Articles Posted in Elder Health

Back in June, Kaiser Health News investigation in conjunction with the PBS NewsHour published the results of an investigation in which they uncovered over 100 cases since 2012 where people with dementia used guns to kill themselves or others. Kaiser wrote about it on their website. The shooters often acted during bouts of confusion, paranoia,…

While persuing the internet we cam across an interesting post on the Kaiser Health News website titled Who Knew? Life Begins (Again) At 65 by a guy named Bruce Horoviz who used to work for USA Today. Horovitz writes that not only is he happy to be 65, he has come up with a playbook…

Under the New York Health Care Proxy Law you can appoint someone you trust to make health care decisions for you if you lose the ability to make those decisions yourself. That person is considered your health care proxy or agent. A health care proxy is a way to eliminate confusion among your loved ones…

The second man to walk on the moon, 88-year-old 88 Buzz Aldrin is fighting his two youngest children who he claims are colluding with his former manager Christina Korp to seize control of his estate by alleging that he has dementia. He sued the trio in a Florida court in June. Korp and the Aldrin…

A new study from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease has uncovered why some people that have brain markers of Alzheimer’s never develop the classic dementia that others do. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia and affects more than 5 million Americans. People suffering…

In 1993 neurologist Camilo Gomez, M.D., coined a phrase that for the last 25 years has been a fundamental rule of stroke care: Time is brain! That rule means the longer post-stroke treatment is delayed the less effective it will be. Now a new study by Dr. Gomez is rethinking that rule and the idea…

If you’re an older worker and decide to file for Social Security before you reach full retirement age, you need to account for the impact that income will have on your benefits. That’s because your benefits would be reduced temporarily and up to 85% of your benefits would be taxed if your combined income exceeds…

In the United States alone, 5.7 million Americans are thought to have Alzheimer’s disease. Experts estimate that by 2050, this number will have reached 14 million. According to recent estimates, almost 50 million people worldwide currently have dementia and this number is expected to double every 2 decades, reaching over 130 million by 2050. Research…

End-of-life issues can be extremely complex, and many people avoid making decisions about how such issues will be handled because it can be an uncomfortable and difficult subject to address. However, it is crucial that you do spend time thinking about how you want your final days to play out, both for your own personal…

Choosing a healthcare proxy helps to ensure you receive the care you want at the end of life. Your healthcare proxy, or agent, should be someone you trust, a family member or close friend. Your agent makes medical decisions for you when you no longer can. You can ask your proxy to make all your…