Pumping Irony
LATEST STORIES
PUMPING IRONY: This Is Your Brain on Junk Food
As Big Pharma’s latest Alzheimer’s drug faces renewed skepticism, a new study suggests that avoiding ultraprocessed food may be a more promising approach to maintaining healthy cognitive function as we age.
PUMPING IRONY: In Hock and Unhealthy
A growing proportion of U.S. seniors are struggling with too much debt, and a recent study suggests that it’s making them sick.
PUMPING IRONY: Why Bother?
As the most recent — and virulent — of COVID variants spreads across the country, U.S. seniors have mostly ignored the available boosters. Is it time to increase our vigilance against a pandemic that refuses to retreat?
PUMPING IRONY: Buyer Beware
Medicare scam artists — and the agency’s own complacency — make the annual enrollment season more hazardous than it needs to be.
PUMPING IRONY: You Snooze, You Win?
Recent research suggests heavy sleepers like me may avoid cognitive dysfunction and multimorbidity as we age — with some notable caveats.
PUMPING IRONY: Hopeful Signs for Troubled Ears?
Just as cheaper over-the-counter hearing aids finally become widely available, researchers are trumpeting new approaches to hearing loss that may render those devices unnecessary.
PUMPING IRONY: Screen Test
A landmark study suggests that colonoscopies do not reduce the risk of cancer — or mortality — nearly as much as advertised. That’s welcome news for the millions of seniors who, like me, stubbornly avoid the procedure.
PUMPING IRONY: Drug Dealing
The latest miracle cure for Alzheimer’s is likely to receive accelerated approval from the FDA, which benefits as much from the cash that accompanies these requests as Big Pharma does from the agency’s lax standards.
PUMPING IRONY: Use ’Em or Lose ’Em
Arthritic knees often send seniors looking for various surgical solutions, even as recent research — and personal experience — suggests the most reliable remedy may simply involve moving those troublesome joints more frequently.
PUMPING IRONY: The Postmortem Muddle
While the Federal Trade Commission works to tighten regulations on the funeral industry, which often uses obscure pricing policies to prey on grief-stricken mourners, seniors like me need to start thinking more seriously about how we want to be laid to rest.
PUMPING IRONY: Movement and Memory
Physical activity has long been shown to improve cognitive function, but a new study suggests we may be able to modify our workouts to boost specific types of memory.
PUMPING IRONY: A Harsh Light
All the time we spend staring at screens could be shortening our lifespan, according to a new study. We do have options, though returning to the typewriter is not one of them.
PUMPING IRONY: Zapped!
Can we cure dementia by zapping our brains with electrical currents? Some enterprising researchers would certainly like us to think so.
PUMPING IRONY: Working on Purpose
I’ve discovered plenty of good reasons for postponing retirement and continuing to pursue purposeful work, but a new study suggests I may have overlooked an important one: It could help prevent a stroke.
PUMPING IRONY: A Tough Pill to Swallow
The Inflation Reduction Act will make some prescription drugs much more affordable for strapped Medicare beneficiaries. But will it deepen our dependence on Big Pharma?
PUMPING IRONY: Class and Cognition
A new study suggests that people mired in low-wage jobs for long periods of time may suffer cognitive decline earlier in life than those favored with a more affluent life. My checkered career leaves me wondering where I stand.
PUMPING IRONY: Too Busy to Calm Down?
Struggling with a stressful workload in recent weeks, I’m struck by new research describing how chronic stress can accelerate the aging of our immune systems. So, why am I avoiding a proven stress-relief practice?
PUMPING IRONY: Epic Fail?
Elderly patients are often tagged with a “failure to thrive” label when doctors simply don’t want to spend the time and energy to determine a specific diagnosis. While leading geriatricians continue to argue against the designation, others point to its more salutary effects.
PUMPING IRONY: Is It Time for a New Take on Dementia?
As Big Pharma continues to flail away on the Alzheimer’s front, new research increasingly turns toward identifying lifestyle changes that can lower the risk of falling prey to the disease.
PUMPING IRONY: Easy Pickings
Some 5 million elderly Americans fall prey to scam artists each year, and those who struggle to maintain social connections may be more vulnerable than most. A new evaluation program designed to measure an individual’s ability to make good choices could offer some help.
PUMPING IRONY: Can Poor Balance Later in Life Increase Your Risk of Death?
A new study suggests that poor balance may dramatically raise the risk of death — especially among the elderly. The conclusions, however, are about as rickety as my tree pose.