The U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Aging (NIA) has allocated additional funding for biomarker measures to the Health and Aging Brain Among Latino Elders study, reports Clinical OMICs . The five-year grant to the University of North Texas Health Science Center (HSC) at Fort Worth is expected to total $45.5 million, backing research on health disparities in brain aging and Alzheimer's disease between Mexican Americans and non-Latino whites. The study aims to guarantee that Alzheimer's biomarker analyses are increasingly representative of the U.S. population. HSC's Health and Aging Brain Among Latino Elders-Amyloid Tau and Neurodegeneration project will yield a variety of biological, behavioral, environmental, and sociocultural data to consider the overall view of Alzheimer's impact throughout people's lives. Data also will be generated to determine whether Mexican Americans experience the same Alzheimer's biomarker pathway detailed in previous studies. "Measuring additional biomarkers in this population will provide important clues to guide approaches to target the right disease processes in the right people at the right time," said NIA Division of Neuroscience Director Eliezer Masliah.

Research from the University of California said 43 percent of Americans over 65 reported loneliness before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the crisis has exacerbated the situation, causing thoughts of suicide to grow among the older population, according to Next Avenue . "This is especially true in those individuals who do not have family members or friends in the area to assist them," notes Drexel's University Kimberly Garcia. Data amassed by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center in 2018 calculated that suicide rates were higher among adults ages 45 to 54 and 55 to 64, peaking among adults ages 52 to 59 (21.56 per 100,000), The rate for ages 65 and over is 17.36 per 100,000. "Major life changes can lead to depressed thoughts, as we get older," says Bradley University Professor Julie Smirl. "Difficulty finding a job, the loss of a spouse, finding out you have cancer, moving to a long-term care community, having your kids take away the keys to your car — for many, it's hard to balance those emotions." Jerry Reed at the Education Development Center has outlined three signs that may indicate someone is suicidal: withdrawal from people, lack of energy, or turning to alcohol or drugs; emotional distress; and dramatic behavioral changes.

A presenter at the Psych Congress 2020 Virtual Experience conference said substance use is rising among older patients and compounded by comorbid psychiatric disorders, reports Healio . "Over the course of the past decade, the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health have indicated an increase in prevalence of alcohol use disorders, as well as cannabis use disorders and cocaine use," said Olivera Bogunovic at Harvard Medical School's McLean Hospital. "According to the 2012 Treatment Episode Data Set study, there were 14,230 admissions to substance abuse treatment programs for patients aged 65 years and older, and it is very important to note that a lot of these hospitalizations led to significant morbidity and mortality. We also have the survey from the Drug Abuse Warning Network that indicated a number of emergency department (ED) visits related to substance use disorders among older adults." The latter poll calculated 2,056 drug-related ED visits, with 290 associated with illegal drug use, nonmedical use of pharmaceuticals, or use of alcohol in combination with other drugs. Bogunovic added that alcohol use disorder is forecast to increase in the aging geriatric population. "It's very important to do detailed psychiatric, neurological, and social evaluations, and what is going to be most helpful is evaluation of the motivational stage of change," she said. Bogunovic added that determining whether a need for detoxification exists is the most imperative aspect of evaluation.

A study published in the The Lancet Psychiatry found that sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be twice as likely to develop dementia later in life, reports CNN . Moreover, the risk of COVID-19 pandemic-related trauma turning into PTSD is elevated for frontline doctors, nurses, and families who have lost loved ones and sick patients, especially if they have been on ventilators. Furthermore, there is anxiety that the severe acute respiratory syndrome that occurs in some COVID-19 patients could penetrate the brain or trigger immune responses that harm brain function and mental health. The researchers analyzed data on almost 1.7 million people from 13 studies performed on four continents. Persons with PTSD were up to twice as likely to develop dementia up to 17 years later, while those with PTSD in the general population were more than twice as likely to develop dementia than adults who lacked such diagnosis. Veterans with PTSD were 1.5 times more likely to develop dementia than vets without the disorder. "If we can recognize PTSD, we can mitigate it with stress reduction techniques, with seeing qualified medical professionals, by using pharmacologic and non pharmacological treatments, by seeing a psychiatrist or seeing a therapist," said Richard Isaacson at New York-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medical Center. "We also need more research on how to minimize stress in order to protect brain health over time."

A new creative arts program offered by the Alzheimer's Association Hudson Valley (N.Y.) Chapter this fall is geared toward people with dementia and their family caregivers, reports Patch.com . The "Something for Alz: Poetry for Connection and Reflection" initiative will be helmed by Mary Farkas, a licensed creative arts therapist with a practice in Beacon, N.Y., with sessions to be held on Zoom on three consecutive Wednesdays. Farkas will read a poem to the group, then invite them to respond by reading it back or in whatever way they can. "I've found a way to use poetry as a tool for self-expression, to help people communicate some of their thoughts and feelings," says Farkas. She explains that participants do not have to be passionate about poetry, adding that "it's about coming and being with your loved ones and being together with a group." Farkas also says verbal ability is not a prerequisite for participation. "I believe very much that if you've met one person with Alzheimer's disease, you have not met them all. They are not all the same," she notes. "There is a way the words in poetry can become a safe space for all of us."

