Chapter 2 Flashcards
(31 cards)
What did Gopikabai Gawande die of?
malaria
What university does Leonid Gavrilov work at?
University of Chicago
What was Leonid Gavrilov’s theory on old age?
People age like complex systems: they fail randomly and gradually.
Why do some complex systems like power plants survive fro long periods of time even as damage accumulates?
They build up back up systems and multiple layers of redundancy.`
What condition occurs when the defects in a complex system build up and only one more is left until the system collapses?
fraility
By what age do half of people’s hairs go gray?
50
Why does hair go gray?
It is because the pigment cells created and replaces by stem cells are used up and hairs can no longer maintain their color.
How is lipofusicin created?
When the mechanisms that clear out waste products break down
What is lipofusin?
A gooey, yellowish brown pigment of residue that comes from the breaking down of waste mechanisms in skin cells
What diseases are old people susceptible to due to the accumulation of lipofuscin?
heat stroke
What happens when lipofuscin accumulates?
Sweat glands don’t function properly
What fraction of light enters a healthy 60 year old compared to a healthy 20 year old?
1/3 of light
What are lens of the eye made of?
extremely durable crystalline proteins
What happens to the lens when they change chemically and what disease does this bring?
They lose their elasticity - farsightedness
What is known as the whitish clouding of the eye that occurs with age, excessive UV exposure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and cigg smoking?
Cataracts
Who is Felix Silverstone?
senior geriatrician at Parker Jewish Institute (NY)
How long was Felix Silverstone senior geriatrician and how many studies did he publish on old age?
20 years
What is Atul Gawande’s favorite book on aging?
The Sexy Years
What is the “rectangularization of survival”?
As people’s life span increases, there are a similar amount of younger people and older people
What percentage of children under 5 made up the US population in 1950?
11%
What percentage of adults ranges from 45-49 made up the US in 1950?
6%
What percentage of people over 80 made up the US population in 1950?
less that 1%
Why is the age of retirement being 65 becoming increasingly unreasonable?
Because the population of them has grown to 20% - can’t cater to all those people
How much has the number of certified geriatricians fallen in the US between 1996 & 2010?
25%
