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January 1, 2030

Aging 100 Students Click Below

RevolutionArt.jpg

Posted by Kavan Peterson on January 1, 2030 7:03 AM
Permalink |Comments (13)

October 6, 2008

McCain Plans Federal Health Cuts


This should be popular...

John McCain would pay for his health plan with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid, a top aide said, in a move that independent analysts estimate could result in cuts of $1.3 trillion over 10 years to the government programs.

The Republican presidential nominee has said little about the proposed cuts, but they are needed to keep his health-care plan "budget neutral," as he has promised. The McCain campaign hasn't given a specific figure for the cuts, but didn't dispute the analysts' estimate.

More details from the Wall Street Journal here

Honestly, the 60+ demographic was his the REpublican candidate's last firewall. Now this?

Stunning.

Posted by Dr. Bill Thomas on October 6, 2008 2:58 PM
Permalink |Comments (1)

Privatizing Social Security


Strictly from a political point of view, these are dark days for any candidate with a history of supporting George W. Bush's plan to privatize Social Security.

Posted by Dr. Bill Thomas on October 6, 2008 12:47 PM
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Monkhouse Mondays: No more Nursing-Home Placements

Some European regions such as Switzerland have attracted considerable immigration of well-educated, cosmopolitan professionals and their families, often referred to as the "brain-gain“. It is routine for companies to hire relocation-specialists in order to help these individuals and families settle in, find local people to talk to, the right school for the children, a job for the spouse. They get the different culture explained and all in all, everyday life is made as easy and as stress-less as possible.

Relocation to a nursing home should be planned, the culture explained, prepared for and the daily stressors minimized until safely settled in and relationships formed. Following a pilot-project in an Eden-Home in Switzerland, this service has been regarded as essential, because people could choose, plan, were helped and advocated for and the word “placement” was eradicated from use. Shouldn’t this service become mainstream? Elders provide jobs as much as international companies do.

-- Christa Monkhouse

Posted by Kavan Peterson on October 6, 2008 10:10 AM
Permalink |Comments (0)

October 5, 2008

Aspens in the Autumn

It's funny how easily the change of seasons can slip past us.

This photo from Nancy Fox really hit me.

Wow.

Change is Life.

aspens.jpg

Posted by Dr. Bill Thomas on October 5, 2008 6:17 PM
Permalink |Comments (2)

And Aging Too...


Witold Rybczynski makes the case for smaller homes:

Smaller houses on smaller lots are the logical solution to the problem of affordability, yet density— and less affluent neighbors— are precisely what most communities fear most. In the name of fighting sprawl, local zoning boards enact regulations that either require larger lots or restrict development, or both. These strategies decrease the supply— hence, increase the cost— of developable land. Since builders pass the cost of lots on to buyers, they justify the higher land prices by building larger and more expensive houses—McMansions. This produces more community resistance, and calls for yet more restrictive regulations. In the process, housing affordability becomes an even more distant chimera.


The post WWII suburban housing development is a sterile, social capital poor environment within which to strive for a vibrant old age.

Posted by Dr. Bill Thomas on October 5, 2008 4:15 PM
Permalink |Comments (1)

October 2, 2008

Power-Up: Stress Brain Drain

This week, I’m following up on Sonia Lupien, the Montreal researcher chronicled by Christa in her 9/8/08 post. Christa sent me a fascinating study published in Psychoneuroendocrinology (2005: 30; 225-242).

Using cortisol levels as a biomarker for stress, Dr. Lupien found that some adults run chronically higher levels of cortisol than others. Over several years, this group had more memory loss and 14% shrinkage of the hippocampus, (a major brain memory center), compared with those with low or moderate levels.

This appears to support Christa’s theory that stressful environments (read “institutional care”) may actually accelerate memory loss over time.

But there’s an even bigger story…

Dr. Lupien looked at children and adolescents and found different cortisol patterns in those with a lower socioeconomic status (SES). Children with low SES and higher cortisol levels also appeared to process thoughts more negatively, which could also lead to more depression. Stressful living environments clearly seem to influence how children view the world.

But what about their cognition? It is well recognized that people with fewer years of education have a higher incidence of Alzheimer’s disease. Decreased “brain reserve” is theorized, but I never quite accepted this, because many people with high IQs do not pursue advanced degrees.

