Month: July 2012

Need any more motivation to get off the couch? Japanese man qualifies to compete at London 2012 aged 71. Japanese dressage competitor Hiroshi Hoketsu will be the oldest athlete at the London Olympic Games. In Japan, the 71-year-old is called the ‘hope of old men.’ http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/mar/06/hiroshi-hoketsu-oldest-london-2012-olympics London 2012 Olympics: 100-year-old torchbearer carries the flame. Diana Gould became the oldest torchbearer of the 2012 Olympics relay […]

NHS: Widespread media coverage tells us today of a new drug that ‘halts’ Alzheimer’s symptoms ‘for three years’. The news is based on a press release issued yesterday that highlighted positive early results of research into the use of intravenous immunoglobulin to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is a medication made by harvesting antibodies from donated blood. It is currently used to treat severe […]

The Journal.ie HEALTH MINISTER James Reilly has named 35 towns which will compete to secure the 20 new primary healthcare facilities being promised under today’s government stimulus package. The €2.25 billion package announced this includes €115 million for the provision of 20 new facilities – most commonly GPs clinics – to be delivered in two ‘bundles’ of ten. The €115 million programme will be conducted […]

The Irish Times: Eilish O’ Regan NURSING home residents face paying more for their care because the State is losing money under its “pay when you die” option. New figures, obtained by the Irish Independent, show how the State has so far recovered an average of just €9,000 from the estates of nursing home residents who postponed most of the cost of their care until […]

A new film called Ping Pong follows 9 players from around the world as they travel to Inner Mongolia to compete in the over-80s World Table Tennis Championships. The most astounding participant in the documentary is unquestionably Dorothy DeLowe, a 100-year-old Australian table tennis player, the oldest known competitor in the world, and a veteran of the World Championships. Having lost her husband and her […]