USA: Caring For Mom And Dad From Afar

Story Highlights
* Caregiver group: 5-7 million Americans care for an older relative from afar
* Expert: Pick one sibling to be in charge of Mom and Dad's care
* Ask doctor if she/he is willing to communicate by e-mail
* Don't expect your help to be instantly welcomed

By Elizabeth Cohen CNN

Empowered Patient, a regular feature from CNN Medical News correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, helps put you in the driver's seat when it comes to health care.

Dr. Patricia Harris, center, flies cross-country bimonthly to care for her parents, James, 91, and Flora Harris, 84.

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN), January 31, 2008:

It was shortly before midnight, and Dr. Patricia Harris was getting ready for bed. The phone rang. On the other end of the line was a woman about to break a promise.

The woman was her mother's neighbor. Flora Harris had made the neighbor swear she wouldn't tell her daughter she'd had a heart attack and was in the hospital, for fear her daughter would worry. The neighbor wisely decided to defy orders.

Harris desperately wanted to get to the hospital immediately, but she couldn't. She lives in Washington, D.C., and her mother lives in California. Harris had to wait seven agonizing hours until the first flight to Los Angeles, and then, she still had another seven hours of travel ahead of her. "I was worried the whole time," she says.

For the past year and a half, Harris has commuted to Los Angeles every other month to take care of her mother, who's 84 and has heart disease, high blood pressure, and recently had back surgery and bypass surgery. Flora Harris takes care of her husband, James, who's 91 and has Alzheimer's disease. They live in their own home, and a caregiver comes in a few hours a day.

Harris is one of many Americans facing the heartache of how to take care of aging parents from afar. She's often worried and always guilt-ridden, not to mention intensely busy with a demanding job, two teenage daughters and the frequent trips to California. "I fear there's going to be a huge disaster and nobody will be able to come right away," Harris says. "That's the huge fear -- that there will be something horrible and nobody will notice and it will be hours before I can get there."

Between 5 million and 7 million Americans care for an older relative from afar -- at least one hour away, according to the Family Caregiver Alliance. "The need is so great, and the out-of-town kids feel so helpless," says Dr. Eric De Jonge, director of geriatrics at Washington Hospital Center, where Harris works.

In some ways, Harris is lucky. She has the resources to make the trips to Los Angeles, and her mother is cognitively fully intact. Plus, Harris is a geriatrician -- a doctor who treats the elderly. She's treated countless patients whose children live far away, so if anyone should know the drill, she should. "But it's still tough," she says. "I can anticipate what the next few years are going to look like, and it's not a pretty picture. My father's going to need diapers. There will come a time when he won't recognize me....and he's easily agitated. I worry he's going to be violent and hurt my mother."

Harris' mother so far has resisted her daughter's efforts to help, and actually swore her neighbors to secrecy when she had her heart attack.

So what do you do when you live a continent away from your aging, ailing parents? As the AARP aptly puts it, there are no magic answers. You can hire someone to help -- there's a cottage industry of companies that help far-flung family members (to learn more about selecting a caregiver from afar, click here) -- but you can't outsource it completely. Here from Harris, De Jonge, and AARP is some advice for making a heart-wrenching, exhausting situation easier.

1. Appoint a sibling, appoint a doctor As an only child, Harris didn't have any choice. But other families should pick one sibling to be in charge of Mom and Dad's care, and in charge of communicating with doctors. "Don't have multiple siblings calling the doctor," De Jonge advises. The appointed sibling should also have the parents' health care power of attorney.

Similarly, appoint a doctor who's "captain of the ship," as De Jonge puts it. Elderly people tend to have lots of specialists, each prescribing medications that can interact -- and not in a good way -- with drugs another doctor has prescribed. "Often nobody's coordinating all their medications, and that's a huge problem," he says. The appointed doctor ideally would be a geriatrician, but could be one of your parent's specialists.

2. Fly in for a visit with the appointed doctor
If you're the appointed child, go with your parent to one or more appointments with the "captain of the ship" doctor. "Come in person at least once and establish a relationship," De Jonge says.

3. Find an e-mail-friendly doctor Communicating with your parent's doctor via e-mail is "extremely valuable," De Jonge says. "It's efficient, it's quick, and you don't end up leaving voice mail messages for each other." If you're shopping for a new doctor, specifically ask how they feel about communicating via e-mail; not all doctors are keen on it.

A bonus: Find a doctor who's also willing to put your parent's medical records on the Internet. That way, you can see what happened at each doctor's visit. A number of Web sites offer services to upload medical records.

4. Get a network going Harris has enlisted the aid of her parents' friends and neighbors (the ones who wisely broke the promise and called her when her mom had the heart attack).

"I don't feel I need to be there the minute disaster happens. But I have to know there's a system in place," Harris says. "You need a telephone tree -- someone who at any time of day or night will be the first-response person."

5. Don't expect your parents to welcome your assistanceIf you think your parents will welcome your help with open arms, think again. Harris says that in her experience, most elderly people will resist your help, wanting to remain totally independent.

Certainly don't think your parents will be willing to move to your city, even if you think that would make things easier on them (and you). "I asked my parents to move to Washington, and I got a resounding 'no,' " Harris says. "It's rare for parents to move out of their house, away from their neighborhood and friends. All the cajoling in the world doesn't help. Don't expect it."

This might be a good thing, Harris says.

"Be careful what you wish for," she says. "Change is hard, and when I have seen parents move, they have trouble making new friends, they get depressed, and their health deteriorates."

And here's a little logistical advice from AARP: have your parents' Social Security numbers, insurance policy numbers, and other financial information close at hand. Plus, click here to find local services (such as Meals on Wheels, senior centers) available in your parents' hometown. It wouldn't hurt to also have your parents' local phone book on hand, too.

Perhaps the most important advice is to take care of yourself. "Give yourself credit for doing the best you can," advises AARP.

Even so, there will be many heart-wrenching moments, such as when it's time to go back home at the end of a visit. "I feel terrible when I leave. I look at them, and I look at the paid caregiver, and I think, 'I should be doing that,' " she says. "I feel guilty when I'm not with them. I feel guilty when I'm with them and I'm not with my family and I'm not working. There's a lot of guilt to go around."

Elizabeth Cohen is a correspondent with CNN Medical News. Senior producers Jennifer Pifer and Saundra Young contributed to this report.

© 2008 Cable News Network.

VIET NAM: Association Of Elderly Calls For Permanent Homes For Poor Old People

HA NOI (Viet Nam News), January 31, 2008:

The Viet Nam Elderly Association has called on every commune nationwide to build at least one new permanent home for the elderly this year.

The newly-launched campaign aims to eradicate makeshift housing for the country’s elderly, who often fall under the poverty benchmark.

Beneficiaries of the project are poor old people, especially those from ethnic groups and those living in remote areas.

The cost for each permanent home is estimated at VND20 million (US$1,250) and up, depending on the location.

The Viet Nam Elderly Association is mobilising financial support from benefactors, organisations, enterprises and benevolent individuals.

Building permanent homes for the elderly is a practical way to improve the quality of life for older generations.

Viet Nam has roughly 100,000 elderly people currently living in makeshift homes.

In order for the programme to serve the right persons and the right purpose, the association has authorised its provincial branches to fulfil investigations and compile statistics on the number of elderly currently in makeshift housing.

The association has also established an Elderly Fund and a network of volunteers to take care of old people at their homes in order to help them lead a happy and healthy life.

Last year the association built 30 houses with a total cost of VND600 million ($37,000) for poor, elderly people in Ben Tre, Quang Nam and Dien Bien provinces.

Copyright by Viet Nam News Agency

Photos by courtesy of GAA.

