The latest issue of The Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences (Vol. 63, No. 3) features a special section devoted to the phenomenon of multidimensional geriatric assessment - an interdisciplinary diagnostic process to determine the medical, psychological, and functional status of at-risk and frail elderly patients in order to develop a coordinated, integrated plan for treatment and long-term follow-up.

In addition to being a risk factor for a depressive episode, persistent insomnia may perpetuate the illness in some elderly patients, and especially in those receiving standard care for depression in primary care settings, according to a study published in the April 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.

How can pensioners with little if any computer skills successfully cope with a digital information system? According to Dutch researcher Henk Herman Nap, the design of an accessible system needs to incorporate large letter types and keys, the mother language, and a touch screen and ABCDE keyboard as input devices.

Lowering the blood pressure of elderly patients could cut their total mortality by a fifth and their rate of cardiovascular events by a third, according to a new study presented today (Monday 31 March) at the American College of Cardiology in Chicago and published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Adding the relaxation response, a stress-management approach, to other lifestyle interventions may significantly improve treatment of the type of hypertension most common in the elderly.

Women aged 65-plus find it harder than men of the same age to preserve muscle — which probably impacts on their ability to stay as strong and fit, according to new research.

Researchers at Mayo Clinic suggest that the established “normal” ranges for evaluating electrocardiograms for persons over 80 years old should be “revisited.” The recommendation comes in a study published today in the American Journal of Geriatric Cardiology.

Prescribing costs increase dramatically when people reach 65, according to a detailed analysis of more than five million patients published in the March issue of the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

Researchers from the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health from the University of Granada have carried out a study with patients over 60.

Researchers now have a possible solution for the one in three adults who fail to take their medicines as prescribed by their doctors, as well as for everyone else who occasionally forgets: a sensor necklace that records the exact time and date when specially-designed pills are swallowed, and reminds the user if any doses are being missed.

One out of ten elderly adults on Medicare reports drinking more alcohol than is recommended, according to a new study from Brandeis University.

If you are elderly and live in California, how poor do you have to be to become eligible for public assistance?