Agh, the benefits of having an influential area news website. Earlier this week, I was able to attend a great rock concert and an event that featured a number of music industry heavyweights. While those events might sound like a lot of fun, the most useful thing that came my way was an email from CVS which gave me the heads up to promote the drug store giving out flu shots at Cleveland area stores. After I wrote about the area stores who are offering the service, the good people at CVS offered a free flu shot at one of the stores and, considering I lived within walking distance to the store that was giving them out tonight, I decided to take them up on the offer. The pharmacist at the Berea CVS, Nancy Yates, was more than helpful to see that my needs were served in the store.

As the weather is beginning to turn and the holiday season gets ever so nearer, we are once again reminded of one of the perils of the season - the flu. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends that all children between the ages of 6 months and 19-years-old, adults 50 and older, and those who work in the healthcare industry get an annual flu shot. If you do not fall into one of those categories, it still can't hurt to get one.

CVS offers flu shots without an appointment at more than 500 MinuteClinic locations and during flu shot clinic events in select CVS pharmacy stores nationwide. Consumers are encouraged to call 1-888-FLU-SHOT or go to www.cvs.com to view a list of flu shot clinics available.

Flu shots at CVS pharmacy and MinuteClinic locations are just $30 and may be covered by insurance.

Here's a list of upcoming flu shot clinic events in the greater Cleveland area:

November 4:

Mayfield Heights, 1451 Som Center Rd. (440) 937-4027 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM

South Euclid, 4469 Mayfield Rd. (216) 382-6780. 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

November 5:

Berea, 212 West Bagley Rd. (440) 243-6676 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Mayfield Heights, 5901 Mayfield Rd. (440) 646-1555 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM

According to a new U.S. study, being fit helps you to live longer, even if you're fat. Findings of the study show that the fittest fat men and women aged 60 and over are more likely to liver longer than their averagely weighted or slim and less fit peers.

The study assessed the fitness of 2,600 adults aged 60 or older and measured their Body Mass Index, an indicator of obesity, and percentage body fat. Over the course of 12 years, 450 died, and what researchers found was that they had lower fitness levels than those who survived, regardless of BMI.

Dr. Steven Blair, who led the study, said: "We observed that fit obese individuals had a lower risk of all-cause mortality than did unfit, normal weight or lean individuals. It may be possible to reduce all-cause death rates among older adults by promoting regular physical activity - such as brisk walking for 30 minutes or more most days."

What this study shows is that all older people, including those who are obese, can benefit from increasing their activity levels. It could add years to your life.

Researchers at Stanford University in California have reserved the effects of aging on the skin of mice through blocking the action of a single critical protein. The implications of this study, if able to be replicated successfully in human beings, is monumental. It could potentially revolutionize the medical and dermatology industries.

Howard Chang, MD, PhD, and assistant professor of dermatology at Stanford, said that the work could one day be useful in helping older people heal from an injury as quickly as they did when they were younger. However, the researchers warned that the findings are not likely to be as successful in younger people, rather, it is more likely to be useful in short-term therapies in older adults. Even then, however, their discovery is not likely to be the holy grail fountain of youth.

Scientists believe that the study backs up theories that aging is the result of specific genetic changes, rather than accumulated wear and tear. Furthermore, they believe that these genetic changes can be reversed later in life.

Is the Nintendo Wii the miracle game console of our generation? It's been used for everything from casual gaming to fitness, and now even doctors are finding some benefits to it. Stroke victims are now being rehabilitated with the aid of popular games on the Nintendo Wii, after doctors have discovered that the games help to rewire the brain after it has been damaged by a blood clot.

Unlike the majority of video games, the Wii, because of its motion-sensitive controllers, involves acting out all the physical movements involved in regular sports, such as tennis, golf, or boxing. Doctors in the U.S. are now beginning to use the Wii to help stroke victims regain movement in their arms and legs, and German clincians have also been reported to be using it to help speed up recovery in injured soldiers.

Strokes occur when the blood supply to the brain is cut off due to a clot in a blood vessel in the head. Blood carries important nutrients and oxygen to the brain, and without it cells can become damaged and/or destroyed. Any damage will cause other problematic symptoms, such as movement of limbs and speech.