USA: Secondhand Smoke Exposure Associated With Worsening of Lung Function For Those With Cystic Fibrosis

CHICAGO (Journal of American Medical Association), January 30, 2008: Exposure to secondhand smoke is associated with adverse effects on lung function among persons with cystic fibrosis, with this effect being worse for persons with certain gene variations, according to a study in the January 30 issue of JAMA. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a fatal disorder that affects more than 30,000 individuals in the United States, with the major cause of illness and death being progressive obstructive lung disease. “Despite public health warnings, including a recent U.S. surgeon general’s report stating that there is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke exposure, substantial numbers of individuals with CF are exposed to secondhand smoke. Unfortunately, published studies have been inconsistent in associating poorer clinical outcomes in patients with CF with secondhand smoke exposure,” the authors write. J. Michael Collaco, M.D., of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, and colleagues conducted a study examining several issues including whether secondhand smoke exposure is associated with worse lung disease and other outcomes in individuals with CF, and if the gene-environment interactions between the CF-causing gene (CFTR) or the transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1) gene influence the effect of secondhand smoke exposure on lung function. The researchers analyzed data from the U.S. Cystic Fibrosis Twin and Sibling Study, with missing data supplemented by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Data Registry. Of the 812 participants with data concerning secondhand smoke exposure in the home, 188 (23.2 percent) were exposed. Of the 780 participants with data showing their mother’s smoked during pregnancy, 129 (16.5 percent) were exposed. The researchers found that secondhand smoke exposure was associated with decreased lung function for all measures of lung function studied. Also, socioeconomic status did not worsen the relationship between secondhand smoke exposure and reduced lung function. They also found that certain mutations in the CFTR gene determines the magnitude of the effect of secondhand smoke exposure on lung function in patients with CF. “CF may be a good model for uncovering gene-environment interactions that are detrimental to lung function. This study also raises the specter that healthy children bearing certain genetic variants may be at much higher risk for worse outcomes as a result of secondhand smoke exposure. Demonstration that genetically defined subsets of patients with CF exposed to secondhand smoke in the home have a substantial lifetime reduction in lung function provides potent justification for eradication of cigarette smoke exposure for all individuals with this life-limiting disorder,” the authors conclude. Source: JAMA 2008;299[4]:417-424, January 30, 2008.

USA: Grace Paley's final "Fidelity" is about the experience of being old

. GRACE PALEY'S "FIDELITY" POETRY ABOUT AGING | January 29, 2008 Random Rog/Flickr Ariel Ramchandani finds a melancholic honesty in Grace Paley's last book of poems. Paley wrote with the detachment of a woman near death, punctuating her work with the occasional bitter laugh ... Special to MORE INTELLIGENT LIFE "Fidelity", the excellent new collection of poetry by Grace Paley (FSG, March 18th 2008), is a fitting final release (she died in August, aged 84). It is about the experience of being old, and the often painful separation between the poet and her world. Paley builds her poems organically and spaciously--they seem to expand in the air and dissipate foggily, barely located anymore in time and space. She saw herself as if through the lens of a camera, as though she did not inhabit the body she wrote about. In poems such as "When", she leaves physical spaces in between her words, echoing the fatigue and remove the speaker has from the action: When she came to meet him at the ferry he said you are so pale worn so frail standing on her toes to reach his ear she whispered I am an old woman oh then he was always kind The pauses make the poem feel as though it could drift away, barely anchored by the locating words "when", "then" and "always". The "when" brings us into the past, and the line break after the "oh then" leaves it dangling: we are not sure whether the speaker is lamenting a past "then", or placing us at the ferry. In the word "always" we find ambiguous continuity, a hazily defined timeline of experience separate from the moment in which the poem occurs. Paley is not alone in capturing the dislocation that comes with aging. Consider the terrifying poem, aptly titled "Age" by Robert Creeley, in which the self in question is depicted not as tiredly floating away, but instead as destroyed in its movement inwards. The poem achieves this formally by tightening couplet by couplet towards the end: The world is a round but diminishing ball, a spherical ice cube, a dusty joke... ...the approaching fears when I may cease to be me, all lost or rather lumped here in a retrograded, dislocating, imploding self... Creeley catalogues the process of aging as one's "round and diminishing" world literally melting, and the subsequent mummification and implosion of self. Without a connection to the world, a life is over. This may seem an obvious point, but in the hands of these poets it is presented in heartbreaking detail. Paley's poem "Their Honest Purpose Mocked" also explores the sadness that comes from losing contact with the world. She writes: Or the past? I asked you mean going back to old diaries notebooks full of me? no see how the unusual earth is wrapped around with forests... and with land mines that explode the legs of little children I know I have gone too far but would go further if the poem were not complete The "unusual earth" encompasses so much, ranging from forests to land mines--more, even, than Paley cares to write down. The poem ends abruptly. The reader wants more, and so does the poet, which explains the sadness in the apology: "I...would go further if the poem were not complete." This ending seems to remove Paley from the "unusual earth", which she can no longer observe and describe further for us. "Fidelity" is a good name for this particular collection. It captures the honesty Paley achieves through her distanced tone, and her honesty with her readers in describing what is a sad and complicated time for her. There is a graceful wisdom in her perspective. For this, among other things, she will be greatly missed. I want to end with a poem "The Greatest Love" by Anna Swir, a beautiful poem about aging. (Why don't more people know about Swir? She has written my favourite poem on many subjects.) Here, in one swift moment, she humorously describes the wisdom and widening of perspective that come with age: She is sixty. She lives the greatest love of her life. She walks arm-in-arm with her dear one, her hair streams in the wind. Her dear one says: "You have hair like pearls." Her children say: "Old fool." Ariel Ramchandani is a contributing editor to More Intelligent Life Source MoreIntelligentLife.com Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Limited 2008 Seniors World Chronicle adds: Author Grace Paley sits for a portrait in her home in Thetford, Vt., April 9, 2003. Poet and short story writer Grace Paley, a literary eminence and old-fashioned rebel who described herself as a "combative pacifist," died August 22, 2007. She was 84. Paley, who had battled breast cancer, died at her home in Thetford Hill, Vt., according to her husband, playwright Robert Nichols. AP Photo/Toby Talbot

AUSTRALIA: Carmen Collected

LIFE & STYLE > Beauty

Judy Rumbold

MELBOURNE, Australia (The Age), January 30, 2008:

Timeless beauty ... Carmen Dell'Orfice's first Vogue cover was in 1945. Photo: Heath Missen

Carmen Dell'Orefice, still working the catwalk at 76, talks to Judy Rumbold about her long and turbulent life.

Carmen Dell'Orefice is routinely referred to as "the world's oldest working model", which makes her sound a bit like a rusting traction engine with, perhaps, compromised bodywork and only limited functioning parts. It would be nice to be able to report that, at 76, this catwalk veteran is in flawless working order, but when I arrive to meet her things are not looking good. She is lying in silence on a sofa in a distant corner of the photographic studio, most of her face obscured behind sunglasses, barely moving and facing the wall. Everything about her body language says, "Go away".

I am more than a little apprehensive. A young model in a strop is bad enough, but an older, grander one with more than 60 years' experience and photographs by Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Cecil Beaton and Horst P. Horst to her name is altogether more worrying. The Carmen Dell'Orefice of legend, with the knife-edge cheekbones, startling blue eyes and signature cloud of white hair, has about her the sort of hauteur that suggests she might have an icily Snow Queenish way with a withering put-down.

I approach gingerly, at which point she whips off the glasses, sits bolt upright and greets me with the warmest, twinkliest smile I have seen outside a village knitting circle. Arthritic toes, she explains cheerfully - a legacy of her days dancing with the Ballets Russes in New York - are the reason for her horizontality, coupled with fatigue after a late night and little sleep thanks to hotel pillows like boulders.

Given her fragile physical state, she looks as if she should probably be back at home, parked in front of the telly with a milky drink. I ask her why on earth, in this era of the extensive "pillow menu", she didn't kick up a big stink with the hotel management. She looks aghast at the suggestion. "What, and come over as the ugly American, complaining?"

Throwing hissy fits might come naturally to some of today's pushy fashion folk, but Dell'Orefice is from a different era. She is gracious, modest and gloriously old-school in her approach to her profession. Take the fact that today she is feeling a bit of a crock. While a younger girl might cry off for something as lame as a broken fingernail, Dell'Orefice isn't going to let acheing feet and tiredness get in the way of an assignment. What soon becomes clear is that she feels highly privileged still to be doing a job that started with her first Vogue cover at the age of 15. She has had five more since, with recent career highlights including a catwalk appearance in Jean-Paul Gaultier's first show for Hermes in 2004 and John Galliano's Dior haute couture show in 2000. And to think that her sceptical mother dismissed her as an ungainly child with "ears like sedan chairs and feet like coffins".

