Los Angeles Jewish Home

Tell Dr. Doron Melamed that aging is inevitable, and he is among the first to agree. The critical question, he points out, is not whether the process can be avoided – it’s whether, at certain levels, it can actually be reversed. His breakthrough research has proven exactly that.

Based at Haifa’s Technion, one of Israel’s most prestigious universities, Melamed leads a team of researchers that has accomplished something extraordinary: showing that it is possible to turn back the clock on the aging of the body’s immune system. The idea, he says, is not necessarily to extend survival, but rather to help people live healthier. “Older people suffer more from infectious disease and cancer,” he notes. “If we are able to improve their immune systems, they will age healthier and enjoy an increased quality of life.” His finding matches up exactly with the Jewish Home’s commitment to healthy aging, which includes a focus on helping seniors live high quality, productive and independent lives.

Melamed is an immunologist – someone who studies the development of immune cells. As the body ages, those cells see a marked decrease in development, ultimately leading to an immune system comprised of old cells that have a limited capacity to respond to infection. In the scientific community, conventional wisdom has long held that this age-dependent change in immune cell development is part of a progressive and irreversible process. Working in collaboration with colleagues, Melamed has turned that conventional wisdom on its head. “We conducted a ‘proof of principle’ experiment in which we took an old mouse whose lymphocytes [a type of white blood cell] were poorly generated and transformed it so that it was just like a young mouse in terms of generating cells,” he explains.

The potential implications of his work are remarkable and far-reaching. Restored to full health and functionality, immune systems would be better equipped to fight disease, enabling seniors to maximize enjoyment of their golden years instead of “going every week or two to a physician, having to take multiple pills each day and facing repeated hospitalization,” Melamed says.

In partnership with researchers at Haifa’s Rambam Hospital, Melamed is conducting a clinical trial in humans to determine whether his discovery holds true across species. “I think it will take another two or three years until we start getting data from the clinical trial about whether or not this will work,” he forecasts. Once the efficacy of his treatment is determined, Melamed predicts it will be another several years before physicians and scientists begin identifying the full range of opportunities for human use.

Funded in part by coveted grants from the Israel Science Foundation, Melamed’s research continues to distinguish him as one of the country’s most promising young scientists – someone capable of seeing things with new eyes. It’s a metaphor he finds appropriate. “Aging was always considered to be progressive and irreversible,” he says. “Suddenly, someone comes along and wonders whether that’s just the way we see it, and that maybe, if we adjust our vision, we would come up with a different result. And that’s exactly what happened.”

Labels: Age Reversal, Aging, For the Body, Healthy Aging, Immune System, Immunology, Israel, Israel Science Foundation, Melamed, Technion

Taking the steps necessary to prevent falls are among the most important things to do for seniors. Unfortunately, nearly a third of all seniors will experience a fall. In the majority of those cases, if a senior fractures a bone from a serious fall, it is either fatal or significantly shortens his or her life (page 6). The good news, thankfully, is the vast majority of falls are completely preventable!

National Fall Prevention Day happens tomorrow, September 22nd—appropriately during the Fall. Organizations from coast to coast are reaching out with helpful information for seniors and their families to help stave off slips and tumbles.

Many of the most common causes of falls are well known, and the Jewish Home has been sharing the recommended ways to stay upright for a number of years. (The hyperlinked story is from December 2010.) From fall-proofing a senior's home to simply wearing sturdier shoes, the ways to prevent these catastrophic spills are relatively easy to do. Also important is physical fitness. Taking the time to keep leg, core, and balance muscles stimulated and healthy will go a long way to keeping seniors on their feet.

Recently, McKnight's, a leading long-term care and senior living magazine, published an interesting article about a new study on fall prevention. Researchers from UCLA found that among "Medicare beneficiaries [i.e., seniors] who had their cataracts removed, 16% fewer had hip fractures within the first year of surgery than those who did not."

And that percentage climbs the older the sample group gets. "Study participants between the ages of 80 and 84 experienced the biggest benefit of the surgery, with a 28% reduced risk of fractures."

So take a moment tomorrow to assess your surroundings and the living situations of the seniors you care about. A couple of simple changes could save lives.

Labels: Aging, Balance, Cataracts, Fall Prevention, Falling, Healthy Aging, Home Safety, McKnight's, National Fall Prevention Day, Safety, Seniors, September 22, UCLA

By Nancy Sokoler Steiner

"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything." — Plato

Sometimes, the things we like aren’t so good for us. Fortunately, that isn’t the case with music. It doesn’t have any calories, can often be obtained for free, and doesn’t require any special skills or abilities to be enjoyed.

In fact, music has shown a host of benefits, both physical and emotional. That’s one of the reasons it plays such a large role at the Los Angeles Jewish Home.

