Residents of the Braemar at Wallkill assisted-living community in New York recently got a surprise Zoom visit from former Mets pitcher and World Series Champion Dwight "Doc" Gooden as part of the Mets Amazin' Alumni Series, reports MidHudson News . Residents asked Gooden various questions, among them who his favorite catcher was and how he thinks COVID-19 will impact baseball moving forward. The virtual visit was welcomed by residents, who have been unable see any family members or visitors in person due to new restrictions and guidelines during the pandemic. "I know it's been very difficult for our residents over the last four months to have limited access to the outside world, so to have the Mets organization reach out to us and for Dwight Gooden to share his time with us, it is truly appreciated," said Maryann Crenny with Braemar Living parent company FilBen Group.

Pennsylvania State University's Karra Harrington and Martin J. Sliwinski write in The Conversation that the social isolation older adults are experiencing during the coronavirus pandemic is raising dementia risk, but there are remediative strategies. "Loneliness has . . . been found to increase the risk of developing dementia by as much as 20 percent," the authors note. "In fact, loneliness has an influence similar to other more well-established dementia risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, physical inactivity, and hearing loss." Moreover, loneliness and social isolation can encourage poor health habits like little exercise, smoking, and drinking too much alcohol. Loneliness also triggers stress, which "can lead to increased inflammation and reduced immunity, particularly in older adults," according to the authors. As coping strategies, Harrington and Sliwinski suggest older adults try to refocus their attention on what they can do to maintain social connections, and formulate an action plan. "This could include planning to reach out to friends or family, or trying new activities at home that you normally wouldn't have time for, such as online classes or book clubs," the authors write. They also recommend regular exercise and sleep regimens, healthy dieting, and engagement in enjoyable activities.

The state of Minnesota is issuing new guidelines to help long-term care and assisted-living communities reopen to visitors, even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the United States, reports the St. Cloud Times . "Loneliness, depression, isolation, and heartbreak are all safety issues," said state Deputy Ombudsman for Long-Term Care Aisha Elmquist. "Everyone needs others, including those who live in long-term care settings." Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm unveiled visitation guidance with the goal to "maximize the health and well being" of residents in these communities. The guidance recommends communities set up a two-tier system allowing for visits and trips outside the community if COVID-19 is contained, and then limit those visits and mandate more testing when there is a spike. Precautions for visitors like masks and screening are also advised. "The long-term care sector as a whole is working very hard to keep these communities as safe as possible and have gotten significantly better in partnership with the state Health Department and other resources in managing cases," Malcolm said.

A study in Neurology indicates the dementia epidemic may be waning in the United States and Europe despite a lack of effective or preventive treatments, reports the New York Times . The danger of developing dementia over a lifetime is now 13 percent lower than it was 10 years ago, while incidence rates at every age have steadily fallen over the past 25 years. The authors project that there will be 15 million fewer people with dementia in Europe and the U.S. than there currently are if that rate holds. Harvard University researchers analyzed data from seven studies of 49,202 men and women 65 and older altogether, followed for at least 15 years. Harvard's Albert Hofman said a 75-year-old man's chances of developing dementia in his remaining lifetime currently stands at 18 percent, compared to about 25 percent in 1995. Men and women also have equal dementia rates, while the decline's apparent limitation to the U.S. and Europe is puzzling. One leading theory is improved control of cardiovascular risk factors, especially blood pressure and cholesterol. Another possible explanation may be better education, which is believed to protect against dementia by adding brain capacity.

Biogen and partner Eisai announced over the weekend that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted its regulatory submission for aducanumab, its once-failed Alzheimer's drug, with priority review, reports FierceBiotech . FDA expects to reach a decision on the medication on March 7, 2021, while Jefferies analyst Michael Yee expects an advisory committee meeting to be held in the first quarter of next year. U.S. law requires companies to demonstrate "substantial" evidence of effectiveness to obtain FDA approval. Aducanumab flunked a utility analysis in March 2019, which led Biogen to terminate its phase 3 program. Eight months later, the company revived the drug, claiming the analysis was "incorrect" as it was based on a smaller dataset that featured fewer patients who received a high dosage. Additional data indicated that aducanumab reduced clinical decline, and Biogen believes if approved, the drug will become the first treatment to slow decline in people with Alzheimer's. Yee wrote in an investor note that Biogen did not use a priority review voucher to secure an expedited review, "suggesting FDA sees this as an unmet need and is willing to review this under an accelerated window."

