USA: Tweets, sexting "unfriended" in U.S. banned word list

. KANSAS CITY, Kansas / Reuters / December 31, 2009 By Carey Gillam If you recently tweeted about how you were chillaxin for the holiday, take note: Fifteen particularly over- or mis-used words and phrases have been declared "shovel-ready" to be "unfriended" by a U.S. university's annual list of terms that deserve to be banned. After thousands of nominations of words and phrases commonly used in marketing, media, technology and elsewhere, wordsmiths at Lake Superior State University on Thursday issued their 35th annual list of words that they believe should be banned. Tops on the Michigan university's list of useless phrases was "shovel-ready." The term refers to infrastructure projects that are ready to break ground and was popularly used to describe road, bridge and other construction projects fueled by stimulus funds from the Obama administration. And speaking of stimulus, that word -- which was applied to government spending aimed at boosting the economy -- made the over-used category as well, along with an odd assortment of Obama-related constructions such as Obamacare and Obamanomics. "We say Obamanough already," the LSSU committee said. Also ripe for exile is "sexting," shorthand for sexy text messaging, a habit that has caused trouble this year for public figures from politicians to star athletes. Similarly, list makers showed distaste for tweeting, retweeting and tweetaholics, lingo made popular by users of the popular Twitter networking website. And don't even get them started on the use of friend as a verb, as in: "He made me mad so I unfriended him on Facebook," an Internet social site. Male acquaintances need to find another word than "bromance" for their friendships, and the combination of "chillin" and "relaxin'" into "chillaxin" was an easy pick for banishment. VOTED OUT Also making the list was "teachable moment." "This phrase is used to describe everything from potty-training to politics. It's time to vote it out!" said one list contributor. "Toxic assets," referring to financial instruments that have plunged in value, sickened list makers so much the phrase was added to the list, along with the tiresome and poorly defined "too big to fail" which has often been invoked to describe wobbly U.S. banks. Similarly, "in these economic times" was deemed overdue for banishment due. Also making the list -- "transparent/transparency," typically used, contributors said, when the situation is anything but transparent. One list contributor wanted to know if there was an "app," short-hand for "application" popularized by the mobile iPhone's growing array of software tools, for making that annoying word go away. And rounding out the list -- "czar" as in car czar, drug czar, housing czar or banished word czar. "Purging our language of 'toxic assets' is a 'stimulus' effort that's 'too big to fail,'" said a university spokesman. [rc] (Editing by Cynthia Osterman) © Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters

UK: In this noisy, twittering world, loneliness is never talked about

. LONDON, England / The Times / Life & Style / Mental Health / December 31, 2009 By Joan Bakewell Loneliness is an inner, gnawing pain born of circumstance and inertia, verging on despair. There is a higher risk the older you get, and no one talks about it. In this all-laughing, twittering world it’s assumed that we can all find a comforting voice of friendship somewhere. For increasing numbers that just isn’t so. Bereavement is the biggest blow. It leaves an echoing void. After years of intimate closeness the individual spirit battles on wondering what has happened to its own identity. People say kind things at strategic moments — the funeral, the memorial — then vanish back into their own lives. Retirement is a big jolt. Again, familiar structures of friendship and support fall away. Everyone promises to stay in touch, then goes on as before. Circumstances conspire: families live far apart, village shops, post offices, libraries and pubs are vanishing. Churches offer little warmth and a tired liturgy. So what is to be done? The world doesn’t make it easy to start up new bonds. You can tell the lonely when you bump into them on trains and buses: they never stop talking, rattling away about this and that as though they’d not spoken to anyone in a week. We need interaction with others to feel fully alive. And it needs effort to take the initiative. Related Links The Solitary Self Samaritans give a hearing without judgment Loneliness epidemic sweeping through UK There are ways to find friends: a neighbour, the doctor, the internet can all help. Join groups, volunteer, otherwise the depth of loneliness becomes self-perpetuating; we grow familiar with our isolation. Learning to be alone is a lifetime skill. We shouldn’t always want to be part of this noisy, chattering world. But a single friendly voice is surely not too much to ask. [rc] Copyright 2010 Times Newspapers Ltd.

UK: In with the old - centenarians in UK to soar by 2020

. LONDON, England / The Guardian / Society / Living / December 31, 2009 Figures suggest that number of people aged 100 and over will almost double in the next decade By Jo Adetunji Britain's oldest twins, Jenny Pelmore and Betty Richards, from Cornwall, celebrate their 102nd birthday tomorrow. Photograph: SWNS Japan may lead the field when it comes to the oldest living people, but British centenarians are also flourishing as figures published today suggest that the number of people aged 100 and over will almost double in the next decade. While the number of centenarians will total around 12,000 next year, government projections from the Department of Work and Pensions show this will rise to about 22,000 by 2020, and to as high as 280,000 by 2050. Projections from the Office for National Statistics suggest the number of pensioners will rise from 12 million to 16 million by 2050. Lord McKenzie, the work and pensions minister, said: "It is clear that in the coming years an older society offers opportunities for those in retirement to continue working, learning and contributing to society, but challenges around how best to support this group." He said that the government was tackling the "biggest changes to pensions for a generation" and new challenges would include how to improve care and support for an ageing population. Experts credit the rise of older populations in the west to a maturing of the baby-boom generation that followed the second world war. A US census bureau report in July concluded that the global number of people over 65 years of age would double, from 506 million in 2008 to 1.3 billion in the next 30 years. Famous centenarians include the Brazilian modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer, born in 1907 and Zhou Youguang, the creator of Chinese pinyin. Others who reached 100 and beyond have included the Queen Mother, who died aged 101 in 2002, and Henry Allingham, the oldest surviving veteran of the first world war when he died, aged 113, in July last year. For those lucky enough to hit the big 100, one highlight is a card from the Queen, and one every year after 105. Those who live long enough may also get to complain. Catherine Masters, then 109, from Oxfordshire, wrote to the palace to complain that the outfit worn by the Queen in five successive cards was becoming repetitive.[rc] © Guardian News and Media Limited 2010

UK: New Years honours list includes OBEs for Status Quo's ageing rockers

. LONDON, England / The Guardian / December 31, 2009 By Caroline Davies Confirming that conformity comes with longevity, Status Quo's ageing rockers Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi have joined the establishment – accepting OBEs in today's New Year honours list. Still rockin' all over the world at 61 and 60 respectively, the men behind one of Britain's most successful, and hard-living, bands for the past four decades, have been recognised for services to music and to charity. 40 years, three chords and two gongs for Quo. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA Yesterday, abandoning any rock'n'roll pretensions, they admitted they were absolutely delighted. "Us, of all people!" said Rossi, lead singer. "I'm not sure that we deserve it, but fuck it, I'm so made up it's ridiculous. You hear about people refusing them because it's not rock'n'roll but that's a dickhead approach. My partner [Parfitt] is even more excited about it – he's probably blubbing. You start off rebellious, a teenager in a band, but you end up being part of the establishment." After more than 40 years, 22 British top 10 singles, 32 album hits and more than 118m record sales worldwide, the band that bequeathed to the nation a distinctive hernia-inducing, thumbs-in-the-belt-loops rock dance, are still lauded as Britain's hardest working band, playing to 250,000 fans at 27 arenas in 2009 alone. They have also raised millions for charity. Given decades of notoriously wild living, Parfitt doubted that he could be suitable candidate for an honour. "I'd kind of given up hoping. Particularly with my wild past – if they'd reviewed some of my old newspaper cuttings," said the lead guitarist and singer, who has survived an emergency quadruple heart bypass and a cancer scare. Elsewhere in the honours list, there was a knighthood for Patrick Stewart, 69, the actor famous for his roles in Star Trek and, most recently, on stage with the RSC as Hamlet's father, Claudius. Patrick Stewart has been awarded a knighthood Nicholas Hytner, the National Theatre's director, is also knighted for services to drama, including his bringing to life new works by Alan Bennett, such as the History Boys, as well as spawning West End hits such as War Horse. He was also the man who staged Jerry Springer: the Opera early in his time at the National. The Scottish rugby international-turned Lions coach, Ian McGeechan, 63, was also knighted, and the 2009 Formula One champion, 29-year-old Jenson Button, has been awarded an MBE. Elsewhere in sport, Beth Tweddle, Britain's most successful gymnast, receives an MBE, and the former England football captain Jimmy Armfield is given a CBE for his community work in Lancashire. MBEs go to Claire Taylor, the first woman to be named one of Wisden's cricketers of the year, and to the Blackburn Rovers striker Jason Roberts. The co-founders and chefs of the Michelin-starred River Café restaurant in west London, Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers, have received MBEs for their services to the hospitality industry. River Cafe restauranteurs Rose Gray (left) and Ruth Rogers have been awarded MBEs Claire Bertschinger, whose appearance in Michael Buerk's 1984 reports on the Ethiopian famine inspired Bob Geldof to organise Live Aid, is made a dame for services to nursing and to international humanitarian aid. The TV wildlife presenter and cameraman Simon King gets an OBE. [rc] © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009

