A new workplace survey by Engine Insights for Smartsheet found that working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic is especially challenging for Generation Z and millennials, reports Forbes . Those two generations feel particularly less connected now than before the crisis. Meanwhile, 74 percent of Gen-Zers and 66 percent of millennials feel less informed about company goings-on versus 53 percent of Generation-X and 50 percent of baby boomers. Moreover, 48 percent of Gen-Zers and 46 percent of millennials say work-at-home restrictions have made communicating with co-workers difficult compared to 35 percent of Gen-Xers and 36 percent of boomers. In addition, more than 40 percent of Gen-Z and millennials find difficulty collecting the information they need to give status updates, compared to 33 percent for both Gen-X and boomers. Finally, a majority of older workers do not feel that video meetings, e-mail, and other remote communication technologies are distracting them from work as strongly as their younger counterparts.

The University of Michigan-Flint (UM-Flint) has established a Center on Aging to support multidisciplinary research on understanding and resolving aging-related issues. The center will help faculty and students underwrite research and community outreach related to seniors and aging, and match researchers seeking new collaborations. "It's very apparent that the problems and issues related to aging require a multidisciplinary approach," said center director Allon Goldberg. "We need to all work together. Those within any of the university's schools and colleges can weigh in on the problems." Issues that could be explored with the help of the center include healthy living, senior fraud, age discrimination, cellular biology, educational opportunities, and healthcare access. The center also will help faculty and students further existing partnerships with area senior centers, aging agencies, and other community groups. This assistance may include funding for intervention programs, polls on local issues, and helping faculty find channels for other resources.

A study by Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) researchers published in Brain assessed a new artificial intelligence (AI) program that uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans, cognitive impairment measures, and data on age and gender to predict and diagnose Alzheimer's disease, reports Being Patient . The team fed the AI raw MRI brain scans along with demographic and clinical data on individuals with and without the disease. The AI can learn to identify Alzheimer's markers in new scans. In feeding the program information from just one sample group, then measuring its predictions for scans from the other cohorts, the researchers found that the AI predicted the scans accurately. The program also exhibited superior predictive capability to human scientists. "If computers can accurately detect debilitating conditions such as Alzheimer's disease using readily available data such as a brain MRI scan, then such technologies have a wide-reaching potential, especially in resource-limited settings," said BUSM Professor Vijaya B. Kolachalama. He also suggested that such a tool could potentially assist clinical practice, particularly in memory clinics.

The results of a study published in Alzheimer's & Dementia specify a mechanism that explains how long-term use of acid suppressants called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) could increase the risk of dementia, reports ScienceDaily . "Proton pump inhibitors affect the synthesis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which plays a significant part in conditions such as Alzheimer's disease," said the Karolinska Institutet's Taher Darreh-Shori. "Since there's no effective treatment for the disease, it's important to avoid risk factors. We therefore want to draw attention to this so that the drugs aren't used needlessly for a long time." PPIs based on the active substances omeprazole, esomeprazole, tenatoprazole, and rabeprazole were the strongest inhibitors of the enzyme controlling acetylcholine synthesis, while the variants pantoprazole and lansoprazole had the least suppressive effect. "Special care should be taken with the more elderly patients and those already diagnosed with dementia," said Darreh-Shori. "The same also applies to patients with muscle weakness diseases such as ALS, as acetylcholine is an essential motor neurotransmitter. In such cases, doctors should use the drugs that have the weakest effect and prescribe them at lowest dose and for as short a time as possible."

The DeKalb County Human Services Department in Georgia is celebrating Older Americans Month by offering free virtual programming for the county's seniors, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Through May 29, seniors are invited to participate from home in about 50 courses while maintaining safe social distancing. Class topics range from exercise and cooking to computer skills and foreign languages. The Human Services Department jointly developed the virtual programming with DeKalb County Public Library.

A study in the European Heart Journal found that men have higher levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in their blood than women, which may help explain why men are more susceptible to COVID-19, reports EurekAlert . "ACE2 is a receptor on the surface of cells," said University Medical Center Groningen Professor Adriaan Voors. "It binds to the coronavirus and allows it to enter and infect healthy cells after it is has been modified by another protein on the surface of the cell, called TMPRSS2. High levels of ACE2 are present in the lungs and, therefore, it is thought to play a crucial role in the progression of lung disorders related to COVID-19." People with cardiovascular conditions who take drugs targeting the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) — such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) — did not exhibit higher ACE2 concentrations. The study disputes earlier research suggesting that RAAS inhibitors might elevate concentrations of ACE2 in plasma and boost risk of COVID-19 for persons taking these medications. "We found no evidence that ACE inhibitors and ARBs were linked to increased ACE2 concentrations in plasma," Voors said. "In fact, they predicted lower concentrations of ACE2 in the validation cohort, although we did not see this in the index cohort."

