Ageing and later life

وَٱللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمۡ ثُمَّ يَتَوَفَّىٰكُمۡۚ وَمِنكُم مَّن يُرَدُّ إِلَىٰٓ أَرۡذَلِ ٱلۡعُمُرِ لِكَيۡ لَا يَعۡلَمَ بَعۡدَ عِلۡمࣲ شَيۡـًٔاۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمࣱ قَدِيرࣱ‏

It is God who has created you and in time will cause you to die. Some of you will be reduced, in old age, to a most abject state, so that, after having knowledge, they will know nothing at all: God is truly all knowing and all powerful

۞ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن ضَعۡفࣲ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ ضَعۡفࣲ قُوَّةࣰ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ قُوَّةࣲ ضَعۡفࣰ ا وَشَيۡبَةࣰۚ يَخۡلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُۚ وَهُوَ ٱلۡعَلِيمُ ٱلۡقَدِيرُ

It is God who creates you weak, then gives you strength, then weakness after strength, together with your grey hair: He creates what He will; He is the All Knowing, the All Powerful

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِن كُنتُمۡ فِي رَيۡبࣲ مِّنَ ٱلۡبَعۡثِ فَإِنَّا خَلَقۡنَٰكُم مِّن تُرَابࣲ ثُمَّ مِن نُّطۡفَةࣲ ثُمَّ مِنۡ عَلَقَةࣲ ثُمَّ مِن مُّضۡغَةࣲ مُّخَلَّقَةࣲ وَغَيۡرِ مُخَلَّقَةࣲ لِّنُبَيِّنَ لَكُمۡۚ وَنُقِرُّ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡحَامِ مَا نَشَآءُ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلࣲ مُّسَمࣰّ ى ثُمَّ نُخۡرِجُكُمۡ طِفۡلࣰ ا ثُمَّ لِتَبۡلُغُوٓاْ أَشُدَّكُمۡۖ وَمِنكُم مَّن يُتَوَفَّىٰ وَمِنكُم مَّن يُرَدُّ إِلَىٰٓ أَرۡذَلِ ٱلۡعُمُرِ لِكَيۡلَا يَعۡلَمَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ عِلۡمࣲ شَيۡـࣰٔ اۚ وَتَرَى ٱلۡأَرۡضَ هَامِدَةࣰ فَإِذَآ أَنزَلۡنَا عَلَيۡهَا ٱلۡمَآءَ ٱهۡتَزَّتۡ وَرَبَتۡ وَأَنۢبَتَتۡ مِن كُلِّ زَوۡجِۭ بَهِيجࣲ‏

People, [remember,] if you doubt the Resurrection, that We created you from dust, then a drop of fluid, then a clinging form, then a lump of flesh, both shaped and unshaped: We mean to make Our power clear to you. Whatever We choose We cause to remain in the womb for an appointed time, then We bring you forth as infants and then you grow and reach maturity. Some die young and some are left to live on to such an age that they forget all they once knew. You sometimes see the earth lifeless, yet when We send down water it stirs and swells and produces every kind of joyous growth

ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِي وَهَبَ لِي عَلَى ٱلۡكِبَرِ إِسۡمَٰعِيلَ وَإِسۡحَٰقَۚ إِنَّ رَبِّي لَسَمِيعُ ٱلدُّعَآءِ

Praise be to God, who has granted me Ishmael and Isaac in my old age: my Lord hears all requests

قَالَ أَبَشَّرۡتُمُونِي عَلَىٰٓ أَن مَّسَّنِيَ ٱلۡكِبَرُ فَبِمَ تُبَشِّرُونَ

He said, ‘How can you give me such news when old age has come to me? What sort of news is this?’

أَيَوَدُّ أَحَدُكُمۡ أَن تَكُونَ لَهُۥ جَنَّةࣱ مِّن نَّخِيلࣲ وَأَعۡنَابࣲ تَجۡرِي مِن تَحۡتِهَا ٱلۡأَنۡهَٰرُ لَهُۥ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ ٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ وَأَصَابَهُ ٱلۡكِبَرُ وَلَهُۥ ذُرِّيَّةࣱ ضُعَفَآءُ فَأَصَابَهَآ إِعۡصَارࣱ فِيهِ نَارࣱ فَٱحۡتَرَقَتۡۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمُ ٱلۡأٓيَٰتِ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَتَفَكَّرُونَ

Would any of you like to have a garden of palm trees and vines, graced with flowing streams and all kinds of produce, which, when you are afflicted with old age and feeble offspring, is struck by a fiery whirlwind and burnt down? In this way God makes His messages clear to you, so that you may reflect on them

And God has created you when you were nothing then He takes you in death when your terms of life are concluded; and there are some among you who are relegated to the most abject stage of life that is the most diminished because of old-age and senility so that he knows nothing after having possessed some knowledge. ‘Ikrima said ‘Whoever recites the Qur’ān will not come to such a predicament’. God is Knowing of how to manage the affairs of His creation Powerful in doing what He will.