It took an astute fellow bus passenger, all those years ago, to see potential beyond the ears and feet. Journeying back from a dance class in New York, she was spotted by a woman whose husband was a photographer for Harper's Bazaar. Test pictures were duly taken, after which a letter was sent to her mother.

"It said I was a very polite young lady but, unfortunately, at this time, I was totally unphotogenic," she recalls. But her godfather was having none of it. He contacted a friend who worked for Vogue. "Two weeks later, I did my first shoot for Horst."

She recounts a meeting, when she was 14, with the legendary editor, Diana Vreeland. "She stood behind me, ran her hands through my voluptuous chestnut locks and said, 'Grow your neck another inch and I'll send you to Paris'." The rest is history.

"My life has been amazing," she sighs. "How many other ladies of 76 can say that the snapshot on their senior citizen's card was taken by Norman Parkinson?"

Mind you, those early days were interspersed with what, in the current climate of heightened concern for model welfare, sound like some eyewateringly non-PC moments. Conde Nast, for instance, paid for hormone injections to correct her concave chest and bring on puberty, which had been arrested by rheumatic fever contracted at 12 and a punishing regime with the Ballets Russes. Then there was the time, aged 13, she posed topless for Salvador Dalí for $12 a hour. Imagine what today's Model Health Inquiry would make of that. She dismisses any suggestion of a sleazy subtext: "It was all a lot more innocent then. And I was grateful to be able to help my mother stop working and send her to college."

This would sound selfless and mature coming from a 30-year-old, but Dell'Orefice was 13 at the time. She was forced to grow up quickly, under a cloud of disapproval and casual violence ("My mother was, shall we say, very hands-on," she says, drily). Her mother, a Hungarian, was ambitious that she achieve success, first with ballet (cut short by illness), then later as a swimmer (scuppered by a foot broken while skiing with a boyfriend). An ex-dancer herself, Carmen's mother was not pleased with the way her daughter was shaping up, and never lost an opportunity to demonstrate her displeasure. "I was a sad child," she recalls. "I just wanted her to love me." But life was hard. "We were so poor that my mother would often leave me in a foster home until she could raise enough money to rent rooms for us." Modelling helped them out of poverty.

When little more than a girl, Dell'Orefice was earning $60 a week (equivalent to about $A1350 now), putting herself through private school, paying for her own orthodontic braces and secretly subsidising her adored father, an Italian violinist, who left home when she was small. She had gone looking for him when she was 15.

"We were close from then on, much to my mother's angst and chagrin. She did all the work, and he got all the love."

With extraordinary candidness she details her teenage years, which seem to have featured all sorts of unsuitable men and unsavoury situations. She met, or in her words "bought", her first husband - "a lout" - at 16. "I bought racehorses for him and after a few abortions I married him at 21. I had my daughter, Laura, and by the time I was 24 the marriage was over."

Carmen told The Scotsman in April 2006 that she had always taken a practical attitude to growing older. "My challenge has always been to keep the connection with the customers that you represent," she said. "I represent people of my age, I don't hide the fact that I am 75. I find my job just as hard as any other person my age."

There were two further failed marriages and at times she fell under the spell of some of the greatest names in photography. "To this day, I have a crush on Irving Penn", she says, as well as what she describes as "a lifelong love of Parkinson".

At the moment she isn't seeing a particular man, but makes no bones about her continuing need for physical closeness. Is sex important still? She bats straight back, "Is breathing important?"

These days, she lives in a New York flat stuffed with posters and pictures by Avedon and the rest, "in the closets and under the bed". Which are her favourite photographs? "That's like asking someone to pick out their favourite child," she answers. The photographers were all "fathers" to her, she says wistfully, remembering the support and comfort they provided when her own family life seemed so chaotic.

While she may have enjoyed close friendships with the men she worked with, the same can't be said of her relationship with her daughter, now in her early 50s and working as a therapist in California. Things were never going to be easy for a girl who had a goddess for a mother. As Laura has put it: "My mother always said, 'You have your good looks in your own right', but I never believed her. Because why didn't I have those long legs? And how come my hips and bosom weren't in proportion the way hers were? She was like a Barbie doll to me, and I was just not there." "She was coloured by everyone's attitude towards me," says Dell'Orefice. "And yet I always said to her, 'Your mother's just your mother'."

Over the years there have been periods of estrangement and what sounds like horribly fraught, sporadic contact, all of which would be enough to etch the face of even the most resilient mother. Dell'Orefice has her share of wrinkles, but she is an intelligent, thoughtful woman who has somehow made peace with her tumultuous past, absolved herself of any feelings of guilt and retained a calm equanimity that shows in her face. Her clear-eyed radiance must surely be underpinned by a long, arduous skincare regime, involving many different unguents and potions. How else would she look so good?

In fact, she claims her big beauty secret boils down to nothing more complex than an unpromising-sounding product called Bag Balm, an ointment developed by a dairy farmer for softening cow teats. Now it's mainly used for equine purposes, "And if it's good enough for horses, it's good enough for me". She says it's like Elizabeth Arden's cultish Eight Hour Cream, but a fraction of the price. "Three dollars ninety-nine for a year's supply!" she exclaims, jubilant. Here is a woman who likes a bargain. When I admire her expensive-looking ring, she takes great pleasure in yelling, "Twenty-eight dollars!"

As a fashion-loving but impoverished young model in the postwar years, keeping up with trends was impossible if you weren't blessed with the thrift gene. She used to buy charity-shop blankets to make coats. "Me and Suzy Parker (the model and actress) always took our sewing machines to Paris so we could make something to wear in the evening." Among her friends, she has a reputation as a keen needlewoman, but even she can't hope to do justice to the five sewing machines she now owns. "Friends keep leaving them to me when they die."

Carmen Dell'Orefice is still beautiful at 76.

In recent years, both a long-term partner and her mother have passed away, along with many close friends. But she's not one for mourning and regret. "I've been busy trying to help people die a good death. I don't believe in funerals. I believe in celebrating life and showing people, while they're alive, how much I care about them. And I don't believe in this business of burial. I'm an organ donor. Whether it's my skin or my eyeballs, use whatever bits are intact and put the rest in the garbage."

I have been looking at her intently for going on two hours now, and feel qualified to say that, at 76, Carmen Dell'Orefice is still beautiful. If she were to drop dead tomorrow and her body were up for grabs, take it from me, there really isn't a lot you'd want to bin. -- Telegraph Magazine
______________________________________________

Model Maths

One 76-year-old supermodel ...
= 5.9 × Dakota Fanning 13-year-old "muse" for Marc Jacobs
= 4.5 × Catherine McNeil 17-year-old Australian supermodel
= 3.8 × Gemma Ward 20-year-old baby face making the switch to acting
= 2.25 × Kate Moss An icon at 34

Telegraph Magazine
______________________________________________

Copyright © 2007 Fairfax Digital

CANADA: Accidental Discovery Could Make Alzheimer's A Memory

TORONTO, Ontario (London Telegraph, UK), January 30, 2008: Scientists have accidentally discovered a key to unlocking memory, which could offer hope to thousands of Alzheimer's sufferers. Surgeons made the discovery when using a technique called deep-brain stimulation, which involves stimulating parts of the brain with an electric current, while trying to suppress an obese man's appetite. But to their surprise, the patient was suddenly able to recall in immense detail a moment spent in a park with friends 30 years before. His ability to learn also improved significantly after the electrodes were turned on. Scientists are now trialling the treatment in Alzheimer's sufferers and say initial results from three patients are promising. The technique, which is already used to treat Parkinson's patients, could provide a "pacemaker" in the brains of those with the degenerative condition, they say. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and affects around 417,000 people in Britain. Andres Lozano, a professor of neurosurgery at the Toronto Western Hospital, Ontario, who is leading the research, said the discovery caught him and his team completely by surprise. He told The Independent: "This is the first time that anyone has had electrodes implanted in the brain which have been shown to improve memory. "We are driving the activity of the brain by increasing its sensitivity - turning up the volume of the memory circuits. Any event that involves the memory circuits is more likely to be stored and retained." Professor Lozano said the obese man, who weighed 190kg (30st), had turned to brain surgery as a last resort to control his eating. It was while researchers were trying to identify the parts of his brain responsible for hunger, in the hope of curbing his appetite, that the man began to experience an intense experience of deja vu. As a current was passed into his hypothalamus - a part of the brain just above the brain stem, the man began a describing a scene from a park years earlier, in which he recognised his girlfriend at the time and remembered what his friends were wearing. The unidentified man was also tested on his ability to learn lists of paired objects. After three weeks of regular brain stimulation, his performance dramatically improved, most of all when the electrodes were turned on. Prof Lozano said: "It gives us a means of intervening in the way we have already done in Parkinson's and for mood disorders such as depression, and it may have a therapeutic benefit in people with memory problems." The technique involves surgically implanting electrodes into particular parts of the brain. These are attached to a battery pack stitched under the skin of the chest which delivers a constant current to stimulate the brain at a level which is imperceptible to the patient. By Laura Clout © Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2008

USA: Mystery Writer Margaret Truman, Daughter of President Harry S. Truman, Dies Aged 83

Margaret Truman Daniel, pianist, TV personality, best known later as mystery writer and President Harry Truman's only child, dead after brief illness

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (CNN - AP), January 29, 2008: Former US President Harry S. Truman's only child, Margaret Truman, who became a concert singer, actress, radio and TV personality and mystery writer, died Tuesday. She was 83.