Washington University's Nancy Morrow-Howell said although the pandemic has brought longstanding challenges for older adults into sharp relief, it also has highlighted opportunities, reports St. Louis Public Radio . "It seems our efforts to improve policies and programs for longer, healthier lives might be more productive as we communicate to consumers, public officials, and everyday citizens who may be more aware of what isn't working, what is at stake and what might be improved," she suggested. Morrow-Howell expects potential disadvantages for older adults in the post-coronavirus employment environment, with people over 55 comprising about 25 percent of the workforce. In addition to ageism, she noted that "people have also lost income and retirement savings, so there's going to be a need for us to work longer." She also acknowledged the frustration older adults feel in isolation, but envisions potential benefits like a growing sense of solidarity for older Americans among younger generations, and learning new technologies. The crisis also offers an opportunity for older adults to reflect on how to more purposefully spend time going forward. "In a way, we're all practicing for retirement right now if we don't know what to do with our time and how to have really good self-care habit," said Morrow-Howell. "So I think that's really being called to the spotlight so we can learn some things about how to live when we have more time on our hands to do the things we should be doing."

A new study in Aging Clinical and Experimental Research found a connection between low average levels of vitamin D and high numbers of COVID-19 cases and mortality rates across 20 European countries, reports Technology Networks . Vitamin D regulates the response of white blood cells, preventing them from overproducing inflammatory cytokines, and COVID-19 is known to trigger such overproduction. Italy and Spain have seen high COVID-19 mortality rates, and the study indicates that both nations have lower average vitamin D levels than most northern European countries — partly because people in southern Europe, especially seniors, avoid strong sun, while skin pigmentation also lowers natural vitamin D synthesis. Northern Europe has the highest average vitamin D concentrations due to the consumption of cod liver oil and vitamin D supplements, and possibly less sunlight avoidance. Scandinavian countries are among the nations with the least number of COVID-19 cases and mortality rates per head of population in Europe. "Vitamin D has been shown to protect against acute respiratory infections, and older adults, the group most deficient in vitamin D, are also the ones most seriously affected by COVID-19," said Anglia Ruskin University's Lee Smith.

A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that undergraduate arts and music departments may be untapped resources for boosting the older adult carer workforce, reports Medical Xpress . An undergraduate course curriculum had 52 students meet with people living with dementia, assemble personalized music playlists, co-produce short films about living with dementia, and author reflective essays. Music helped undergraduates meaningfully connect with people with dementia, while filmmaking offered learners the opportunity to share stories about dementia and music, and reflective writing allowed them to process their experiences. More than half of learners continued interacting with participants who were living with dementia in their careers, families, and communities following the course's completion. "By teaching students to view aging through creative, intercultural, and interdisciplinary frames, we have the opportunity to shape a new generation of healthcare professionals, artists, and community members who will be motivated to collaboratively work towards addressing the needs of our rapidly aging populations," said the University of Arizona's Jennie Gubner. "Whether studying classical guitar, nursing, anthropology, public health, or business and marketing, everyone has something to offer to conversations about brain health and aging."

Researchers are using a new deep learning algorithm that harnesses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans, age, gender, and scores on the Mini-Mental State Examination to more accurately diagnose the risk of Alzheimer's disease, reports Futurity . The algorithm's developers at Boston University School of Medicine first worked with data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, then validated their findings using data from three other cohorts. "We also obtained postmortem data on a small group of people who were evaluated for the presence of any Alzheimer's disease-related pathology," said Boston University Professor Vijaya Kolachalama. "Interestingly, we found that our model predictions of Alzheimer's risk correlated with neuropathology scores on these cases." Kolachalama added that comparing the algorithmic model's predictive ability to that of an international team of expert neurologists determined that "the model performed slightly better than the average expert neurologist." The most significant finding is that computers can accurately detect debilitating conditions like Alzheimer's from readily available data, like MRI brain scans. This implies that such technologies have a wide-reaching potential, especially in settings where expert clinicians are in short supply.