as untreated mice did, animals that got the stem/progenitor cells improved their health and lived two to three times longer than expected, a new study published in the journal Nature Communications shows.

Protein slows brain atrophy in mice

Marla Paul-Northwestern — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 16:00:28 +0000

NORTHWESTERN (US) — A protein that promotes the growth of neurons and blood vessels may halt the spread of a brain disease that ravages the cerebellum.

The disease, spinocerebellar ataxia type 1, typically strikes people in their 30s and 40s and causes degeneration of the part of the brain that helps coordinate movement. As the disease progresses over 10 to 20 years, patients eventually die from aspiration or infectious pneumonia.

Genes control muscle aging in flies

Quinn Eastmann-Emory — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:45:27 +0000

EMORY (US) — The discovery of genes in fruit flies that act in muscles to control aging could help doctors treat muscle degeneration in human aging.

Scientists have previously found mutations that extend fruit fly lifespan, but this group of genes is distinct because it acts specifically in muscles. The results were published online this week by the journal Developmental Cell.

Researchers started investigating a pair of genes called “p38 MAP kinase” in fruit flies with the expectation that they could play a role in learning and memory. Along the way, they discovered that mutations in these genes speed up the process of aging and make the flies more sensitive to oxidative stress.

Inflammation overload may harm heart

Karen Finney-UC Davis — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:19:34 +0000

UC DAVIS (US) — New research about inflammation’s role in heart disease underscores the need to consider a broader range of immune-system factors to find accurate biomarkers, especially in relation to age.

A study published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology shows that systemic inflammation, the immune system’s defense against disease or injury that can contribute to cancer and diabetes, increases with age in people with heart-disease symptoms, but inflammation specific to vascular disease does not.

Many black seniors not getting flu shots

David Orenstein-Brown — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:06:50 +0000

BROWN (US) — African-American nursing home residents are less likely to get flu shots than whites, even within the same facility, according to a new study.

Overall, vaccinations have yet to reach the 90 percent level sought by Medicare and Medicaid. In most cases patients go unvaccinated because they refuse the shots, suggesting better communication about the vaccine may be needed.

Living wills: End-of-life care on your terms

Diane Swanbrow-Michigan — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 10:01:26 +0000

U. MICHIGAN (US) — People who have living wills that specify end-of-life care preferences are more likely to die in hospice than in a hospital, particularly in those regions of the country with high Medicare spending.

“Advance directives may help patients get the care they want if they prefer less aggressive care at the end of life, while also providing cost savings to the Medicare program, particularly in higher-spending regions of the country,” says Lauren Hersch Nicholas, health economist at the University of Michigan and the lead author of a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.