Skip to main content

Alzheimer's Disease Archive

Articles

Prediabetes diagnosis as an older adult: What does it really mean?

Prediabetes often precedes the development of type 2 diabetes, and in young and middle-aged people it's important to identify prediabetes because it may be possible to prevent or delay the development of diabetes. Researchers wanted to know if the implications of being diagnosed with prediabetes are similar for older adults.

Shaking off shingles

Shingles is a painful neurological condition that is more likely to attack as people age. Left untreated, it can increase risk for chronic pain, blindness, and other long-term health problems.

Need physical therapy? 3 key questions your PT will ask

Physical therapy can be helpful if you have an injury or a condition that affects mobility or is causing pain. But before you embark on a course of treatment, your physical therapist will ask crucial questions that will help shape your program.

Answering your questions about the COVID-19 vaccine

People who get the COVID-19 vaccine may experience arm pain, rashes, aches, fever, or fatigue. Doctors say it's worth the risk, since an older adult's risk of dying from COVID is 3% to 11%.

The pandemic isn't over — particularly for people with disabilities

While the pandemic has disrupted everyone's lives, its effects on the lives of people with disabilities are especially evident. And COVID-19 may pose a greater risk to some people with intellectual and physical disabilities, though this may depend on a variety of factors.

Sleep to solve a problem

Are you the sort of person who gets into bed and fixates on a problem or an interaction you may have had that day? It's better to let your thoughts go and try to fall asleep — even though that might not be easy — because our brains are made to process and synthesize information while we are sleeping.

More movement, better memory

Regular exercise is known to boost cognitive function and reduce the risk of Alzheimer's. This protection occurs because the hippocampus (the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory) is especially sensitive to the effects of exercise. A study investigated whether older adults who participated in an exercise program could improve nerve connections in their brains.

Can mindfulness change your brain?

A lot has been written about the benefits of mindfulness, but does it actually work? Can it produce detectable changes in the brain? Researchers in Australia investigated whether mindfulness training improved a person's ability to pay attention

Free Healthbeat Signup

Get the latest in health news delivered to your inbox!

Sign Up
Harvard Health Publishing Logo

Thanks for visiting. Don't miss your FREE 32-page gift worth $29.95.

PLUS, don’t miss out on your 25% off promo code.

Sign up to get tips for living a healthy lifestyle—You’ll discover powerful, research- backed strategies for health longevity drawn from Harvard Medical School experts—ways to eat for a longer life, build strength and flexibility to stay independent, protect your bones, heart, and brain as you age, and even cultivate the habits linked with “super-agers” who stay sharp and active well into their 80s and 90s—all delivered to your email box FREE.

Harvard Health Publishing Logo

Stay on top of latest health news from Harvard Medical School.

Plus, get a FREE copy of Living Longer, Living Well!.

Harvard Health Publishing Logo

Stay on top of latest health news from Harvard Medical School.

Plus, get a FREE copy of Living Longer, Living Well.