Caregivers have greater psychological and physical health problems than noncaregivers, according to a recent article at CNN.com. In the May issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, psychologist Peter Vitaliano explains that many caregivers suffer just as much as the people they care for, the article reports. It's not entirely ...

Professional caregivers for the elderly are one of the fastest-growing segments of the American workforce, and they are primarily women over the age of 55, according to a recent article in the New York Times. From 2008-2018, the number of direct-care workers, including those in long-term care facilities, will increase from 3.2 million to 4.3 ...

A recent study has found that increased vitamin D intake can improve muscle strength and physical function in seniors. Denise Houston, MD, Sticht Center on Aging at Wake Forest University, and collaborators studied the relationship between vitamin D status and physical function in a group of relatively healthy seniors living in Memphis, Tenn., ...

A new study by researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is the first to refute the widely held belief that intentional weight loss in older adults leads to increased risk of death. Study results showed that seniors who intentionally exercised and/or modified their diets to lose weight were half as likely to die within eight ...

The American Medical Directors Association (AMDA) Foundation, the non-profit research and education arm of AMDA, invites you to meet two dogs that have a key role in caring for long term care facility residents. Come meet Sophie and Tessa and hear from their owner, a facility medical director, and other physicians about the power of pets in their ...

How much can a small touch really mean to a person? A recent article in The New York Times suggests that little touches mean a lot, and that high fives and reassuring pats on the back can even lower stress and increase happiness. The article focuses mainly on the positive effect of supportive touches in sports like basketball ...

A recent pilot study has found that regular use of ''exergames''--video games, like Nintendo Wii, that combine entertainment with exercise--can improve symptoms of subsyndromal depression (SSD) in seniors.   SSD is much more common than major depression in seniors, and is associated with substantial suffering, functional ...

If your residents are not complying with their metformin medication schedule, it could be the smell, which has been described as similar to dead fish. Many diabetics report nausea when taking the commonly prescribed drug, but doctors have not associated it with the odor. Read more here.

 A University of Missouri researcher is developing a tiny sensor, known as an acoustic resonant sensor, that is smaller than a human hair and could test bodily fluids for a variety of diseases, including breast and prostate cancers. Read more here: http://www.seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Features/2010/20100217-HomeDetectionKit.htm.  

As a person who loses keys, purses, my wallet and possibly even a child or two, I will definitely need this high-tech medication reminder: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/02/pills.medication.compliance/index.html?hpt=C2.