However, most people of low SES have fewer options for advanced education. Maybe the real cause of increased dementia in the less-educated group is poverty, and the day-to-day stress this group encounters. With a widening gulf between haves and have-nots in the world, what will happen as this population ages down the road?

Two weeks ago, I gave the U.S. low marks in the fundamentals of health, education and welfare. I thought I was digressing into politics, but maybe I was talking about dementia all along!

--Al Power

Posted by Kavan Peterson on October 2, 2008 12:12 PM
Permalink |Comments (4)

Work and Rest

Boo Lunt passes along this wonderfully evocative poem by Bob Arnold


bobarnold1.jpg
The Poet in Question


No Tool or Rope or Pail


It hardly mattered what time of year
We passed by their farmhouse,
They never waved,
This old farm couple
Usually bent over in the vegetable garden
Or walking the muddy dooryard
Between house and red-weathered barn.
They would look up, see who was passing,
Then look back down, ignorant to the event.
We would always wave nonetheless,
Before you dropped me off at work
Further up on the hill,
Toolbox rattling in the backseat,
And then again on the way home
Later in the day, the pale sunlight
High up in their pasture,
Our arms out the window,
Cooling ourselves.
And it was that one midsummer evening
We drove past and caught them sitting
Together on the front porch
At ease, chores done,
The tangle of cats and kittens
Cleaning themselves of fresh spilled milk
On the barn door ramp;
We drove by and they looked up--
The first time I've ever seen their
Hands free of any work,
No tool or rope or pail--
And they waved.


Posted by Dr. Bill Thomas on October 2, 2008 5:28 AM
Permalink |Comments (0)

October 1, 2008

You say you want a revolution?

Finally, here's a video preview Bill and I put together last week for a look inside Aging 100:

Posted by Kavan Peterson on October 1, 2008 5:19 PM
Permalink |Comments (0)

Gratitude

From Rick Moody's excellent e-mail magazine...


Brother David Steindl-Rast, who works in the tradition
of Thomas Merton, has said that "It is not happiness
that makes us grateful but gratefulness that makes us happy."

For more on his approach to the contemplative life visit:

Posted by Dr. Bill Thomas on October 1, 2008 12:25 PM
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Hannah Thomas

Hannah had a better night last night. Her breathing has improved and their is a chance that she will be moved to the step down unit today. Jude and I are frazzled but our family and friends have offered us the kindest and most hopeful expressions of love and support.

Cannot say thank you enough.

Here is a photo of Hannah and her big brother taken in happier times.

zachandhannah.JPG

One last note. People who have read Learning from Hannah and In the Arms of Elders know that Hannah plays the role of teacher in those books. Well, in the ICU the professor asked if students could listen to her lung sounds because she had something called tubular breath sounds. We said sure. It was good to see Hannah teaching those medical students something important and useful.

One more last note. What is it with girls these days. They love to show the belly button--- Dad does not approve!!!!

Posted by Dr. Bill Thomas on October 1, 2008 9:07 AM
Permalink |Comments (10)

September 30, 2008

Outrage of the Week

This from the BBC website on 9/19 :
British "ethicist" Baroness Mary Warnock was quoted in Scotland magazine as saying
that people with dementia should be able to voluntarily end their lives if they feel
they are "a burden to others or to the National Health Service".

Her comments, framed as empowering people to make advanced directives in the event
of worsening disease, instead expressed the view that people with dementia are
hopeless, wasting resources and burdening their loved ones.

What a far cry from the kind of life and growth many of us are giving to people with
all forms of dementia every day of the week! What a sad commentary that an ethicist
would feel that people with this disease should be judged more harshly than those
with any other medical illness!

--Al Power

Posted by Kavan Peterson on September 30, 2008 9:04 AM
Permalink |Comments (5)

September 29, 2008

Hannah and Haleigh

Dr. Thomas asked I post a notice letting Changing Aging readers know that he may not be be blogging for a short period of time. His daughter, Hannah, has been hospitalized due to complications involving a severe medical condition that she and her sister Haleigh were both born with. She is stable, but in critical condition, and your thoughts, prayers and well wishes are very much appreciated.

Christa, Al, Janice and myself will be filling-in for Bill this week so please continue to check back daily and share your thoughts and comments.