In terms of physiological changes, a Cochrane Review study (a study which looks at many studies) found that music reduces pain, sometimes enough to decrease required dosages of pain medication. Studies with cancer patients have shown that music therapy decreases heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure. And researchers in Europe have found that exposure to music can both raise the levels of antibodies and lower the amount of stress hormone levels.

Studies on the emotional impact of music show similar benefits. One study done with college students, for example, found that listening to music conferred more positive emotions. Not only that, but the music intensified already positive emotions.

“We humans know instinctively that music has primal power,” says Elena Mannes in her book The Power of Music: Pioneering Discoveries in the New Science of Song (Walker & Company, 2011). “Historians and anthropologists have yet to discover a culture without music.”

Los Angeles Jewish Home Resident Tess Friedman, 87, describes music this way: “It elates me.”

Friedman joined the Home’s choir when she came here four years ago. “It’s a way to not let yourself be old and to forget about aging,” she says about singing. “You can change your whole attitude and behavior for the day.”

Caryl Geiger, Activities Director for Residential Care, sees this effect among many residents. Professionally trained in piano and voice, Geiger directs the Home’s choir. “Everybody leaves [practice] happier than when they came in,” she says.

Lee Zuckerman, 89, was delighted to rediscover the joy of song when he joined the choir six months ago. He’s always enjoyed music – his son even became a composer – but hadn’t sung since he was in his high school choir. “I love music. I feel joy when I sing.”

But you don’t have to sing in order to experience music at the Home. In addition to enjoying the choir’s performances, residents can take advantage of a variety of musical offerings. Concerts are offered almost every Sunday afternoon, and there are also programs on Jewish music and regular sing-alongs. In addition, violist and music historian Joel Lish presents weekly music appreciation classes.

“All levels of residents respond to the music,” says Lish, founder and director of the Palisades Symphony. “Some sing along, clap to the rhythm or even play along on an imaginary instrument.”

Music will always be an integral component at the Jewish Home. As author and researcher Elena Mannes says, “Anyone who has been transported by Bach or Mozart, moved to weep by a national anthem or hymn, stirred to dance by a rock rhythm, or transported in time by the notes of a pop tune from the past knows the power of music.”

Labels: Aging, Feature Articles, For the Spirit, Healthy Aging, Music, Nancy Sokoler Steiner, Seniors

By Nancy Sokoler Steiner

You don’t remember bumping into anything, but there it is: A big, angry-looking purple bruise on your forearm. How did it get there, and why do bruises like that seem to be popping up on your arms and legs more frequently as you age?

“These kinds of bruises, referred to as solar purpura, may start occurring in your 50’s, and become more common as time passes,” says David E. Sawcer, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Dermatology in the Keck School of Medicine at USC. “They happen closer to the surface of the skin than other bruises, and are not usually caused by trauma.”

Bruises come from injury to the small blood vessels (capillaries) near the skin’s surface. Blood leaks from the capillaries and remains trapped under the skin. Normal bruises are usually tender, change colors, and go away after a week or two. Solar purpura, on the other hand, don’t hurt, and often get darker, progressing from red to deep purple before they fade. They can take several weeks to disappear.

Why it Happens

As our skin ages, its structure begins to weaken. The outer skin layers grow thinner and the capillary walls become more fragile. At the same time, the layer of fat under the skin thins, providing less padding and insulation.

“Day-to-day activity is enough to cause solar purpura,” says Dr. Sawcer. “The capillaries in the skin are more easily damaged because they become thinner and less protected.”

Although bruising can’t be avoided, sun exposure worsens it by weakening the skin. Also, blood-thinning medications, such as Coumadin and aspirin, contribute to bruising by slowing the blood’s ability to clot. Corticosteroids, prescribed for a variety of conditions including rheumatoid arthritis and asthma, cause thinning of the skin, which also promotes bruising.

On rare occasions, bruising may indicate medical conditions such as clotting or coagulation disorders. If your bruises are painful, you experience abnormal bleeding in other areas, or you start bruising when you’re ill, be sure to see your physician. If you see bruising on a loved one and worry about physical abuse, you should know that bruising caused by abuse tends to appear on different parts of the body -- such as the face, neck, back and chest – rather than on the hands, arms and legs. Still, it’s a good idea to talk to your loved one if you have any concerns.

What Can You Do

Sun exposure makes the skin weaken more quickly, so protecting yourself from the sun can help delay this process. Keeping skin well moisturized can also lessen bruising. Do both at one time by using a moisturizer with sunscreen.

The most effective treatment for bruises is time. Eventually, the body reabsorbs the blood, and the bruise disappears. Cosmetics may help hide bruises in the meantime.

