2016 - Thoughts on aging
We have a strong sense of solidarity in my family. To this day, sports bring us together. It helps that you can still do almost anything with my parents. They’re very active, they go cycling a lot; my father still works out and goes to the weight room. But with all of that, they’re no health fanatics; they enjoy life.
My parents bring me a lot of joy. My father was an instructor at the Sports Institute of the University of Heidelberg and my mother was a gymnastics teacher. Not only were they always very loving, but they did a lot with us, especially a lot of sports; which is not surprising considering their professions. We went skiing in the winter and sailing in the summer. My older sister was runner-up world champion in rowing, and my brother played in the fi rst and second Bundesliga in basketball. Among many other things, our parents taught us ambition. In sports, you set a goal, you think about what you have to do to achieve that goal, you overcome the obstacles, and sooner or later you’ll achieve it. This attitude is helpful not just in sports but in all sorts of other situations as well.
My parents have remained active their whole lives. They’re now in their mid-seventies and still always on the go. They travel a lot and are always on the move. They really live according to the old saying, “a rolling stone gathers no moss:” that’s why they’re always in such good shape.
That’s not a given. These days, my friends and colleagues talk more about their parents’ health problems than those of their children. And of course, their parents’ health problems are more serious. My neighbor’s mother takes strong kidney medication and will probably have to undergo dialysis soon. But heart surgery is also a topic, as well as hip replacements and dementia. That my parents have aged is something I only really notice when I look at old photographs. They may not appear as vigorous today as they were before, and their hair has turned gray. But when I’m with them, I’m always impressed by their muscle tone; they have simply remained gymnasts their entire lives. Even when you talk to them, you don’t notice their age.
They have a positive outlook on life and they’re quick-witted. Of course, I know that things can be very different ten years from now. But we’ll worry about that when the time comes.
Pictures of the story
Aging and diabetes - reasons for dialysis
Healthy in old age
The population is constantly becoming older, and that’s a good thing. Since 1990, global life expectancy has increased by a good six years, for example climbing from an average of 78 to 82 years in France and from 58 to 66 in India. At the same time, people are spending their retirement very differently than before: volunteering, exercising and traveling. It is due above all to the benefits of modern medicine that people are not only living longer, they are able to enjoy these additional years as well.
Diabetes often results in kidney ailments
More than 1.9 billion people are overweight, and more than 600 million suff er from obesity. This often results in additional ailments, especially for older people; such as cardiovascular diseases, which are the most common cause of death worldwide. Prevention is therefore important. But of course, medical care must also be provided to those for whom prevention came too late. For example, diabetes may be the consequence of years of unhealthy eating, and 30–40 percent of all people with diabetes develop a kidney ailment and may need dialysis. If the kidney is no longer able to purify the blood, this function needs to be replaced, since otherwise the patient will die. One option is a kidney transplant. However, most patients have to wait several years for a kidney donor. The second option is dialysis, which acts as artifi cial kidney replacement therapy. The first blood purifi cation was performed in 1924 by the German physician Georg Haas. A breakthrough was achieved by Dutch physician Willem Kolff , who designed a rotating drum dialysis machine in 1945. Since then, physicians and engineers have continuously perfected the procedure. Today, some three million people worldwide undergo dialysis, the majority of them older than 60 years of age.
Painless treatment
B. Braun has been engaged for decades in the fi elds of diabetes therapy and dialysis. We manufacture for example blood glucose measurement systems, single-use hypodermic needles for painless insulin injection and ultra-fi ne needles so that the puncture is barely visible. B. Braun began supplying some dialysis components in the 1950’s, and we have been manufacturing dialysis machines since the late 1960’s. Aside from devices and materials for hemodialysis and acute dialysis, our portfolio includes a comprehensive range of specialized blood purifi cation methods, such as for the treatment of dyslipidemia. We off er an integrated system with perfectly matched components. This system consists not only of dialysis machines, dialyzers and consumables, but also treatment options, software solutions, technical support and process consulting, planning, installation and training. In July 2015, B. Braun acquired Lauer Membran Wassertechnik GmbH, a company specializing in water treatment systems for dialysis. This completes B. Braun’s product portfolio in hemodialysis therapy, since water treatment is the basis for effective treatment of patients.
Better care through targeted training
B. Braun also operates as a provider of medical dialysis services: more than 25,000 patients receive high-quality medical care at over 300 dialysis centers in 29 countries. Employees undergo continuous training to ensure that they can empathize with the patients, that their skills are always up-to-date and that they routinely have the opportunity to exchange experiences. At our centers, physicians and nursing staff are relieved of the burden of general administrative duties, as well as billing and recruiting, allowing them to focus entirely on the patient. We hope to further expand our role as one of the largest provider of medical dialysis services worldwide. It was for this reason that we acquired DTZ Dialyse Trainings-Zentren GmbH in the year 2015. Our broadbased range of products and services, as well as our locally adapted care and treatment concepts, helps us top optimally balance fi rst class care and aff ordability, enabling us to provide comprehensive care to an ever growing number of patients with chronic renal insufficiency worldwide.
