Late life is a distinct phase of life characterized by a cessation in the deterioration of survivorship and fecundity characteristic of normal aging. Several theories have been proposed to explain non-aging at late ages, specifically with regards to late-life mortality-rate plateaus. All such theories must be compatible with formal evolutionary theory and experimental findings. Here, we develop...

Complicated grief (CG) is a syndrome that affects 10% to 20% of grievers regardless of age, although proportionally more will face the death of loved ones in late life, CG is characterized by preoccupying and disabling symptoms that can persist for decades such as an inability to accept the death, intense yearning or avoidance, frequent reveries, deep sadness, crying, somatic distress, social w...

Until recently, most of the research on schizophrenia has focused on young adults. With increasing longevity, the number of older schizophrenia patients in the population is expected to grow. Late-life schizophrenia patients fall into two groups: those who developed schizophrenia for the first time in later adulthood (late-onset schizophrenia) and those who developed the illness earlier in life...

Depressive disorder has no single cause. Arguably, in old age it is a more heterogeneous condition than in earlier adult life, in both clinical presentation and causation. A broad distinction is often made between earlyand late-onset depression in later life. The aetiology of these may differ and is currently the subject of new research. Aetiology is often subdivided into risk factors (vulnerab...

Science proceeds from its mistakes, just as well as its successes. We have argued above that it is “perfectly reasonable for natural selection to produce late-life plateaus in life-history characters.” This is premised on the forces of natural selection having fallen to very low values. The reality of latelife mortality plateaus was a revelation for me, especially having been one of the earlies...

Insomnia, defined as difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep at least 3 nights per week that is accompanied by complaints of sleep-related daytime impairment, is the most common sleep disturbance in later life. Although insomnia can occur as an acute disorder (7 days or less), older adults are often afflicted with chronic insomnia (12 months or more). Additionally, insomnia in older individu...

Insomnia, the most common sleep disturbance in later life, affects 20%-50% of older adults. Eszopiclone, a short-acting nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic agent developed for the treatment of insomnia, has been available in Europe since 1992 and in the US since 2005. Although not yet evaluated for transient insomnia in older adults, eszopiclone has been shown to be safe and efficacious for short-term t...

I respect and like Dan Blazer more than (or at least as much as) any other psychiatrist I’ve met. He is a world expert on late life depression and a pre-eminent researcher and teacher – but that is why statements made by him in a recent guest editorial in this journal (Blazer, 2010) must not be left unchallenged. Blazer seeks an explanation of why the frequency of late life depression is estima...

Antipsychotics are frequently used in elderly patients to treat a variety of conditions, including schizophrenia. While extensively studied for their impact in younger populations, there is comparatively limited evidence about the effectiveness of these agents in older patients. Further complicating this situation are the high co-morbidity rates (both psychiatric and medical) in the elderly; ag...