--Kavan Peterson, Changing Aging Web Master

Posted by Kavan Peterson on September 29, 2008 11:57 AM
Permalink |Comments (7)

Monkhouse Mondays: Prevention instead of cure

In Switzerland, like elsewhere in Europe, health insurance pays for some preventative measures in young people, some even contribute to a fitness-center enrollment and weight loss programs. Insurance does not, however, pay for systematic preventative visits to older people at home to assess their small health deficiencies in order to prevent bigger ones which accumulate over time.

Our system thus spends a lot of money on few people (who have to move to a nursing home because of a health-crisis, such as falls).

How long will it take until we spend a little money on many people? To prevent falls, we could be checking their eyesight, bone density and balance and inform them how to make their home safe and fit for their increasing frailty.

The medical model, after all, is a reactive one, and it seems, outmoded and expensive too! It could be replaced by a "chronic care model“ (Watch this video to get some ideas how it could work)

Christa Monkhouse

Posted by Kavan Peterson on September 29, 2008 11:55 AM
Permalink |Comments (1)

September 26, 2008

Movie Stars Are Immune from Aging

Well maybe not, maybe they get older right along with all the rest of us...


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Posted by Dr. Bill Thomas on September 26, 2008 6:33 AM
Permalink |Comments (5)

September 25, 2008

I'm Talking Old

Well-being-- it is what we all want-- young and old alike.



TOKYO - The world's oldest man celebrated his 113th birthday on Thursday, telling reporters at his home in southern Japan about his joyful life and healthy appetite.

"I'm happy," said Tomoji Tanabe as the local mayor presented him with flowers and a giant tea cup glazed with his name and date of birth. "I'm well. I eat a lot," he added.

Tanabe, recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest living male last year, eats mostly vegetables and believes the key to longevity is not drinking alcohol.

More Here

Posted by Dr. Bill Thomas on September 25, 2008 6:34 AM
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September 24, 2008

Blanchard Wins Days: Aging In Community

[Editors Note -- This is a guest post from new Changing Aging blogger Janice Blanchard. Janice is a gerontologist and nationally recognized writer, speaker and thought leader on aging issues and we're honored to have her join the Changing Aging family. Her posts will run Wednesdays, or Blanchard Wins Days.]

Most older Americans would prefer to “age in place” – to live in their current homes with supportive services if necessary as an alternative to institutional long-term care. Indeed, people go to extraordinary measures to accomplish this goal. While many consider aging in place suitable, others find it a hollow victory, particularly when it occurs in a home that poses physical, financial or emotional challenges and makes meaningful connection with family, friends, neighbors and the community difficult or impossible. For this and other reasons, an increasing number of people now envision a third way—“aging in community.”

In short, “aging in community” presents a proactive, grassroots model that intentionally creates supportive neighborhoods to enhance well-being and quality of life at home and as an integral part of the community for people of all ages and abilities, particularly elders. Aging in community promotes a deliberate consciousness to be “a darn good neighbor.” Relationships between community members are informal, voluntary and reciprocal, and therefore, sustainable over time. Aging in community promotes social capital - a sense of social trust and interdependence enhanced over time through positive interactions and collaboration in shared interests and pursuits. Elders’ wisdom and experience are recognized and honored and opportunities are promoted to share this with others in the community.

A great example of an aging in community neighborhood, is Generations of Hope in Rantoul, Illinois. The visionary founder, Brenda Krause Eheart, recently won the 2008 Heinz Award for her success in building a “community-based model for adoptive families and senior citizens.” Yesterday, the New York Times featured an article and slide show of this innovative program.

In the Wins Days to come, I look forward to sharing more about other emerging models of aging in community.

-- Janice Blanchard, MSPH

Genofhope.png

Based in a shuttered Air Force base in Rantoul, Ill., Generations of Hope matches elderly people to serve as surrogate grandparents for children in foster care. For Irene Bohn, 84, a retired schoolteacher, the role of beloved grandmother to Angelo Laws, 9, and his three siblings, has been the happiest and most important of her life.(Photo: Sally Ryan for The New York Times)

Posted by Kavan Peterson on September 24, 2008 10:41 AM
Permalink |Comments (3)

Chipmunk Economics

I've been watching the SCHIP tragi-rama and, for me it least, it has all of the overtones of the recent Social Security brouhaha. Its the same story with Medicare, Medicaid, WIC, SSI...etc., etc. etc.

