1/4/2012 – Use Biomarkers in Alzheimer's Disease Clinical Trials, Says Expert Group

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A group of thought leaders in Alzheimer’s disease says the science is solid and the time has come for more widespread use of biomarkers in Alzheimer disease (AD) clinical trials, to speed the identification of effective disease-modifying treatments for this incurable disorder. Recommendations by the Alzheimer’s Disease Biomarker Expert Working Group, convened by the not-for-profit Alliance for Aging Research in cooperation with the Food and Drug Administration, are published this month in a special issue of Neurobiology of Aging.

Read the full article at Market Watch

1/4/2012 – Pitt stem-cell research slows aging

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University of Pittsburgh scientists improved the lifespan of mice with an aging disease by injecting them with normal stem cells, a finding they say underscores the ability of stem cells to repair muscle, bones and injuries.

Read the full article at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

1/2/2012 – Tutors Teach Seniors New High-Tech Tricks

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A week after Christmas, many Americans are no doubt trying to figure out how to use the high-tech gadgets they got as gifts. This can be especially challenging for seniors. But a number of programs across the country are finding just the right experts to help usher older adults into the digital age.

For Pamela Norr, of Bend, Ore., the light bulb went off as she, yet again, was trying to help her own elder parents with a tech problem. To whom did she turn?

“My teenage kids,” she says.

Read the full article at NPR

1/1/2012 – The Resolution of a Lifetime

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Assuming you are a typical American, you are about 2 inches taller than your great-grandparents were at the same age even though you are genetically no heartier than your ancestors were 10,000 years ago. You are stronger, healthier, smarter and living an average of 30 years longer than Americans were at the turn of the last century. That’s because scientists, educators and activists in the 20th century changed culture, the crucible that holds science, technology and large-scale changes in behavior. We are living longer because the food supply is steady and debilitating diseases are prevented before they ever occur. Improved sanitation reduces the spread of contagious diseases, and education is available to all school-age children. Information flows ubiquitously from written and electronic sources.

Read the full op-ed at AARP