The average age of the UK population is increasing. But what happens when we age? And how can we stay healthy as we get older? From the biological changes that occur, to how nutrition, exercise and the environment play a role, this campaign delves into the ageing research underway across the Faculty and beyond, and what we can do to live better …whatever our age.
Why personalised medicine is key for older adults
Personalised medicine is a broad term used to describe the treatment a patient receives based on their genetics, lifestyle, goals, environment and social factors. It eschews the ‘one size fits all’ approach, enabling clinicians to allow the unique characteristics of each patient to influence their decisions.
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King's academics present their research at healthy ageing events in China
Researchers from King’s College London recently attended two events in China that shared insights into international strategies to promote healthy ageing and support populations as they grow older.
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Nutrition, ageing and the gut microbiota
The gut microbiota – the community of trillions of microbes that live in our digestive tract – has an important role in health and disease. As part of our ‘Ageing Well’ campaign, this article explores the links between nutrition, ageing and the gut microbiota with Dr Mary Ni Lochlainn, who’s looking at ways to target the gut microbiome to improve the health of older people.
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The biology of ageing, with Professor Claire Steves and Dr Carly Welch
As a population, we’re getting older. But what happens to our bodies at the biological level as we age? And is there anything we can do about it? For our ‘Ageing Well’ campaign, Professor Claire Steves and Dr Carly Welch sat down to discuss some of the ‘hallmarks of ageing’ and the considerations of caring for an ageing population.
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Why do we lose muscle mass as we age and what can we do to mitigate this?
Dr Oliver Witard is a Reader in Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. A major strand of his research is exploring the effects of ageing on our muscles – in other words, why do we lose muscle as we get older, and what can we do to slow this process down and increase our quality of life in our golden years?
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Researchers challenge focus on rural older adults in CMO's latest health report
New analysis challenges prevailing assumptions about the distribution of older adults in Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Chris Whitty’s latest annual report.
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Daily fibre supplement improves older adults' brain function in just 12 weeks
A daily fibre supplement improved brain function in over 60s in just 12 weeks.
The study, published recently in Nature Communications by researchers from the School of Life Course & Population Sciences showed that this simple and cheap addition to diet can improve performance in memory tests associated with early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
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Muscle health may be informed by activity level rather than ageing process
A new study comparing muscle structure between active and inactive people has found that older people who regularly do endurance exercise maintain similar muscle characteristics to younger counterparts.
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TwinsUK twins undergo first MRI Scan in study on healthy ageing
TwinsUK participants are the first pair of twins to be scanned at King’s as part of a unique study investigating early markers of disease and aging in identical and non-identical twins.
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Humanising Healthcare podcast - Personalising the use of medicines in older people
This week, Manasi was joined by Dr Jennifer Stevenson, Lead Pharmacist Older Adults/Honorary Senior Lecturer and Dr Carly Welch, Clinical Senior Lecturer on the episode ‘Personalising the use of medicines in older people.’ They discussed polypharmacy, the move towards ‘deprescribing’ medicine, and how ageing can affect the way the body absorbs medicines.
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Exercise and ageing well - what does physical activity do to our body as we get older?