Here is that story:

"Despite all evidence to the contrary, there is no such thing as the common good. It turns out that we are all alone in this world, rich and poor alike--- well not exactly alike. Anyway, again despite all evidence to the contrary, it is best if we learn not to rely on each other. We are, it seems, a race of chipmunks each of us racing alone to toward the creation of our own, individual, pile of nuts. If your stash is big and well-hidden, then congratulations, you deserve to make it through the winter. If your stash is small or not so well hidden, or stolen or ruined, well then that's just too bad. You can't expect any other chipmunks to give a damn about you.

"It's every chipmunk for himself and the devil take the hindmost."
---- Richard Dawkins

Interestingly, the story told above collides with everything we know about morality, ethics, theology and, especially, human nature. We are not chipmunks, and never have been.

It is said, by those who know, that before the invention of the freezer, the best place to store surplus meat was in a neighbor's stomach. In other words, sharing the surplus in good times with the expectation that we will be helped by others in hard times is woven into the fabric of our species. Social insurance programs (like Social Security) take this principle one step further and create a situation where members of a nation make a promise to each other and then work to keep that promise, generation after generation.

Efforts to lead us away from the promises that, we, as a people, have made are, when you get down to it --- inhuman.

We are not chipmunks, never have been, never will be.

Posted by Dr. Bill Thomas on September 24, 2008 6:26 AM
Permalink |Comments (5)

September 23, 2008

The Zen of Dementia

This just in from one of my favorite new blogs...


posted by pjwh

Dementia changes people and changes relationships, sometimes for the better. In the latest edition of Newsweek (September 22, 2008), author Sara Davidson shares her story about her relationship with her mother who became less demanding and more accepting of life as her cognitive impairment progressed, much to the surprise of the family. This is not the first time we’ve heard the story of a relationship improving with progressive cognitive impairment.

My friend Robert Green is quoted representing the standard view that experts are only interested in negative behaviors. Yet carers such as Ann Davidson, Elinor Fuchs and Judith Levine who have written books (and are in our book) about their experiences know that relationships change in complex ways, some very much for the good.

In Sarah’s piece I am described as a practicing Buddhist who wants the world’s religions to attend more to the challenges of dementia. Just as they provide perspectives on life and death so too they should attend to the challenges of cognitive aging.

I consider myself an amateur (note the root of that word is “love”) Buddhist, not a regular practitioner. I have studied and practiced meditative approaches, for example in Japan and at Naropa University in Colorado – a wonderful place where the spirit of learning is very much alive). Buddhism is both a science of mind and a spiritual practice that recognizes that false expectations and personal desires are at the root of suffering.

As quoted in Newsweek and from my own conversations with him, Oliver Sacks, too, believes that interesting parallels can be drawn between “being present” and emptying the mind in Buddhism and the mental state of dementia. I am not suggesting that enlightenment and dementia are the same, but rather that thinking deeply about their relationships may enlighten our attitudes about the cognitive challenges we all face as human beings who age. Just as fully embracing our mortality makes us appreciate life deeply, can reflecting profoundly on dementia help us recognize our own intellectual limitations as sentient creatures. Can we become more heart-full and wise as a result? Moreover in the daily struggles with cognitive impairment, meditation may be of practical benefit in helping people with dementia address issues of attention and anxiety. Open your own mind and heart to broader and deeper ways of thinking and perhaps your fears and suffering will be alleviated.

Posted by Dr. Bill Thomas on September 23, 2008 11:55 AM
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The Power of Community

"Having close friends and staying in contact with family members offers a protective effect against the damaging effects of Alzheimer’s disease according to research by physicians at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. The study, which is currently posted online in The Lancet Neurology, will be published in the May print edition of the journal."


Community is essential to well being and this is especially true for elders. That said, we are sailing into a historical aberration. In the decades to come, more and more elders will spend more and more time separated from family, friends and neighbors. This is a path that leads to great suffering and it must be undone.

Click here for a handy list of Nine things you can do to prevent Alzheimers.

Posted by Dr. Bill Thomas on September 23, 2008 6:24 AM
Permalink |Comments (2)

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