Geriatric Medicine

Getting Fat Will Drive You Crazy

Aisle Seat

Senior Moment

Jan Decleir shines as a senile hit man in The Memory of a Killer

A Closing Iris

A writer's long descent into Alzheimer's makes for gripping storytelling

The House of Tudor

A writer's long descent into Alzheimer's makes for gripping storytelling

Don’t try the pineapple truffles

A writer's long descent into Alzheimer's makes for gripping storytelling

Missing 86-Year-Old Dementia Patient Found in S.F.; Unsure Where He's Been For Two Weeks

Menlo Park's Paul McAdoo turned up safe and sound -- but no one really knows how​Yesterday we urged readers to call the cops if they saw 86-year-old Paul McAdoo of Menlo Park, a dementia patient with a yen for hopping on buses or trains and taking them to parts unknown. Since McAdoo went missing f ... More >>

Study: Elderly Women With Dementia Subjected to Unneeded Mammograms

Breast cancer, a UCSF study claims, is not always a woman's biggest problem​A U.C. San Francisco study published last week in the American Journal of Public Health counter-intuitively posits two fascinating conclusions. A survey of thousands of women nationwide indicates that, among elderly women ... More >>

Head Case

Experts say ex-football players with head injuries often end up in the criminal justice system. Former USC lineman Chris Brymer is exhibit A.

Prunes: The New Medical Wonder Cure!

He built up too much bone mass...​In recent years, the prune industry has been none-too-subtly pushing the name "dried plums." Perhaps this hip new title will cause would-be consumers to conjure up mental images other than elderly people perched on the toilet ("Agnes! Where's da stool softenah!"). ... More >>

Dave Duerson, Former NFL Safety Who Shot Himself, Had Brain Trauma

Illustration by Doug Fraser​Another startling indication of the potential prevalence of football-related brain degeneration came to light yesterday, as the disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) was diagnosed in the autopsied brain of deceased Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson.The ... More >>

Roxie Film Noir Fest Offers Its Own Grim Joys

Illustration by Doug Fraser​Another startling indication of the potential prevalence of football-related brain degeneration came to light yesterday, as the disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) was diagnosed in the autopsied brain of deceased Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson.The ... More >>

NFL Players at Greater Risk of Brain Disease, Study Finds

Illustration by Doug Fraser​A study of retired professional football players has found that they are more likely than nonathletes to suffer symptoms of cognitive impairment, such as memory and speech problems, a conclusion that that is sure to buttress the arguments of those who point to the risk ... More >>

Are Nursing Homes Over-Drugging Their Residents?

​According to the San Francisco-based organization California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), more than 25,000 California nursing-home residents are being given anti-psychotic drugs. That's about a quarter of the state's nursing-home population, and according to CANHR and other elder-ri ... More >>