The LIFTMOR-M study published in Bone found that high-intensity exercise regimens can strengthen bone in older men, reports Medscape . The regimen, which has demonstrated improved bone density and performance in women, incorporates barbell-based weightlifting and impact training involving jumping chin-ups. The researchers enrolled 93 men — mean age 67.1 years — with a lower than average proximal femur areal bone mineral density. Thirty-four were randomized to a high-intensity resistance and impact (HiRIT) program, 33 to supervised machine-based isometric axial compression (IAC) exercise training, and 26 were controls and self-selected to usual activities. The regimen included eight months of twice-weekly, supervised, 30-minute HiRIT sessions. At the conclusion of those eight months, there was no difference in compliance between the two intervention cohorts. Those in the HiRIT group had better medial femoral neck cortical thickness than the controls and IAC group, and they also maintained distal tibia trabecular area while the control group had a decrease. The IAC group exhibited no improvement in bone strength in any of the sites examined, though some findings suggest it may offset age-related loss in bone strength indices in the distal tibia and radius.

Hong Kong scientists claim that a new method for detecting early-stage Alzheimer's disease could spot the disorder up to 10 years before symptoms manifest, reports the South China Morning Post . The team used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to track glucose injected into the brains of mice, which indicated Alzheimer's with a slow rate of absorption and processing. In mice with Alzheimer's, the processing of glucose in the glymphatic system was substantially slower than in healthy mice. Human trials would involve subjects undergoing MRIs, then receiving glucose and being rescanned to trace the changes in the brain. The new protocol does not have any side effects, uses widely available MRI scanners, and would cost half as much as positron emission tomography scans. "If any test can allow the detection 10 to 20 years before, we could intervene much earlier, which would make a huge difference in the efficacy of therapy," said City University of Hong Kong Professor Kannie Chan Wai-yan.

This year, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) notes that Older Americans Month (OAM) is turning out much more different than expected due to the coronavirus pandemic. Rather than assembling to show our respect and admiration for each other, humanity is socially distancing. ACL has adjusted its suggested activities and resources for OAM to respond to this new "virtual" situation. Even when apart physically, people can still connect, support each other, and make our mark on each others' lives. It's actually more important than ever, with social isolation and loneliness being known risk factors for both mental and physical health issues, especially among seniors. In this regard, ACL leadership says it is good that OAM is coinciding with Mental Health Awareness Month. ACL members are being encouraged to make your mark this year by reaching out and connecting in some way with friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues.

A joint Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)-Harvard University study in Nature Communications identified an enzyme that could help reverse the effects of DNA damage connected to aging and Alzheimer's disease, reports the Daily Mail . The HDAC1 enzyme can help repair xoguanine lesions on DNA strands, and test subjects with fewer lesions have significantly better cognitive performance, memory, and basic spatial awareness. "I think this is a very broadly applicable basic biology finding, because nearly all of the human neurodegenerative diseases only happen during aging," said MIT's Li-Huei Tsai. "I would speculate that activating HDAC1 is beneficial in many conditions." The researchers used mice that were genetically engineered to not express HDAC1 as they aged in comparison with controls that had normal levels of the enzyme. Over time the mice lacking HDAC1 developed DNA lesions faster than the controls, and exhibited declines in memory tests and spatial navigation. HDAC1 regulates the production of a separate enzyme, OGG1, which can repair these lesions, but aging-related reduction in HDAC1 production causes the brain's self-healing ability to decline. "This study really positions HDAC1 as a potential new drug target for age-related phenotypes, as well as neurodegeneration-associated pathology and phenotypes," Tsai concluded.

Music teacher Joey Clark is connecting with seniors at The Kenwood community in Minneapolis despite social distancing restrictions, reports KARE 11 . "Part of my job is to normally teach music at senior homes," Clark notes. "I thought, 'If I can't see them face to face up close in a classroom, then maybe I can see them face-to-face from a distance outside.'" Clark offers sing-alongs, with participants singing from the windows of their building while he leads them on the street below. "It's connection, it's an expression of feeling, and it's an ability to share your voice with the world," Clark says. "It's giving a voice to people who have been silenced and who have been shut away by society in a lot of ways."

Virtual medical visit vendor American Well (Amwell) has raised $194 million to help it keep pace with skyrocketing demand for telemedicine, reports CNBC . Amwell CEO Ido Schoenberg decided to raise capital now because healthcare is rapidly migrating online, with states having relaxed many regulations to encourage providers to conduct visits online so their customers can avoid unnecessary exposure to the coronavirus. The company has pulled in about $500 million to date, and Schoenberg said some of the new funding will help ensure Amwell's technology is sufficiently robust to accommodate growing usage. "We want to make sure we can be there for clients and partners even if there is a storm coming — and now we have a much stronger balance sheet," he noted. Schoenberg admitted that March was very challenging for Amwell, with providers at Cleveland Clinic and other facilities encountering delays and crashing calls. He said the company has taken steps to mitigate such problems, and wait times are about three to four minutes long. Amwell has witnessed an average 1,000 percent increase in visits due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while some areas have seen demand increasing to something closer to 3,000 percent to 4,000 percent from both scheduled and on-demand visits. However, scheduled visits are starting to overtake on-demand this month, implying that consumers might be beginning to use telemedicine as an alternative to traditional family medicine.