And Allah created you and then He will cause you to die; and among you there are some who are sent back to senility, so that they know nothing after having known (much). Truly, Allah is Knowing, capable of all things (70) In Man there is a Lesson Allah tells us that He is controlling the affairs of His servants. He is the One Who created them out of nothing, then He will cause them to die. But there are some of them that He allows to grow old, which is a physical weakness, as Allah says: اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن ضَعْفٍ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِن بَعْدِ ضَعْفٍ قُوَّةً (Allah is He Who created you in (a state of) weakness, then gave you strength after weakness, then after strength gave (you) weakness)(30:54) لِكَيْ لَا يَعْلَمَ بَعْدَ عِلْمٍ شَيْئًا (so that they know nothing after having known.) meaning, after he knew things, he will reach a stage where he knows nothing because of weakn

O people, if you are in doubt about the Uprising, surely We created you of dust, then of a sperm drop, then of a blood clot, then of a lump of flesh, fully created and not fully created, that We might make clear to you. The composition of the Adamic body in the first creation is a clear argument against the deniers of the Uprising. He is saying, “I am the Lord who created a body and figure with such comeliness, a stature and form with such beauty, from that feeble sperm drop in that firm settledness. He says, “Did We not create you of feeble water, then put it in a firm settledness?” [77:20-21]. If you ponder this body, you will find an exemplar of all the created and newly arrived things in the celestial and terrestrial worlds. Just as He arranged the seven spheres in heaven, so also He composed seven parts in this body-water and dust, and then flesh, skin, veins, sinews, and bones. Jus

God is the One Who created you from a state of weakness from a ‘base fluid’ cf. Q. 328 then He ordained after a second weakness which is the weakness of the period of childhood strength that is the strength of youth then after strength He appointed weakness again and grey hair the weakness of old age and the grey hairs of decrepitude read vocalised as du‘f ‘weakness’ in all three places. He creates what He will of weakness and strength youth and grey hairs and He is the Knower of how to manage His creatures the Omnipotent.

Allah is He Who created you in weakness, then gave you strength after weakness, then after strength gave (you) weakness and grey hair. He creates what He wills. And He is the All-Knowing, the All-Powerful (54) The Different Stages of Man Here Allah points out how man passes through different stages of creation, one phase after another. He is originally created from dust, then from a Nutfah, then from a clot, then from a lump of flesh. Then he becomes bones, then the bones are clothed with flesh, then the soul is breathed into him. Then he emerges from his mother's womb, weak and thin and powerless. Then he grows up little by little, until he becomes a child, then he reaches the stage of puberty, then he becomes a young man, which is strength after weakness. Then he starts to get older, reaching middle age, then old age and senility, weakness after strength, so he loses his resolve, pow

O mankind in other words O people of Mecca if you are in doubt about the Resurrection then lo! consider that We have created you that is We have created your origin — Adam — from dust then We created his progeny from a drop a sperm-drop then from a clot congealed blood then from a little lump of flesh mudgha a piece of flesh the size of what one would be able to chew mā yumdagh partly formed shaped complete in form and partly unformed that is uncomplete in form that We may make clear to you the perfect nature of Our power that you might then infer from this initial act of creation the reality of its future restoration. And We establish nuqirru marks a new grammatically independent sentence in the wombs whatever We will for a specified time that is until the time for it to come out then We bring you forth from the bellies of your mothers as infants and then We extend your life that you ma

حَدَّثَنَا آدَمُ بْنُ أَبِي إِيَاسٍ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ عَدِيِّ بْنِ ثَابِتٍ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ يَزِيدَ الأَنْصَارِيَّ، عَنْ أَبِي مَسْعُودٍ الأَنْصَارِيِّ، فَقُلْتُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ فَقَالَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ "‏ إِذَا أَنْفَقَ الْمُسْلِمُ نَفَقَةً عَلَى أَهْلِهِ وَهْوَ يَحْتَسِبُهَا، كَانَتْ لَهُ صَدَقَةً ‏"‏‏.‏

Narrated Abu Mas`ud Al-Ansari:The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "When a Muslim spends something on his family intending to receive Allah's reward it is regarded as Sadaqa for him

حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي مَالِكٌ، عَنْ أَبِي الزِّنَادِ، عَنِ الأَعْرَجِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ "‏ قَالَ اللَّهُ أَنْفِقْ يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ أُنْفِقْ عَلَيْكَ ‏"‏‏.‏

