Seniors Site

The death sentence of Alzheimer’s disease is currently hung over the head of Mr. Chuck Jackson. This same disease has been with the past four generations of his family before him.

During the congressional hearing last Wednesday, he testified and pleaded that the Congress increase their commitment to Alzheimer’s research now because along with other patients, he wants to be a survivor as well. At the gathering, he showed 14 other relatives who are like him and are on the early-onset Alzheimer’s stage.

True enough, this man is speaking in behalf of those who are having a problem with this disease. Every person affected by this is frustrated with the situation. It is a disease that most seniors and adults do not want to have.

Hopefully, their voices have been heard. Soon, the plight to combat Alzheimer’s will become successful.. hopefully.

In a Senate hearing, former supreme court justice Sandra Day O’connor and former speaker if the US house of representatives Newt Gingrich urged the committee on aging to focus on the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.

They argued that it is a growing concern for everyone in the United States. They both suggested that the Alzheimer’s study group is developing their recommendations through a focus on five key objectives namely the following:

1. Encouraging collaboration among researchers
2. Improving clinical trials
3. Learning from large electronic health datasets
4. Integrating a community based care model
5, Provide better information to policy makers

They have urged that we should all act now for the betterment of all the seniors and those who are suffering from the most feared senior disease - Alzheimer’s.

Even though it was more than a year already, I could still remember the brutal death of Andrew Anthos, a gay senior citizen. A man followed him off the bus after asking him if he was gay. At the bus stop in front of his building, he was beaten to a pulp with a metal pipe.

He was taken to a hospital and then fell into a coma. He later on died when his body could not sustain all the beating that he went through.

I still could not take it why some people tend to discriminate and others. Could they not just spare the senior citizen from this? It was a very disturbing death since Anthos was beaten to a pulp just because he was gay.

I just hope that there would be more and more citizens who will be watchful about the rights of senior citizens.

Contrary to the belief of many, seniors are more active socially than what they used to be when they were younger. This is a study conducted by the University of Chicago. It gave them the conclusion that adults become vital and remain active members of the society at the age of 80 as opposed to the time when they were at their 50’s.

I can attest to this fact. How? My grandmother who is 83 years old now, is an active member of her church, conducts bible studies and she’s even teaching in an elementary school. During weekends, she goes to the Strip in Vegas to play some slot machines with her friends and sometimes, they go for their usual bingo nights and ballroom nights. If you didn’t know my grandmother you’ll think she’s just in her 60s.

Maybe seniors become more active because they already have the time to do the things that they could not do when they were working. Work can suck up all the energy inside them and in no time, they would quickly fall asleep. But not now!

 

Geometry is pretty interesting. Especially if your senior professor makes use of practical measures in order to educate you about lines, shapes and sizes!

I was looking for formulas to further help my son with his Geometry class and look what I found. I found a really good laugh! Take a close look!

While there are no real numbers to compare to, 27% of grandparents and 34% of babyboomers would like to receive a portable video game system this year. Nintendo suspects that the video game Brain Age is a big part of this. Probably because Nintendo has been promoting the game heavily that it has reached the 50+ community.

I guess it is safe to say that Nintendo have captured a new market of audience. The question now lies if there are any publishers and game designers out there who are willing to take a shot in creating a game that is designed solely for seniors.

I have always dreamed that one day, when I am pretty old to be a grandpa, I should be holding a game controller and playing it hardcore with my grandchildren. Good job Nintendo!

I have heard a lot of news regarding people taking advantage of senior citizens - physically or mentally. Because they are vulnerable especially when it comes to technology, some people take advantage so that they could earn a decent amount of money.

I remember the story of a senior citizen who brought his computer to a store for a free tune up. It stopped working and to his surprise he was being charged with over $300 by the tech. They started saying techie terms that the senior was having problems understanding. They were obviously pushing a sale.

Luckily, a good man was inside the store and offered to take a look at the computer. It was not turning on alright. When he opened the box, he expected the worst. To his surprise, it was just a pulled memory from the slot. It was a clear example of how some people tend to use their intellect over vulnerable people such as seniors.

I just wish that there are more people who will stand up for seniors because every single day, someone is trying to get the best out of the seniors.

The senate’s bill to cut the expenses on medicare doctors for older adults might experience a slight delay because of the extended expenditure in the war against Iraq. reports say that it may be moved until late May or early June.

This is actually a big boost because they are pushing for a 10.6% medicare physician fee cut. This will be a big help for those who are in need of medical attention especially our dearest seniors.

A Senate aide stated last Friday that the delay is caused by ongoing discussions and not because of Iraq or, medicaid or anything else. He said that the specifics is not yet sure whether it will be pushed this May or in June.

I just hope that they will continue this because this is something that is needed not only by seniors but by the people of the United States.

I looked into different movies that are somewhat related to seniors and I came across a pretty interesting title. It was starred by Fernanda Montenegro and the film is entitled, "The other side of the street".

It revolved around the story of a senior romance. It started when the woman that Ms. Montenegro plays saw a possible murder case accross the street with her binoculars. In a twist of fate, the man noticed her and they began seeing each other. He then told her his side of the story. He said that his wife was suffering cancer. The friendship soon developed into a much deeper relationship. There were sexual scenes that made the Brazilian movie get a rate of 3 from reviews.

The story was nice in a sense since it depicted a timeless romance and a sweet tale of a whirlwind type of love. It showed how a senior desires something and that they also have this certain amount of lust in their genes even if they are in their senior years.

33% of dementia patients also use incontinence drugs. This is a significant problem. Why? This is because there is a study that there is a decline if dementia patients are given incontinence drugs.

The study is conducted by the researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. They said that it is more likely that the oppositional effects of the drugs have contributed to the fast decline. They conducted the research for a year and they noticed and observed that the decline would represent a resident going from requiring only a supervision to requiring extensive assistance in an activity.

The drugs affected seniors in their daily living activities such as the way they dress, personal hygiene, toileting, bed mobility, eating and transferring.

The results of the study has just given clinicians the proper idea that they should continue to try non-drug management strategies for incontinence before beginning therapy with incontinence drug.