It can take months or years for doctors to determine whether people with early signs of memory loss have Alzheimer’s disease. But experts say a new generation of blood tests may replace the expensive brain scans and spinal taps now used to diagnose the mind-robbing disease. Early diagnosis could allow patients earlier access to drugs approved […]
Here’s What It’s Really Like to Date in Your 80s
Eleven years ago, after a 50-year marriage, I entered a new chapter of life with a very different title. No longer a wife; I became a widow. I was 74 at the time and still playing tennis. I had energy. I had spunk. On a trip to the Cayman Islands with my children and grandchildren, I […]
Why Do We Forget Names?
Many people can remember being called by the wrong name as a kid, often by an exhausted mother who ran through the names of every creature in the household — including the family dog — until hitting the name she meant to say in the first place. As adults, people often repeat the same mistakes, […]
Surprising Health Benefits of Potatoes
Pity the poor potato. Even though it’s the most commonly consumed vegetable in the United States, it’s gotten a bad rap. Which makes sense in some ways — deep-fried french fries and potato chips account for a lot of that consumption. Headlines link them to obesity and type 2 diabetes. But dig a little deeper, […]
Do You Know the Warning Signs of Uterine Cancer?
When Ursula Matulonis, M.D., started treating women with gynecologic cancers more than 20 years ago, she says it was rare to see a patient who had an aggressive form of uterine cancer. “Now I see several per week,” says Matulonis, chief of the division of gynecologic oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and a […]
Living With Joy: How Patients and Caregivers Can Proactively Approach an Alzheimer’s Diagnosis
Four years ago, Rebecca Chopp, Ph.D., now 72, from Broomfield, Colorado, was living a packed life as a wife, mother, minister, theologian and chancellor at the University of Denver. At a routine annual checkup, she mentioned small changes to her doctor: Always a poor sleeper, she was now sleeping long hours; her social schedule for […]