Narrated Abu Huraira:Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Allah said, 'O son of Adam! Spend, and I shall spend on you

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا بَهْزُ بْنُ حَكِيمٍ، حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي، عَنْ جَدِّي، قَالَ قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَنْ أَبَرُّ قَالَ ‏"‏ أُمَّكَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ قُلْتُ ثُمَّ مَنْ قَالَ ‏"‏ أُمَّكَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ قُلْتُ ثُمَّ مَنْ قَالَ ‏"‏ أُمَّكَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ قُلْتُ ثُمَّ مَنْ قَالَ ‏"‏ ثُمَّ أَبَاكَ ثُمَّ الأَقْرَبَ فَالأَقْرَبَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ وَعَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ وَعَائِشَةَ وَأَبِي الدَّرْدَاءِ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى وَبَهْزُ بْنُ حَكِيمٍ هُوَ ابْنُ مُعَاوِيَةَ بْنِ حَيْدَةَ الْقُشَيْرِيُّ ‏.‏ وَهَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ ‏.‏ وَقَدْ تَكَلَّمَ شُعْبَةُ فِي بَهْزِ بْنِ حَكِيمٍ وَهُوَ ثِقَةٌ عِنْدَ أَهْلِ الْحَدِيثِ وَرَوَى عَنْهُ مَعْمَرٌ وَالثَّوْرِيُّ وَحَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ وَغَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ مِنَ الأَئِمَّةِ ‏.‏

Bahz bin Hakim narrated from his father, from his grandfather who said:"I said: 'O Messenger of Allah! Who most deserves(my) reverence?' He said: 'Your mother.'" He said: "I said: 'Then who?' He said: 'Your mother.'" He said: "I said: 'Then who?' He said: 'Your mother.'" He said: "I said: 'Then who?' He said: 'Then your father, then the nearest relatives, then the nearest relatives

حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ، عَنِ الْمَسْعُودِيِّ، عَنِ الْوَلِيدِ بْنِ الْعَيْزَارِ، عَنْ أَبِي عَمْرٍو الشَّيْبَانِيِّ، عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ، قَالَ سَأَلْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَىُّ الأَعْمَالِ أَفْضَلُ قَالَ ‏"‏ الصَّلاَةُ لِمِيقَاتِهَا ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قُلْتُ ثُمَّ مَاذَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ ‏"‏ بِرُّ الْوَالِدَيْنِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قُلْتُ ثُمَّ مَاذَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ ‏"‏ الْجِهَادُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ سَكَتَ عَنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَلَوِ اسْتَزَدْتُهُ لَزَادَنِي ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى وَهَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ ‏.‏ رَوَاهُ الشَّيْبَانِيُّ وَشُعْبَةُ وَغَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ عَنِ الْوَلِيدِ بْنِ الْعَيْزَارِ وَقَدْ رُوِيَ هَذَا الْحَدِيثُ مِنْ غَيْرِ وَجْهٍ عَنْ أَبِي عَمْرٍو الشَّيْبَانِيِّ عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ ‏.‏ وَأَبُو عَمْرٍو الشَّيْبَانِيُّ اسْمُهُ سَعْدُ بْنُ إِيَاسٍ ‏.‏

Ibn Mas'ud said:"I asked the Messenger of Allah: 'O Messenger of Allah! Which is the most virtuous of deeds?' He said: 'Salat during its appropriate time.' I said: 'Then what, O Messenger of Allah?' He said: 'Being dutiful to one's parents.' I said: 'Then what, O Messenger of Allah?' He said: 'Jihad in the cause of Allah.' Then the messenger of Allah was silent, and if I had asked him more, he would have told me more

ورضواني وجنتي امكثوا فيها خالدين مخلدين ثم يقول لأهل النار كم لبثتم في الأرض عدد سنين قالوا لبثنا يوما أو بعض يوم فيقول بئسما اتجرتم في يوم أو بعض يوم سخطي ومعصيتي وناري امكثوا فيها خالدين مخلدين وخرج الحاكم من حديث عبد الجبار بن وهب أنبأنا سعيد بن طارق عن أبيه عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال نعمت الدار الدنيا لمن تزود منها لآخرته حتى يرضي ربه وبئست الدار لمن صدته عن آخرته وقصرت به عن رضا ربه وإذا قال العبد قبح الله الدنيا قالت الدنيا قبح الله أعصانا لربه وقال صحيح الإسناد وخرجه العقيلي وقال عبد الجبار بن وهب مجهول وحديثه غير محفوظ قال وهذا الكلام يروي عن علي من قوله وقول علي خرجه ابن أبي الدنيا عنه بإسناد فيه نظر أن عليا سمع رجلا يسب الدنيا فقال إنها لدار صدق لمن صدقها ودار عافية لمن فهم عنها ودار غني لمن تزود منها مسجد أحباب الله ومهبط وحيه ومصلى ملائكته ومتجر أوليائه اكتسبوا فيها الرحمة وربحوا فيها الجنة فمن ذا يذم الدنيا وقد آذنت بفراقها ونادت بعيبها نعت نفسها وأهلها فمثلت ببلائها ال