USA: 78-year-old spends chilly Christmas Eve shoveling snow, help elderly neighbors

. LUBBOCK, Texas / The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / December 30, 2009 By Alyssa Dizon | Avalanche-Journal On Christmas Eve, Roger Jacobsen, 78, of Lubbock, shoveled the sidewalk and walkways for 10 of the houses on his street to give back to his neighbors. Merissa Ferguson/Lubbock Avalanche While most people opted to stay cozy and warm in their houses on snowy Christmas Eve, Roger Jacobsen, 78, shoveled paths and sidewalks for 10 of his neighbors. "If they give prizes for Good Samaritans, he's it," said Calvin Harkness, Jacobsen's next-door neighbor. It started a little after noon when Jacobsen tried to clear his sidewalks with a plastic rake and a broom. His neighbor across the street, Betty Jennings, saw him and offered to lend him her snow shovel. With the red shovel in hand, he cleared his sidewalks and Jennings' sidewalks and porch to thank her. "I was just overwhelmed with his goodness and kindness," said 80-year-old Jennings. "I just don't have enough kind words to say for him." But Jacobsen didn't stop there. He shoveled for a neighbor with heart problems, a neighbor who walks with a cane, a neighbor with cancer, a neighbor with a bad back - he kept shoveling for 41/2 hours until he had done 10 of the 13 houses on his street. "I went out and I just kept going," Jacobsen said. "I'm in good health; I can do it." The majority of the people who live on his block are 65 or older, said Harkness, and are not physically able to shovel their own driveways. His neighbors with health concerns should not have to shovel snow, and he could have hired someone, but Jacobsen said it would be "good exercise" to do it himself. Jennings, who had a hip replacement and had just recovered from a fractured foot, said she could not risk shoveling her own sidewalks. "If I fall, I'm in big time trouble," she said. Harkness said he just was going to wait for the snow to melt on its own and even tried to stop Jacobsen when he saw him working. "I was worried about him - being out there exerting himself as cold as it was," Harkness said. "I told him, 'Just let it go,' and he said, 'No, (the snow) is soft' ... He just had an answer for everything." Jacobsen said another neighbor gave him a stocking cap she had knitted to thank him and keep him warm as he worked. Harkness and two other neighbors offered to pay Jacobsen for shoveling their sidewalks and driveways, but Jacobsen refused. He shoveled an area by the neighborhood mailboxes for the mailman and the alley with the garbage Dumpsters. Jacobsen said his other next-door neighbor has cancer and was frequently visited by nurses and her sister who lived across the street. He shoveled a 6-foot path from one house to the other for the sister and made a place for nurses to park along the street. Jacobsen even worked a little more Christmas Day and Sunday to shovel the melted snow to the drain down the street. "It was Christmastime, and they're all very nice to me - I've only been here about a year and so I relied on them a lot when I came here," Jacobsen said. "It's a way to give back to them." The neighborhood, Jacobsen said, is a close-knit community of good friends who look out for each other, exchanging Christmas presents and holiday snacks. Even before the winter storm, Harkness said Jacobsen was constantly helping him and his neighbors. Jacobsen swept dirt and leaves that collected on the street, picked up neighbors' mail when they were out of town and brought their newspapers to their door. Jennings said every morning her newspaper would be sitting at her doorstep thanks to the neighborhood's "little elf." Even as the snow fell Tuesday afternoon, Jacobsen went right back to work, shoveling the small patches of white into the street. "He just delights in doing things for other people," Harkness said. "He's just something else - younger generations could take a lesson from him." [rc] © 2009 The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

USA: Letting Go

. CHICAGO / The Daily Herald / Columns / December 30, 2009 By Ellen Goodman | Columnist Editor's note: This is Ellen Goodman's final column BOSTON - There is something fitting about writing my last column on the first day of a new year. January, after all, is named for the Roman god of beginnings and endings. He looked backward and forward at the same time. So, this morning, do I. I wish I could find the right language to describe this rite of passage. Retirement, that swoon of a word, just won't do. The Spanish translation, jubilacion, is a bit over the top for my own mix of feelings. The phrase that kept running through my head as I considered this next step was: "I'm letting myself go." Yes, I can imagine the response if a tweet came across the screen announcing, "Ellen Goodman has let herself go." I can see the illustration: out of shape, lazy, slovenly, the very worst things you can whisper about a woman of a certain age. But I love the idea of reclaiming that phrase. After all, where will you go when you let yourself go? To let this question fill the free space between deadlines in my life has been quite liberating. It suggests the freedom that can fuel this journey. Looking backward and forward. I belong to a generation that has transformed our culture. We've been the change agents for civil rights, women's rights, gay rights. Now, we find ourselves on the cutting edge of another huge social change. This time, it's the longevity revolution. Ours is the first generation to collectively cross the demarcation line of senior citizenship with actuarial tables on our side. "Senior citizen" is now a single demographic name tag that includes those who fought in World War II and those who were born in World War II. We don't have a label yet to describe the early, active aging. But many of us are pausing to recalculate the purpose of a longer life. We are reinventing ourselves and society's expectations, just as we have throughout our lives. Looking backward and forward. I began writing my column when my daughter was 7 and I leave as my grandson turns 7. I began writing about Gerald Ford and end writing about Barack Obama. I began on a typewriter, transmitting columns on a Xerox telecopier. Now I have a MacBook on my desk and an iPhone in my pocket. I celebrated my lucky midlife marriage in these pages, sent my daughter to college, welcomed my grandchildren, said farewell to my mother. I upheld Thanksgiving traditions in this space and celebrated them with a family that evolved far beyond my grandparents' idea of tradition. I wrote about values and pushed back against those who believe they own the patent on this word. It has been a great gift to make a living trying to make sense out of the world around me. That is as much a disposition as an occupation. Now, when people ask what are you going to do next, I am tempted to co-opt Susan Stamberg's one-word answer when she left her anchor post at NPR: "Less." I am more tempted to say, simply, "We'll see." After 46 years of deadlines, it is time to take in some oxygen, to breathe and consider. At the risk of sounding like a politician one step ahead of the sheriff, I want to spend more time with my family and fulfill the fantasy of a summer on my porch in Maine. But of course writers write - even more than 750 words at a gulp - and former columnists can get involved in causes that require something more than a keyboard. Looking forward and backward, it is never easy to know the right moment to step onto that next stage. At a farewell lunch - which I described as the "sheet cake lunch" - my editor and friend read aloud some vaguely familiar words by a columnist 30 years my junior. "There's a trick to the Graceful Exit. It begins with the vision to recognize when a job, a life stage, a relationship is over - and to let go. It means leaving what's over without denying its validity or its past importance in our lives. "It involves a sense of future, a belief that every exit line is an entry, that we are moving on rather than out." It was an odd experience to hear, let alone heed, my younger self. "The trick of retiring well may be the trick of living well," I wrote back then. "It's hard to recognize that life isn't a holding action, but a process. It's hard to learn that we don't leave the best parts of ourselves behind, back in the dugout or the office. We own what we learned back there. The experiences and the growth are grafted onto our lives. And when we exit, we can take ourselves along - quite gracefully." She knew then what I know much more intimately now. So, with her blessing, I will let myself go. And go for it. [rc] © Washington Post Writers Group Copyright © 2009 Paddock Publications, Inc.