“People tend to be concerned about bruises because they’re deeply colored and look serious,” says Dr. Sawcer. “But despite their appearance, they’re generally not something to worry about.”

Labels: Aging, Bruise, Bruising, Feature Articles, For the Body, Healthy Aging, Nancy Sokoler Steiner, Skin, Solar Purpura

Far too often, seniors in need of care confine themselves to their homes—too frail to venture out, and too proud to ask for assistance. Often, finding reliable resources on services for seniors can be difficult. And, while senior care communities have become vibrant places of health and activity, decades-old images of what senior homes used to be make some seniors and their adult children reticent to seek the help they need. Luckily, newspapers are beginning to communicate that, when it comes to senior care, there are a variety of choices. And each option balances the individual’s level of independence and medical needs.

On Monday, the Los Angeles Times’ Bob Young published a story detailing care options for seniors, featuring expert advice and insight from the Jewish Home’s very own Molly Forrest.

From better healthcare access to increased activity and social interaction, seniors who take advantage of the care options best suited to their needs tend to live longer, happier, healthier lives. And, with variety of services ranging from in-home assistance to skilled nursing (and everything in between), seniors often attain an increased level of independence and higher quality of life.

Read the full LA Times article here. And if you know a senior who could benefit from senior care services, check out our community education resources.

Labels: Adult Children, Aging, Bob Young, Cross Post, Healthy Aging, Los Angeles Times, Molly Forrest, Resources, Senior Care, Senior Resources, Seniors, Staff

The other day, some of the nursing staff at our Eisenberg Village campus planned something really fun for our residents: they organized a luau!


The residents who participated live either at the Goldenberg•Ziman Special Care Center, which cares for seniors with Alzheimer's disease or age-related dementia, or the Max Factor Family Foundation Nursing Building, which provides skilled nursing to seniors who need extra assistance.

When the residents saw their nurses — who are normally in scrubs — enter in hula skirts, their eyes lit up! The entire room was laughing, clapping, and singing along.

In addition to being a fun, entertaining afternoon, events like these serve a profound therapeutic purpose. Happiness is known to have incredible life-lengthening health benefits; and the positive atmosphere, the music, and the dancing promotes both physical and cognitive strength.

Labels: Aging, Alzheimer's, Around the Home, Dementia, Eisenberg Village, Elderly, Factor, Goldenberg-Ziman, Healthy Aging, Hula, Luau, Nursing, Seniors, Skilled Nursing, Staff, Video, YouTube

Last month, Jeanna Bryner, Managing Editor of LiveScience, published a list of 5 reasons why aging is awesome. It was so good we wanted to share it with you.

Intro
The saggy, wrinkly view of aging may have a much more positive, and real, conterpart: Getting older has its perks, lots of them, from needing less sleep to having better sex. Here's a look at why the crowded candles on your birthday cake, as you enter middle age and beyond, are just plain awesome. (photo credit: stock.xchng)


More Awake Time
That's right, more time to enjoy life. Seniors need about 1.5 hours less sleep on average than their younger counterparts, according to one study.

In another study of 110 healthy adults who were allowed eight hours of bed time, the oldest group (ages 66 to 83) snoozed about 20 minutes less than the middle-agers (ages 40-55), who in turn slept about 23 minutes less than the youngest group (ages 20 to 30). The simplest explanation for the fewer shut-eye minutes: Older adults need less sleep.

Another explanation, and one supported by research: Older adults just can't get the sleep they need, taking longer to nod off, spending less time in deep sleep, and having more trouble staying asleep. In fact, more than half of men and women over the age of 65 say they suffer from at least one sleep problem, with many experiencing insomnia, according to WebMD. (photo credit: © Rozenn Leard | Dreamstime.com)


Wearing Rose-Colored Glasses
Being happy may come down to attitude, studies have shown. That's great news for older adults, whose brains seem to be wired to remember the good times. A brain-scanning study published in 2010 in the journal Cortex revealed that older adults' rose-colored glasses may be linked to the way the brain processes emotional contents.

The researchers scanned the brains of participants — young adults (ages 19-31) and older adults (ages 61-80) — as they viewed a series of photographs with positive and negative connections between the brain regions that process emotions and those known to be important to the successful formation of memories, particularly when processing positive information. The same strong connections weren't found for the younger participants.