Truman, known as Margaret Truman Daniel in private life, died at a Chicago assisted living facility following a brief illness, according to a statement from the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence. She had been at the facility for the past several weeks and was on a respirator, the library said.

Her father's succession to the presidency in 1945 thrust her into the national spotlight while a college junior.

"I feel that I've lived several different lives and that was one of them," she said in 1980. "Some of it was fun, but most of it was not. It was a great view of history being made. The only thing I ever missed about the White House was having a car and driver," she once said.

Read full CNN report

© 2008 Cable News Network.

RUSSIA: Medvedev Says Wants To Double Pensions

MOSCOW (Guardian - Reuters), January 29, 2008: President Vladimir Putin's chosen successor Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday he wanted to double pensions and raise wages in the next few years as he embarks on his campaign, likely to be dominated by social issues. Russia, which saw economic growth of 7.7-7.8 percent in 2007, plans to use $14 billion in extra revenues to raise pensions and public sector wages in 2008 -- a powerful boost to Medvedev's popularity ahead of the March 2 election. "We need to support the elderly and raise the average pension above the subsistence level. We plan to double pensions already in the next few years," Medvedev said during a meeting with trade unions. The average monthly pension was 3,292 roubles ($136) in October 2007, according to Social Affairs Ministry data, while the minimum subsistence level was set by the government at 3,809 roubles. Pensioners, who make up about one fifth of the country's population of 140 million, traditionally voted for communists but appeared to shift their sympathies in favour of pro-Kremlin parties in the last parliamentary election. Medvedev, the 42-year-old lawyer, buoyed by strong support from the popular Putin, is already way ahead of all rivals in opinion polls and gets blanket coverage on state-run media. He has so far kept silent about his future economic policy. Economists see the pension system's reforms as the key economic policy challenge for Russia. Medvedev said he wanted the government and employers to work together to boost "the pension capital" but did not elaborate. TAX REFORMS Russian pensions as well as public healthcare are financed through a unified social tax paid by employers. Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Shatalov told a news conference also on Tuesday the ministry will propose a sweeping reform of the tax. "We are ready for a serious reform of the unified social tax, all the way to abolishing it altogether," said Shatalov. The tax is now regressive, falling as earnings rise, with the maximum rate of 26 percent of gross salary. The government also wants to boost voluntary pension savings -- a tool so far rejected by vast majority of Russians -- promising to match each rouble contributed by an individual with one rouble from the $157 billion budget stabilisation fund. "The risks posed by the pension system become very high. The gap between pay and pension is growing and growing and we need to do something," Shatalov said. He also promised tax breaks for employers' contributions to pension saving schemes. Russians earned 13,518 roubles ($550) a month in 2007 on average, up 27 percent on 2006, but their unwillingness to set money aside for pensions leads to low savings rates, high consumption and pushes Russian firms to seek financing abroad. The government is working on pension reform proposals and Shatalov said the first draft may see the daylight already in February, in time for Medvedev to make it part of his economic strategy. Reporting by Gleb Bryanski Editing by David Christian-Edwards Additional reporting by Darya Korsunskaya © Guardian News and Media Limited 2008

SINGAPORE: A Bit Of Pain, A Lot To Gain

MediShield premium will be raised to cover large hospital bills

SINGAPORE (Today), January 30, 2008:

While the implementation of means testing may not jack up MediShield premiums after all, the need to provide higher coverage for policyholders will.

MediShield premiums will increase this year, said Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, in order for the national catastrophic hospitalisation insurance to cover 80 per cent of large hospital bills. Large bills are those over $10,000 and MediShield currently only covers 60 per cent of these.

“I need to find a nice trade-off between an increase in premium which is affordable, versus how much benefit I can encourage MediShield to pay out,” said Mr Khaw.

He was speaking after donating blood at Bloodbank@HSA (picture), a day after TODAY published his assurance that means testing would not impact premiums. The proposed hike comes three years after Mr Khaw revamped MediShield, integrating various Shield plans into one basic national tier for which premiums were raised.

Mr Khaw said feedback then had indicated a hike of $10 a month was the limit most people were comfortable with.

“I don’t think the mood has changed much between then and now, so that will be my range of possibilities.”

He added that this would be “probably the last round of MediShield adjustment” in his term as Health Minister.

Currently, MediShield coverage is less than ideal due to several factors, such as a daily claim limit that does not take into account costly Intensive Care Unit stays and orthopaedic implants. The limits for both will be increased.

Mr Khaw thinks the public will be receptiveto the higher premiums. “If it’s an adjustment without new benefits, then it’s not fair ... but this comes with an increase in benefits.”

He also reminded Singaporeans to ensure they have appropriate insurance cover for their future hospital stays, especially with means testing to be implemented. While some 60 per cent of 2.8 million MediShield policyholders have enhanced private Shield plans, Mr Khaw reckoned that another 10 to 20 per cent would need more coverage.

Changes to the Medisave scheme are also in store. By March, the Chronic Disease Management Programme will be extended to the outpatient treatment of asthma and possibly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which affects the lungs.

And from April, cancer patients will be able to use their Medisave funds to pay for diagnostic scans — MRI, CT and PET scans — in an outpatient setting, instead of only when hospitalised. Patients can withdraw up to $600 a year from their Medisave account to help pay for the scans.

By Tan Hui Leng
Copyright ©2005 MediaCorp Press Ltd

CHINA: Amost Half Of China's Older City Dwellers Live Alone

BEIJING (China View - Xinhua), January 29, 2008: Some 49.7 percent of city dwellers aged 60 or above live alone, according to a recent report. "As the country's population is aging, more old people are in need of long-term care, which includes daily care, mental support, emergency aid, hospice care and many other types of care," Guo Haoming, a senior official with the Chinese Association for Life Care, said on Tuesday. The report from the China Elderly Work Committee Office said that as of the end of 2006, the number of those aged 60 and above was 149 million, or 11.3 percent of the population. Guo said that service industries for the aged had started very late in China and the number of organizations for nursing and hospice care was far less than adequate. According to Guo, the number of people aged above 80 accounted for 64 percent of the total in the hospice care ward of the Chaoyangmen Hospital in Beijing. In recent years, many older people had abandoned medical care for financial reasons. The report was based on a survey of more than 20,000 valid questionnaires from 20 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. "The country should mobilize all social sources available to create a better environment of nursing care and medical treatments for old people," Guo said, adding that policy support was also needed. Editor: Yan Liang Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency

