JAYA YADAV

VISHAL GAUTAM

I asked my grand ma- what is it to be old?????

Put cotton in ur ears
a pebble in ur shoes
Smear vaseline over ur glasses,
And there u have it instant old age.
While many search for the proverbial fountain of
youthu just might be wondreing what
actually causes aging..
There are Numerous theories on the mechanism of
aging under the programmed and damage theory
We all know about the reactive oxygen species
and telomerase theory..
But latest researches claim glycosylation as the
most accepted one. And it is for this reason
diabetes is
also considered as an accelerated form of aging
Interestingly, a study revealed that restricting
calorie intake without nutritional deficiency by just
40 % increased life span of rats by 20 months.
But, Can we defy the process of aging??

JAYA YADAV

VISHAL GAUTAM

Can The complications of old age be evaded?

science is still in the process of finding these
answers
but the stark no. Of casualties of old age present
some glaring facts.
one third of the lives of elderly in india succumb
to cardiovascular diseases.
Cancer is second in line, casting its mortal shadow
on a majority of the aged population.
Arthritis Is the leading cause of morbidity in the
elderly affecting upto 25% of the Indians.
Their quality of life is further deteriorated by
problems such as age related cataract, pulmonary
diseases, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and stroke.
To find out the functional decline in old age, We did
a VULNERABLE ELDERLY SURVEY on 55 people
aged above 40..
53% of the people denied suffering from any
disease. However, 72% of them still had difficulties
in doing activities of daily living possibly indicating
their ignorance regarding their own health.

JAYA YADAV

VISHAL GAUTAM

Even in our medical professional survey , 64% of

doctors said elderly prefer traditional medicine
over the conventional one, reflecting their late
approach for medical help.
As people age they change in a myriad ways and
even the brain doesnt escape this change.
Several cognitive and neurological diseases have a
late onset
with Alzheimers reining this field as it accounts
for 184 deaths per 10,000 people aged over 65.
A whooping 4 million people in our country suffer
from dementia.
But is it easy to identify these diseases? Is their
manifestation similar to ours?
Most often this population presents with atypical
symptoms which can lead to a misdiagnosis.
For example Even Full blown pneumonia is not
accompanied by fever.rather there might be a
decrease in temperature.
These atypical symptoms along with other
comorbidities in the elderly further make it difficult
to reach a diagnosis, Highlighting the fact that we

JAYA YADAV

VISHAL GAUTAM

need skilled geriatricians to promptly identify and

treat this population.
Even in our gen awareness survey 68% believe
that healthcare workers are not trained to provide
care for elderly further reinforcing the need for
trained professional
Drugs, commonly prescribed can also cause
adverse effects in the elderly at the same dose.
Studies have shown that Rifampicin is 3 times
more toxic in elderly age group, hence stressing on
a need for careful drug dosage and regulation.
so one old person is just one old person, making
two cases never alike.
Astonishingly, in a country having more than 8000
hospitals less than 10 have geriatric wards and
specialists to tackle them.
But Do they just want us to prolong their lives with
geriatric medicine or do they expect more?
All they want is to live as vital, as functional and
independent while they are with
us.

JAYA YADAV

VISHAL GAUTAM

For if man can conquer aging, it will be the last

frontier to be crossed in the pursuit of unraveling
life secrets.