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The senior population grows every year. Seniors older than 65 years of age now comprise more than 13% of the total population. However, women outlive men. In the 85-and-over age group, there are only 45 men to every 100 women.
In ancient Rome, many of the richer people in the population had lead-induced gout. The reason for this is unclear. Lead poisoning has also been linked to madness.
The newest statin drug, rosuvastatin, has been called a superstatin because it appears to reduce LDL cholesterol to a greater degree than the other approved statin drugs.
The average older adult in the United States takes five prescription drugs per day. Half of these drugs contain a sedative. Alcohol should therefore be avoided by most senior citizens because of the dangerous interactions between alcohol and sedatives.
The use of salicylates dates back 2,500 years to Hippocrates’s recommendation of willow bark (from which a salicylate is derived) as an aid to the pains of childbirth. However, overdosage of salicylates can harm body fluids, electrolytes, the CNS, the GI tract, the ears, the lungs, the blood, the liver, and the kidneys and cause coma or death.
![Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The MRI lab includes the scanning instrument and a computer statio](https://biology-forums.com/gallery/47/medium_14755_14_10_12_6_49_35_9415513.jpeg)
![GI series. (a) Upper GI series begins with a barium swallow, barium shake, or barium meal. (b) Lower](https://biology-forums.com/gallery/47/medium_14755_26_10_12_5_23_55_96931000.jpeg)