KOREA: Intel Unveils Healthcare PC Solutions

SOEUL (The Korea Times), January 29, 2008: Intel has shown keen interest in one of South Korea’s "cash cow" industries ― healthcare ― with what is called a "healthcare PC" lineup. On Tuesday, Intel said it has developed PC solutions for healthcare with a local medical venture with Codisoft. The software used in Intel’s desktop makes it possible to analyze users’ health conditions by simply uploading basic personal information such as blood pressure and blood-sugar levels. "The new solution mainly targets the elderly. Although we cannot guarantee 100 percent the result of this computerized test, the package will be of help to those who need to have regular medical check-up at home," Ko Chun-il, senior managing officer at Intel Korea’s Retail Channel Organization, said at a press conference held in central Seoul. He said Intel will offer a ``free trial experiences zone’’ to some 250 small villages nationwide. The PC solution is also armed with 160 gigabyte hard disk drives and 1 gigabyte memory and will be sold for some 1 million won, according to Intel officials. South Korea is expected to become the world’s most aged society by 2050 with people over 80 years accounting for 15 percent of the population from some 1.5 percent in 2007, according to government estimates. Increased life expectancy means that healthcare systems face an increase in the number of older patients. Ageing also plays a role in the occurrence of chronic diseases, which in turn leads to higher demand for long-term care. Although considerable financial costs and profit-seeking have still been regarded as the main disadvantages for experiencing more advanced technologies, the Bank of Korea says the aging-related industry will grow more than 10 times to 148.6 trillion won by 2020 from 12.8 trillion won in 2002. By Kim Yoo-chul Copyright KoreaTimes.co.kr

CANADA: Air Pollution Boosts Risk Of Heart Attack

LONDON, Ontario, Canada (London Free Press), January 29, 2008: Short-term exposure to air pollution is killing 6,000 Canadians a year, and London is in one of the worst areas of the country, according to a report released yesterday by the Heart and Stroke Foundation. The report also found few people are aware fine particle pollution can increase the risk of dying from heart disease and stroke. For individuals, such as smokers, it can increase the risk 94 per cent. And even a short surge in fine particle pollution -- 24 hours -- can increase the risk of heart attack by 69 per cent, the foundation said. "Most people are aware of smog advisories, but they don't act on them," said Dr. Robert Hegele, a Heart and Stroke Foundation researcher and professor of medicine and biochemistry at the University of Western Ontario. Elderly people and those who have had heart problems should stay inside on days when an air quality advisory has been issued, Hegele said. Air quality across Canada has improved in the last few years. However, there has been no significant change in fine particle pollution, produced by a wide variety of sources including cars, diesel trucks, factories, power plants, windblown dust, smoke from wood stoves and outdoor burning. Ontario, Quebec and interior British Columbia are the worst areas for the pollution while Newfoundland and Labrador have the least. In Ontario, the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton are identified as having the highest daily readings, creating an elevated heart attack risk. But the London area's air is close to the same poor quality, Hegele said. The foundation report said people should be aware that the risk from the pollution is year-round, not just in the summer, and that rural areas aren't exempt. Wood stoves, pellet stoves and wood-burning fireplaces can be sources of dangerous air pollution and are responsible for 28 per cent of the fine particulate pollution in Canada, according to the report. RECOMMENDATIONS The Heart and Stroke Foundation called on governments to reduce air pollution and its impact on heart disease by : - Extending the national Air Quality Health Index that has been piloted in Toronto, Nova Scotia and British Columbia to all parts of the country so all Canadians have information on air quality and when to limit exposure - Providing incentive programs to encourage consumers and industry to reduce air pollution - Increasing investments in public transit, including investing in high-speed rail access in the Quebec City to Windsor corridor - Ensuring all wood-burning stoves and fireplaces conform to national particulate emission requirements By John Miner, Sun Media Copyright © 2006, Canoe Inc.

CANADA: Happy 65th Birthday To Me

Maybe 65 isn’t that big a deal after all, muses Peter Duffy

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (The Chronicle Herald), January 29, 2008:

READY OR NOT, this is it. Today, I’m 65.

Today I’m officially, um, what exactly? Not young, certainly; likely not middle-aged, either. But I don’t feel old, or dead.

These days, I really don’t know any more.

The truth is, 65 isn’t what it used to be. It’s no longer the end of the beginning and the beginning of the end, as it was in my parents’ day. Back then, you got the handshake, the gold watch and off you went into the sunset.

Not now. Many people my age have no plans to retire. They’re either too strapped financially or simply having too much fun to stop work. (And before you ask, I’m in the latter category.)

Even the perks are shifting. It used to be turning 65 meant access to a whole new world of discounts. These days, they’re old hat. Lots of stores and entertainment emporiums are offering discounts when you turn 60, or 55 or even 50.

So, maybe 65 isn’t that big a deal after all.

Take the other week, for example. An acquaintance went to a drugstore, looking for a 65th birthday card for his father.

He searched the racks but could only find two that mentioned the actual age, so he asked the assistant why there were so few.

He said she told him it was because 65 is no longer considered a milestone birthday!

"I hope that makes you feel better, Peter," he remarked.

It does, as do some statistics I’ve been studying.

It seems 700 people turn 65 every month in this province. As a consequence, I now belong to a club with more members than there are Nova Scotians at the other end of the age spectrum. There are 130,000 of us who are older than 65 and only 100,000 aged 14 to 18. In other words, don’t mess with us or our benefits.

The downside is, at 65, the average life expectancy in Nova Scotia is only another 18.3 years. (That’s a sobering fact that I intend to counter with a shot of Scotch when I get home tonight.)

I’ve also been investigating which other important events have occurred on this date in history.

To my disappointment, after an extensive search, the only thing that’s popped out is the fact that on this date in 1861, Kansas became a state. Not much to brag about, I guess, unless you live in Kansas.

It was a similar result when I went looking for famous Aquarians who share my birthday. Sadly, the list isn’t all that long. There’s Oprah Winfrey, actors W.C. Fields and Tom Selleck, feminist author Germaine Greer and American revolutionary Thomas Paine. (Being a monarchist, that’s not necessary something I like to boast about.)

Oh yes, there was one encouraging historical footnote. In 1940, Winston Churchill began his first spell as prime minister of Great Britain at age 65. Nice to know my best may be yet to come.

Some of you have written to remind me of the benefits of being older, instead of dead.

Typical was this admonishment from Frances Taggart: "Peter, Peter, Peter! Stop it, stop it right now! Celebrate that you are turning 65. Celebrate that you are alive to enjoy the wine, women and song (or two out of three); celebrate that you are able to enjoy life; able to work and play; and spend time with those you love."

That admonition was a reaction to a recent moan of mine about losing my Herald drug coverage once I turn 65, and trying to decide whether to join Pharmacare for $400-plus a year.

A number of you urged me not to hesitate but to sign on for Pharmacare right away.

Quoth Helen Millington: "As I filled my weekly medication holder for the upcoming week, I thought of your article this morning. As I doled each little pill into its day of the week I thought: $553 every three months for this one; $170 every three months for another; $20 a month for another. And who knows what else may come up in the future? Like the car and house insurances, we may never need them but, thank God we have them if we do!"

Overpowered by this kind of inescapable logic, I finally did sign up.

Anyway, let’s not dwell on health issues. Instead, let’s get into some of the nice financial goodies coming my way.

For starters, when I get paid this Thursday, it’ll be the last time I ever pay into the Canada Pension Plan.

Starting today, the plan will be paying me $880 every month, along with $502 from Old Age Security.

And, as a nice little postscript, once you start drawing CPP, you’re no longer expected to make contributions, so that’s an extra $112 a pay, staying in my hot little hand.

Add in a $240-a-month pension from my native England and I’m already doing the Dance of Joy.

And yes, before you mention it, I know the taxes are going to hurt because I’ll still be working, but what the heck.

With whatever’s left of the pensions, first I’m going to pay off my credit card and then I’ll start throwing this new money straight at the mortgage. All being well, it should be paid off in two more years.

Now that’s what I call being sensible and responsible. Mature even.

Sensible? Mature? Good grief, what’s happening to me?

Is this what being 65 is all about?!

© 2008 The Halifax Herald Limited

U.K.: Sedentary Life 'Speeds Up Ageing'

There is now another good reason for regular exercise, say researchers

LONDON (BBC News), January 29, 2008:

Leading a sedentary lifestyle may make us genetically old before our time, a study suggests. A study of twins found those who were physically active during their leisure time appeared biologically younger than their sedentary peers. The researchers found key pieces of DNA called telomeres shortened more quickly in inactive people. It is thought that could signify faster cellular ageing.

The King's College London study appears in Archives of Internal Medicine.
___________________________________________________

" This conclusion provides a powerful message that could be used by clinicians to promote the potential anti-ageing effect of regular exercise"

King's College London researchers
___________________________________________________

An active lifestyle has been linked to lower rates of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer.