USA: At-home devices monitor seniors for safety

. CHICAGO / TheSouthtownStar / Lifestyles / December 30, 2009 The Caresse+ personal emergency response system can raise an alarm call from anywhere in the home by simply pressing a pendant the user wears or a button on the unit. Calls are immediately sent to either a professional 24-hour monitoring center or to a care provider By Mellissa Kossler Dutton - For The Associated Press At 88, Grif Crawford knows he's at risk of a fall or other sudden health problem. So he wears a pendant around his neck that can summon help if something goes wrong. "It's kind of like life insurance," said Crawford, of Lee Summit, Mo. "I feel very comforted with this." The device has come a long way since the days when it merely allowed the wearer to alert someone that he or she had fallen and couldn't get up. Crawford's equipment also can be programmed to answer his phone, remind him to take his medicine or alert him to a fire, among other things. It's one of several new products designed to help seniors stay in their homes rather than move to a nursing home or assisted living facility. At-home technology now can monitor senior citizens' movements, vital statistics, and sleep and bathroom patterns. There are products that remind seniors to take their medicine. Such devices allow older people to remain in their homes with more oversight from loved ones or medical specialists. The products can monitor how well seniors are managing the chores of daily living, and offer "peace of mind" to caregivers or family, said Majd Alwan, director of the Center of Aging Services Technology, in Washington. The products are most successful when they are tied to an agency that can dispatch meals, medical help or other senior services, he said. The monitoring systems, which cost about $150 to $200 a month, are more often prescribed to seniors for a limited time after a hospitalization or health issue, Alwan said. Some also are being used in assisted living facilities where operators like the additional protections they offer. But many people would like to see the technology become more mainstream, says Elinor Ginzler, senior vice president for livable communities for AARP, which recently surveyed seniors about their interest in the products. Seniors are willing to use the technology if it's affordable, she said. "We're at the beginning of the wave," she said. "Money is an issue." Alwan foresees technology allowing seniors to avoid "unnecessary early institutionalization" because it will relieve the anxiety of loved ones. The ability to closely monitor a person's lifestyle also can help family members know when the older person is unable to remain home, said Katie Boyer, director of marketing for Home for Life Solutions, in Lee Summit. Besides monitoring falls and day-to-day activities, her company sells equipment that will turn off a stove if the user forgets. A built-in motion detector turns the appliance off if the user leaves the room and does not return in a specific timeframe. As for managing medicine, systems exist that will dispense it at appropriate times and remind patients to take it. If the patient fails to take the medicine, the pills can move into a locked chamber to avoid an overdose. Many older people like having technology provide this extra layer of security because it doesn't require them to give up privacy, said Agnes Berzsenyi, general manager of home health for GE Healthcare in Milwaukee. GE has two products aimed at seniors: Health Guide allows users to check their blood pressure, sugar levels or heart rate daily. The information is sent to a medical provider who tracks it. If problems arise, the patient can have a teleconference with a nurse or schedule an appointment with their doctor. The company also offers QuietCare, which uses sensors that learn a customer's daily activities and behaviors, and then watch for changes, Berzsenyi explained. The sensors will alert help if a person falls, goes to the bathroom at night and doesn't return to bed, or fails to get out of bed in the morning. Sensors also can be placed near the medicine cabinet or refrigerator, so monitors can track whether the person is taking their medicine and eating. "It makes them feel like someone's taking care of them but no one is watching them," Berzsenyi said. John Cobb, CEO of Senior Lifestyle Corp., started to install QuietCare in some of his company's 70 senior living facilities this summer because he thought it would make residents safer. With QuietCare, his staff can keep track of residents' whereabouts at night, he said. "This is not a nursing home," Cobb said from his company's Chicago headquarters. "We're not watching people at night." Within 30 days, the system alerted staff members to five residents who had problems overnight, he said. "That was a very telling moment," he said. [rc] © Copyright 2009 Sun-Times Media, LLC

NEW ZEALAND: Concern over rest homes' medicine use

. AUCKLAND, New Zealand / The Press / National / Health / December 30, 2009 By Rebecca Todd - The Press Nearly half of all rest homes audited over the past six months failed to meet required medicine management standards. In a damning report released this month, Auditor-General Lyn Provost said underperforming rest homes were not being properly followed up and improvement was slow. Auditors assess the services provided by rest homes and class results as continuous improvement, fully attained, partially attained or unattained. A Ministry of Health report released to The Press shows that between June and November this year, 44 per cent of 320 audits had at least one partial-attainment ranking for medicine management. Photo credit: Age Concern, New Zealand Problems were identified in areas such as safe and appropriate prescribing, dispensing, storage and disposal. Eight aged-care providers had four or more criteria partially attained and 13 had three partial attainments. Medicine management comes under the general category of "continuum of service delivery", which has 13 standards. In Canterbury, eight of the 17 rest homes that have audit reports available online have only a partial attainment in this area. Where a rest home fails to meet a standard it is supposed to submit progress reports to the ministry describing action taken to meet the criteria. Provost said rest homes sent the reports to their auditing agency, which forwarded them to the ministry, but progress was rarely independently verified. "Our reviews showed that [auditing agencies] largely rely on rest homes reporting their own progress," she said. "In the files we reviewed, the ministry accepted most progress reports and did not require the rest home to take any more action." This type of reporting was not always effective in ensuring that improvements were made, and rest homes were often continually failing in the same or closely related criteria, she said. "More than half of the rest homes in our sample received recurring partially attained ratings in one or more criteria," she said. "This indicates that progress reporting is not leading to sustained improvements." The report gave examples of auditors having failed to pick up lax standards of care. It said that in 2008 a complaint was laid about conditions in a rest home, including an oxygen-supply shortage. A district health board audit found serious failings with the medication management system, a failure to investigate errors and controlled-drug counts not adding up. The auditors had reported the medicine management criteria as fully attained. Canterbury District Health Board member Andrew Dickerson said it was concerning to see the same homes turning up in complaints. While most performed well, about 10 per cent had a pattern of complaints that required investigation, follow-up and monitoring, but this did not always happen, he said. A common complaint he heard from family members was the use of anti-psychotic drugs on their elderly relatives. Ministry of Health manager of quality and safety Rose Wall said medicine management was an important area. "There is clearly room for improvement, and better use of information from audit reports is a step towards improving this," she said. [rc] © 2009 Fairfax New Zealand Limited

KOREA: How seniors meet sexual needs

. SEOUL, Korea / The Korea Herald / National News / December 30, 2009 A scene from Korean movie "too Young To Die," which depicts the sexual relationship of a senior couple By Song Sang-ho Nearly two out of every 10 senior citizens in Seoul have solicited sex with prostitutes in recent years, according to a survey released by Seoul City yesterday. In the survey of 1,000 citizens aged 65 or older, 16.2 percent of the respondents said they had had sex with prostitutes. Of them, 56.7 percent said they paid for sex five times or less over the last two years. Prostitution is illegal in Korea. The survey also revealed the ages of those engaged in prostitution with the seniors. Individuals in their 40s made up the biggest portion at 30 percent, while prostitutes in their 30s, 50s and 60s comprised 20.7 percent, 20 percent and 18.6 percent, respectively. Seoul Metropolitan Government commissioned the University of Seoul's Industry Corporation Foundation to conduct the survey, in which 426 male citizens and 574 female citizens participated between August and September. Pay to prostitutes averaged 60,000 won ($51.23). Those engaged in prostitution included housewives in addition to professionals in the sex trade, the survey found. Also revealed was that 10.3 percent of the questioned had contracted some form of venereal disease through their experiences. Of them, 57.5 percent said they suffered from gonorrhea, while 19.5 percent said they suffered from urethritis. The survey showed that 65.2 percent said they contracted diseases through having sex with prostitutes, while 19.6 percent said they were infected through having sex with friends of the opposite sex. Of the total respondents, the percentage of those who said they have sex once a month was 31.3 percent and those who said they have sex twice a month was 53.4 percent. Of those who regularly engage in sex, 53.4 percent said that they are satisfied with their sex life. The percentage of those having sex with their spouses was 76.4 percent and 16.2 percent said they have sex with someone of the opposite gender who is not their spouse. The survey also suggested that senior citizens have quite a flexible position on the idea of living together without official marriage registration, contradicting expectations that senior citizens in a society firmly rooted in Confucianism would be conservative. Half of the respondents said they are ok with the idea. "There is obviously sexual desire in senior citizens, but many have lost their spouses or have spouses who cannot have sexual relationships with them. We should help them address their sexual desire in a reasonable way and increase sex education for the elderly," said Kim Seong-yong, a welfare professor at Baekseok University. "There is a great lack of instructors for sex education for senior citizens. We need to raise them. We also need to create quality programs, through which senior citizens can meet friends of the opposite sex and form wholesome relationships." Kim, who served as one of the researchers in the survey, underscored that it is crucial to create an embracive social atmosphere in which the sexual needs and romantic relationships of seniors are positively viewed. Seoul City said that it would develop sex education programs for senior citizens based on survey results and enhance sex-related counseling and lectures for them. Korea joined the United Nation's list of "aging countries" in 2000 - meaning citizens aged 65 or older comprise over 7 percent of the total population. According to Statistics Korea, the percentage of senior citizens rose to 10.3 in 2008 and is expected to climb to 14.3 percent in 2018 and to 20.8 percent in 2026. [rc] Song Sang-ho E-Mail:sshluck@heraldm.com Copyright 2001 ~ 2009 Herald Media Inc

