The FAA is considering raising the retirement age for commercial pilots from 60 to 65 in the light of recent studies that show that, at least in piloting aircraft, experience may offset the impact of aging.

A study of 118 non-commercial pilots aged 40 to 69 was conducted annually for three years. Although initially the younger pilots performed better, over time the older pilots showed less decline in scores than did younger pilots and over time their traffic avoidance performances improved more than that of younger pilots.

These findings show the advantageous effect of prior experience and specialized expertise on older adults’ skilled cognitive performances,” said study author Joy L. Taylor, PhD, with the Stanford/VA Aging Clinical Research Center in Palo Alto, California. “Our discovery has broader implications beyond aviation to the general issue of aging in the workplace and the objective assessment of competency in older workers.”

The study was published in the February 27, 2007 issue of the journal Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

A little alcohol every day may increase life expectancy and drinking small amounts of wine (about a half a glass a day) was linked to the lowest levels of cardiovascular death and death from all causes. Long-term, light alcohol intake compared to no alcohol intake was associated with a 36 percent lower relative risk of all-cause death and a 34 lower relative risk of cardiovascular death.

Dutch researchers presented these findings of a study into the effects of alcohol consumption and death risk at the American Heart Association’s 47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Diseae Epidemiology and Prevention.

“Our study showed that long-term, light alcohol intake among middle-aged men was associated not only with lower cardiovascular and all-cause death risk, but also with longer life expectancy at age 50,” said Martinette T. Streppel, lead author of the study and a Ph.D. student in the Division of Human Nutrition at Wageningen University and National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) in Bilthoven, The Netherlands. “Furthermore, long-term light wine consumption is associated with a further protective effect when compared to that of light-to-moderate alcohol intake of other types.”

The study followed 1,373 men born between 1900 and 1920 over a period of 40 years.

Light wine intake associated with longer life expectancy in men

Have you ever left a store and realized you can’t remember where you parked your car? Have you ever run into someone at the supermarket that you were recently introduced to and find that for the life of you, you can’t remember her name?

There’s the well-known joke about two older women who have met weekly for years to play cards. One day one of the women looks at the other and says apologetically “I know this is awful, we’ve known each other for years but for the life of me, I can’t remember your name. Can you please tell me your name again?” The other woman sits in dead silence for several minutes then turns to the first woman and asks “How soon do you need to know?”

In situations where we forget simple details or find ourselves standing in the middle of a parking lot with a dazed look, wondering where we left the car, we may be prone to worry if it is a sign of Alzheimer’s. But according to an article at WebMD, some memory loss is perfectly normal, especially as we age.

In fact, many people in their 20s and 30s experience exactly the same types of memory lapses. Time is memory’s worst enemy according to Stuart Zola, PhD. professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Emory School of Medicine and director of Yerkes National Primate Facility in Atlanta.

“If we have forgotten an appointment, we begin thinking, ‘Uh oh, is this the first sign of Alzheimer’s disease?’ and we become much more conscious, and it gets kind of a disproportionate amount of attention when it really may be something quite benign”

How can you tell is your memory lapses are normal or something for concern? What physical conditions other than Alzhiemer’s can cause memory problems?

Read Is Your Memory Normal at WebMD

Chemical changes in the brain that inhibit its ability to repair itself coupled with functional changes and restricted social interaction and activity may result in post-stroke depression. One third of patients will suffer depression following a stroke.

A study that followed 188 ischemic stroke survivors found that a straighforward care managment program worked better than relying solely on antidepressant medication.

The program, called AIM, consists of three steps:

Activating stroke survivors and their families to understand and accept depression diagnosis and treatment;
Initiating antidepressant medication and
Monitoring treatment effectiveness.

The study also concluded that screening for depression should be done within 30-60 days following a stroke instead of immediately afterwards because emotional changes which occur soon after stroke may not develop into depression.

Post-stroke depression is associated with higher death rates, dimimished recovery and increased risk of subsequent stroke.

Lead Author of the study was Linda Williams, M.D., associate professor of neurology and a Regenstrief Institute research scientist. In addition to Dr. Williams, co-authors of the study are Kurt Kroenke, M.D.; Wanzhu Tu, Ph.D.; and Hugh Hendrie, MB, ChB all of the IU School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute; Laurie Plue, M.S., of the Roudebush VA Medical Center; Tamilyn Bakas, D.N.S., of the IU School of Nursing; and Ed Brizendine, M.D. of the IU School of Medicine.