However, the latest research suggests that inactivity not only makes people more vulnerable to disease, but may actually speed up the ageing process itself.

The King's team studied 2,401 white twins, asking them to fill out questionnaires on their level of physical activity, and taking a blood sample from which DNA was extracted.

They particularly focused on telomeres, the repeat sequences of DNA that sit on the ends of chromosomes, protecting them from damage.

As people age, their telomeres become shorter, leaving cells more susceptible to damage and death.

Examining white blood cells from the immune system in particular, the researchers found that, on average, telomeres lost 21 component parts - called nucleotides - every year.

But men and women who were less physically active in their leisure time had shorter leukocyte telomeres compared to those who were more active.

The average telomere length in those who took the least amount of exercise - 16 minutes of physical activity a week - was 200 nucleotides shorter than those who took the most exercise - 199 minutes of physical activity a week, such as running, tennis or aerobics.

The most active people had telomeres of a length comparable to those found in inactive people who were up to 10 years' younger, on average.

Direct comparison of twins who had different levels of physical activity produced similar results.

Impact of stress

The researchers suggest that physically inactive people may be more vulnerable to the damage caused to cells by exposure to oxygen, and to inflammation.

Stress is also thought to have an impact on telomere length, and the researchers suggest people who exercise regularly may help to reduce their stress levels.

Writing in the journal, the researchers said: "Our results show that adults who partake in regular physical activity are biologically younger than sedentary individuals.

"This conclusion provides a powerful message that could be used by clinicians to promote the potential anti-ageing effect of regular exercise."

In an accompanying editorial, Dr Jack Guralnik, of the US National Institute on Aging, said more work was needed to show a direct relationship between ageing and physical activity.

He said: "Persons who exercise are different from sedentary persons in many ways, and although certain variables were adjusted for in this analysis, many additional factors could be responsible for the biological differences between active and sedentary persons.

"Nevertheless, this article serves as one of many pieces of evidence that telomere length might be targeted in studying ageing outcomes."

Copyright BBC MMVIII

U.K.: Needy 'Face Social Care Struggle' - Report

LONDON (BBC News), January 29, 2008:

Elderly and disabled people in England are increasingly being denied social services, a report says.

The Commission for Social Care Inspection said councils were tightening their criteria which determines who is eligible for care. The watchdog said the situation meant there were 281,000 people in need of help receiving none while another 450,000 suffered shortfalls in care.

Ministers have ordered a fundamental review of the rules on eligibility.
___________________________________________
"In a very tight financial settlement, we have to use resources as effectively as possible and if you want more services, we need more resources'
John Ransford, Local Government Association
___________________________________________

Councils have been setting a higher threshold for care in recent years as there is increasing demand for social care driven by the ageing population.

Pressure on budgets has also been felt - partly from the fall-out from the NHS cost cutting in recent years.

The watchdog said two thirds of the 150 councils in England only provided services to individuals with need classed as substantial or critical in 2006-7.

This included everything from help getting up to assistance feeding, although the watchdog pointed out there ware huge variations in how these are defined from area to area.

Trend

This was up from just over half a year ago and the watchdog warned the trend is expected to continue and likely to have hit nearly three quarters by now.

The report said one of the consequences of this was that fewer people were receiving home care support in 2006 - 358,000 - than in 1997 - 479,000 - despite the ageing population.

But it also pointed out that those who were receiving care were getting a better standard of service.

Social care ratings have been increasing for the last five years and eight in 10 councils were now classed as good or excellent.

Commission chairman Dame Denise Platt said: "There is a sharp divide between those in full care and those that fall outside."


She said life for those who were not getting enough care was a "tough" and called on councils to do more to help direct people towards services even if the state was not paying for it.

As well as the 2m people receiving social care, there are hundreds of thousands who are cared for by friends or family or who pay for help privately.

Paul Cann, director of policy at Help the Aged, said: "The social care system is at breaking point.

"Overstretched and underfunded - the report demonstrates that the gap between need and provision is rapidly turning into a gulf."

John Ransford, deputy head of the Local Government Association, said councils wanted to provide care, but did not have enough money.

"We have been saying very strongly that in a very tight financial settlement, we have to use those resources as effectively as possible and if you want more services, we need more resources."

But social care minister Ivan Lewis said: "It's not acceptable. That's why today, I'm announcing a fundamental review of the system which determines who gets care."

He said councils should be looking to address moderate need before it became critical.

It comes as the government is preparing to draw up a green paper later this year to reform social care.

Many experts have called for a system of co-funding whereby the state guarantees a set level of care and then matches anything extra an individual is willing to contribute.

Copyright BBC MMVIII
_________________________________________________


Fewer people qualify for care than three years ago, despite a 3% rise in the number of over-75s.
Photograph: Ariel Skelley/Corbis - Society Guardian, January 29, 2008

WORLD: Middle-Age Is Truly Depressing, 80 Country Study Finds

A passer-by looks at photographs during an exhibition of press photography in Vitoria, Spain. REUTERS/Vincent West

LONDON (Reuters), January 29, 2008:

Middle age is truly miserable, according to a study using data from 80 countries showing that depression is most common among men and women in their forties.

The British and U.S. researchers found that happiness for people ranging from Albania to Zimbabwe follows a U-shaped curve where life begins cheerful before turning tough during middle age and then returning to the joys of youth in the golden years.

Previous studies have shown that psychological well-being remained flat throughout life but the new findings to be published in the journal Social Science & Medicine suggest we are in for a topsy-turvy emotional ride.

"In a remarkably regular way throughout the world people slide down a U-shaped level of happiness and mental health throughout their lives," Andrew Oswald at Britain's Warwick University, who co-led the study, said on Tuesday.

The researchers analyzed data on depression, anxiety levels and general mental health and well-being taken from some 2 million people in 80 countries.

U-SHAPED PATTERN

For men and women the probability of depression slowly builds and then peaks when people are in their forties -- a similar pattern found in 72 countries ranging from Albania to Zimbabwe, the researchers said.

About eight nations -- mostly in the developing world -- did not follow the U-shaped pattern for happiness levels, Oswald and his colleague David Blanchflower of Dartmouth College in the United States wrote.
___________________________________________________

Happiness is being young or old, but middle age is misery

-- Alok Jha, The Guardian, January 29, 2008
___________________________________________________

"It happens to men and women, to single and married people, to rich and poor, and to those with and without children," Oswald said. "Nobody knows why we see this consistency."

One possibility may be that people realize they won't achieve many of their aspirations at middle age, the researchers said. Another reason could be that after seeing their fellow middle-aged peers begin to die, people begin to value their own remaining years and embrace life once more.

But the good news is that if people make it to aged 70 and are still physically fit, they are on average as happy and mentally healthy as a 20-year old.

"For the average persons in the modern world, the dip in mental health and happiness comes on slowly, not suddenly in a single year," Oswald said. "Only in their fifties do people emerge from this low period."

By Michael Kahn
© Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

Growing Older Is Found to Hurt Decision Making

NEW YORK (The New York Times), January 29, 2008:

For the especially unscrupulous con artist, the elderly are a tempting target. Now researchers have confirmed in the lab what frauds already knew instinctively: as they grow older, even people who seem perfectly on top of things may have trouble making good decisions.

The researchers based their findings on a series of tests given to two groups of healthy people, one ages 26 to 55, the other 56 to 85. The goal was to see how well the older volunteers used the skills often demanded of them when making decisions in real life about activities like investments, insurance and estate planning.

Illustration by Stuart Goldenberg

“Such decisions would be a challenge even for young adults,” the researchers note in the current Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. But when age is taken into account, they said, along with the abundance of shady marketing schemes, the challenge becomes even greater.

Even someone with high intellect and good memory, the study said, may be undergoing changes in the prefrontal part of the brain that affects behavior. “The first manifestation of this cognitive decline may be exercising poor judgment and decision making in many important real-life matters,” the study said.

The researchers, led by Natalie L. Denburg of the University of Iowa, used a gambling-style test in which people draw from four different decks of cards. Two decks, not to mince words, are for suckers. They give short-term rewards but long-term losses. The other two decks do the opposite.

Most people draw a lot from the bad decks first and switch. In the study, many of the older participants stuck with the bad decks.