USA: Medical Care for the Final Years of Life

. CHICAGO, Illinois / Journal of American Medical Association / December 30, 2009 Care of the Aging Patient: From Evidence to Action CLINICIAN'S CORNER Medical Care for the Final Years of Life "When You're 83, It's Not Going to Be 20 Years" David B. Reuben, MD JAMA. 2009;302(24):2686-2694. ABSTRACT The case of an 83-year-old man who has had a fall-related injury and continues to be the sole caregiver for his wife who has dementia exemplifies a common situation that clinicians face—planning for the final years of an elderly individual's life. To appropriately focus on the patient's most pressing issues, the approach should begin with an assessment of life expectancy and incorporation of evidence-based care whenever possible. Photo credit: Aging Parents Short-term issues are focused on efforts to restore the patient to his previous state of health. Mid-range issues address providing preventive care, identifying geriatric syndromes, and helping him cope with the psychosocial needs of being a caregiver. Long-term issues relate to planning for his eventual decline and meeting his goals for the end of life. Unfortunately, the workload and inefficiencies of primary care practice present barriers to providing optimal care for older patients. Systematic approaches, including team care, are needed to adequately manage chronic diseases and coordinate care. [rc] Author Affiliations: Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California. © 2009 American Medical Association

CHINA: Aging seniors facing life without proper care

. BEIJING, China / The People's Daily / Society / December 30, 2009 A People's Liberation Army medical worker measures the blood pressure of a senior in Taizhou of Zhejiang province File photo: Zhu Xiaoqin More children leaving 'empty nests' for parents to cope alone Li Xiuqin, 56, has been exercising every morning since her retirement. She does it not only for fun but to stay healthy. The retired school teacher lives with her husband, also retired, in Xianyang of Shaanxi province. Their only daughter, born around 1980 when the family planning policy went into effect, however, works in Shanghai, the country's business hub. Still struggling with high living expenses in the city, particularly for housing, her daughter cannot afford to have her parents live with her in Shanghai. As the first generation of parents affected by the one-child policy reach their 60s, they face great challenges in senior care, particularly for so-called "empty nest" parents like Li and her husband. Official statistics show nearly 80 million seniors aged 60 and over in China now live in empty nests with no children by their sides to take care of them. Despite a well-off life in her hometown, Li said she misses her daughter, who comes back to visit twice a year. Worse, the difficulties of aging, like medical care and poorer health, loom as "my husband and I become older and older", Li said. "Maybe life today is easier and richer than my parents' time but I don't think I will be as lucky as them, who always had children around taking care of them," she said. The tradition that grown-up children take care of aged parents in big families with multiple children is vanishing today, particularly in cities where a couple is limited to one child, experts said. People older than 60 numbered 169 million in China at the end of 2008, accounting for 13 percent of the population, much higher than the United Nations' threshold of 10 percent for an aging society. Among them nearly half, 49.8 percent, live in empty nests. In rural areas, some, in spite of their age, even have to take care of grandchildren as their children often leave for cities seeking better employment. However, about a quarter of the seniors, about 30 million, will become disabled due to disease or age and need long-term care, Yan Qingchun, deputy director of the China National Committee on Aging (CNCA) office, said at the Second China Summit Forum on Aging and Services last week. "For them, living in a professional nursing home might be the best choice," he said. However, China now has about 40,000 such facilities with nearly 2.4 million beds, official statistics showed. A latest survey conducted by CNCA showed only 10 percent of urban seniors are willing to live in a nursing home. "Surely I'd be happier living with my daughter," Li said. However, she would have to overcome potential problems. "It wouldn't be easy for me to adapt to a new environment in Shanghai," she said. "And my medical insurance works only in my hometown." Nursing home woes With a monthly pension of 2,200 yuan ($322), Li, if she wants, can afford to live in a mediocre nursing home in her city. However, for a great number of seniors, especially those in rural areas, they are not able to afford such facilities, which cost at least 1,000 yuan a month in the country, Yan said. Nursing homes, both government and privately owned, are business oriented and open to those who can afford to pay. "They are providing quality services to the already well-off seniors while not helping the poor and needy," said Wang Zhenyao, director of the social welfare and charity promotion department in the Ministry of Civil Affairs. "It's right to have them both," he said. State-owned nursing homes, largely subsidized by the government, should be public goods and obliged to help the poor with basic care and support, Yan said. In developed countries like the United States, 5 percent of seniors live in nursing homes. Currently in China, with all beds in such facilities taken, it is just 1 percent. A lack of effective management and supervision has also been noted in nursing homes in China, Yan said. In April, a private nursing home in Changchun, capital of Jilin province, was found abusing their residents, reports said. Investigations showed the nursing home was not registered with the government. In fact, due to legal loopholes, two-thirds of the nation's nursing homes are operating without registration, Yan said. "Without registration there is no supervision at all," he said. Even registered ones are usually short staffed and in great need of professional workers who can provide help for disabled seniors, he said. By the end of 2008, the country had 30,000 of such certified workers, while at least 10 million of them are reportedly needed. Way out As China faces an aging society, the government should work out a feasible social welfare and care system to benefit everyone in the nation and help improve social harmony and mend social conflicts, urged Wang. "With high-speed economic growth for three decades, China is now able to take good care of its seniors," he said. "To support the old is to respect human dignity. And taking care of the old is no more just the duty of the children," he said. Besides, as the "421 Family", consisting of four grandparents, two parents and an only child, becomes the new mainstream family in China, the maintenance burden borne by only children will become heavier, experts predict. "That will put pressure on the unsound social welfare system of China," Wang said. In response, the government has kept expanding pension coverage in the country, where quite a few people have no pension at all. The Ningxia Hui autonomous region in December began giving a basic monthly living allowance to local residents older than 60 who had no pension and faced financial difficulties, reports said. Wang also urged the central government to speed up building a community-based care system to make sure 90 percent of seniors receive care at home, 6 percent are looked after in their communities, with the remaining 4 percent live in seniors homes. However, he conceded that current community planning in China does not give much thought to older residents. "We should start building our seniors a 'Noah's Ark' within the communities," he said. [rc] Source:China Daily Copyright by People's Daily Online

USA: JAMA Launches New Series On Caring Of The Aging Patient

. BEXHILL-ON-SEA, East Sussex, England / Medical News Today / December 29, 2009 To assist physicians in caring for a patient demographic that is rapidly growing in size, JAMA is launching a new series, "Care of the Aging Patient: From Evidence to Action." Photo credit: aarpglobalnetwork.org "The aging of the global population will be a hallmark of the 21st century, when average lifespan may reach 100 years in some countries, at least for women. Worldwide, the proportion of the population aged 60 years or older is expected to increase from 10 percent worldwide in 2005 to 22 percent in 2050, with the steepest rise in the next 25 years. Individuals aged 85 years or older are the most rapidly increasing segment of many populations," according to an editorial in the December 23/30 issue of JAMA. C. Seth Landefeld, M.D., of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues write that aging will shape the lives of patients and the practice of medicine, and that physicians will spend more time caring for older individuals. "Although physicians are knowledgeable about the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management of organ-specific diseases such as cataract, coronary artery disease, and pneumonia, many geriatric syndromes are not straightforward and do not fit the conventional paradigm of disease. Are physicians ready for these challenges? How can physicians prepare to meet the needs of patients as they age?" "The Institute of Medicine's 2008 report Retooling for an Aging America concluded, 'The health care workforce … is not prepared to deliver the best care to older patients.' This new series takes a step to address this problem." The overall goal of this series will be to help improve clinical practice and inform policy in care of older individuals, especially those who have started to lose their independence or are at risk of doing so. "Using the real stories of patients and interviews with them, the new series will analyze how to put existing evidence into practice to address pressing questions that arise for older patients, their families, and their physicians. By focusing on older patients' specific problems, the articles will explore themes that develop with aging," the authors write. The first 12 articles will explore the course of aging, from the first hints of frailty through events such as difficulty driving a car to the progressive restriction of activities that results from a steady decline. "The series aims to provide clinicians with pragmatic tools and methods for translating published evidence into daily practice, or if evidence does not exist, recommendations with a rationale and a potential research agenda." "Care of older patients often brings joy and satisfaction to their physicians. With enhancement of their knowledge and skills, all physicians have the opportunity to share in this meaningful and important work, which will be the main work for many in the aging century. With this new series of articles focused on geriatric issues and their policy implications, JAMA begins to enhance physicians' ability to do so." In the first article in the series, David Reuben, M.D., of the University of California, Los Angeles, discusses the approach to care of older patients beginning with a consideration of life expectancy and patient goals. Such an approach helps tailor the patient's visit to issues of greatest importance to the patient and interventions to maximize prevention, independence, and quality of life. An accompanying commentary by Christine Cassel, M.D., President of the American Board of Internal Medicine, addresses necessary changes in workforce support for primary care, training requirements, payment reform, research, and systems to improve care of older adults. This new series is made possible by funding from The SCAN Foundation. [rc] JAMA. 2009;302[24]:2703-2704. Source: Journal of the American Medical Association

