Observing that people change both physically and cognitively as they age, Posner suggests that each of us has, in succession, two separate selves - younger and older - with different abilities, interests, and behaviors, an insight that helps clarify a number of issues concerning the elderly.

Does a longer life mean a healthier life? The number of adults over 65 in the United States is growing, but many may not be aware that they are at greater risk from foodborne diseases and their nutritional needs change as they age. The IOM's Food Forum held a workshop October 29-30, 2009, to discuss food safety and nutrition concerns for older adults.

As the first of the nation's 78 million baby boomers begin reaching age 65 in 2011, they will face a health care workforce that is too small and woefully unprepared to meet their specific health needs. Retooling for an Aging America calls for bold initiatives starting immediately to train all health care providers in the basics of geriatric care and to prepare family members and other informal caregivers, who currently receive little or no training in how to tend to their aging loved ones. The book also recommends that Medicare, Medicaid, and other health plans pay higher rates to boost recruitment and retention of geriatric specialists and care aides. Educators and health professional groups can use Retooling for an Aging America to institute or increase formal education and training in geriatrics. Consumer groups can use the book to advocate for improving the care for older adults. Health care professional and occupational groups can use it to improve the quality of health care jobs.

The Biology of Senescence

The Committee on National Statistics and the Committee on Population, at the request of the NIA, convened a workshop in March 1996 to discuss data on the aging population that address the emerging and important social, economic, and health conditions of the older population. The purposes of the workshop were to identify how the population at older ages in the next few decades will differ from the older population today, to understand the underlying causes of those changes, to anticipate future problems and policy issues, and to suggest future needs for data for research in these areas. The scope of the workshop was broader than that of the 1988 CNSTAT report, including not only data on health and long-term care, but also actuarial, economic, demographic, housing, and epidemiological data needs for informing public policy.

This series attempts to address the topic of aging from a wide variety of perspectives and to make available some of the best gerontological thought and writings to researchers, professional practitioners, and students in the field of aging as well as in other related areas.This volume is an invaluable resource for those persons seeking a broad, comprehensive coverage of current public policies and service programs for the elderly. Besides dealing with present gerontological services, it also explores the emerging challenges that these services must face in the future. One of the outstanding features of the book is that its contributors include some of the most prominent authorities in the field of gerontology. This is an exceptionally important and timely volume and is a much needed addition to the literature on aging.

Thanks to an increasing life expectancy of our populations the number of elderly persons is steadily growing and will continue to do so. Among these, the rate of persons with illnesses and degenerative diseases is significant. The prevalence of osteoporosis is especially high in elderly women and leads to typical fracture patterns. Hip fractures, proximal humerus fractures, distal radius fractures and fractures of the vertebral column are the most common. In the last decade, we are confronted with a sharp increase of fragility fractures of the pelvis. Until now, there is no consensus on how to identify and classify these lesions and there are no guidelines for treatment and after treatment. In particular, there is no common view on which patients need an operative treatment and which technique of osteosynthesis should be used. This book fills the gap in available literature and gives a state of the art guide to the treatment of fragility fractures of the pelvis. With the sharp increase of these fractures and the lacking consensus, Fragility Fractures of the Pelvis will become indispensable for the physicians who take care of elderly patients with this pathology. Written by a team of expert opinion leaders, the aim of this book is to contribute to the scientific discussion in this area and to help provide the optimal care for these patients.