By Eric Nagourney
Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

USA: Cy Smiles All The Way To 101

Cy Bryngelson, center, recently turned 101 years old. Having lunch with him recently at Iowa Veterans Home were, from left, friends Julie Carlson, Renee Aker, Kim Hanken and his niece Clarice Roseland. Photo by Andrew Potter

MARSHALTOWN, Central Iowa (Times-Republican), January 28, 2008:

Cy Bryngelson has an infectious smile and a love of life. That is probably why he’s been living it for 101 years.

Bryngelson, a resident at Iowa Veterans Home, turned 101 on Jan. 18. After a 100th birthday party that saw 300 people visit last year, he decided for a more low-key party this time around with close friends.

He said he doesn’t know the secret to his longevity but it could be genetics. His sister Helen Marks just passed away at the age of 102.

“All of us had good Norwegian blood,” he said.

Just getting to 101 is an accomplishment but even more amazing is how he can still hold his own in a conversation.

“He’s sharp on everything that is going on,” said his niece Clarice Roseland.

Born in Dunbar, Iowa, his family moved to Canada where he spent much of his childhood. He served in the Navy from 1942 to 1945 on submarine chasers off the coast in New England.

It was in the Navy where he met Eleanor Tucker at a USO gathering. In their case it was love at first dance.

“It was a ladies choice dance,” he said. “She picked me and that was it.”

They were married for 53 years until Eleanor passed away in 1995.

Bryngelson moved back to Dunbar with Eleanor where he ran his own businesses and also worked in the automotive business in Marshalltown.

He has lived at IVH for 23 years has endeared himself to the staff and vice versa.

“I like it ever since I’ve been here,” he said.

Bryngelson is also well-known by residents at the home, often having a smile or a wave for those he comes in contact with.

“He knows everybody and everybody knows him,” Roseland said. “He’s very giving and very thoughtful.”

Bryngelson still has his quick-witted humor. When trying to remember the name of his old square dancing club in Dunbar, his niece said she thought it was called the “Dunbar Squares.”

Bryngelson confessed: “We were all squares.”

His friend Julie Carlson visits for lunch every Thursday and she said that his longevity may be due to how he treats people.

“It keeps you living when you reach out and care for others,” she said.

Copyright 2008 Times-Republican

USA: Snoring Found To Lead To Bronchitis

CHICAGO (Reuters), January 28, 2008:

People who snore are more likely to develop chronic bronchitis, the hacking cough most often associated with cigarette smoking or breathing polluted air, Korean researchers reported on Monday.

Why snoring might lead to bronchitis is not clear, said a team led by Inkyung Baik of Korea University Ansan Hospital in South Korea.

The report, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, covered 4,270 men and women between 2001 and 2006. Of the group, 314 came down with chronic bronchitis.

"We collected information on snoring at baseline and identified incident cases of chronic bronchitis during a four-year follow-up period," Baik's team wrote.

After taking into account whether those in the study smoked or were otherwise at risk for bronchitis, the investigators concluded that people who snored five nights a week or less were 25 percent more likely to develop bronchitis than those who never snored.

The risk was 68 percent higher for those who snored six to seven times a week.

"Our findings provide support for the hypothesis that snoring is associated with chronic bronchitis," the researchers wrote.

It could be that snoring vibrates the upper airways, stressing them and leading to inflammation, the researchers said.

(Reporting by Michael Conlon; editing by Maggie Fox)
© Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

USA: Destined To Cheat? New Research Finds Free Will Can Keep Us Honest

Unanimous Union: The mind and body together lean toward ‘truthiness’. Illustration Courtesy: APS

WASHINGTON (Association For Psychological Science),
January 28, 2008:

With the start of the New Year millions have resolved to lie less, cheat less, put the holiday hangovers behind them, or otherwise better their lives. Some will moderate their bad habits; others may make significant changes and become shining examples of integrity. But most of those well-intended New Year’s resolutions are destined to fail. In an age where cheating scandals plague elite universities and major corporations are brought down by unethical actions, the debate about the origins and nature of our decisions play into a larger debate about genetic determinism and free will.

It is well established that changing people’s sense of responsibility can change their behavior. But what would happen if people came to believe that their behavior was the inevitable product of a causal chain beyond their control -- a predetermined fate beyond the reach of free will?

Surprisingly, the link between fatalistic beliefs and unethical behavior has never been examined scientifically -- until now. In two recent experiments, psychologists Kathleen Vohs of the University of Minnesota and Jonathan Schooler of the University of British Columbia decided to explore this knotty philosophical issue in the lab, and they figured out an innovative way to do it.

Vohs and Schooler set out to see if otherwise honest people would cheat and lie if their beliefs in free will were manipulated.

The psychologists gave college students a mathematics exam. The math problems appeared on a computer screen, and the subjects were told that a computer glitch would cause the answers to appear on the screen as well. To prevent the answers from showing up, the students had to hit the space bar as soon as the problems appeared.

In fact, the scientists were observing to see if the participants surreptitiously used the answers instead of solving the problems honestly on their own. Prior to the math test, Vohs and Schooler used a well-established method to prime the subjects' beliefs regarding free will: some of the students were taught that science disproves the notion of free will and that the illusion of free will was a mere artifact of the brain's biochemistry whereas others got no such indoctrination.

The results were clear: those with weaker convictions about their power to control their own destiny were more apt to cheat when given the opportunity as compared to those whose beliefs about controlling their own lives were left untouched.

Vohs and Schooler then went a step further to see if they could get people to cheat with unmistakable intention and effort. In a second study, the experimenters set up a different deception: they had the subjects take a very difficult cognitive test. Then, the subjects solved a series of problems without supervision and scored themselves. They also "rewarded" themselves $1 for each correct answer; in order to collect, they had to walk across the room and help themselves to money in a manila envelope.

The psychologists had previously primed the participants to have their beliefs in free will bolstered or reduced by having them read statements supporting a deterministic stance of human behavior. And the results were just as robust. As reported in the January issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, this study shows that those with a stronger belief in their own free will were less apt to steal money than were those with a weakened belief.

Although the results of this study point to a significant value in believing that free will exists, it clearly raises some significant societal questions about personal beliefs and personal behavior.

Source: Association For Psychological Science, Washington.

IRELAND: Complaints Of Abuse On Elderly People Reach 1,000

CORK (Irish Examiner), January 28, 2008:

Almost 1,000 cases of alleged abuse of elderly people were referred to the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE)’s elder abuse services last year, figures have revealed.

The statistics, the first to be compiled since the HSE appointed elder abuse officers to check on cases throughout the country, also reveal that in 92% of cases there was a family relationship between the alleged abuser and the older person. Alarmingly, one in five cases alleged physical abuse.

The HSE figures show that in 2007, 927 cases were referred to the elder abuse services, which comprise 26 dedicated staff. The initial research indicates that:

* 88% of clients are living at home, with another 2% living in the homes of relatives.

* 4% are in public continuing care facilities.

* 3% are in private nursing homes.

* 2% are in other places.

The figures also reveal that the main sources of referral are community healthcare staff in 38% of cases, while 16% of cases are referred by family and 14% by other HSE staff. The Garda Síochána was consulted in about 100 cases last year.

As for the nature of the alleged abuse, the initial HSE research indicates that in 29% of cases it took the form of psychological abuse, including forms of emotional abuse, threats of harm or abandonment, deprivation of contact, intimidation, verbal abuse or isolation.

In another 20% of cases the alleged abuse relates to financial matters, such as theft, fraud, exploitation and pressure in connection with wills, while another 20% of cases involves allegations of physical abuse.

Other forms of alleged abuse in cases investigated by the HSE include discriminatory abuse, neglect and acts of omission, and sexual abuse.

Age Action’s head of advocacy and communications Eamon Timmins said there was “a huge lack of awareness” of elder abuse, but the scale of the problem “would not come as a surprise” to those working in the elderly support sector.

“The state’s policy going back to the late ’60s is to let people live independently in their own homes but, if you look at what they [the Government] are doing in policy terms, it does not stand up,” said Mr Timmins.

A further six officers will join the 26 existing elder abuse officers in the coming weeks, as part of the implementation of recommendations made in 2002 in a working group report on elder abuse.

