Fall-prevention program can help reduce harmful in-home falls by nearly 40%

For many aging Americans, the dream of maintaining an active, independent lifestyle while living at home comes crashing down with a fall. Falls are the leading cause of injury, accidental death and premature placement in a nursing home among older adults in the United States. Now, new research from Washington University School of Medicine in […]

Older people with early, asymptomatic Alzheimer’s at risk of falls

Falls are the leading cause of fatal injuries in older adults, causing more than 800,000 hospitalizations and about 30,000 deaths in the U.S. every year. Some risk factors are well-known — advanced age, problems with vision or balance, muscle weakness — but an under-recognized factor is early Alzheimer’s disease. Older people in the earliest stages […]

Stark, Ances and Brennan receive NIH National Institute on Aging $3.3 million grant

The National Institutes of Health (NIH)‘s National Institute on Aging has awarded a $3.3 million grant to Susan Stark, associate professor of occupational therapy, and Beau Ances, MD, PhD, the Daniel J. Brennan, MD, Professor of Neurology, both at the School of Medicine, to assess whether falls can be used to predict onset of Alzheimer’s […]