Prime Minister Gordon Brown has come under fire over his plans to provide free personal care for the most vulnerable elderly people in England. Conservative leader David Cameron asked "where is the money coming from" and whether he would rule out a compulsory inheritance levy to pay...

Ministers are facing further pressure over plans to provide free personal care for the most vulnerable elderly people in England. More than 70 councillors who lead social care provision across England have written to the Times describing the plan as ill-conceived. Gordon Brown made the...

A charter against ageism in clinical trials is being launched by a group of geriatricians from Europe. The EU funded project, called PREDICT, says treatments are less likely to be tested on older people even though the elderly take the most medication. Trial results from younger people...

Millions of people in their seventies could be vaccinated against shingles after government backing for a recommendation from expert advisers. The only remaining stumbling block could be the relatively high cost of the vaccine. Patient groups say using it would roughly halve the number of...

Moderately overweight elderly people may live longer than those of normal weight, an Australian study suggests. But being very overweight or being underweight shortened lives. The report, which was published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, said dieting may not be beneficial...