Geriatrics

The strong link between pain killers and suicide in the elderly
A paper published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics has investigated the relationship between pain killers and suicidal behavior in the elderly. This study aims to examine the association between suicidal vulnerability and analgesic consumption in a population based study. Authors hypothesized that people with a past history of suicide attempts (i.e. carrying suicidal vulnerability) will be more prone to consuming analgesics than subjects without such a history.They selected subjects among a cohort recruited in communitydwelling people over 65 years of age between 1999 and 2001. MedicalXpress

Meals for one: How eating alone affects the health of the elderly
People's diet is not fixed: it changes over time. Furthermore, the ability to eat healthily is influenced by a person's social environment – including factors such as marriage, cohabitation, friendship and general social interaction. As people age, they are less likely to eat well – and when older people are living alone their diet often suffers. MedicalXpress

Changes in epigenetic DNA functions reveal how diabetes predisposes individuals to Alzheimer's
Diabetes and dementia are rising dramatically in the United States and worldwide. In the last few years, epidemiological data has accrued showing that older people with diabetes are significantly more likely to develop cognitive deterioration and increased susceptibility to onset of dementia related to Alzheimer's disease. Now, a research team led by Giulio Maria Pasinetti, MD, PhD, the Saunders Family Chair and Professor of Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, discovered a novel mechanism through which this may occur. The results are published online Oct. 23, in the journal Diabetes. Eurekalert!

A step towards early Alzheimer's diagnosis
"In victims of Alzheimer's, something happens to the lysosomes so that they can't manage to take care of the surplus of beta amyloid. They fill up with junk that normally is broken down into its component parts and recycled," says Katarina Kågedal, reader in Experimental Pathology at Linköping University. She led the study that is now being published in Neuromolecular Medicine. MedicalXpress

Shorter sleep duration and poorer sleep quality linked to Alzheimer's disease biomarker
Poor sleep quality may impact Alzheimer's disease onset and progression. This is according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who examined the association between sleep variables and a biomarker for Alzheimer's disease in older adults. The researchers found that reports of shorter sleep duration and poorer sleep quality were associated with a greater β-Amyloid burden, a hallmark of the disease. The results are featured online in the October issue of JAMA Neurology. MedicalXpress