Lung infections that are easily treated in
the young are a cause for great concern in elderly people such as South
Africa's 94-year-old anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, experts say.
With age, muscle function declines and the nervous system that sends the
impulse to breathe becomes less responsive, meaning that less oxygen
enters the lungs on breathing in, and more carbon dioxide stays behind
on breathing out. It becomes harder to clear mucus that collects in the
lungs, especially when people lie in bed or sit for long periods -- a
high risk factor for lung infections like bronchitis or pneumonia
because of the accumulation of mucus. At the same time, a weakening
immune system means the body is less able to fight infection, according
to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). "When we are young and
fit, we cough up (mucus) vigorously. When we are old, we cough less
easily and if we already have weakened lungs the mucus stays behind and
there is a high risk of congestion," said French pulmonologist Bertrand
Dautzenberg. "This is why old people are prone to respiratory
infections, which are a key cause of death among the elderly." Also, he
said, most people on reaching the age of 90 use about 50 per cent of
their lung capacity, compared to 20 per cent in youth. "If, in
addition, a part of one's lung has previously been damaged by
tuberculosis... one is left with very little spare capacity." According
to Dautzenberg, respiratory infections are often a contributing factor
to death in the elderly. The symptoms can be dire and resemble the
eating disorder anorexia, he said: patients stop eating and become
exhausted over time. If they suffer a shortage of oxygen, this could
affect other organs like the brain or kidneys. In hospital, though
doctors can provide oxygen and physiotherapy to loosen and expel any
mucus.
Difficulty or inability to write a coherent text message, even in people who have no problem speaking, may become a "vital" tool in diagnosing a type of crippling stroke, according to a new research. Scientists at Henry Ford Hospital focused on a 40-year-old man visiting the metro Detroit area on business who showed signs of "dystextia," a recently coined term for incoherent text messaging that can sometimes be confused with autocorrect garble. But in his case, the man saw nothing wrong with the garble. The patient had no problem with a routine bedside test of his language abilities - including fluency of speech, reading, writing, comprehension and other factors. However, when asked to type a simple text message, he not only produced garble, but he was unable to see it as such. Despite showing only slight facial asymmetry and no other symptoms, doctors determined the man had suffered an acute ischemic stroke, in which a clot or other blockage cuts off blood supply t...
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