USA: Oregon woman proves it's never too late to get a taste of ink

. BEND, Oregon / The Bend Bulletin / Community / December 29, 2009 Making her mark By Alandra Johnson / The Bulletin Jean Russell doesn't really see herself as a rebel. The 78-year-old lives in High Desert Assisted Living Community in Bend and enjoys visiting with her children and grandchildren and making baby blankets to donate to charity. But earlier this month, Russell decided to do something that was seen as the mark of a rebel for her generation. Russell got a tattoo. She remembers entering Oxygen Studios in downtown Bend. “Everybody else was in their 20s and here I come with my walker.” Russell laughs about her decision, saying, “I'm enjoying my second childhood.” Bend resident Jean Russell, 78, got a tattoo earlier this month on her right upper arm. The initials DLD stand for her three children, Donna, Lynn and David. The number seven signifies her number of grandchildren. Rob Kerr The Bulletin When she walked in, she knew exactly what permanent mark she wanted to make. The idea just came to her. She wanted very simple, block lettering and decided to get it on her right upper arm. Russell wanted the letters DLD and below that, the number seven. DLD stands for Donna, Lynn and David — her three children. And seven stands for the number of her grandkids. “I don't want to get it just to get it. I want it to mean something.” Lynn Russell, 52, lives in Bend and loves that her mom got a tattoo. “I'm something of a rebel myself. I'm really proud to be a chip off that ol' block,” she said. Lynn says her mom has always written letters to the government and has been politically active on social issues. Lynne has her own tattoo on her arm, of a Scottish fold cat. “I never expected her to get one on her own.” But Lynn wasn't at all surprised about the specific tattoo her mom chose. “It's so much like her. Her kids and grandkids are everything to her.” Why? Jean says she wanted to get the tattoo in part because she noticed that some of the staff members where she lives had to start covering up their tattoos. It made her think, “Maybe I'd like to get one.” “Maybe unconsciously that's what started the whole deal,” said Jean. She talked to her three kids about it. Lynn said, “Go for it.” Donna said, “You go girl,” while David said, “Oh?” The reaction from her friends has been great. “Everybody says, ‘I don't believe it,'” Jean says. So far, Jean says none of the other residents have been inspired by her inking to get their own tattoos. She's having better luck inspiring people to help her make baby blankets to give to the hospital. Jean plans to stop at just the one tattoo. “I wouldn't do another one.” The experience Lynn helped her mom through the process. She called ahead and talked to the tattoo artists about the safety of getting inked, especially because her mom had diabetes. They were very reassuring. Tattoo artist Amanda Cancilla, 31, was excited about getting to work with Jean. She says it is not common for older women to come in and get a tattoo, but it does happen on occasion. She is more likely to see older men, typically in their 70s, who want to get something commemorating their time as a firefighter or in the military. Jean is the second-oldest woman she has ever tattooed. The oldest was an 83-year-old in Indianapolis. The story is a special memory to Cancilla. The woman came in with her daughter and got an angel tattooed on her shoulder. Two years later, the older woman called her up to tell her that her daughter had died. She told Cancilla she and her daughter had such a good time on the day of the tattoo that she was going to use Cancilla's angel drawing — which became the woman's tattoo — on her daughter's gravestone. “It was one of the biggest compliments I could have received.” Cancilla says most of the older women who come in want to get something religious and typically go for the shoulder. Getting it on an arm, as Russell did, “is pretty ballsy.” She also liked that Jean's reasons for getting the tattoo seemed a bit rebellious. Cancilla loves working with older individuals. “It's neat, I really enjoy it.” She suspects most of them do it as “a bucket list type of thing.” The tattoo process is a bit different with older clients because the skin is very thin. Cancilla has to be careful and use the needle and ink lightly. She says most of her older clients are able to take the pain really well. That was certainly true for Jean. “I think they did a great job. It really didn't hurt.” Because of her diabetes, she has to prick her finger several times a day. Jean says those pricks hurt more than the tattoo did. Lynn says her mom spent the whole time joking and talking. The process took about 25 minutes. Jean was definitely the star during her experience. Everyone in the studio wanted to come over and take a look. “Everybody just thought it was the coolest thing,” said Lynn. [rc] Alandra Johnson E-Mail: ajohnson@bendbulletin.com © 2008 Western Communications, Inc.

UK: Mum's empty chair at Christmas

. LONDON, England / The Daily Mail / Femail / December 29, 2009 Pam Rhodes on becoming an orphan in middle age By Pam Rhodes Losing your parents as a child is a devastating experience. But few of us consider just how heartbreaking it can be to become an 'orphan' in middle age. Here, in a confession that will resonate with many readers, Songs Of Praise presenter Pam Rhodes, 59, describes the loss she felt at the death of her mother and of having no parent to share the Christmas holidays. Just a box of liquorice allsorts - but it had tears filling my eyes in the supermarket one day last week. You see, my dear mum, Peggy, and I always bought each other a box of them every Christmas. It was our little tradition. Only Mum has gone now. And so it was a few days ago that I found myself standing in the sweet aisle, acutely aware of my loss; a 59-year-old orphan feeling bereft because my mum is no longer here to share liquorice allsorts - and so much more - at Christmas. Perhaps it hurts so badly because I have had to face my own mortality and realise that, with my parents gone, my generation is now the oldest in the family. I think that at my age you are expected to be all grown up and to take the loss of your parents as a natural progression. But it is never that simple. You are never ready for it. And yet it is something few people talk about. Frankly, I'm not so sure that facing life without your parents is much easier in your 50s than it is at 15. Bringing back the memories: Pam, pictured with her mother on her wedding day in 2003, is struggling with becoming an orphan aged 59 Mum died of old age last February. She was a few days shy of her 86th birthday and she was tired and ready to go. She felt she'd done all she wanted to do and had seen her grandchildren grow up. It would be easy for people to say that she was an old lady and had had a good innings, but she was still my Mum, and even though I'm 59, I miss her dreadfully every day. Our bond became unbreakable after my dad died from cancer of the oesophagus when he was 44: Mum was 42 and I was 14. We were a naval family, so we lived in Gosport across from Portsmouth harbour - Mum, Dad, my older brother Geoff, younger sister Terry and me. I remember hearing Dad die in the next room at home. The hospital had sent him home because there was nothing more they could do for him. When I asked Mum if it was cancer, she replied that it was and that was the moment I felt we became friends as well as mother and daughter. On the night Dad died, Mum was smiling when she came through to hug me, because she was relieved he was no longer suffering. My sister, who was only seven, asked very practically: 'Who's going to mend my bike now?' Tough years followed, during which it often felt as if it was Mum and us against the world. During the War, she had been a senior aircraft fitter and was incredibly self-sufficient as a result. Her attitude was always that anything men could do, women could probably do better. Dad had often been away with work, so Mum just got on with things. He was a Work Study Officer, which meant that if ever they decided to do any decorating at home, by the time he'd finished his 'To Do' list, she'd be up a ladder with the ceiling painted.

It might sound odd, but that cold February day when Mum died on the ward of an NHS hospital was one of the most special of my life

Of course, she suffered terrible grief when he died. Her life was thrown into disarray. Until then, she'd been a housewife, but suddenly she had to provide for us and became amazingly resourceful. Mum was a very capable lady, like most people who'd lived through the austere years of war. I think it was Margaret Thatcher who once said that women are like tea bags - you never know how strong they are until they're in hot water. After I left home to start working, initially for Thames Television, I used to ring Mum every day - and that continued wherever I was sent as a presenter - and when I had my children, too. I thought it was very important that someone was interested in what she was doing, even if it wasn't a lot. More than two decades of presenting Songs Of Praise has taught me that one of the biggest challenges these days is loneliness. We get a lot of letters from people who are very lonely. I was conscious of that with Mum as she got older because she was so self-sufficient she never joined any clubs. Sometimes, she'd go a whole day without seeing anyone. Oldest generation: Pam, who supports Sue Ryder hospices, presenting Songs of Praise in 2000 By the time Richard and I married in 2003 - it was the second marriage for both of us - Mum had had several strokes and was very frail. Richard was thoughtful enough to say immediately that she must come and live with us at our farmhouse. I was incredibly touched by that. It was a huge wrench for Mum to leave her tiny, 200-year-old cottage in Gosport, with all its memorabilia and garden full of flowers, where she loved to sit and watch the world go by. We never sold that cottage while she lived with us because it was important for her to believe that one day she would be able to move back there. Sadly, she never did. [rc] Click here to read more Pam Rhodes is supporting Sue Ryder hospices and their Lights Of Love Christmas remembrance services. Website: www.suerydercare.org Interview by Sadie Nicholas © 2009 Associated Newspapers Ltd

