Driving a car gives people a sense of control, freedom, and access to opportunities. As people grow older, the privileges associated with driving remain important. Aging, however, can be a detriment to driving. Doctors are aware of this fact yet hesitate to discuss driving with older patients. Why do seniors have a higher risk for vehicle collisions? Older drivers involved…
A new study offers some good news for caregivers and other loved ones of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. The study shows that even if patients immediately forget a shared joke or a meaningful conversation, the warm feelings associated with the experience can stick around and boost their mood. In the University of Iowa study, published in the Proceedings of the…
During the ongoing national debate over healthcare reform, there is one point most people can agree on: the need to curtail the growing epidemic of healthcare fraud. Estimates put the loss at $65 billion a year to Medicare alone. Government agencies are working hard to catch these crooks—and you can help by protecting yourself and loved ones against medical identity…
We humans are “hardwired” to crave and rely on human contact. Unlike, for example, a turtle, which hatches from a buried egg and is on its own from that moment on, people depend on other people for survival. Brain experts explain this “wiring”: early human beings lived in small, interdependent groups. To survive and thrive, individuals needed to be finely…
For most of us, the automobile represents independence, control and mobility. Most of today’s seniors built their lives around the ability to drive wherever they wanted—to work, to visit friends, to shop, to their faith community and on vacation. Yet the normal changes of aging can make driving more challenging. Hearing loss, vision problems, decreased reaction time, memory loss and…
