Top 6 Policy Issues affecting Seniors in 2012...Election Year Politics and Reauthorization of the Older Americans Act Will Play Key Role in the lives of Older Adults this year...  With Congress back in session and the presidential election year in full swing, the National Council on Aging (NCOA) encourages older adults and their caregivers to advocate for key issues that could greatly affect their lives, and their livelihoods...(read more) 

Heart Health/Wear Red Day
Raise Heart Health Awareness All Year Long ... Make Every Monday 'Wear Red Day'... On the first Friday of February, The American Heart Association (AHA) urges Americans to wear red to raise awareness about women and heart health...According to the AHA, nearly half of American women do not know that heart disease is their No. 1 killer, and less than half know the best blood pressure and cholesterol levels for cardiovascular health...(read more)

Cognitive Skills/Personality Change
Enhancing cognition in older adults also changes personality...A program designed to boost cognition in older adults also increased their openness to new experiences, researchers report, demonstrating for the first time that a non-drug intervention in older adults can change a personality trait once thought to be fixed throughout the lifespan...(read more)

Exercise/Seniors in Marathons
'Senior' runners never stop pushing their limits in marathons....The results are largely unexpected: the best male marathon runners over 65 and the best female marathon runners over 45 have consistently improved their performance over the last 30 years. At the same time, the researchers also observed a strong increase in athletes over 40 participating in the New York marathon...(read more)
 

Senior Vision/Blindness Risk Lowered
Report shows risk of blindness halved over last decade...Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most frequent cause of blindness in the Western World...A report from the University of Copenhagen and Glostrup Hospital in Denmark published today shows the number of new cases of blindness and severe visual loss in Denmark has been halved during the last ten years...(read more)

Environments for Aging/Improving Aging Skin
Pycnogenol (French maritime pine bark extract) shown to improve visible signs of aging in new study...Human skin is the body's first line of defense and often mirrors the health, nutritional status and age of a person. Over time, skin shows signs of aging due to the gradual breakdown of collagen and elastin...However, skin can be rebuilt and made healthier no matter one's age...(read more)
 

Caregiving/Go to Dr. with Older Patients

Going to Physician visits with Older Loved Ones could improve Care...Family companions who routinely accompany older adults to physician office visits could be helpful to health care quality improvement efforts, according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health...(read more)

In the Workplace, Community/Copacetic Offices
Keeping an Intergenerational Office Copacetic...Today’s complicated office structure is made up of several different generations of employees, yet there are two that can be radically different: Baby Boomers (approaching retirement; born between 1946 and 1964) and Millennials (entering the workforce; between the ages of 18 to 30)...Each age group is distinct in its own way...(read more)

Chronic Disease/Moments to Enjoy

Taking moments to enjoy life helps Patients make better Health Decisions...The experience of daily positive affect -- a mild, happy feeling -- and self-affirmation helps some patients with chronic diseases, including coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and asthma, make better decisions about their health...(read more)