Beauty Parlor Danger
Older people who get dizzy during salon-style hair
washes may be at increased risk of stroke. Researchers have long suspected
a link between the familiar lean-back-over-the-basin position and stroke,
which occurs with some frequency (though exactly what frequency is not
known) among older people during or just after salon washes.
Patrick Foye of the University of Medicine and
Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark measured blood flow, pain and dizziness
in 25 men and women, whose average age was 72, as they assumed the
position. Nearly half experienced dizziness, a symptom originating from
the part of the brain involved in so-called "beauty parlor
strokes." None had a stroke during the test, however.
Foye found that a simple neck support being developed
by a colleague might minimize symptoms and reduce stroke risk. In the
absence of such a cervical support, older people with prior stroke or neck
conditions "may want to exercise caution when deciding whether to
have a salon sink shampoo."
Brothers
and Sisters of 100
Siblings of people who have lived to be 100 have a
way-better-than-average chance of hitting that mark themselves. Thomas
Perls, director of the New England Centenarian Study, studied 444 families
in which at least one member had lived to 100 or older.
Comparing siblings' death rates throughout their
lives, he found sisters of centenarians had half the risk of dying at any
given age compared with the national average. Brothers' risk was about the
same as sisters', except during the accident-prone teenage and early adult
years. Compared with the general population, brothers of centenarians were
17 times more likely to reach 100, while sisters were about eight times
more likely to do so.
The study, funded in part by the National Institute
on Aging (NIA), suggests that "the things that protect you against
major diseases of old age may have implications across your whole
life," says NIA's Evan Hadley. "When we study aging, it's useful
to look not only at disease risk factors" but protective factors like
genes too.
Weight
Training and Belly Fat
Resistance training can help older men and women
maintain the strength and stamina to do everyday tasks like carry
groceries or pick up a grandchild. But for women, there's an added bonus
from working out with weights: It can trim tummy fat, also known as
intra-abdominal adipose tissue, which has been linked to diabetes, heart
disease and increased death risk. The same exercise doesn't provide that
benefit for men.
Gary Hunter of the University of Alabama at
Birmingham had 12 women and 14 men, whose average age was 67 and whose
general health was good, embark upon a 25-week resistance training regimen
that included leg and back extensions, bench presses and bent-leg sit-ups.
He found similar gains in strength among male and female participants. But
while women lost about 15 cubic centimeters of tummy fat, men actually
gained a bit in the belly.
Men shouldn't be discouraged by these findings,
Hunter says, as the benefits of resistance training extend beyond
minimizing one's middle. Building muscle mass helps to burn more calories,
making it possible for older people to take in more nutrients without
gaining weight. And, he adds, in terms of ability to perform daily
activities, resistance training "can turn the clock back 20 to 30
years."
"Good"
Cholesterol and Dementia
Too little HDL cholesterol -- the "good"
kind, as opposed to LDL and triglycerides -- may be a cause of dementia in
the very elderly.
In a study published in Annals of Neurology, Anton de
Craen of the Netherlands' Leiden University Medical Center reports that
among 561 85-year-old men and women, those with the lowest blood levels of
HDL cholesterol were more than twice as likely to have dementia as those
with the highest HDL levels; when those with a history of cardiovascular
disease or stroke were eliminated, the difference was nearly fourfold.
While cardiovascular disease is a known risk factor for dementia, de
Craen's work may help determine whether the disease itself or the
underlying cholesterol imbalance is at the heart of the problem.
In the typical man, HDL cholesterol levels range from
40 to 50 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) of blood, according to the
American Heart Association. In women, the range is 50 to 60 mg/dL.
Anything below 40 mg/dL, de Craen says, is considered low. Losing weight,
exercising regularly and stopping smoking are often recommended as ways to
increase HDL.
Never
Quite Set in Your Ways
The term "set in your ways" may need
revisiting in light of a study that shows personality disorders and odd
social behaviors can change over time. The work contradicts the idea that
personality types remain constant for a lifetime, says Peter Tyrer of
London's Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine.
Using a standard test to assess 178 participants
suffering from a range of personality disorders at the beginning and end
of a 12-year period, Tyrer found that while anxious, fearful and
obsessional traits ("Scooby-Doo" features, as Tyrer calls them)
and eccentric personalities tended to worsen, "flamboyant"
personality characteristics (aggression, impulsivity and irritability --
"Mike Tyson-like" traits) actually diminished. "We should
be much more aware of changes in personality accounting for changes in
behavior in older people," writes Tyrer.
"We already had some evidence that antisocial
personalities improve in middle age but did not appreciate that anxious,
obsessional, suspicious personalities got worse," Tyrer notes.
"This is highly relevant for a population that is getting steadily
older. If this is going to be accompanied by more difficulties in
relationships with other people, it is a matter of concern and may lead to
more being unable to live independently."
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