Seniors/Aging News Headlines

TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Mitt Romney faces a critical test in his White House bid on Thursday when he addresses the Republican National Convention, an opportunity to convince millions of Americans that he can forge a path to economic rebirth and provide better leadership than President Barack Obama. It will be Romney's …

TAMPA, Fla. — Paul Ryan’s acceptance speech at the Republican convention contained several false claims and misleading statements. Delegates cheered as the vice presidential nominee: Accused President Obama’s health care law of funneling money away from Medicare “at the expense of the elderly.” In fact, Medicare’s chief …

TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Paul Ryan built his reputation as a fearless wonk who wasn't afraid to put specific numbers on his small-government ideals. Now that he is the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee, the devil lies in the details. In a speech that marked his ascension onto the national stage, Ryan spelled …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A total of 1,590 cases of West Nile virus, including 66 deaths, were reported through late August this year in the United States, the highest human toll by that point in the calendar since the mosquito-borne disease was first detected in the country in 1999, health officials said on Wednesday. The toll …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - WellPoint Inc Chief Executive Angela Braly abruptly stepped down from her post on Tuesday following growing investor dissatisfaction with the health insurer's financial performance. WellPoint, the No. 2 U.S. health insurer, said it will look at both internal and external candidates for a replacement. …

TAMPA, Fla. — On the first day of the Republican convention — marked by a delegate vote making former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney the party’s official nominee for president — we’re already hearing a lot of exaggerated, misleading or downright false claims that we’ve heard before. The theme of the …

It seems like every time you turn around, someone else is espousing the benefits of physical activity and fitness. Here's yet another reason to get moving: Your fitness level at age 50 has a lot to do with both the occurrence and severity of chronic disease in your golden years.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A small study adds to mounting evidence that MRI scans may be safe for people with pacemakers or implanted defibrillators. Manufacturers currently warn against putting the devices into MRI scanners, whose strong magnetic field might in principle cause the metal wires from the devices to heat …

By DR. SWATI SHROFF, ABC News Medical Unit Postmenopausal women hoping to control their weight may be able to help themselves out by sticking to three simple rules: lay off the meat and cheese, eat more fruits and veggies, and skip dessert and sugary drinks....

Older individuals with high cholesterol and C-reactive protein levels probably have protective genes, allowing their brains to stay healthy in spite of their heart risks. Christopher Intagliata reports

HUAMBO, Angola (Reuters) - A four-lane avenue separates the shelled ruins of the art deco Ruacana Cinema from Huambo's shiny new Chinese-built railway station, a symbol of the leaps Angola has made to recover from a devastating 27-year civil war that ended a decade ago. As Angolans prepare to go to the polls on Friday for …

By DRS. SHARI BARNETT and SWATI SHROFF Whether you are spry in your 80s might depend on how active you are in your 40s, a new study shows more clearly than ever before. Specifically, the study, published today in the Archives of Internal Medicine, shows...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - There isn't enough evidence to recommend checking the kidney function of otherwise healthy people for signs of disease, a government-backed panel said on Monday. But it's also not clear that using blood or urine tests to screen for chronic kidney disease causes much harm either, according to …

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Fit 50-year-olds are less likely to get chronic diseases as they age than are couch potatoes, according to a new U.S. study. It may seem like a no-brainer, but the study helps fine-tune our understanding of the link between fitness and healthy aging, researchers say. "It has been known for decades …

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - How frequently older women use aspirin and other pain relievers has nothing to do with their chance of developing breast cancer, a large new study suggests. Previous research has painted a cloudy picture, with some studies indicating that women who regularly take so-called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory …

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Eric Scheidler was in grade school when he was introduced to the power of John Willke's persuasion. It was the 1970s and the now 87-year-old Dr. "Jack" Willke was renowned as a physician-turned-advocate for abolishing abortion. Willke's teachings resonated four decades later in the controversy …

Cuba's system of free medical care, long considered a birthright by its citizens and trumpeted as one of the communist government's great successes, is not immune to cutbacks under Raul Castro's drive for efficiency.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama used his regular weekly radio address Saturday to continue pounding away at Republican plans to overhaul Medicare, the U.S. healthcare program for the elderly. The address underscored the new prominence Medicare has assumed as a campaign issue in the past two weeks, since the …

On the first floor of the Dar al-Shifa hospital in Aleppo, a boom sounds as a rocket fired from a helicopter hits a nearby building, and the staff begin preparing for another influx of patients.

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The Lance Armstrong Foundation said on Friday that donations rose sharply as fans of the cancer nonprofit pledged support, but the organization faces long-term questions about its future now that its cycling champion founder was stripped of a record seven Tour de France titles. ...

(Adds challenges foundation may face, background) AUSTIN, Texas, Aug 24 (Reuters) - The Lance ArmstrongFoundation said on Friday that donations rose sharply as fans ofthe cancer nonprofit pledged support, but the organization faceslong-term questions about its future now that its cyclingchampion founder was stripped of …

First the Republicans claimed President Obama’s health care law taxes “sick puppies,” and now Mitt Romney’s campaign claims the law taxes “wheelchairs.” Wrong again. At issue is a new 2.3 percent excise tax on certain medical devices. The tax is set to kick in next year to help offset the … More …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday struck down a law that requires tobacco companies to use graphic health warnings, such as of a man exhaling smoke through a hole in his throat. The 2-1 decision by the court in Washington, D.C., contradicts another appeals court's ruling in a similar case earlier this …