Health, Medicine & Well-being

The Powers and Pitfalls of the Boomer Brain

“I’m reading a great book about the middle-aged brain,” I recently told a friend, “but I can’t remember the title.”

Welcome to the boomer brain. Grasping for names. Walking into a room only to wonder what you went there for. Getting halfway through a book before realizing you’ve read it before.

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Leveling the Playing Field

Don Catlin is in a race. Part marathon, part sprint, the contest pits 65-year-old Catlin against world class Olympians, champion cyclers and professional football players. The endeavor requires endurance, persistence and discipline.

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Living a Purposeful Life

Finding a purpose in life can increase our longevity regardless of our age. That’s the conclusion reached by Patrick Hill of Carleton University in Canada who, with his colleague Nicholas Turiano of the University of Rochester Medical Center, examined data from a project called the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Study.

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Moving Parts

As a European kickboxing champion and the stunt double for Dolph Lundgren, Tony Messenger knows how to throw a punch. Even so,  the Manhattan Beach resident strives for greater speed, balance and power. At the Center for Mechanical Medicine, Messenger has found new tools for honing his skills.

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No Surrender

It was Winston Churchill who famously said, “Never give in—never, never never.” He could have been describing Rudolf Metzger and his Providence Saint John’s Health Center physician Santosh Kesari, MD, PhD.

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Skate of Grace

Constance Alexander likes to take charge. The vibrant 78-year-old Bible teacher knows she can be controlling, even in dealing with the Almighty.

“Got talks to me when I’m asleep because then I don’t interfere,” she says, with a twinkle in her eye.

It’s hard to believe just months earlier, she didn’t expect to live to her next birthday.

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The Sound of Healing

Known as the universal language, music and sound healing transcend time and cultures. Research indicates it promotes more than just the pleasure of listening; music also boosts physical and mental health. That’s why it increasingly is being utilized in the healthcare setting.

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Untangling Autism

There’s a popular saying in the autism community: If you’ve seen one person with autism, you’ve seen one person with autism. That is, each child manifests the condition uniquely. In fact, autism — also referred to as autism spectrum disorder — encompasses a group of complex conditions.

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