Sepsis, often referred to as "blood poisoning," means that the entire body is experiencing an inflammatory response to an infection.

This is an EXTREMELY dangerous condition in anyone, however, elderly people are at much higher risk and much more likely to die from sepsis.

The symptoms of sepsis include a rapid heartbeat, fever or low body temperature, and rapid breathing. If any of these symptoms are present in an older person who has just had an infection (or may have had one), an operation or an invasive procedure, call the doctor immediately.

Read the full article: Symptoms of Sepsis in the Elderly

We tend to think of people with anorexia and bulimia as young women - girls, really - in their teens and early 20s that got "lost" somewhere, looking for control as they realize that the world is big and chaotic. I think we have made a great deal of progress in society's view of eating disorders - what used to be thought of as "weird" or "stupid" is now recognized as a cluster of diseases, at least by some people.

However, our thinking does not really extend to include mature women in the

Elder abuse is a horrible thing. New research, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society this month, shows that alcohol is often part of elder abuse. It is not surprising to hear that the perpetrators of elder abuse may be abusing alcohol themselves. It surprising (at least to me) to hear that the victims of elder abuse often have alcohol in their system as well. Unfortunately, the study can't tell us if being abused as an elder causes alcohol abuse, or the other way around, or something more complicated. What do you think? How involved is alcohol in elder abuse? Leave your thought in the comments.

Bioprospecting is a very old idea, with a new name. The basic concept is that somewhere, out in nature, are new molecules and chemicals that can help us. Or ancestors knew made use of this through herbal medicine (for example). Now researchers are seeking out those molecules. The most likely site to find them is the ocean. An example is the skin care products derived from new types of algae discovered in the ocean Read the full article on the NY Times website.