UK: In praise of turning 60

. LONDON, England / The Telegraph / Lifestyle / December 29, 2009 What's wrong with hitting 60? Nothing, says one laid-back, liberated writer who recently reached the milestone decade. By Emma Soames Emma Soames, who recently turned 60 You might think that one would have got used to the idea of hitting 60, given how many years one has to think about it, not to mention, in my case, working for a company that knows more about being 60 than possibly any other business in the country. But whichever way you cut it, it does sound rather old, doesn't it? I wish I could trot out that old cliché that I don't feel my age. But I can't because I've never been 60 before, so maybe this is what it always felt like. But it's not bad at all. I looked up an article I wrote for this paper when I was in my early fifties and I have to say that I feel much the same. Thanks to a fabulous armoury of anti-ageing weapons, including exercise, Botox, highlights and increasingly creative corsetry, 60 doesn't look like 60 anymore. And in much the same way that my fifties proved to be a revelation, this new decade is following suit. I truly believe that no other generation has hit this age feeling quite so defiant, if not buoyant. I remember the 60th-birthday celebrations of a distant cousin when I was about 12 years old. As always, cousin Madeleine wore sensible walking shoes, a tweed skirt and a brown cardigan. Her only concession to the giddiness of her birthday celebrations was a string of pearls, worn with her WRVS brooch. On my birthday, I wore a sleeveless print shift from Anne Louise Roswald with a single strand of huge, shiny pearls. My skirt was above the knee and my hair has been the same colour for ages (that won't be changing). My concession to my great age was a pair of dark glasses and a chunky cardigan to cover my bingo wings. But I cannot pretend that things have not changed. Firstly, it isn't just me who's getting older. My daughter, nephews and nieces are now either at university or young professionals. So not only am I liberated from the management of a teenager, but there's a big bonus from letting go. I get great pleasure from hearing about their progress in their careers. Sometimes I'm even able to lob some ideas into their thinking – but only, I hope, when I'm asked to do so. The other remarkable thing is that I don't envy them one jot. I adored the beginning of my career, but I have no desire to go back there; maybe it's because I still have my own greasy pole to climb, or maybe I just couldn't face the rough-and-tumble existence that being at the bottom of the ladder entails. At least I was paid right from the start, avoiding the agonisingly long internships that are the lot of so many career starters now. But work is still an issue for us ageing, swinging sixties; that's the greasy pole. How long we want to go on working and, more importantly, how long we will be allowed to do so is a major obsession for us all. This has quite a lot to do with economics, and our deeply disappointing pensions, but few of us actually feel like retiring. I am outraged by the default retirement age, which forces so many into a retirement they aren't ready for: it's simply not right on any level that fit and willing 65-year-olds can be shown the door if they are performing well and want to work. We should all be able to choose when we retire and how: it should be gradual, with fewer days worked, perhaps in a different job, rather than being pushed out by an employer who simply can't be bothered to deal with the issue in a more sensitive and, above all, flexible way. Indeed, there is a long list of things that urgently need to be improved for older people: the number of people who are forced to sell their homes to pay for care is increasing every year; the numbers being forced onto pension benefit because of the lack of tax breaks on interest from their savings is also rising. Add to this the battles that are fought daily by many old people who are caring for an even older relative to get the support they need, and the ageism that is rampant in most public bodies, particularly in the NHS. This has become so bad that some old people are terrified of a hospital admission for fear of dying of neglect. So there is no lack of urgent fixes that are needed to be implemented by whichever government follows this one. And the grey vote will be the deciding factor in large numbers of parliamentary seats. For all these reasons and for the first time, Saga will be producing a manifesto for the election to help get some answers to these big questions. I am excited to be part of a demographic that needs to implement a sea change in the way the old are treated in this country. And if we want a halfway decent, dignified old age, we need to get moving. Happily, this is where social justice bumps into the self-interest of growing numbers of baby boomers; this force for change must prove irresistible. It's not all a battle, though. The delights of being 60 are numerous – and rather a well-kept secret that you don't discover until you get there. I've managed to cut down my working days, and it's had nothing but positive effects on my life. Having been a full-time desk jockey for nearly 40 years, working from home is utterly blissful. But the giddy freedom I enjoy is not something I could have handled when I was younger: I would have slept away the years or spent most of them in rehab – either financial or the other sort. My health is good – the creaking hasn't started yet – and there aren't many things I cannot do, although winning at competitive sports is no longer an impostor I have to deal with. And I am enjoying the safety in numbers: the large number of people crossing the Rubicon of their seventh decade makes it less scary, as well as making us all powerful. There are so many role models – Helen Mirren, Joan Bakewell, Jack Nicholson, Ken Clarke, to name a few – showing us how to pull off this decade, proving time and time again that our sixties should be as action-packed as previous ones. There are some things I absolutely refuse to do: these include flashing a bus pass (I keep it well hidden in a gold wallet), wearing my skirts below the knee and hanging the now essential glasses on a rope around my neck. But if I am not clever, or cool or stylish enough, there really is nothing I can be bothered to do about it. Lord, I am positively laid-back now, which is not something I have ever been accused of. Perhaps that's the coolest thing of all. [rc] Emma Soames is Editor at Large of 'Saga Magazine' © Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2009

MALAYSIA: Senior citizens fined over magpie fight

. KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia / The New Straits Times / December 29, 2009 By Irdiani Mohd Salleh For abusing two magpies, 27 men, mostly senior citizens, were fined RM130 each in two magistrates’ courts yesterday. If they do not pay the fine they have to go to jail for three months. Aged between 27 and 72, the men pleaded guilty to abusing the birds by causing them to fight at Bird Fans Recreational Club Jinjang in Sentul. In one court, 13 of the accused who were represented by counsel Khairul Amin Abdullah, pleaded guilty after the charge were read to them in Cantonese. Illustrative photo credit: © Mark Coates/Flickr In pressing for a deterrent sentence, deputy public prosecutor Aidatul Azura Zainal Abidin submitted that humans should protect animals and not abuse them. “Magpie is a type of bird which can entertain people. Why do you need to make them fight?” she said. In mitigation, Khairul Amin said that most of the accused persons were pensioners and they did not have fixed income. “They went there to entertain themselves,” he said. In passing sentence, magistrate Aina Azahra Arifin reminded the accused not to repeat the offence. In another court, 14 accused persons pleaded guilty before magistrate Abdullah Siddiq Mohd Nasir. Their counsel Ahmad Ridza Mohd Noh said they were first offenders and regretted their action. According to the facts, a group of men were standing around a cage in which two magpies were fighting. Some of them were believed to have placed bets on the birds. During the police raid, two of the men were writing the bets in a book. [rc] Copyright © 2009 NST Online

UK: My heart stopped 20 times

. LONDON, England / Daily Express / Your Health / December 29, 2009 By Christine Feildhouse Wendy Davis jumped at the chance to try a new gadget that might discover why she was constantly blacking out. Not only was the 28-year-old keen to know what was causing the random attacks, she thought it would mean avoiding a long waiting list. The device is called a Sleuth implantable loop recorder, or ILR. Slightly larger than a £2 coin, it is placed under the skin in the chest and records heart rate and rhythm. A HIGH-tech device that is implanted under the skin and relays information to an American HQ is diagnosing heart problems faster than ever. By monitoring her heart activity over a long period experts would be able to see what was happening when Wendy lost consciousness. Using the latest Bluetooth technology it would relay information to a centre in New Jersey, America, where clinicians were on hand to ensure she was diagnosed quickly and efficiently. Wendy’s problems started in early November 2008 while she was preparing dinner for herself and her husband James, 37, at their home in Eastbourne, East Sussex. “I felt really dizzy and before I could sit down I fell to the floor. I came round and didn’t think much of it. Then it happened a few days later when I was out shopping.” After fainting for a third time Wendy went to her GP. Blood tests ruled out anaemia and the blackouts continued. “It was happening more and more regularly, at least two or three times a week,” recalls the account manager. Wendy was referred to a neurologist at Eastbourne General Hospital. When he gave her a clean bill of health she was put on the list to see a cardiologist. Her appointment was for January this year but a few weeks beforehand she was asked if she would go in early to discuss a trial programme. “They were looking for patients to test a new ILR,” she says. “James and I both decided I should go ahead to get a quick diagnosis. We were aware of the risks of trying something new but the alternative was going on the waiting list to see a cardiologist, then having traditional tests such as an ECG (electrocardiogram).” However there was no guarantee her problem would show up with conventional tests as her blackouts weren’t happening at regular intervals. “I might be linked to an ECG but if I didn’t have an attack while it was on, doctors would be none the wiser,” she says. The ILR records the activity of the heart and is used to diagnose patients with symptoms such as dizziness, palpitations or loss of consciousness, which are often the sign of an abnormal heart rhythm. This latest model can be left in place for at least two years. It is removed once the doctor has enough information to make a diagnosis. Wendy had the 45-minute operation to insert the ILR at Eastbourne Hospital in early December 2008. Under local anaesthetic, the ILR was fitted just above her left breast. Her scar was a little over one centimetre long. “I could feel the ILR under my skin,” she says. “It worked with a little box – a bit like an iPod – which I had to carry everywhere with me. As soon as I had an attack, I had to press a green button. Everyone – James, my family, work colleagues – knew about this in case I didn’t have time to use the activator and they had to do it for me. Every night the information was downloaded from my ILR through to a hospital in America.” In the next month Wendy experienced more than 20 blackouts, each one longer than the last. “James was worried,” she says. “He’d get home from work and find me unconscious. There were times when he thought I had died. Towards the end of the ILR investigations I was blacking out for 30 minutes at a time. I was taken to hospital three times by ambulance.” After a month the ILR had collected enough information. Her cardiologist Dr Neil Sulke said results showed she was fainting because of sinus arrests, which meant her heart was slowing down and stopping temporarily. On one occasion it stopped for 30 seconds. She returned to hospital to have the ILR removed and an on-demand pacemaker fitted. Now when her heart slows down the pacemaker kicks in before the heart has a chance to stop. “I haven’t blacked out since getting the pacemaker,” says Wendy, who also wears a MedicAlert Emblem bracelet to let people know she has a pacemaker fitted. Dr Sulke says the ILR takes on average 62 days to diagnose a problem. “It is in effect a constant ECG because it is on all the time,” he says. “It picks up any abnormal heartbeat, below 60 or above 100. It is definitely a way forward in diagnosis and has been very effective in diagnosing elderly and patients with dementia.” When she started to feel nauseous several mornings in a row Wendy worried that her heart problems had returned. “It crossed my mind it was my heart again, then I did a pregnancy test and it was positive,” she says. “We’ve put those worrying times behind us and our baby is due soon.” [rc] MedicAlert provides a life-saving identification system for those with hidden conditions. Copyright ©2006 Northern and Shell Media Publications