Health experts are urging seniors to isolate themselves socially to maintain their health during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the looming flu season, reports NBC's Today Show . Top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci last week announced that people needed to prepare to "hunker down and get through this fall and winter." Experts recommend that those who have underlying health conditions or are older than 60 should limit their social circle for the next few months. Among their concerns in addition to seniors' higher susceptibility to flu and COVID-19 is the expectation that indoor activity will increase as the weather gets colder — raising the virus' likelihood of spreading. "For those people who are in high-risk groups, it's important that the people that they're interacting with have some type of discussion about what types of activities other people are going to be doing," explained Amesh Adalja with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. He added that there is considerable overlap between people at risk for coronavirus and flu complications, while experts also advise that people at high risk for either ailments should get a flu shot. "In multi-generational households, I think not only seniors and people with underlying conditions ought to be concerned, the younger adults who live in the household should probably be extra mindful during the coming cold and flu season," added Columbia University Medical Center Professor S. Patrick Kachur.

A study in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease suggests the process of neurodegeneration that leads to Alzheimer's dementia already may have started in older people with apparently normal cognition who suffer falls, reports Newswise . "If you lose strength and balance, the recommended treatment is to work on strength and balance," said Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis Professor Susan Stark. "But if someone is falling for another reason, maybe because his or her brain has begun accumulating Alzheimer's-related damage, that person might need a different treatment entirely." The researchers monitored 83 people older than 65 for a year, who were all assessed as cognitively normal at the outset. Although the presence of amyloid in the brain by itself did not elevate the risk of falling, neurodegeneration did. Participants who fell exhibited smaller hippocampi, while their somatomotor networks indicated greater deterioration. This supported the conclusion that falling is most likely to occur in the neurodegeneration phase of preclinical Alzheimer's, or the last five years or so before memory loss and confusion manifest.

Rhode Island's House Republicans are calling for a bill to ensure all residents in assisted living communities have at least one designated visitor following months of quarantine to contain COVID-19, reports the Providence Journal . State Rep. Justin Price said the measure would permit one selected person "to safely remain with the patient, nursing, or group home resident at prescribed hours each day or week." State health officials lifted the initial ban on July 8, provided communities comply with strict infection controls — but Gov. Gina Raimondo said last week some communities are still reticent about allowing visitations, perhaps because state health guidelines urged them to fully shut down again if even one new positive coronavirus case was reported. Raimondo said the state Department of Health published updated guidelines so that "a single positive case is no longer a reason to completely halt visitation at a nursing home or an assisted living community." Rhode Island Healthcare Association CEO Scott Fraser said all the communities his group represents are cooperating with health officials to guarantee visits. "We have been heavily criticized for the number of fatalities associated with nursing communities," he explained. "Now our critics are saying we are not having enough visitations. You can't have it both ways."

Indiana University (IU) School of Medicine and its partners will funnel a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Administration for Community Living into a 36-month program to enhance, fortify, and expand support for people with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) and their caregivers in 34 Indiana counties, reports EurekAlert . The Alzheimer's Disease Programs Initiative (ADPI) aims to build on current home and community-based social services to maximize the ability of people with ADRD to live independently. IU School of Medicine Professor Steven R. Counsell and grant partners will implement the collaborative dementia care model and training interventions created by the IU Center for Aging Research. ADRD sufferers and caregivers will be coached by community health workers serving as dementia care coordinator assistants, and in-home personal care workers will be specially trained in dementia care. Counsell said the ADPI will serve 1,000 persons who qualify for nursing home care, yet live in the community assisted by Medicaid in-home services and supports. People with ADRD who live alone or are aging with intellectual and developmental disabilities will receive support, while 500 personal care workers will get dementia care training under the program. "The opportunity to work with community and state partners to expand these innovative services to reach more vulnerable Hoosiers and their families is a dream come true," said Counsell.

With the U.S. Social Security Administration set to officially announce its 2021 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in about a month, data suggests seniors who depend on Social Security for their retirement may be disappointed, reports CNBC . The Senior Citizens League estimates that the COLA could be about 1.3 percent, based on Consumer Price Index data through August. That is compared to the 1.6% increase in benefits in 2020, while last year's bump was 2.8 percent. The Senior Citizens League's Mary Johnson said a 1.3 percent adjustment would be the fifth instance since 2010 of a small or no increase. The COLA was zero in 2010, 2011, and 2016, while in 2017 it was 0.3 percent. The average COLA has been 1.4 percent 2010, while annual hikes averaged 3 percent between 1999 and 2009. Critics say the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers used to calculate the adjustment does not account for the price changes that impact older consumers, especially housing and medical costs. Johnson noted that the 1.3 percent estimate could possibly rise to 1.4 percent by October, barring a further drop in the price of gasoline.