Tag Archives: Elderly

Research shows that elderly individuals are seeking care for cannabis use due to increased risk of dementia.

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Hospital or emergency room care for cannabis use among middle-aged and elderly individuals may lead to an increased risk of developing dementia, according to a large Canadian study published in Jama Neurology. Over a five-year period, individuals seeking care for cannabis use were almost twice as likely to develop dementia compared to the general population.

The study, which analyzed medical records of six million Ontario residents from 2008 to 2021, highlighted a 23% higher risk of dementia among cannabis users compared to those seeking care for other reasons.

While the study did not specify the amount of cannabis used by participants, it did not establish a causal relationship between regular or heavy cannabis use and dementia.

Dr. Daniel T. Myran, the study’s lead author, emphasized the need for further research to explore the potential link between cannabis use and dementia. He acknowledged the complexity of determining whether cannabis use could lead to dementia and highlighted the importance of addressing these concerns.

Previous research by Dr. Myran indicated a higher mortality rate among individuals with cannabis use disorder and noted an increase in cases of schizophrenia and psychosis related to cannabis use in Canada.

Recent studies focusing on the impact of cannabis use on cognition have provided valuable insights, highlighting potential risks associated with regular or heavy cannabis consumption.

While previous research on cannabis and dementia has been limited, the strength of the new study lies in its large sample size and long-term follow-up of patients. Dr. Madeline Meyer, an expert not involved in the study, commended the study for its ability to rule out dementia at the outset and track the temporal relationship between cannabis use and dementia.

Dr. Meyer’s own research has linked cannabis use with neuropsychological decline, challenging the perception of cannabis as a harmless substance with potential medical benefits.

She emphasized the importance of taking the association between cannabis use and dementia seriously and considering the potential risks it may pose.

The increasing use of cannabis among older adults has raised concerns about potential health risks, including the development of dementia. A new study found a significant rise in cannabis-related medical visits among adults aged 45 and older, prompting further investigation into the potential impact of cannabis on cognitive health.

Comparing individuals with cannabis-related medical visits to the general population, the study highlighted a higher incidence of dementia among cannabis users, emphasizing the need for comprehensive evaluation of the risks associated with cannabis use.

While some factors contributing to the increased risk of dementia among cannabis users can be explained, others remain unclear, requiring further research to fully understand the potential relationship between cannabis use and cognitive decline.

Dr. Mylan and his colleagues found that individuals seeking care for alcohol use are more likely to be diagnosed with dementia than those using cannabis, highlighting the complex nature of substance use and its impact on cognitive health.

Despite efforts to control for various factors, there are still uncertainties surrounding the potential link between cannabis use and dementia. It is essential to consider all possible variables that may contribute to the development of dementia in cannabis users.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Severe fever can accelerate biological aging in elderly individuals

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Woman drinks water during heat waves in French Hierrez

Magali Cohen/Hans Lucas/AFP Getty Images

Extreme fever appears to speed up biological aging in older adults, suggesting that it may increase the risk of age-related diseases.

“This is one of the first large-scale studies linking long-term heat exposure to biological aging in humans,” he says. Eun Young Choi At the University of Southern California. “Elderly people who live in areas with biologically extreme heat in cooler areas.”

Choi and her colleagues analyzed genetic data extracted from blood samples collected by other researchers from 3,600 people in the US in 2006-7. At the time, they were all over 56 years old.

They estimated the biological age of each participant using three so-called epigenetic clocks, including seeing patterns of chemical tags called methyl groups on DNA. These patterns change as we age, and such changes are associated with age-related diseases.

The researchers also looked at daily temperature measurements taken within a few kilometres of where participants lived for six years before blood samples were collected.

They found that every 200 days of six years when participants were exposed to daily maximum temperatures of at least 32.2°C (90°), biological age was on average up to 3.5 months old, and on average up to 3.5 months of age than those in cooler areas. That number depends on which watch was used.

“This refers to heat exposure increasing the rate of biological aging,” he says. Austin Argencheri At Harvard University, where he was not involved in the research.

Previous studies on the Taiwanese and German people have also found a link between extreme heat exposure and biological aging.

However, epigenetic watches do not fully capture the aging process or the risk of people's illnesses, says Argentieri. “More jobs that can link both extreme heat exposure, biological aging from these watches, age-related diseases, mortality and the effects on life expectancy itself will help us drive home what we need to take away from now on.”

Furthermore, the study did not consider access to air conditioners or the duration of time participants spent outdoors, so individual exposure changes to heat exposure, says Argentieri. The team controlled for other factors such as age, gender, race, wealth, ethnicity, smoking status, alcohol consumption, obesity, and physical activity.

Furthermore, research should investigate whether results will be translated to younger people or to people living in different countries where people may have different approaches to keeping people cool, says Argentieri.

Identifying the people who are at the lowest risk of aging fastest due to extreme heat could help policymakers develop and deploy measures to protect them, he says.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Antibody treatment restores immune function in elderly mice

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Antibodies are proteins that can target and attack specific cells.

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An experimental treatment rejuvenates the immune systems of older mice and improves the animals’ ability to fight infections. If this treatment is effective in humans, it could reverse the age-related decline in immunity that makes older people more susceptible to illness.

These reductions may be due to changes in blood stem cells, which can develop into all types of blood cells, including important components of the immune system. As we age, a greater proportion of these stem cells tend to produce some immune cells than others. Jason Ross at Stanford University in California. This imbalance impairs the immune system’s ability to fight infection. It also promotes chronic inflammation, which accelerates aging and increases the risk of age-related diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

Ross and his colleagues have developed a treatment that uses antibodies, proteins that recognize and attack specific cells, to target these biased stem cells. Next, they tested the treatment on six mice aged 18 to 24 months. This is roughly equivalent to a human being between 56 and 70 years old.

One week after receiving the antibody injection, these abnormal stem cells in the mice had decreased by about 38 percent compared to six rodents of the same age who did not receive treatment. They also had significantly higher amounts of two types of white blood cells important for recognizing and fighting pathogens, and lower levels of inflammation.

“You can think of this as turning back the clock,” says Ross. “We are adjusting these percentages [immune] more similar cells [those of] A young adult mouse. ”

To test whether these changes result in a stronger immune system, the researchers vaccinated 17 older mice with a mouse virus. Nine of these mice had received antibody treatment eight weeks earlier. The researchers then infected rodents with the virus. After two weeks, the number of infected cells in the animals was measured and it was found that almost half of the treated mice (4 out of 9) had completely cleared the infection, compared to 1 out of 8 of the untreated mice. It turned out that there was only one.

Taken together, these findings demonstrate that antibody treatment rejuvenates the immune system of aged mice. Humans, like rodents, have more abnormal blood stem cells as they age, so a similar antibody treatment could also boost their immune systems, Ross said.

Such a possibility is still far away, robert signer at the University of California, San Diego. First, we need a better understanding of the potential side effects of treatments. In an accompanying article, Signer and his colleagues write: Yasar al-Fat KassResearchers, also at the University of California, San Diego, suggest that depletion of stem cells, even abnormal stem cells, may increase cancer risk. On the other hand, “if you have a better immune system, you’ll be better at investigating cancer, so we don’t know exactly what will happen yet,” Signer says.

Still, Ross says these findings are a promising advance in understanding age-related immune decline and how to reduce it.

Aging is the biggest risk factor for various diseases. “Rejuvenating or improving immune function in older adults could really help fight infectious diseases,” Signer says. “It may also have an impact on different types of chronic inflammatory diseases. That’s what’s so exciting here.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com