Seniors could benefit from a substance that bodybuilders and athletes use, according to recent research.
Researchers from the University of Oklahoma recently released a study that showed elderly men and women were able to improve their fitness by using beta-alanine, which is a dietary supplement. The study’s authors said this could be an important discovery because it can add to seniors’ overall quality of health and could prevent falls.
To come to this conclusion, researchers split the elderly participants into two groups. One group received a 90-day dosage of the BA supplement, while the other group received placebos. To gauge their progress, the participants’ fitness levels were tested before, during and after the treatment.
Over the course of the study, the group who used the supplement saw a 67 percent increase in their overall fitness measurements while the placebo group only saw an increase of about 22 percent. The study was published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.

Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t just affect the elderly people who suffer from it.
A new study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine says that about 25 percent of the people who care for their loved ones who have Alzheimer’s eventually become hospitalized themselves because of high stress levels.
The study, which was led by researchers from the University of Indiana, detailed that about one in four caregivers either were hospitalized or made a trip to the emergency room every six months because of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s. The study’s authors noted that their research should change what is defined as the patient.
Not only should it be categorized as the person with Alzheimer’s, but they say the caregiver should also be considered a patient. The study is also the first to officially recognize the correlation between caring for someone with Alzheimer’s and the actual stress it includes. To come to these conclusions, researchers looked at more than 360 people. Half had Alzheimer’s and the other half were their caretakers.
Aside from the one-in-four caregivers being hospitalized, researchers found that the average age of a caregiver is about
60 years old.
The number of people in Arkansas
65 years old and older with Alzheimer’s disease is expected to reach 60,000 by 2010, according to a report by the Alzheimer’s Association.
The study also showed in 2007 the state contained 110,789 Alzheimer’s and
dementia caregivers.

Bone strength
If your bones are becoming frail, you might benefit from popping an
MK-677 pill. A University of Virginia Health System report suggests that taking one of those pills can help seniors in the fight against weakening bones. The study, which was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, suggests that the
MK-677 pill helped seniors regain about 20 percent of muscle mass loss compared with those who did not take the pill.
Also, the study’s authors note there have been no serious recorded side effects, which they say is important. Because of this, they hope the supplement can help older adults live independently longer. Because of frail bones, many elderly people cannot live unassisted into their 80s. The study was paid for by the National Institutes of Health and it lasted for two years. It involved 65 men and women who were between 60 and 81 years old.
Half of the participants were given the MK-677 pill, while the other half was
given a placebo.

Heart failure
There are more medicines and more advanced treatments. That, however, hasn’t stopped the rate at which seniors are experiencing heart failure. A recent study by researchers at Drexel University School of Public Health suggests that elderly people are having heart failure at alarmingly high rates. The study, which tracks heart failure hospitalization data over a 27-year period, shows a drastic increase in the number of heart failure-related hospitalizations.
The study looks at data from people who are at least 65 years old, which includes more than 2.2 million cases. The study broke down the cases into three different groups. One group consisted of patients between the ages of 65-74, the other tracked 75-year-olds through age 84, and the last covered patients 85 years and older. The research found staggering increases across the board in all age groups.
Overall, there were 131 percent more reported cases in 2006 than in 1980, the first year of the study. In 1980, there were about 348,000 cases. In 2006, that number skyrocketed to about 807,000. Aside from getting worse over the years, the research found heart failure hospitalizations also worsened the older a person was.
People in the 85 and older age group were 400 percent more likely to find themselves in the hospital because of heart failure than the group of people between the ages of 65 and 74.

Muscle growth
Elderly women packing on muscle doesn’t necessarily relate to a decrease number of falls, a recent study found. A University of New Hampshire study showed that older women can gain muscle in the same way that younger women can, but the muscle gain doesn’t give them any more leniency in preventing falls. To come to this conclusion, researchers studied two groups of women.
There was an older group of women, and a younger group. Heading into the study, all participants were relatively inactive. Then, the elderly and younger women participated in an eight-week training program aimed at helping them improve their fitness and gain muscle.
The good news for women was they gained strength at about the same pace as the younger women did. However, the elderly group did not increase their power as quickly. Elderly women saw only about a 10 percent increase in their power gains while the younger group saw a 50 percent increase. Power is associated with preventing falls, the study’s authors said.
About 50 women participated in the study. The older group was comprised of women between the ages of 65 and 84 while the younger group was made up of women between ages 18 and 33. They participated in exercises such as stair climbing and resistance training.

The Morning News’ correspondent Antoinette Grajeda contributed to this report.