Author Archives: Jamie Garrett

Older adults may have heard about weight loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound. However, even though these meds may be beneficial for them, older adults may not be fully aware of their drawbacks. Recently, Dr. John Batsis spoke to Consumer Reports about older adults using these medications for weight loss....

The UNC Center for Aging and Health is pleased to announce that the Carolina Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (CGWEP) has been awarded a grant of $5 million by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). This funding will support programming over the next five years, from 2024 to 2029. According...

In a recent interview with CNN, Dr. John Batsis listed a few things everyone should know about healthy aging. Specifically, he listed things that people can do now to help ensure they remain in good health into their later years. Batsis said that proper nutrition along with regular physical activity...

Dr. John Batsis recently presented at the National Institute on Aging’s Research Centers Collaborative Network Workshop on Nutrition and Aging Biology in San Francisco. He spoke on GLP-1 Receptor Agonists’ Effect in Older Adults. Dr. Batsis’ UNC colleague Danae Gross also gave presentation at the conference. Her talk was entitled...

Among older adults, losing weight can be a life-changing choice. In some cases, weight loss can help extend a person’s lifespan by reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. These are two conditions which affect older adults in greater proportion than younger people. Although GLP-1 drugs like...

While working in a primary care setting during his medical residency, Dr. Fernando Diaz observed a striking disparity. He was seeing many older patients with advanced-stage cancer diagnoses. And many of them were Spanish-speaking, foreign-born, and uninsured. As the child of immigrants, Dr. Diaz says, “I saw my family in...

In recent years, the ties between the state of North Carolina and the country of Japan have steadily strengthened. Last year alone, Japanese companies invested over $10 billion in new projects and created over 3,000 new jobs in North Carolina. On April 12, 2024, the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida...

Dr. John Batsis recently spoke with Verywell about his concerns regarding the prescribing of weight loss drugs. Batsis believes that some people want quick fixes from providers who are willing to prescribe weight management medications. However, he said that weight loss medications are only one part of a comprehensive plan....

The UNC Division of Geriatric Medicine will hold this year’s Interdisciplinary Geriatrics Conference May 15, 2024 at the North Carolina Botanical Gardens. It will focus on the 4Ms model of care – Mentation, what Matters, Medications, and Mobility – with a particular focus on the care of hospitalized people with...

A recent episode of The Core IM podcast featured several UNC Department of Medicine practitioners who discussed issues related to heart failure and guardianship. The episode is divided into three segments. In Deep Dive 1, UNC geriatrician and assistant professor of medicine Dr. Emily Cetrone discussed ways for approaching guideline-directed...

In general, diagnosing depression can be challenging. Since there’s no single, definitive test for diagnosing the condition, it is important to consider other possible reasons behind depression-like symptoms in older adults. In a recent AARP article, Dr. Meredith Gilliam says, “the symptoms may overlap with chronic medical conditions, early dementia,...

In the December 2023 issue of Insights & Implications in Gerontology, Dr. John Batsis and colleagues dive into ‘The Chronic Disease of Obesity.’ In this publication, the team discusses: Current concepts are presented about the complex interplay among the stomach, liver, pancreas, brain, and metabolic processes of the body Recognition...