Ageing: How to age successfully

We need to be wary of prejudices regarding our elderly family members. Asked for the first images that spring to mind regarding old age, large samples of both old and young people most commonly use the following adjectives: ill, infirm, forgetful, frail and decrepit. This is a stereotype, and ageism (a term coined in 1969) is as bad as sexism or racism.

People get better control of their blood pressure if they monitor it themselves and adjust their treatment accordingly. So says a new study, which used an online blood pressure testing device to allow people to send readings to their doctors and change their medicine if treatment wasn't working.

The MS Society is about to decide whether to close all its respite care homes and offer more personalised support to its users. The outcome could have repercussions for other disability charities.

For several decades the respite care homes provided by the MS Society have had a reputation as excellent temporary refuges, allowing people with multiple sclerosis and their carers a short break from daily pressures of living with the condition.

People who don't brush their teeth every day have a higher chance of developing heart disease, researchers have found. Lack of brushing can lead to constant, low-level gum infections, which researchers think could cause inflammation in the body and play a part in causing heart disease.