Spring 2021
Take care! How to handle the trying times
The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown is stressful. Washington State University experts offer some advice to handle the stress and anxiety. » More ...
Aging
Spring 2018
Communities for the golden age
Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made…(From poem Rabbi Ben Ezra by Robert Browning)
It’s never easy to find a new home.
Just ask Barbara Nelson, a former account manager from Seattle. When her husband passed away, she moved from the century-old house where they had lived for 48 years. She has piercing eyes and a strong voice, but it trembles slightly as she explains: “It was so traumatic. After the estate sale, I took five things out of that house and walked away. I felt like I … » More …
Spring 2018
Why does hair turn gray?
Winter 2011
When Memory Fades
With memory notebooks and smart apartments that use motion technology to track their residents' daily behaviors, WSU neuropsychologists are exploring ways to help patients and their families cope with age-related memory loss. Meanwhile, two scientists have discovered a means to restore neural connectivity.
» More ...
Winter 2011
Outsmarting Dementia
We used to believe, says neuropsychologist Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe, that if a person lived long enough, he or she would develop dementia.
Now we know better, she says. Whether caused by Alzheimer’s or other disease, dementia is not a normal aging process. Many people, such as G. Roger Spencer and colleagues pictured here, remain completely alert and engaged well into their 80s and 90s and older.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, the chance of someone over 85 having the disease is nearly 50 percent. Other dementia-causing diseases raise that risk even higher. So what is it that enables someone to escape the dementia odds?
Besides age, … » More …
Fall 2011
Using technology to address the challenges of aging
An increasing number of families know the stress of trying to deal with an elderly parent or spouse who is losing his or her ability to live independently. How can we maintain dignity for those who are having trouble completing daily tasks? How do we keep our elders safe, and who takes care of them?
A WSU research team, led by Diane Cook, Huie-Rogers Chair Professor in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe, professor in the Department of Psychology, will be studying approximately 10-20 residents in Horizon House, a Seattle-based continuing care retirement community, for three years as part of … » More …