Amber Crenshaw and her husband, Steve, have created "hugging booths" where seniors at an assisted living community in Texas can safely meet and hug with family during the coronavirus pandemic, reports Fox News . The Crenshaws, who own a business called Handle With Care, work with the Unlimited Care Cottages community. The booths are designed to fit into a standard door without gaps, and constructed from materials that the virus cannot transmit through. "Just the power of touch is so important because it's been since March since these family members and the residents at the homes have been able to touch and hug," said Amber. "Through this, we've been able to create an opportunity for them to reach out and have a touch."

U.S. COVID-19 cases topped 5 million on Sunday, and experts warned the actual number of infections could be many times higher, reports CNN . The United States holds about 25 percent of global cases, and has the most reported deaths in the world, with Johns Hopkins University (JHU) calculating that of the country's 5,036,387 estimated cases, 162,851 have been fatal. Five states — California, Florida, Texas, New York, and Georgia — constitute more than 40 percent of U.S. infections. The New York State governor's office reported on Sunday that Saturday's positivity rate was 0.78 percent, marking the lowest one-day positive infection rate since the pandemic began. Nevertheless, Vanderbilt University Professor William Schaffner laments that the toll of the virus is likely to continue climbing, "because over much of this country, this virus is spreading unimpeded because so many folks are not getting with the program to contain it."

A study from McGill University researchers in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found two in three hospitalized seniors are prescribed drugs that should be avoided by older adults, elevating the risk of injury and bad drug reactions, reports Medical Xpress . The team analyzed data from hospital admissions records, provincial health databases, and filled prescriptions in Quebec, Canada, between October 2014 and November 2016. "The risks associated with some of these drugs are well-known to clinicians, yet they are still commonly prescribed," said McGill's Daniala Weir. "Benzodiazepines, for example, are typically used to treat anxiety and insomnia in adults, but are known to increase the risk of falls for seniors." Doctors may decide that the pluses of a potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) outweigh the minuses. "This could be true in specific situations; however, on the whole, these medications still tend to cause more harm than good for the average older adult," Weir cautioned. The investigators deemed their findings as indicating a need not just for more research into the risks associated with continuing PIMs at hospital release, but also for better guidance to improve prescribing practices for older adults.

The Pennsylvania Lottery has raised $1.14 billion in profits this year to underwrite programs for seniors, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . This amount fell short of last year's record-breaking profits, but marked the second-best profit-making year in nearly half a century. Proceeds are channeled to pay property tax and rent rebates, transportation and prescription aid for older residents, and to fund area agencies on aging. Sales of scratch-off game tickets from July 1, 2019, through June 30 were a major contributor, which alone had record ticket sales of more than $3.2 billion last year — compared to $213.5 million from the previous year and $2.9 billion in 2018-2019. Yet overall scratch-off ticket sales, as well as tickets sold for draw games and monitor games, totaled almost $4.47 billion, which was down by more than $33.8 million from the prior fiscal year. Still, the launch of online games over a year ago helped to partly offset that difference. "We take great pride in the fact that we are the only lottery in the U.S. that dedicates all of its proceeds to benefit older adults," said Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko. "We are already hard at work looking for new and innovative ways to continue responsibly growing our business to support our older residents."

A study in Redox Biology showed that a drug candidate that previously demonstrated the ability to slow aging in brain cells reversed memory loss in a mouse model of inherited Alzheimer's disease, reports Technology Networks . Developed by the Salk Institute, the CMS121 compound changes brain cells' metabolization of lipid molecules. A subset of the mice in the study were given daily doses of CMS121 beginning at nine months old — comparable to middle age in humans — after they had already started to exhibit learning and memory problems. Three months later, both treated and untreated mice were given memory and behavior tests, in which those with Alzheimer's-like pathology receiving CMS121 performed as well as healthy controls, while untreated animals with the disease performed worse. The researchers also noticed that mice with Alzheimer's-like disease had more lipid peroxidation than either healthy mice or those treated with CMS121. "That not only confirmed that lipid peroxidation is altered in Alzheimer's, but that this drug is actually normalizing those changes," said Salk's Gamze Ates. The drug also reduced concentrations of fatty acid synthetase (FASN), which in turn lowered levels of lipid peroxidation. Analysis of FASN in brain samples from humans who had died of Alzheimer's revealed higher amounts of the FASN protein than similarly aged controls who were cognitively healthy, suggesting FASN could be a drug target for treating Alzheimer's.