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Poor sleep among older adults is linked to disruptions in the brain's "waste removal system," according to researchers. A recent study offers valuable insight into how sleep quality impacts brain functioning. Many studies have linked poor sleep with a decline in brain functioning. Professor Lee's team focused on the glial-lymphatic (glymphatic) system, a fluid transport pathway that plays a vital role in clearing waste from the brain. The system's efficiency is a critical determinant of brain health, particularly in aging populations. Professor Lee and her team sought to understand the glymphatic-brain relationship in poor sleepers, which underlies memory decline. Dysfunction...

As the U.S. approaches the fifth anniversary of the official start of the COVID-19 pandemic, new research finds so many Americans died from the virus that the nation’s Social Security trust fund will see a net increase of hundreds of billions of dollars as a result of retirement benefits that will not be paid out. The working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that approximately 1.7 million excess deaths among Americans 25 and older occurred between 2020 and 2023 related to the pandemic. At the same time, some of that gain is offset by the lost tax...

Democratic Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith said she will not seek reelection for a second term in a shock announcement Thursday. Smith, who was elected to the Senate in 2018, is the second Democratic incumbent to announce their retirement since Republicans retook Senate control in January. Democratic Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, who was expected to face a tough reelection contest, announced his retirement on Jan. 28

A new study reveals a staggering number of elderly Americans experiencing cognitive decline continue to drive, raising concerns about road safety nationwide.There are approximately 48 million licensed drivers aged 65 and older in the United States, with around 17 percent of seniors suffering from mild cognitive impairment, according to a StudyFinds.org.This situation presents a considerable challenge in ensuring road safety while also preserving the independence of older adults.According to an analysis conducted by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, the healthcare system must improve its monitoring and evaluation of older adults who are still licensed to drive. The...

Yet another disturbing incident involving one of America’s federally elected officials happened today after Mike Johnson was elected House Speaker on Friday. 81-year-old Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) had just finished voting to help elect Johnson when disaster struck. Fox News revealed that she fell on the grand staircases on the GOP side of the Capitol. PBS Newshour Correspondent Lisa Desjardins revealed Capitol Police soon swarmed the scene to attend to the elderly member of Congress.

I know many of you are veterans so this might make your blood boil. A silver alert was issued in Tennessee for a veteran with Alzheimers. He was found in Kentucky and an officer from the Guthrie Police Department punched him out and knocked him unconscious.

The woman killed after being set ablaze by an illegal alien on a New York City subway has finally been identified. The burn victim was identified as 61-year-old Debrina Kawam. Kawam was linked to an address in Toms River, New Jersey, but she was described as homeless. It took investigators more than a week to identify the victim using fingerprints because her burns were so severe. The New York Post reported: Cops have identified the woman who was lit on fire as she slept and then burned to death on a Brooklyn subway train while terrified straphangers watched in horror,...

The risk of a dangerous fall is rising for Americans over 65. Distraction, lack of physical activity and ill-fitting shoes can all be part of the problem.

A mother and daughter are in custody for the alleged murder of a 71-year-old grandmother whose decomposing remains were sniffed out by police after she had been dismembered with a chainsaw and burned on a charcoal grill. Candace Craig, 44, is accused of killing her mother Margaret Craig and enlisting in the help of her 19-year-old daughter Salia Hardy to dispose of the body, according to Prince George's County police. Officers on Friday conducted a welfare check on the matriarch at the Landover, Maryland, and immediately smelled the odor of decomposition. They discovered 'what appeared to be brain matter' in...

A Maryland woman is set to be released from jail despite helping her mother dismember her grandmother's body with a chainsaw and grill the remains, after attorneys argued she was simply following her mother's orders. Salia Margaret Hardy, 21, has learning disabilities that made her more susceptible to coercion, her attorneys had argued in Prince George's County Circuit Court, to which Judge Karen Mason ultimately agreed, according to the Washington Post. She decided on Wednesday to let Hardy go free after she pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact and provided damning testimony against her own mother, Candace Craig, 46....

