b'In 1960, the average American life spanwith agingcan mean fewer relapses. And, wasjustunder70 years. Today,thankstoas Marijean Buhse points out in the article on modern medicine, that age has risen to 79.page 15, older persons with MS tend to have But while people are living longer lives, arebettermentalhealth,likelybecausethey they living better lives?have learned to cope with the disease over According to the National Institutes of Health,the course of many years. while we live longer today because of progressWhat can we do to stave off the negative in medical care, many people suffer fromeffects of aging? Quite a lot. As Augusto debilitating conditions because research hasMiravalle M.D.points out in the article on page focused on curing life-threatening diseases24, keeping up with our routine medical care such as cancer and cardiovascular diseasecan help prevent or quickly address other rather than focusing on diseases with long-termhealth conditions that could negatively affect effects on quality of lifediseases to whichquality of life for people with MS. On page 12, we become more susceptible as we age. InMegan Weigel shares how to keep our bodies fact, the NIH said, Aging itself is by far theyouthful with a healthy lifestyle.greatest risk factor for most chronic diseasesWhatever your age, taking the best possible and disabilities which affect older adults. care of your health will improve your quality What about MS? Aging appears to haveof life, both now and in the future. Our goal at both positive and negative effects on theMS Focus is to help you do just that, offering disease. Loss of brain volume, which happensservices to help with your physical, mental, as we age, can contribute to disease progression.and social needs. How familiar are you with our Agingalsomakesusmoresusceptibletoservices? We highlight one of our programs other health problems that might be difficultin each issue, but do you know we have 18 to distinguish from MS symptoms, such asdifferentongoingservicesforpeoplewith bladderissuesorpain.AndmorehealthMS? Homecare, Cooling, Health and Wellness, problemsoftenmeanmoremedications,Assistive Technologythe list goes on. Take a which can exacerbate problems with fatiguefew minutes after you read this issue to visit and cognition.msfocus.org and learn about all the services On the other hand, immune senescence,available at no cost to people with MS and the slowing of the immune system that comestheir families.7 msfocusmagazine.org'