A report by Senior Living cited data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to estimate that the unemployment rate for seniors soared to 13.6 percent in April, almost five times the 2.6 percent rate in February before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a national emergency, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer . Nationally, seniors account for 23 percent of the workforce, while adults 55 and up comprise 31.6 percent of Washington State's workforce alone. Businesses like restaurants and bars, entertainment, transportation, and retail have suffered the most from the virus, and the study stressed that seniors constitute a larger percentage of jobs in these sectors. The most affected occupations that had a larger percentage of older workers include motor vehicle and rail operators, bus drivers, door-to-door salespeople, and travel agents. Also profoundly impacted were agricultural jobs, with the American farmer's average age 56.1. Moreover, many seniors are ill-equipped to work remotely, and may be encouraged by local health authorities to not resume employment because they are considered a high-risk population for the virus. Finding new jobs may be even tougher for older Americans after the pandemic, with the researchers noting that it took nine months on average for those 51 to 60 years old to be rehired during the Great Recession of 2008.

A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests that maintaining heart health could guard against cognitive decline and dementia, reports iNews . The investigators compared Framingham General Cardiovascular Risk Scores (FGCRS) to a person's long-term decline in cognitive function, while monitoring 1,588 dementia-free participants with an average age of 79.5 for 21 years. Every year, participants' episodic memory, semantic memory, working memory, visuospatial ability, and perceptual speed were evaluated and scored. The researchers associated a higher cardiovascular risk with more rapid decline in episodic memory, working memory, and perceptual speed. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data for a subset of participants revealed that higher FGCRS corresponded to smaller volumes of hippocampus, cortical gray matter, and total brain — and the first two biomarkers indicate Alzheimer's dementia-related neurodegeneration. The MRIs also highlighted greater volume of white matter hyperintensities, which cause a brain region's functionality to decline. "We need to monitor and control cardiovascular risk burden as a way to maintain patients' cognitive health as they age," said Tianjin Medical University's Weili Xu.

A University of Gothenburg thesis published in Clinical and Experimental Research aimed to improve knowledge of older people's dizziness and unsteady gait, with specific focus on benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), reports Medical Xpress . One study in the Journal of Vestibular Research cited in the thesis included 149 individuals — 96 women and 53 men — referred for ear, nose, and throat treatment due to dizziness. Each subject answered a questionnaire composed of 15 questions, and the question most clearly related to BPPV diagnosis concerned whether the individual felt dizzy on turning over in bed. "Onset of vertigo when a person lies down or turns over in bed is a quick identifier of BPPV, the most common cause of dizziness, which is potentially curable," said thesis author Ellen Lindell with the Södra Älvsborg Hospital. "Treating it enhances patients' well-being and can reduce many older people's suffering and cut costs to society." BBPV is caused by the displacement and loosening of otoliths (crystals) from the inner ear, which can be remedied by maneuver treatments. This entails turning and spinning the subject's whole body, and it varies according to which semicircular canal, on which side of the body, is affected. "The results in my thesis show that for those who are affected by dizziness, it's associated with experiencing inferior health-related quality of life, and their subjective health self-assessments are less favorable than people without dizziness," Lindell said.

A study in Neurology suggests that aerobic exercise can improve older adults' performance on certain cognitive and memory tests after six months, reports ScienceDaily . "Aerobic exercise . . . may also get blood moving to your brain, particularly in areas responsible for verbal fluency and executive functions," said the University of Calgary's Marc J. Poulin. The researchers focused on 206 adults, average age 66, who before commencing the six-month exercise regimen worked out no more than four days a week at a moderate intensity for 30 minutes or less, or no more than two days a week at a high intensity for 20 minutes or less. Participants were administered thinking and memory tests at the start of the study, and also an ultrasound to measure blood flow in the brain. Physical testing was repeated at three months, and thinking and physical testing repeated at six months. After six months of exercise, participants exhibited 5.7 percent improvement on tests of executive function and 2.4 percent improvement in verbal fluency. Meanwhile, blood flow increased 2.8 percent from an average of 51.3 centimeters per second (cm/sec) to an average of 52.7 cm/sec. This corresponded with modest but significant improvements in aspects of thinking that usually decline with age.