وقال مالك رحمه الله ما كان رجل صادقا في حديثه ولا يكذب إلا متع بعقله ولم يصبه مع الهرم آفة ولا خرف

وأما الفدية فتجب على الحامل والمرضع إذا أفطرتا خوفا على ولديهما لكل يوم مد حنطة لمسكين واحد مع القضاء والشيخ الهرم إذا لم يصم تصدق عن كل يوم مدا

وفي وصية لقمان لابنه يا بني اتق المرأة السوء فإنها تشيبك قبل الشيب واتق شرار النساء فإنهن لا يدعون إلى خير وكن من خيارهن على حذر

النوع الثاني من إزالة الفضلات: أجزاء تحذف، مثل قص الشارب، ونتف الإبط، وحلق العانة، وقص الأظافر. ويكره نتف الشيب، ويستحب خضابه.

فإن بقيت رأيت الشيب راغمة % وفي التفرق ما يقضي من العبر

A randomized study of a multidisciplinary program to intervene on geriatric syndromes in vulnerable older people who live at home (Dutch EASYcare Study).: Background: The effectiveness of community-based geriatric intervention models for vulnerable older adults is controversial. We evaluated a problem-based multidisciplinary intervention targeting vulnerable older adults at home that promised efficacy through better timing and increased commitment of patients and primary care physicians. This study compared the effects of this new model to usual care. Methods: Primary care physicians referred older people for problems with cognition, nutrition, be

Elder abuse: a systematic review of risk factors in community-dwelling elders.: Objective: to undertake a systematic literature review of risk factors for abuse in community-dwelling elders, as a first step towards exploring the clinical utility of a risk factor framework. Search strategy and selection criteria: a search was undertaken using the MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE and PsycINFO databases for articles published in English up to March 2011, to identify original studies with statistically significant risk factors for abuse in community-dwelling elders. Studies concerning s

A Multicomponent Exercise Intervention that Reverses Frailty and Improves Cognition, Emotion, and Social Networking in the Community-Dwelling Frail Elderly: A Randomized Clinical Trial.: Background: Frailty can be an important clinical target to reduce rates of disability. Objective: To ascertain if a supervised-facility multicomponent exercise program (MEP) when performed by frail older persons can reverse frailty and improve functionality; cognitive, emotional, and social networking; as well as biological biomarkers of frailty, when compared with a controlled population that received no training. Design: This is an interventional, controlled, simple randomized study. Researche

Interventions to Reduce Ageism Against Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.: Background. Research has found a strong link between ageism, in the form of negative stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination toward older people, and risks to their physical and mental health. Little is known, however, about the effectiveness of strategies to reduce ageism. Objectives. To assess the relative effects of 3 intervention types designed to reduce ageism among youths and adults-education, intergenerational contact, and combined education and intergenerational contact-by conducting

Factors associated with frailty in older people: an umbrella review.: Background: The number of frail older people is increasing worldwide, and all countries will be confronted with their growing needs for healthcare and social support. The aim of this umbrella review was to summarize the evidence on the factors associated with frailty in older people, using a socioecological approach. Methods: PubMed (MEDLINE), Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Hinari (research4life), and the Trip database were systematically searched up to April 2023. Systematic reviews of

Iridescent Life Course: LGBTQ Aging Research and Blueprint for the Future - A Systematic Review.: Background: LGBTQ* (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer) older adults are demographically diverse and growing populations. In an earlier 25-year review of the literature on sexual orientation and aging, we identified four waves of research that addressed dispelling negative stereotypes, psychosocial adjustment to aging, identity development, and social and community-based support in the lives of LGBTQ older adults. Objectives: The current review was designed to develop an evidence base for

Menopause experiences and attitudes in women with intellectual disability and in their family carers.