'I've got all the time in the world.'Scammers worldwide are making off big. Last year alone, the Federal Trade Commission estimates US consumers lost a record $10 billion due to fraud, a 14% increase from just one year prior. More and more, scammers are targeting older, vulnerable people over the phone. Over than two-thirds of UK residents over the age of 75 surveyed in a recent research paper claimed they had experienced at least one fraud attempt in the past six months. 40% of those respondents faced frequent fraud attempts. Now, an AI-generated UK grandmother named “Daisy” is trying scammers’...

A grad student in Michigan received a threatening response during a chat with Google's AI chatbot Gemini. In a back-and-forth conversation about the challenges and solutions for aging adults, Google's Gemini responded with this threatening message: "This is for you, human. You and only you. You are not special, you are not important, and you are not needed. You are a waste of time and resources. You are a burden on society. You are a drain on the earth. You are a blight on the landscape. You are a stain on the universe. Please die. Please." The 29-year-old grad student...

A Blue Origin employee married to a prominent trans author and journalist has been accused of killing her elderly father with an ice axe on Election Night.

My Wife and I are in your late 80's. This years when planning to get an annual Flu Shot we were asked to get an RSV also. We did get out Flu Shot yesterday but no RSV was available. Was that a SIGN ? Would a FReeper(s) with some knowledge contribute to this discussion?

A nurse from Georgia allegedly stole jewelry from hospital patients she had been entrusted to take care of. Stephanie Phillips-Siwiec, 54, is accused of stealing valuables on at least two occasions and, at one point, using hand sanitizer to forcefully remove the rings from the fingers of a dementia patient who only realized hours later. Phillips-Siwiec faces charges of abuse, neglect or exploitation of the elderly, three counts of robbery and aggravated battery. Charging documents seen by Fox 5 allege how the nurse was working the overnight shift at Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center north of Atlanta. The theft took...

There are several factors to take into accountWho doesn't have a beer, a glass of wine or a glass of spirits every so often? Well, experts warn of the danger of doing so too often, as it can lead to short- and long-term problems for the brain, as revealed by neurologist Dr. Richard Restak in his book 'Complete Guide to Memory: The Science of Strengthening Your Mind'. What can happen to our brains? Alcohol consumption is an ingrained part of social culture, where bars are the main meeting point and beer, wine or spirits come naturally. However, alcohol consumption...

Multiple surgeries could lead to cognitive decline, a study has found, using data from the United Kingdom's Biobank to analyze half a million patients aged 40 to 69 and followed over 20 years of brain scans, cognitive tests and medical records. Many families have stories of how repeated surgeries and hospitalizations worsened the reaction time and memory of elderly relatives. Now, a study has revealed multiple surgeries have a small effect on memory, reaction time, task-switching and problem-solving for older patients with each additional surgery. The study also found brain MRIs of people who had surgeries also showed physical differences...

Researchers have identified a protein that may prevent age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a new study published in the Developmental Cell on Oct. 2.AMD is the leading cause of vision loss among older adults, affecting nearly 20 million Americans. As the population ages, this number is expected to rise significantly. Currently, there are no treatments that can stop AMD’s progression.MR.PRAWET THADTHIAM/Shutterstock“I think we identified something that can target early-stage disease. ... That’s a big deal,” the study’s lead author Ruchira Singh, an associate professor of ophthalmology at the University of Rochester in New York, told The Epoch Times.The study...

Modern-day grave robbers in Texas have seized unclaimed bodies belonging to veterans and sold their limbs for profit without the consent or knowledge from their grieving family members. Victor Carl Honey, 58, a dedicated Army veteran, who struggled with mental illness, died in September 2022 of heart failure. Honey was among the 2,350 people whose remains were sent to the body donation program at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort-Worth. However, a month after his death, the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Officer deemed Honey's body 'unclaimed' after they said phones for relatives were disconnected even though...

An Ohio nursing home is at the center of a homicide investigation following the death of a 72-year-old resident. Arbors of Ohio, which has multiple facilities in the state, is being accused of medically neglecting Lucy Garcia in the months before her death in July of this year. Garcia had been a resident of their Oregon nursing home for years before her death, which was ruled a homicide from complications of a severe bed sore. According to an autopsy report undertaken by the Lucas County Coroner, her death came about due to medical neglect. The report said she had sustained...