USA: Nobel laureate Edwin Krebs dies at 91

. LOS ANGELES, California / The Los Angeles Times / December 29, 2009 OBITUARY Dr. Edwin G. Krebs dies at 91; Nobel laureate co-discovered fundamental cell processes The University of Washington biochemist co-discovered the mechanism that causes cells to grow, change, divide and die. It launched an explosion of knowledge about diseases, medicines and metabolics. By Thomas H. Maugh II Dr. Edwin G. Krebs, the University of Washington Nobel laureate who co-discovered the mechanism by which a wide variety of processes are turned on and off within cells and thereby led to an explosion of knowledge about how cells grow, change, divide and die, died Dec. 21 in Seattle from progressive heart failure. He was 91. Dr. Edwin Krebs in 1992. He and his colleague, Edmond H. Fischer, discovered phosphorylation a decade before scientists fully understood its importance. (Matt Todd / Associated Press / October 12, 1992) Krebs and his co-laureate Edmond H. Fischer discovered that most processes within cells -- ranging from fundamental metabolic reactions to the initiation of cancer -- are triggered when key proteins are activated by a process called phosphorylation, in which a phosphate molecule is added to the protein. By adding or removing the phosphate, the enzyme's activity can be switched on or off. Krebs and Fischer were the first to identify and characterize an enzyme that carries out this reaction, which is the basis of all biological function. The process is so important that 1% of the human genome is devoted to blueprints for the production of the enzymes that carry out phosphorylation, according to the Nobel Prize citation. Their work has helped researchers understand such disparate biological problems as how the drug cyclosporine prevents rejection of transplanted organs, why certain cancers develop, how hormones affect the body, how genetic information is transcribed into proteins and how the body metabolizes sugar to produce energy. Defects in regulation of phosphorylation are at the heart of many disorders such as cancer, diabetes, nerve diseases and heart conditions, and a wide variety of modern drug research is targeted at the manipulation of this process. The pair's collaboration began in 1955 shortly after Fischer arrived at the University of Washington from his native Switzerland and learned that he and Krebs were investigating the same problem -- how muscles obtain the energy to contract. "Krebs slapped me on the back and said, 'Let's take a crack at that problem,' " Fischer recalled in 1992 when they received the Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine. Initially, they worked so closely together that, if one had to leave to deliver a lecture, the other could run the experiment of the day. While searching for that energy source, Fischer added, they "happened to stumble on a reaction that regulates the activity of a muscle enzyme. We had no idea how widespread this reaction would be . . . whether it would be something very unique or very unimportant." Other scientists also had no idea, and it took a decade before they began to see the reaction's significance. Then, "it took off like a rocket," Nobel committee member Hans Wigzell said at the time. "Now 10% of all biology articles in journals like Nature or Science deal with their field." Edwin Gerhard Krebs was born June 6, 1918, in Lansing, Iowa, the son of a Presbyterian minister and a schoolteacher. In his Nobel autobiography, he noted that he had no strong interest in science as a child beyond making gunpowder from materials gleaned from the drugstore and his older brother's chemistry set. He followed his brothers to the University of Illinois and enrolled in an "individual curriculum" program that allowed him to take a broad variety of math and science courses. In the wake of the Depression, he decided that chemistry or medicine would allow him to make a decent living. The choice between the two was made for him when he received a scholarship to Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He received his medical degree in 1943 and performed 18 months of residency before serving as a naval medical officer. That was the last time he practiced medicine. Discharged in 1946, he returned to St. Louis looking for a residency, but was disappointed to find that all the positions had been filled by doctors who had been released earlier from military service. So he took a postdoctoral post in the biochemistry laboratory of Carl and Gerty Cori, who received a Nobel in 1947. Entranced by the work, two years later Krebs took a faculty position at the University of Washington, where he spent all of his career except for an eight-year period from 1968 to 1977, when he was founding chairman of the department of biological chemistry at the UC Davis School of Medicine. He also obtained a license to practice medicine in Washington, but he never had to adopt that fallback position. At both institutions, he reveled in his administrative duties, noting that what he liked best about the job was the responsibility of selecting good faculty members. Later in his career, he continued to study phosphorylation and branched out into carbohydrate metabolism and cell signaling. Even after his formal retirement in 1991, he continued his daily walk from home to the campus to perform research and meet with graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Krebs is survived by his wife of 64 years, Virginia "Deedy" Krebs, whom he met while she was a nurse at Washington University and he was a physician; daughters Sally Herman of Salem, Ore., and Martha Abrego of Shoreline, Wash.; son Robert of Seattle; four grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. [rc] Thomas H. Maugh II E-Mail: thomas.maugh@latimes.com Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times

AUSTRIA: Computer pioneer Zemanek to turn 90

. VIENNA, Austria / Austrian Times / December 29, 2009 By David Rogers Austrian computer pioneer Heinz Zemanek who developed the first complete transistorised computer on the European continent will celebrate his 90th birthday on 1 January 2010. Zemanek became famous for developing the "Mailüfterl" computer in the 1950s which he designed and built with his own money since he had no official support. Austrian computer pioneer Heinz Zemanek who developed the first complete transistorised computer on the European continent will celebrate his 90th birthday on 1 January 2010. Mailüfterl, which is on display at Vienna’s Technical Museum, was the first such computer on the European continent and one of the first in the entire world. Zemanek was then involved in programming from 1958 to 1961 and with the subsequent transition from hardware to software. In 1961, he and his team moved to a Vienna laboratory that computer firm IBM had offered them and concentrated on programming language and created the "Vienna Definition Language," at the time the biggest programming language, and later the "Vienna Definition Method." He was named an IBM-Fellow in 1976, one of the few Europeans to be given the honour. Zemanek also worked as a professor at Vienna’s Technical University (TU) and was president of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), has been retired since 1985. He has received numerous rewards and honours during his life. [rc] Copyright: © AN News and Pictures

INDIA: Puducherry will award gold coin for persons above 100

. CHENNAI, Tamilnadu / The Hindu / December 29, 2009 By Staff Reporter in Puducherry A gold coin each will be awarded to every person over 100 years of age in the Union Territory. This was an announcement made at the 11th anniversary celebrations of the Pondicherry Senior Citizens’ Welfare Association held on Sunday. The government has many schemes aimed at the elderly and also runs old-age homes, said Lieutenant Governor Iqbal Singh. Pointing out that the government also has concern about their safety, Mr. Singh said the police were taking steps to identify vulnerable older persons, especially those living alone, to frequently visit them and ensure their safety. Senior citizens may also register themselves online at the Puducherry Police Department website, he said. He congratulated association’s president S.V. Iyer on his Lifetime Achievement award from the Centre for services to the elderly people. [rc] Copyright © 2009, The Hindu