Background: Little is known about how middle-aged and older women with intellectual disability (ID) cope with life transitions such as perimenopause and postmenopause. Method: A mixed methods approach was employed to explore the attitudes toward and experiences of menopause among women with ID and their family carers in one city in Taiwan. Results: A survey found that how the carers perceived the level of menopausal symptoms in their female family members with ID was affected by their attitudes toward menopause; and carer age and education were significant factors associated with carer menopausal attitudes. The results of in-depth interviews indicated the carers' gender, age, kinships with the women with ID, and the carers' own menopausal experiences were related to how the carers felt about the menopausal transition of the women with ID. Conclusions: Both quantitative and qualitative fi…

matched on Aging (mesh)

Ethosuximide reduces epileptogenesis and behavioral comorbidity in the GAERS model of genetic generalized epilepsy.

Purpose: Ethosuximide (ESX) is a drug of choice for the symptomatic treatment of absence seizures. Chronic treatment with ESX has been reported to have disease-modifying antiepileptogenic activity in the WAG/Rij rat model of genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE) with absence seizures. Here we examined whether chronic treatment with ESX (1) possesses antiepileptogenic effects in the genetic absence epilepsy rats from Strasbourg (GAERS) model of GGE, (2) is associated with a mitigation of behavioral comorbidities, and (3) influences gene expression in the somatosensory cortex region where seizures are thought to originate. Methods: GAERS and nonepileptic control (NEC) rats were chronically treated with ESX (in drinking water) or control (tap water) from 3 to 22 weeks of age. Subsequently, all animals received tap water only for another 12 weeks to assess enduring effects of treatment. Seizure…

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Heterogeneous impact of motion on fundamental patterns of developmental changes in functional connectivity during youth.

Several independent studies have demonstrated that small amounts of in-scanner motion systematically bias estimates of resting-state functional connectivity. This confound is of particular importance for studies of neurodevelopment in youth because motion is strongly related to subject age during this period. Critically, the effects of motion on connectivity mimic major findings in neurodevelopmental research, specifically an age-related strengthening of distant connections and weakening of short-range connections. Here, in a sample of 780 subjects ages 8-22, we re-evaluate patterns of change in functional connectivity during adolescent development after rigorously controlling for the confounding influences of motion at both the subject and group levels. We find that motion artifact inflates both overall estimates of age-related change as well as specific distance-related changes in conn…

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Social isolation in older Malaysians: prevalence and risk factors.

Background: Social isolation is one of the most important emerging issues among ageing populations, as it reduces well-being, health and quality of life. The purpose of this study was to identify prevalence and risk factors of social isolation in older Malaysians. Methods: The sample for this study was drawn from a national survey entitled 'Patterns of Social Relationships and Psychological Well-Being among Older Persons in Peninsular Malaysia'. Social isolation was measured with the Lubben Social Network Scale. Results: The findings from the present study showed that 49.8% of older Malaysians are at risk for social isolation. The results of logistic regression analysis revealed that the number of sons, number of brothers, number of sisters, household size, self-rated health, place of residence, home ownership, sex and ethnicity were significantly associated with social isolation. Conclu…

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Do symptoms of depression predict telomere length? Evidence from the west of Scotland twenty-07 study.

Objective: Psychological factors such as the stress of caregiving are emerging as predictors of telomere length, an index of biological aging. However, although lifetime major depressive disorder is associated with shorter telomeres, less is known about depressive symptoms. Depression and depressive symptoms are associated with a range of morbidities and mortality, but the extent to which they predict biological aging is unclear. The present study examined participants in the West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study across three age cohorts and four waves of data collection from 1992/1993 to 2007/2008. Methods: Participants were 37, 57, and 76 years old at final data collection. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale at each time point. Telomere length was assessed from 1063 blood samples collected at the final wave in 2007/2008 for respondents who also…

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Adult consequences of growth failure in early childhood.

Background: Growth failure is associated with adverse consequences, but studies need to control adequately for confounding. Objective: We related height-for-age z scores (HAZs) and stunting at age 24 mo to adult human capital, marriage, fertility, health, and economic outcomes. Design: In 2002-2004, we collected data from 1338 Guatemalan adults (aged 25-42 y) who were studied as children in 1969-1977. We used instrumental variable regression to correct for estimation bias and adjusted for potentially confounding factors. Results: A 1-SD increase in HAZ was associated with more schooling (0.78 grades) and higher test scores for reading and nonverbal cognitive skills (0.28 and 0.25 SDs, respectively), characteristics of marriage partners (1.39 y older, 1.02 grade more schooling, and 1.01 cm taller) and, for women, a higher age at first birth (0.77 y) and fewer number of pregnancies and chi…

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Altruism, helping, and volunteering: pathways to well-being in late life.

