"A medical test previously developed to measure a toxin found in tobacco smokers has been adapted to measure the same toxin in people suffering from spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis, offering a potential tool to reduce symptoms." Purdue News
"Our efforts to dodge disability appear to be falling short. Gerontologists once hoped for a 'compression of morbidity'; the idea was that we could remain healthy and active until our bodies fail at advanced ages, and we swiftly died. But new research shows that this has not materialized for most of the elderly. The price we’re paying for extended life spans is a high rate of late-life disability.." New York Times
"Many depictions of disabled characters are outdated, incorrect, and far from the reality of living with a physical, sensory, or intellectual impairment. They are invariably rooted in social norms, defining (and often devaluing) the individual according to their medical diagnosis. Apart from the frustration of such limiting characterisation, and inaccuracies being peddled as truth, there is another, more sinister trend -- the rising incidence of disability hate crime. Disabled investigative journalist Katherine Quarmby's eye-opening Scapegoat: Why We are Failing Disabled People is a timely study of the root causes of violent crime against people who are 'different', a sobering wake-up to western society's ingrained prejudices and our limited definition of what is 'normal'." The Guardian
"It is a surprisingly common problem in older adults; self-neglect is believed to account for nearly 40 percent of all cases of abuse and neglect in the elderly .... Once, elderly adults of this sort were considered eccentric or alarmingly idiosyncratic. Today, researchers believe they have underlying medical or mental health issues -- depression, dementia and delirium top the list -- that compromise their ability to function and care for themselves, according to a recent panel sponsored by the Institute of Medicine." New York Times