Dispensary Corner

DON’T stop movin! Noughties pop band S Club Seven were singing about dancing in their hit song, but they had it right when it comes to healthy ageing too.

A new study published in the Aging Cell journal has found significant benefits from doing lots of exercise in older age.

The researchers from the University of Birmingham tracked the health of 125 long-distance cyclists in an endurance club called Audax - some now in their 80s - and found they had the immune systems of 20-year-olds.

The results were based on measurements of T-cells in the participants’ blood, with the active oldies having very high levels compared to inactive octogenarians who were producing very few.

Apparently the older members of Audax only take part in the “short” rides - of about 100km. THERE’S no doubting the devotion of a pet owner in the USA, who has reportedly just funded a life-saving kidney transplant for her 17-year-old cat.

Betsy Boyd was devastated to learn that her feline companion Stanley only had months to live due to renal insufficiency.

She and her husband decided to use the US$19,000 they had been saving for a new car to pay for the transplant procedure instead.

“He’s a friend, and I believe that this friend wanted to live so I paid for the surgery,” she told Baltimore TV station WJZ-TV.

The kidney was “donated” by a two-year-old cat called Jay, who has also now come to live with Stanley, Betsy and her exceptionally patient husband.