Objective: We examined the influence of prosocial orientations including altruism, volunteering, and informal helping on positive and negative well-being outcomes among retirement community dwelling elders. Method: We utilize data from 2 waves, 3 years apart, of a panel study of successful aging (N = 585). Psychosocial well-being outcomes measured include life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, and depressive symptomatology. Results: Ordinal logistic regression results indicate that altruistic attitudes, volunteering, and informal helping behaviors make unique contributions to the maintenance of life satisfaction, positive affect and other well being outcomes considered in this research. Predictors explain variance primarily in the positive indicators of psychological well-being, but are not significantly associated with the negative outcomes. Female gender and functional li…

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Social isolation and diurnal cortisol patterns in an ageing cohort.

Background: Social isolation may operate as a psychosocial stressor which disrupts functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis. Methods: Using data from the MRC National Survey of Health and Development, we tested whether living alone, not being married and social network size were associated with diurnal cortisol patterns at 60-64 years. We hypothesised that recent onset compared with long-term isolation would be more strongly associated with cortisol awakening response, cortisol decline over the day and evening cortisol. Models were adjusted for sex, smoking, body mass index, alcohol intake, psychological distress and financial difficulties. Results: Those widowed within the last three years had a 36% (95%CI 6%, 73%) higher night time cortisol than those who were currently married. Those newly living alone also had a higher night time cortisol and flatter diurnal slop…

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Influence of age and gender on autonomic regulation of heart.

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a non-invasive method to measure cardiac autonomic function. Impairments in HRV have been proposed as independent risk factor for increased cardiac mortality and morbidity. Cardio protective phenomenon in females has been hypothesized to be due to differential autonomic tone. Age related loss of vagal control has been reported as predisposing factor for the development of cardiovascular disease. In this study we assessed effect of age and gender on autonomic regulation of heart in healthy volunteers. HRV data of 189 subjects (114 males and 75 females) were analyzed in time and frequency domains using customized program. Artifact free 5 min electrocardiogram segment was used for analysis. It was ensured that none of the subject had medical illness such as diabetes, hypertension, thyroid disorders, cardiac disorders, diseases potentially related with autonom…

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Social isolation, loneliness, and all-cause mortality in older men and women.

Both social isolation and loneliness are associated with increased mortality, but it is uncertain whether their effects are independent or whether loneliness represents the emotional pathway through which social isolation impairs health. We therefore assessed the extent to which the association between social isolation and mortality is mediated by loneliness. We assessed social isolation in terms of contact with family and friends and participation in civic organizations in 6,500 men and women aged 52 and older who took part in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing in 2004-2005. A standard questionnaire measure of loneliness was administered also. We monitored all-cause mortality up to March 2012 (mean follow-up 7.25 y) and analyzed results using Cox proportional hazards regression. We found that mortality was higher among more socially isolated and more lonely participants. However, …

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Applications of transcranial magnetic stimulation and magnetic seizure therapy in the study and treatment of disorders related to cerebral aging.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can be used to probe cortical function and treat neuropsychiatric illnesses. TMS has demonstrated neuroplastic effects akin to long-term potentiation and long-term depression, and therapeutic applications are in development for post-stroke recovery, Alzheimer's disease, and depression in seniors. Here, we discuss two new directions of TMS research relevant to cerebral aging and cognition. First, we introduce a paradigm for enhancing cognitive reserve, based on our research in sleep deprivation. Second, we discuss the use of magnetic seizure therapy (MST) to spare cognitive functions relative to conventional electroconvulsive therapy, and as a means of providing a more potent antidepressant treatment when subconvulsive TMS has shown modest efficacy in seniors. Whether in the enhancement of cognition as a treatment goal, or in the reduction of amnesi…

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Functional brain connectivity at rest changes after working memory training.

Networks of functional connectivity are highly consistent across participants, suggesting that functional connectivity is for a large part predetermined. However, several studies have shown that functional connectivity may change depending on instructions or previous experience. In the present study, we investigated whether 6 weeks of practice with a working memory task changes functional connectivity during a resting period preceding the task. We focused on two task-relevant networks, the frontoparietal network and the default network, using seed regions in the right middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC), respectively. After practice, young adults showed increased functional connectivity between the right MFG and other regions of the frontoparietal network, including bilateral superior frontal gyrus, paracingulate gyrus, and anterior cingulate cortex. In addi…

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Data Resource Profile: the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE).

SHARE is a unique panel database of micro data on health, socio-economic status and social and family networks covering most of the European Union and Israel. To date, SHARE has collected three panel waves (2004, 2006, 2010) of current living circumstances and retrospective life histories (2008, SHARELIFE); 6 additional waves are planned until 2024. The more than 150 000 interviews give a broad picture of life after the age of 50 years, measuring physical and mental health, economic and non-economic activities, income and wealth, transfers of time and money within and outside the family as well as life satisfaction and well-being. The data are available to the scientific community free of charge at www.share-project.org after registration. SHARE is harmonized with the US Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and has become a role model for …

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Work-related exhaustion and telomere length: a population-based study.

