Ping Pong, Aging, and the Disuse Syndrome

On a trip to Australia this past November I had the opportunity to visit with and photograph the oldest professional ping pong player in the world.  98 year old Dorothy DeLow lives in a well kept home nestled in a suburb of Sydney.  She demonstrated her ability to...

Shakespeare, the Diversity of Aging, and the Need for Geriatrics

The plays of William Shakespeare written in the sixteenth century reflected the culture and opinions of his time.  In Shakespeare’s day, life expectancy was in the 30’s, and Shakespeare himself lived to the old age of 52.  In contrast to today’s population, very few...

Peripheral Arterial Disease is Underdiagnosed in the Elderly

When ulcers of the lower extremity develop, it is important to find out why. Many ulcers develop over boney prominences which are subjected to pressure, and are therefore labeled as pressure ulcers. However, one common etiology of lower extremity wounds is frequently...

Retooling for an Aging America: The Thud that Should Have Been a Bang

In April 2008 a report entitled Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce was released.  This study was commissioned by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and put together by the Committee on the Future Health Care Workforce for Older Americans...

Nursing Home Care in Australia

I recently spoke on geriatrics, humanistic medicine, and art at The International Arts and Health Conference in Port Macquarie, Australia.  Because I spent so much of my medical career in long-term care, I sought out the opportunity to visit a nursing home to speak...

Ageism, the New York Times, and Geriatric Medicine

After reading an article entitled “The Geezers’ Crusade” by columnist David Brooks in the Op-Ed pages of the New York Times last week I felt compelled to comment on it.   The article begins on an encouraging note, pointing out how society’s views of human aging are...