A study released this month suggests that playing video games may help seniors improve their mental function. While the study was small, the results showed that older adults who learn to play a video game that involves strategy improved their scores on a number of tests of cognitive function.

In the study, which appears in the journal Psychology and Aging, a group of 40 men and women in their 60s and 70s played the off-the-shelf video game "Rise of Nations” for about 23 hours over the period of a month. The object of the game is to world domination, which requires mastering a complex set of tasks including military strategy, city building, managing economies, and feeding and employing people.

Study participants showed improvement in several tests of cognitive abilities compared to a group of similarly aged seniors who did not play the video game. Game players became better at multi-tasking and faster and faster at switching between tasks than the comparison group. They also showed improvements in tests of short-term memory and general reasoning ability. To a lesser extent, playing the game improved participants’ short-term memory for visual cues and their ability to identify rotated objects.

According to researchers, this is first-of-its-kind of older adults and video games is also the first video game study to show improvements in cognitive skills that were not directly related to the skills learned in the video game.

While the findings are preliminary, they suggest that video games involving strategy may help older adults keep their brains sharp. If further research confirms this, video games may be added to the list of things known to keep the aging brain acting young, a list that already includes physical activity, social interaction, and daily intellectual pursuits such as reading and writing.

So if you are an older adult, perhaps this holiday season you may want to pay a little more attention to that new video game system your grandkids got. It just might turn out to be the ticket to a youthful brain.

Do you have a technique for keeping your brain fit? Share it with others at the Healia Health Community for Healthy Aging.


_{Photo: RebeccaPollard, Flickr, Creative Commons} 

 

 

In an attempt to aid consumers in the tough task of choosing a long-term care facility, the U.S. Government has unveiled a new five star rating system for nursing home quality. The Centers for Medicare&Medicaid Services (CMS), which oversees the Medicare and Medicaid insurance programs that often pay for nursing home care, released the rankings on its Web site this week.

In the first round of ratings, about 12 percent of the nearly 16,000 homes rated got a full five star rating, while 22 percent got the lowest rating of one star. The remaining two-thirds of facilities were rated somewhere in between.

The ratings are based on three major criteria: data from state inspections, staffing levels and quality measures. The Web site gives nursing homes a rating in each of these three categories along with a rating of overall quality.

For the state inspection measures, CMS used data from an annual survey designed to measure how well homes protect the health and safety of their residents. Staffing level measures are self-reported by the nursing homes and include the number of hours that nursing and other staff dedicate per patient each day. The measurement for quality looks at 10 areas, including the percent of residents who have bed sores after their first 90 days in the home, the number of residents whose mobility worsened after admission, and whether residents received recommended medical care.

A spokesperson for CMS said the agency was merely taking existing data on their Web site and making it easier for patients and families to evaluate a nursing home, noting that is can be very difficult to understand all the aspects of an inspection.

While consumer groups and the nursing home industry agree that improving access to information about such facilities is a good idea, they also agree that the new system has some shortcomings. A spokesperson for the National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform suggests that the rating system may not be stringent enough, warning that nursing homes may appear in the ratings to give better care than they actually do. Industry officials note that the ratings do not include what may be the most important aspect of all: consumer satisfaction.

The ratings Web site can be found at www.medicare.gov; rankings will be updated quarterly. If you or a loved one is facing the tough decision of choosing a nursing home, you can join the Healia Health Community for Seniors’ Health to connect with others dealing with the same situation.


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New research shows that people with Alzheimer’s disease who consume very high levels of vitamin E seem to live longer than those who do not. The findings stem from a 15-year study of the survival rates of 847 men and women already diagnosed with various stages of Alzheimer's disease.

Are high levels of Vitamin E safe? This has been a major research topic as some studies have suggested that high doses may also carry unwarranted health risks. The American Heart Association has stated that high amounts of vitamin E may be harmful for the average person and that taking 400 IU or more per day may increase the risk of death.

Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that acts as an antioxidant. Antioxidants help protect the body’s tissue from damage caused by unstable substances called free radicals. Free radicals can harm cells, tissues, and organs. They are believed to play a major role in certain conditions associated with aging.

Do you have a question about vitamin E or Alzheimer’s disease? Ask an Expert at Healia Communities or connect with others in the Alzheimer’s Disease Community.

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The Alzheimer’s Association released a report Tuesday stating that Alzheimer’s disease is now the seventh deadliest disease in the nation and that women are at greater risk of the disease than men. The report also predicts that an estimated 10 million American baby boomers (1 out of every 8) will develop Alzheimer's disease in their lifetime.

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive and fatal brain disease, and the most common form of dementia. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer's destroys brain cells, causing problems with memory, thinking, and behavior severe enough to affect work, life-long hobbies, or social life. Alzheimer’s gets worse over time, has no current cure, and is fatal.

This projected rise will make a huge impact on baby boomers' lives, their families, and the nation's health-care system. Most people with Alzheimer's are eligible for Medicare, so a high number of Alzheimer's patients will put a major strain on the federal health insurance program. The increase in Alzheimer's cases will also burden the long-term care system.

Researchers have found a connection between Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease. Diet, exercise, and blood-pressure control may help fight cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. To find out more information about Alzheimer’s disease, visit healia.com.

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Alzheimer’s is an expensive disease, in an emotional, physical, and financial sense. Currently, there are more than 5 million people in the United States living with this neurodegenerative disease, and that number is expected to grow as boomers age. The average lifespan of a patient diagnosed with this disease is 7 to 10 years, and is dependent on the stage of diagnosis and the other conditions that a patient may have.

There is no cure as of yet, but a tremendous advance has been delivered. Scientists from the New York University Medical Center have developed a vaccine that neutralizes tau (rhymes with “wow”) protein in the nervous system of lab mice.

Alzheimer’s is caused by the folding of beta-amyloid and tau proteins into plaques and tangles, respectively. The new potential vaccine worked by creating antibodies that bound themselves to the tau protein, preventing the protein from accumulating in the brain and causing damage.

To learn more about Alzheimer's disease, use Healia to search through an extensive collection of high-quality search results on this topic.

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