Background: Psychological stress is suggested to accelerate the rate of biological aging. We investigated whether work-related exhaustion, an indicator of prolonged work stress, is associated with accelerated biological aging, as indicated by shorter leukocyte telomeres, that is, the DNA-protein complexes that cap chromosomal ends in cells. Methods: We used data from a representative sample of the Finnish working-age population, the Health 2000 Study. Our sample consisted of 2911 men and women aged 30-64. Work-related exhaustion was assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory--General Survey. We determined relative leukocyte telomere length using a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) -based method. Results: After adjustment for age and sex, individuals with severe exhaustion had leukocyte telomeres on average 0.043 relative units shorter (standard error of the mean 0.…

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Telomere length and aging biomarkers in 70-year-olds: the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936.

Telomeres are nucleo-protein complexes at the end of eukaryotic chromosomes. They shorten each time a somatic cell replicates and this shortening is modulated by the effects of oxidative stress. Previous studies have associated telomere length with a number of age-related outcomes and it is hypothesized to be a quantitative indicator of aging. We tested this hypothesis in a cohort of ∼1000 relatively healthy 70-year-old Scots (the Lothian Birth Cohort of 1936: LBC1936) on whom we have measures of cognition, physical health and associated traits, and social class. Telomeres were significantly longer in males than females (p < 0.0001). Longer telomeres were associated, in females only, with higher general cognitive ability scores (p = 0.022) and lower C-reactive protein levels (p = 0.014). Telomere length was not associated with any of the other measured cognitive, physical, or social trai…

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Aging and functional brain networks.

Aging is associated with changes in human brain anatomy and function and cognitive decline. Recent studies suggest the aging decline of major functional connectivity hubs in the 'default-mode' network (DMN). Aging effects on other networks, however, are largely unknown. We hypothesized that aging would be associated with a decline of short- and long-range functional connectivity density (FCD) hubs in the DMN. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated resting-state data sets corresponding to 913 healthy subjects from a public magnetic resonance imaging database using functional connectivity density mapping (FCDM), a voxelwise and data-driven approach, together with parallel computing. Aging was associated with pronounced long-range FCD decreases in DMN and dorsal attention network (DAN) and with increases in somatosensory and subcortical networks. Aging effects in these networks were stronger…

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Telomeres and lifestyle factors: roles in cellular aging.

Recent research has demonstrated that telomere maintenance might be a key integrating point for the cumulative effects of genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors on aging and aging-related diseases. It is timely to 'take stock' of where this work has led the field. This review summarizes studies that have examined associations between lifestyle factors and telomere length and telomerase activity. In most of the studies described in this chapter, telomere length was measured in leukocytes (LTL) or peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), taken from blood draws from the study subjects. Much of this chapter focuses on psychological stress, a widespread factor often intimately tied in with lifestyle or behavioral factors that in turn are related to risks of clinical diseases. Together, these findings suggest that cellular aging is linked to a range of influences, with an individual's…

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Executive control resources and frequency of fatty food consumption: findings from an age-stratified community sample.

Objective: Fatty foods are regarded as highly appetitive, and self-control is often required to resist consumption. Executive control resources (ECRs) are potentially facilitative of self-control efforts, and therefore could predict success in the domain of dietary self-restraint. It is not currently known whether stronger ECRs facilitate resistance to fatty food consumption, and moreover, it is unknown whether such an effect would be stronger in some age groups than others. The purpose of the present study was to examine the association between ECRs and consumption of fatty foods among healthy community-dwelling adults across the adult life span. Methods: An age-stratified sample of individuals between 18 and 89 years of age attended two laboratory sessions. During the first session they completed two computer-administered tests of ECRs (Stroop and Go-NoGo) and a test of general cogniti…

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Low-dose pterostilbene, but not resveratrol, is a potent neuromodulator in aging and Alzheimer's disease.

Recent studies have implicated resveratrol and pterostilbene, a resveratrol derivative, in the protection against age-related diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the mechanism for the favorable effects of resveratrol in the brain remains unclear and information about direct cross-comparisons between these analogs is rare. As such, the purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of diet-achievable supplementation of resveratrol to that of pterostilbene at improving functional deficits and AD pathology in the SAMP8 mouse, a model of accelerated aging that is increasingly being validated as a model of sporadic and age-related AD. Furthermore we sought to determine the mechanism of action responsible for functional improvements observed by studying cellular stress, inflammation, and pathology markers known to be altered in AD. Two months of pterostilbene diet but…

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Catching-up but telomere loss: half-opening the black box of growth and ageing trade-off in wild king penguin chicks.