Aging adults don't just recall blissful moments of the past in vivid colors. It's also becoming apparent to researchers that being old could lend itself to optimism. In one recent study, both old and young participants where shown virtual faces portraying sadness, anger, fear and happiness. Eye-tracking technology revealed the older participants, ages 18 to 21, focused on fearful faces, while those ages 57 to 84 zeroed in on the happy faces, avoiding the angry ones. The researchers, who detailed their study in 2006 in the journal Psychology and Aging, think that as a person's life expectancy decreases, they might focus on what makes them feel good now rather than focusing on the negative. (photo credit: Dreamstime)


Being Grandparents
No diapers. No temper tantrums. No fevers and ear infections. Aging means you get to enjoy grandkids, as if they were your own, but without any of the frustrations. Pop-pop and G'ma can do no wrong in the eyes of grandkids. Research has suggested grandparents can increase the chances of a child surviving during the high-risk period of infancy and childhood in traditional societies. The same link may hold true in Western societies, according to David A. Coall of Edith Cowan University. "We felt if such an association existed in Western societies, where the fertility and childhood mortality rates are much lower, grandparents could make a substantial public health contribution to our society," Coall said in a statement.

And you're good at it, too. A study published in the November 2008 issue of the journal Pediatrics, by scientists at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, showed that kids cared for by a grandmother were 50-percent less likely to get injured than children cared for by daycare workers, other relatives, or even the child's own mother. (photo credit: © Monkey Business Images | Dreamstime.com)


More Wisdom
Like a fine wine, older adults have been aged to perfection it seems, at least when it comes to wisdom. As you age, you may have a tougher time tuning out irrelevant information, but this lack of focus can actually boost memory, according to research published in 2010 in the journal Psychological Science. More specifically, seniors have the unique ability to "hyper-bind" the irrelevant information, essentially tying it to other information that is appearing at the same time. This type of memory could help older adults with decision-making and problem-solving, the researchers suspect. For instance, if a manager wants to promote an employee, it might be helpful to recall not just that employee's work performance, but also his interaction with other employees. (photo credit: © Denis Raev | Dreamstime.com)


Rewarding Sex Life
Sex drive seems to stay strong as you age. One 2007 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine surveyed adults ages 57 to 85, finding more than half of 75- to 85-year-olds reported a roll in the hay at least two to three times a month, and 23 percent reported having sex at least once a week. oral sex appeared to be less "ageless." nearly 60 percent of the participants under 65 years old said they had engaged in oral sex in the previous 12 months, compared with 31 percent for the over-75s. (photo credit: © Alexander Raths | Dreamstime.com)

What else do you think makes aging awesome? Leave a comment!

Labels: Aging, Cross Post, Elderly, For the Body, For the Mind, For the Spirit, Grandma, Grandpa, Grandparents, Healthy Aging, Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience, Optimism, Seniors, Sexuality, Sleep, Staff, Wisdom

Living life to the fullest — that is what we all strive to do every day. Our golden years present a better opportunity to live life, learn new talents, revisit old hobbies, or seek out new adventures than at any other time in our lives.

Often, seniors must look to the care of others so they can continue to add life to their years. Whether dealing with the normal signs of aging or abrupt emergencies, it pays to be prepared. With a little education and some planning ahead, the transition into the different levels of care can be seamless and nearly stress free.

Starting this month, the Los Angeles Jewish Home's expert staff is organizing four short seminars to help with that education and planning process. From choosing the best in-home caregiver, to in-residence options, advanced directives, and hospice care, we want to help the greater Los Angeles community care better for their aging loved ones.

Our first seminar will be held on Tuesday, May 17th at 6:30pm. Entitled How to Find, Hire, and Manage the Right Caregiver, the Jewish Home's vice president of human resources, Shelly Ryan, and the CEO/administrator of our skilled nursing hospital, Ilana Grossman, will explain what to look for if you or someone you love needs a little extra daily assistance.

Oh, one more thing — all four events are free! But space is limited and reservations are required.

For more information, click on the picture to see the official event postcard. Or, you can visit here to see the web version.

Labels: Aging, Caregiver, Caregiving, Community, Education, Free Seminar, Healthy Aging, Jewish Home Event, Planning, Senior Care, Staff

The Los Angeles Jewish Home is celebrating a very special birthday today! Shirley Strozenberg, our oldest resident, just turned 108. Yes, she is older than the Home itself.


Originally from Poland, Shirley is a long-time resident of Los Angeles, and recently moved into the Joyce Eisenberg-Keefer Medical Center. 


Over the last 99 years, the Jewish Home has become world renowned for its quality of senior care. Our residents' average age is 90, and we're home to 31 centenarians. This is a testament to the Home's philosophy of caring for the whole person—body, mind, and spirit.

Labels: Aging, Around the Home, Birthday, Centenarian, Healthy Aging, Jewish Home, Oldest Resident, Poland, Remarkable Residents, Senior Care, Senior Living, Seniors, Staff, Strozenberg, Super Elderly

Labels: Alzheimer's, Cancer, Caregiving, Depression, Drug Abuse, Health, Healthy Aging, Mental Health, Nutrition, Resources, Senior Resources, Staff, Substance Abuse, Transportation, Website, Wellness