A national steering group on elder abuse, in addition to the elder abuse steering committees at HSE Area level, has been established to oversee the provision of elder abuse services by the HSE in relation to the detection, reporting and response to cases of alleged abuse.

By Noel Baker
© Examiner Publications (Cork) Limited,

MALAYSIA: The Aged - An Overlooked Group

PENANG, Malaysia (The Star), January 28, 2008:

"RETIREMENT at 65 is ridiculous. When I was 65 I still had pimples,” said George Burns, that famous geriatric who made a career out of telling jokes about old age.

Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew may leave references to teenage afflictions to the comedians, but he certainly makes no bones about his shared sentiment.

“Retirement means death,” he stressed in a dialogue session at the inaugural Silver Industry Conference and Exhibition (Sicex) in the city-state recently.

“With nothing to do, no purpose in life, you’ll just degrade, go to seed. The human being needs a challenge,” said the former prime minister who will turn 85 in September and shows no sign of slowing down.

Sicex 2008, primarily a product showcase for healthcare and wellness, travel and leisure, finance, and technology in the mature market, also brought to light the issue of population ageing.

Malaysia is not a particularly elderly country at present. The population aged 60 and above is currently under 7% . When it reaches 10%, the government will not be able to ignore its complex social and economic implications. And that, according to Department of Statistics projections, will happen in the next 15 years.

This change in the demographic profile is the result of better health, longer life expectancy, low mortality and declining fertility levels. Economic development, medical advances, accessibility to medical and social care, and knowledge of nutrition have also put more years into life.

While the country has made preparations, among them the National Policy for the Elderly 1995 and the creation of the National Senior Citizens’ Action Plan, besides financial allocations to voluntary organisations for the aged, we’re all aware that the years will fly by fast enough and the authorities need to establish more than a basic foundation before that threshold arrives.

When contacted, Lum Kin Tuck, president of the National Council of Senior Citizens Organisations Malaysia (Nacscom) and a member of the Government’s advisory body on the implementation of the 1995 policy, said “the implementation part of the policy’s objectives has been very weak”.

“There should be a special officer in charge,” he suggested. “At present, the person tasked with handling this matter has duties in other areas as well.”

Lum was unhappy that the consultative body on ageing issues does not meet regularly. “Meetings should be held at least twice a year, not at random as they do now.”

Unlike developed countries with a large middle class, the problem of ageing in Malaysia is exacerbated by the fact that the majority of those over 60 are in the lower-income group. It is thus imperative to tackle the issue aggressively.

“Unlike before, more and more older people know they cannot depend on their children to care for them,” said Lum. “And even if the children are willing, very often they just don’t have the financial means to do so as they are poor. That’s why I hope the government takes up Nacscom’s proposal for a RM300 social pension for the needy.”

One of the points made at Sicex 2008 is that we should not be thinking about providing the elderly with basic needs, but rather enhancing their quality of life. The traditional definition of old as being ill, poor and alone is no longer applicable to the majority within this group.

Active ageing is the name of the game these days – and more than ever, it has become a female sport.

“Women live longer and the majority of baby boomers are women. They still do the shopping and make the decisions at home, so businesses have to pay special attention to that,” said Dr Joseph Coughlin of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s AgeLab.

“Ageing is a prime global market target across industries,” he added. “The 50-plus are lifestyle leaders of the future.”

According to research by MasterCard, consumer spending by this group in Asia will rise to US$616bil (RM2tril) in 2013, three times higher than in 2005.

Baby boomers have always pioneered trends and will continue to be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. You can bet these ageing hipsters won’t stop till they drop.

Copyright © 1995-2007 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd

U.K.: Coffee may make diabetes worse, researchers suggest

LONDON, England (BBC News), January 28, 2008:

Daily consumption of caffeine in coffee, tea or soft drinks increases blood sugar levels for people with type 2 diabetes, research suggests.

Caffeine pills equivalent to four cups of coffee a day increased blood sugar levels by 8% over the day, US researchers report in Diabetes Care.

Cutting caffeine out of the diet may help diabetics control their blood sugar levels, the team said.

But UK experts said more research was needed before advice could be given.

The ten people who took part in the study were monitored with a tiny glucose monitor embedded under the skin.

The device meant that the researchers could track the effects of caffeine over 72-hours as the patients with type 2 diabetes went about their normal lives.

Previous studies had shown that caffeine increases the body's resistance to insulin, the hormone responsible for managing the response to glucose levels in the blood.

But in healthy people this is not really a problem, said study leader Dr James Lane from Duke University Medical School.

In the diabetic patients, who took caffeine pills on one day and a placebo the next, caffeine caused blood sugar levels to rise.

The effect was particularly strong after meals with a rise of 9% after breakfast, 15% after lunch and 26% after dinner.

Quitting

Dr Lane is planning to do another trial in larger number of patients to see if cutting caffeine from the diet can help patients control their blood sugar levels.

He said there are two possible ways that caffeine produces the effect.
_____________________________________________________________


"The best way to control glucose levels is through healthy eating and exercise"

Cathy Moulton, Diabetes UK
_____________________________________________________________

It could be that caffeine interferes with the process that moves glucose from the blood and into muscle and other cells in the body.

Caffeine could also trigger the release of adrenaline which can also boost sugar levels.

"My advice would be, if patients are having trouble controlling their blood glucose and they are coffee drinkers, particularly heavy coffee drinkers, they might want to give it a try to see if it makes a difference to them."

He said he suspects in some people it would make a very big difference whereas others may not be so sensitive to it.

Cathy Moulton, care advisor at Diabetes UK, said: "Although this is interesting research, the study only examines a sample of 10 people for a 72-hour period, which proves very little.

"More research is needed before we ask people with diabetes to stop drinking coffee.

"The best way to control glucose levels is through healthy eating and exercise."

Copyright BBC MMVIII

JAPAN: 71-Year-Old Climbs Antarctica Peak, Oldest To Conquer Mountains In Seven Continents

NAGOYA (Kyodo), January 28, 2008:

Tomiyasu Ishikawa, 71, of Kariya, Aichi Prefecture, reached the summit of Mount Vinson Massif, the tallest mountain in Antarctica, on January 21, his family said Sunday.

By reaching the top of the 4,897-meter peak, Ishikawa is believed to be the oldest person to have conquered the tallest mountains on all seven continents. The previous record was held by Ramon Blanco of Spain, who was 70 years and eight months old when he finished climbing all seven peaks.

Ishikawa, chairman of a mountaineering association in Aichi Prefecture, left Japan on January 7 and joined a party of non-Japanese climbers at a base camp at the 2,200-meter point before his summit attempt.

Ishikawa climbed Mount Everest in 2002 at the age of 65, setting a new record at that time for the oldest climber to conquer the 8,848-meter mountain. He then set out on his attempt to conquer the tallest peaks on the world's seven continents. He reached the summit of 5,895-meter Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, the sixth peak, in September 2007.

Ishikawa was born November 11, 1936.

(C) The Japan Times
______________________________________________________

Earlier Report from Aichi Voice
Sporting Goods Shop Owner Tomiyasu Ishikawa

Tomiyasu Ishikawa was born in Aichi Prefecture in 1936. He is a member of the Japanese Alpine Club; vice-chairman of a federation of mountaineering clubs in Aichi, representative of the Hekiryo alpine club, and a member of the Silver Turtles.

He formed the Hekiryo club in his hometown of Kariya when he was 22, and climbed Mt. Hotaka that winter. At 29, he opened Hotaka Sports, a sporting-goods store specializing in mountain-climbing equipment, in Kariya. While running the store, Ishikawa conquered several of the world's most famous peaks. He has logged a succession of daring ascents and continues to take on 8,000-meter peaks even after turning 60. He made his first 8,000-meter-grade ascent in 1991, when he scaled Tibet's Cho Oyu (8,201 meters). He climbed Everest (8,848 meters) and Dhaulagiri (8,167 meters) in 1994, Shisha Pangma (8,008 meters) in 1995, Manaslu (8,163 meters) in 1996, and Gasherbrum II (8,035 meters) in 1998. Ishikawa's Everest ascent at age 57 made him the oldest Japanese, and the second-oldest person worldwide, to accomplish this feat.

Photo by Kisaburo Iwamatsu, Text by Jun Nakahara