Older Adults And Babies Most Vulnerable To Preventable Head Injuries Suffered At Home

Accidental falls are the leading cause of non-fatal injury among Americans of all ages according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS). And among Americans age 65 and older, falls are the leading cause of fatal injuries. Among older adults, traumatic brain injury (TBI) causes nearly 50 percent of fall-related fatalities. In children ages 4 and younger, TBI is the primary cause of fall-related death and severe injury. In 2008, nearly 8.6 million Americans suffered accidental falls according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission statistics indicate that an estimated 1.

New Journal To Be Launched By SAGE: Geriatric Orthopaedic Surgery Rehabilitation

Geriatric Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation is a new bimonthly journal being launched in September 2010 by SAGE, the world's leading independent academic and professional publisher. Geriatric Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation will address a broad range of musculoskeletal disorders in the aging patient through peer-reviewed research reports and reviews, technical perspectives, case studies, and other evidence-based articles. "The fastest growing portion of our population is the segment over 65 years old. Most older individuals will experience an orthopaedic problem as they age, " said Stephen Kates, MD, the journal's founding Editor.

Identification Of First Genetic Variant Linked To Biological Aging In Humans

Scientists have announced that they have identified for the first time definitive variants associated with biological ageing in humans. The team analyzed more than 500, 000 genetic variations across the entire human genome to identify the variants which are located near a gene called TERC. The study in Nature Genetics published today by researchers from the University of Leicester and King's College London, working with University of Groningen in the Netherlands, was funded by The Wellcome Trust and the British Heart Foundation. British Heart Foundation Professor of Cardiology at the University of Leicester Professor Nilesh Samani, of the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, who co-led the project explained that there are two forms of ageing - chronological ageing i.

State Health Policy Developments: Doctor Shortages, California Insurance Crackdown

News outlets across the country report on state health policy developments. The Los Angeles Times: "At a time when nearly 7 million Californians are uninsured, state regulators are trying to rein in discount health and dental plans that officials say frequently overstate benefits, offer little if any savings and promise access to doctors who aren't part of the system. Some of the discounters fraudulently market themselves as insurance, while preying on the poor, the elderly and others who urgently need care, officials say. ... Plan executives bristle at such criticism. They say a few bad apples have tarnished an industry that offers reliable -- and relatively inexpensive -- services.

For Senior Care, Sometimes It Does Take A Village

In an article for Kaiser Health News and The Washington Post, Howard Gleckman writes about elder villages. "Nearly three years ago, Harry Rosenberg and his wife, Barbara Filner, met with nine of their neighbors about starting an aging-in-place "village" in the Burning Tree community of Bethesda, Maryland. The idea: If neighbors could help one another with basic services such as transportation and simple home maintenance and with friendly visits, people could stay in their homes longer as they aged" (Gleckman, 2/9). Read entire article. This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.