UK: Try a little togetherness at loneliest time of year

. WORCESTER, England / Worcester News / December 29, 2009 By Flora Drury CHRISTMAS is a time for family – but what if you don’t have any, or they live hundreds of miles away? What if, as time went by, your neighbours changed and you found yourself unable to leave the house? Slowly, you would become completely isolated. A distant nightmare for many, this is the case for hundreds of elderly people across Worcestershire who have become disconnected from the community and find themselves alone – not just at Christmas, but all the time. David Clark, of Age Concern Worcester, said: “We never know how many people are actually living like this, because of the very nature of the problem. “Some are used to being on their own, they might be a bit fearful of the outside world and they become introverted.” ALONE WITH THEIR THOUGHTS: Many elderly people have withdrawn from society The “very nature of the problem” is that these older people have slowly withdrawn from society, and have been forgotten. “Some are fit enough to get out, but the problem comes when they cannot get out anymore – that’s when we have to try to save them from falling into the depths of despair or depression.” For Tony Joyce, the registered care manager at Eclipse Home Care, Hallow, it is a problem he sees far too often. “Some of the elderly have issues with eyesight, hearing and mobility so they don’t particularly go outside,” said Mr Joyce. “So the outside world begins to seem threatening to them, with things like technological advances, and then when they listen to the news, it can be frightening.” Rob Gready, the care home manager, agrees. He knows the carers from Eclipse often provide the only conversation these elderly people will have all day. He said: “It is a tragedy, and unfortunately it happens all too often.” The real tragedy, though, is that it is believed keeping the mind active and stimulated is one of the best ways to stave off later problems with confusion and dementia. Mr Gready said: “People are social and they need interaction to keep going. The brain is a muscle and needs to be exercised. “For us in the care industry, we need to move beyond simply the practicalities of caring and from what carers in general do. I think it’s so important to focus on interaction. It’s one of the things I really want to be different.” He can be proud then that his companionship carers, who visit people in their own homes and help out a little, will always try to go the extra mile, even popping in to see clients on the way home. But these are the lucky ones – the people who Age Concern come across are often not so lucky. “We are always coming across more people who feel isolated – it’s very sad,” said Mr Clark. “The only time we get to know about these people is when a neighbour or someone tells us.” And as soon as they are referred to Age Concern, they are visited by a care worker, who will assess and check them. It is at this stage they can alert any other agency which may need to be contacted – such as social services – and tell the elderly person about benefits they may be entitled to, but not aware of. Once the charity becomes aware of the person, they can make sure they no longer feel lonely or afraid. Lunch clubs and social clubs will give them a chance to meet new people and begin to feel part of the community again. But, without the community in the first place, these people would never have been found. It is something that concerns Mr Gready: “People are so wrapped up in themselves, I don’t know if we are as good now as we used to be.” But Mr Clark is more positive. “If there is no family around, then it comes down to neighbours to look after these people – but there are an awful lot who already do, and for that we are grateful.” But they all agree the only way to solve the problem is if the community really pulls together, and takes notice. “It’s important the community are aware,” said Mr Clark, “Where neighbours notice, it would be nice if they could spare a bit of time every now and then.” “Obviously, the best communities take the time and trouble,” said Mr Gready. “It makes such a difference in people’s lives having interaction and using their minds and memories. “It’s about so much more than just Christmas – it’s a time when people could be particularly sad, but people really need to be aware all the time.” [rc] © Copyright 2001-2009 Newsquest Media Group

USA: Portrait of Positive Aging - Tireless spirit is Linda Jordon's gift

. LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas / Aging Arkansas / December 28, 2009 By Rosemary Hallmark Linda Jordan says she is blessed with a high-energy level. Anyone who knows her will attest to this. She walks fast and is frequently seen carrying an armload of bags so she can juggle multiple projects. But being a quick-footed multi-tasker is necessary for someone like Jordan. She describes her philosophy: “Every waking moment of my life is filled,” she says. “I am an early riser and make the best use of every minute of every day.” Linda Jordan’s gift is helping others and the holiday season is no different for her class of homebound seniors. Jordan has a long track record of volunteer activities, including Arkansas Enterprises for the Blind, volunteering at her son’s schools and president of the Auxiliary at Baptist Medical Center. ... Click here to continue reading the Linda Jordon story “I don’t actually think about what I might do. I just respond when there is an opportunity,” she says. “Of course, I pray that I will not miss a single opportunity that God has placed before me and I believe that as long as my heart is right before God, I won’t miss an opportunity.” Jordan believes she is blessed in every aspect of life. She and her husband Ted have been married 48 years. They have one son, Mark, a daughter-in-law, Melissa, and two granddaughters, Nicole and Emily, all of whom are following in Jordan’s footsteps by serving in various volunteer capacities in their church and community. “A couple of years ago Nicole tutored Spanish children once a week and currently helps with the Spanish worship service at their church,” Jordan says proudly of her 18-year-old granddaughter. Jordan says she has also been blessed with good health and a tireless spirit. She walks three miles a day on her treadmill, and being the multi-tasker that she is, does so while answering emails via phone or reading the morning newspaper. She says she can only remember being tired once in her life, though she might just be too busy to ever notice. “We are a healthy family and that helps us feel better and have more energy.” Jordan encourages anyone interested in joining or starting their own Tele-Bible Sunday School class to contact her via email. She says she’d love to be of service in any way possible. [rc] © 2009 Aging Arkansas

USA: Is it time for dad to stop driving?

. CHICAGO, Illinois / Chicago Sun-Times / December 28, 2009 By Mike Konow Last week, the Ride column talked about when loved ones should encourage their elderly relatives to limit, or stop, driving. It prompted this letter: "For years I tried to get my dad off the streets for fear he would hurt someone or himself because of his driving. My dad has dementia, arthritis where he can't turn his head very far in either way. . . . I called the Secretary of State for help to get him off the street and couldn't. "But my dad always passed the so-called driving test. I tried to find out what they did but he couldn't tell me because he couldn't remember what he did 10 minutes ago. . . . "The only reason why my dad is not driving anymore is because he was in an accident. Thank goodness nobody got hurt. He still hadn't renewed his license and I was able to delay the repairs past his renewal date. "Finally my mom asked me after the accident if I thought he should stop driving. . . . And I told her it was time. It hurt her and me to do this to him, but in my heart it was the right thing to do." [rc] © Copyright 2009 Sun-Times Media, LLC

CZECH REPUBLIC: Retirement age to be raised for Czechs from January

. PRAGUE, Czech Republic / Ceskenovini / December 28, 2009 The retirement age will start being extended up to 65 years for Czech men and women with one child as from January 2010, under the law drafted by the previous coalition government headed by Mirek Topolanek (Civic Democratic Party (ODS). Former labour and social affairs minister Petr Necas (ODS) was planning another two stages of the reform of the pension system, but he was unable to have them implemented. Necas's successor Petr Simerka in the current interim government of Prime Minister Jan Fischer said fundamental changes could only be prepared by the government that would arise from the spring 2010 general elections. The legislation also extends the time of insurance necessary for a claim to old-age pension to arise and the system of disability pensions will change as well. Another two stages of the pension reform, planned by Necas, involving changes to the system of basic and additional insurance schemes and the opportunity to partially transfer some money from the compulsory insurance to private funds, have not been approved. Necas wants to reopen the debate in the event of success in the elections. He has said he is ready to look for a compromise solution. Under the existing pension system, people in the economically productive age finance old-age pensions, expecting society to offer this to them, too, in their old age. The Social Democrats want to maintain and stabilise the existing system and the Communists prefer it, too. However, the ODS, the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) and the new center-right party TOP 09 are of the view that without a thorough reform, the system is untenable as the number of the elderly is rapidly growing. "The modifications may have postponed by some ten years the moment when the expenditure part of the system will rapidly grow," pension system expert Vladimir Bezdek, who chaired a government expert commission in 2005, told CTK earlier. "From the viewpoint of day-to-day politics, ten years is infinity, but from the viewpoint of the pension system it is tomorrow," Bezdek said. Experts in the commission drew up various alternatives of the pension reform commissioned by parliamentary parties. However, the parties have never agreed on any compromise solution. Experts agree that reform is indispensable and many politicians have also spoken about the necessity of changes. Demographers expect the proportion of the elderly in the population to rise significantly in the Czech Republic and to follow the general pattern in EU countries. According to the mid-December statistics, the growth in the number of children, recorded for the last seven years, has stopped in the Czech Republic. If the population number in a country is not to fall in the long run, the total fertility rate (number of children born per woman during her lifetime) must reach at least 2.1. Last year, the figure stood at 1.5 and it fell to 1.49 between January and September this year. [rc] Author: ČTK www.ctk.cz © Copyright 2009 Neris, s.r.o.