By GARY ROTSTEIN, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

When diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease at age 56, airline pilot Alan Romatowski was determined to remain productive, even if people could no longer depend on him to shepherd them across the country in Boeing 737s.

For Nancy King, the start of depression was the death of her husband when she was in her mid-60s.

An on-the-job back injury for nursing aide Dee Miller caused her chronic pain in her late 60s, sinking her mood and erasing her desire to get out of the house.

It was Sept. 21, and 59-year-old Alan Romatowski heard the worst news since the moment three years and 16 days earlier when he was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

His doctors at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Alzheimer Disease Research Center told him that based on his annual evaluation, they no longer felt it was safe for him to drive.

Eight years and $36.5 million after Alzheimer's disease researchers launched the biggest U.S. study ever of whether ginkgo biloba could help stave off dementia, they got an answer.It just wasn't the result they wanted.

The typical gray-haired, midday crowd played the slot machines in The Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Washington, Pa., on a recent rainy afternoon, with every handicapped-parking space filled.Imogene Crain, who has breathing difficulties from pulmonary disease, parked a wheelchair inside to take a seat risking 20 cents a spin at a lively game called "Super Jackpot Party."

PITTSBURGH -- The conversation between Dr. Monica Dua and her patient, Roosevelt Copeland, covered wide terrain, including not only his physical status but the cost of his medications, the condition of his wheelchair and the size of his bed.

PITTSBURGH -- The conversation between Dr. Monica Dua and her patient, Roosevelt Copeland, covered wide terrain, including not only his physical status but the cost of his medications, the condition of his wheelchair and the size of his bed.

One minute, 82-year-old Robert Henline was headed to bed after a nighttime snack of a sandwich and ice cream.The next time his daughter and son-in-law checked on him in their home in Monroeville, Pa., he was gone into the frigid January night without a goodbye.

Older people have fewer problems as they age if they engage in leisure-time cognitive activities, observational studies suggest.Frank Walsh, a retired civil engineer on the cusp of 90, has experienced decline in his legs, eyesight and hearing. It's hard for the assisted-living resident at Country Meadows in Bridgeville, just southwest of Pittsburgh, to stop some of that.