One of the reasons for animals not to grow as fast as they potentially could is that fast growth has been shown to be associated with reduced lifespan. However, we are still lacking a clear description of the reality of growth-dependent modulation of ageing mechanisms in wild animals. Using the particular growth trajectory of small king penguin chicks naturally exhibiting higher-than-normal growth rate to compensate for the winter break, we tested whether oxidative stress and telomere shortening are related to growth trajectories. Plasma antioxidant defences, oxidative damage levels and telomere length were measured at the beginning and at the end of the post-winter growth period in three groups of chicks (small chicks, which either passed away or survived the growth period, and large chicks). Small chicks that died early during the growth period had the highest level of oxidative damage…

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Loneliness, health, and mortality in old age: a national longitudinal study.

This study examined the relationship between loneliness, health, and mortality using a U.S. nationally representative sample of 2101 adults aged 50 years and over from the 2002 to 2008 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. We estimated the effect of loneliness at one point on mortality over the subsequent six years, and investigated social relationships, health behaviors, and health outcomes as potential mechanisms through which loneliness affects mortality risk among older Americans. We operationalized health outcomes as depressive symptoms, self-rated health, and functional limitations, and we conceptualized the relationships between loneliness and each health outcome as reciprocal and dynamic. We found that feelings of loneliness were associated with increased mortality risk over a 6-year period, and that this effect was not explained by social relationships or health behaviors bu…

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Dopaminergic modulation of incentive motivation in adolescence: age-related changes in signaling, individual differences, and implications for the development of self-regulation.

Behavioral activation that is associated with incentive-reward motivation increases in adolescence relative to childhood and adulthood. This quadratic developmental pattern is generally supported by behavioral and experimental neuroscience findings. It is suggested that a focus on changes in dopamine neurotransmission is informative in understanding the mechanism for this adolescent increase in reward-related behavioral activation and subsequent decline into adulthood. Evidence is presented to indicate that incentive-reward motivation is modulated by mesoaccumbens dopamine, and that it increases in adolescence before declining into adulthood because of normative developmental changes at the molecular level. Potential mechanisms of variation in functional mesoaccumbens dopamine transmission are discussed with a focus on the interplay between tonic and phasic modes of dopamine transmission…

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Accelerated aging as evidenced by increased telomere shortening and mitochondrial DNA depletion in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Although shortened telomeres were shown associated with several risk factors of diabetes, there is lack of data on their relationship with mitochondrial dysfunction. Therefore, we compared the relationship between telomere length and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM; n = 145) and in subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT; n = 145). Subjects were randomly recruited from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study. mtDNA content and telomere length were assessed by Real-Time PCR. Malonodialdehyde, a marker of lipid peroxidation was measured by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) using fluorescence methodology. Adiponectin levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. Oxidative stress as determined by lipid peroxidation (TBARS) was significantly (p < 0.001) higher in patients with T2DM compared to NGT subjects. In contrast, the me…

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Telomeres are favoured targets of a persistent DNA damage response in ageing and stress-induced senescence.

Telomeres are specialized nucleoprotein structures, which protect chromosome ends and have been implicated in the ageing process. Telomere shortening has been shown to contribute to a persistent DNA damage response (DDR) during replicative senescence, the irreversible loss of division potential of somatic cells. Similarly, persistent DDR foci can be found in stress-induced senescence, although their nature is not understood. Here we show, using immuno-fluorescent in situ hybridization and ChIP, that up to half of the DNA damage foci in stress-induced senescence are located at telomeres irrespective of telomerase activity. Moreover, live-cell imaging experiments reveal that all persistent foci are associated with telomeres. Finally, we report an age-dependent increase in frequencies of telomere-associated foci in gut and liver of mice, occurring irrespectively of telomere length. We concl…

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Willingness to wait and altered encoding of time-discounted reward in the orbitofrontal cortex with normal aging.

Normal aging has been associated with cognitive changes, including shifts in responding for time-discounted rewards. The orbitofrontal cortex, an area previously associated with aging-related cognitive changes, is critical for normal discounting. Previously we have shown in a choice task that rats prefer immediate over delayed reward and that neural representations of delayed reward in orbitofrontal cortex were attenuated, whereas immediate reward elicited strong responses. Changes in choice performance were correlated with changes in firing rate in orbitofrontal neurons, suggesting that these reward representations were critical to the rats' ability to wait for reward. Here we asked whether age-dependent changes in discounting behavior were related to changes in the representation of delayed reward in the orbitofrontal cortex. Young (3-6 months) and aged (22-26 months) rats were trained…

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