Atlanta-based filmmaker, actor, and media mogul Tyler Perry covered grocery bills for all shoppers during senior hour this past Wednesday at 44 Kroger supermarkets in metropolitan Atlanta and 29 Winn-Dixies in his hometown of New Orleans, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution . "Senior and higher-risk Kroger shoppers in metro Atlanta did receive a nice surprise at the register this morning when they learned Tyler Perry had paid their grocery tab in full," said Kroger's Atlanta spokesperson Felix Turner. "We would like to join our customers in thanking Mr. Perry for his kindness and generosity during this unprecedented pandemic." Perry's coverage likely amounted to a final sum well in the six figures.

A study in the Journal of Affective Disorders associated sedentary behavior with depression among people aged 70 years, with longer daily periods of inactivity correlating with higher depression risk, reports Neurology Advisor . The researchers studied 3,633 Swedish participants who wore an accelerometer at home for a week after their initial visits to measure sedentary behavior and physical activity. The risk for depression was greater among individuals with a longer total sedentary time, with each 1 percent boost in sedentary time linked to a 3 percent increase in risk for depression. Risk also was greater among participants with longer average length of sedentary bouts, in which each 60-second average increase in the bout length was associated with a 12 percent higher risk for depression. The researchers concluded that sedentary behavior "is a potential risk factor for depression among older adults," and added that physicians treating depressed seniors should consider this association in developing future recommendations.

Researchers who study Alzheimer's in mice aim to maintain their work during the COVID-19 pandemic, reports Quartz . The animals are genetically engineered to carry mutations that make them more likely to develop Alzheimer's-like traits as they age, and they are a valuable resource in the effort to develop effective treatments. The mice's creators have had to practice a type of triage, in which less-developed lines will be kept alive and well until more staff can return to laboratories to breed, edit, and study them further. For more critical lines, scientists are finding ways to continue research so their progress will not be lost. Researchers at Maine's Jackson Laboratory, Indiana University, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of California at Irvine, and Sage Therapeutics have spent five years developing mouse models that account for several genetic risk factors simultaneously. "The big labor comes in aging and phenotyping," said Indiana University's Bruce Lamb. Each research group has decreased their in-lab staff to avoid spreading COVID-19, but they are hoping to maintain a separate list of personnel who can perform, in isolation, basic phenotyping tasks at critical ages, if necessary. The goal is that the quarantine will be over in time to resume lab work before any of the oldest specimens have died, so that the scientists can collect all the data they require without losing the time it took to develop the mice.

Many older Americans are ignoring self-isolation mandates despite the coronavirus epidemic, reports CNN . Reasons for flouting the directives include cabin fever; a lack of technological savvy when it comes to handling finances, shopping for groceries, and other routines; and the simple need for human connection. This compounds their children's and loved ones' concern for their health, but some are resigning themselves to it. Georgia resident Tina Muirhead-Walden is worried for her mother, who lives in New Mexico, but acknowledged that "our parents, if they are lucky, get to decide how they want to live and die. So, I feel I have to respect that decision." University of Virginia Professor Laurie Archbald-Pannone stressed the value of balancing social distancing with self-isolation, and suggested that people should converse more on the phone, go out and take walks for fresh air, and consider how to get essentials like drugstore and groceries via delivery. She also suggested remotely engaging in community activities from home. "That shift of roles is challenging," Archbald-Pannone said. "No one conversation will fix anything."

A study in the Journal of the Endocrine Society associated thyroid hormone replacement therapy with a higher risk of death among older adults, reports Medical Xpress . People with too little thyroid hormone require lifelong treatment with levothyroxine to supplement thyroxine (T4), and in some cases are given modest increases of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) to trigger thyroid hormone production. People with subclinical hypothyroidism also routinely receive thyroid hormone replacement. "Our earlier research showed that this can reflect developing hypothyroidism in some, while in others, it is a form of adaptation to age-related changes in health instead of thyroid disease," said Johns Hopkins University Professor Jennifer Mammen. "As a result, some of these older people may be receiving inappropriate or excessive thyroid hormone therapy, treatment that may counteract important adaptations needed for healthy aging." The researchers examined 1,054 participants of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, who all had at least one TSH and T4 measurement since 2003. Levothyroxine supplementation of T4 raised the risk of death 60 percent year over year among older adults, while those receiving TSH treatment were nearly twice as likely to die as untreated persons.

A study at German Sport University Cologne and the LVR-Hospital published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease found that a specialized exercise program alleviates neuropsychiatric symptoms like depression and anxiety in people with dementia, making life easier for caregivers as symptoms improve, reports Being Patient . With 70 subjects divided into an intervention group and a control group, the former spent two weeks in a "carousel-exercise" program that included four short exercise sessions performed twice a day. The controls attended table games for two hours a week plus their usual treatment. Participants in the carousel-exercise group exhibited significant improvements in neuropsychiatric symptoms, which reduced the perceived burden of their caregivers. German Sport University Cologne's Tim Fleiner said the carousel-exercise group's afternoon sessions were especially important, because while people with dementia are usually busy with hospital routines in the morning, their schedules slow down and their agitation increases in the afternoon and evening. "The aim is to create a non-pharmacological way" for alleviating dementia, he added.

Karen L. Fingerman, director of the Texas Aging & Longevity Center at The University of Texas at Austin, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center psychologist Kelly Trevino write in a USA Today opinion piece that lumping older adults into a single category and making decisions for them amid the coronavirus pandemic overlooks important nuances across age. Although 80 percent of deaths from COVID-19 in the United States have occurred in adults age 65 and older, the authors note that the case fatality rate widely varies across age groups in late life. Fingerman and Trevino cite findings from the Journal of the American Medical Association that the estimated death rate for 60-to-69-year-olds with COVID-19 in Italy was 3 percent to 4 percent, and 20 percent among those older than 80. "Efforts to divvy up the young and productive from the old and frail create a false dichotomy and are a disservice to older and younger adults alike," the authors warn. "This approach fails to recognize the diversity across older adults." Fingerman and Trevino continue that biological age, severe illness, and chronic conditions elevate the risk of developing serious coronavirus complications, as opposed to chronological age by itself. "We do need to focus on older adults who have multiple chronic diseases, are frail, or have known immune deficiencies, and safely protect those individuals from potential infection," they conclude. "By understanding that age, or at least chronological age, is just a number and one of many factors to consider with COVID-19, we will be better prepared to fight this disease."

Oscar-winning actor and Texas native Matthew McConaughey recently hosted a virtual bingo game with his family via video chat with quarantined residents at The Enclave senior community at Round Rock Senior Living, reports CBS News . A video posted to the community's Facebook page showed McConaughey cheering on bingo winners. "During a time when we are all working to make lemonade out of lemons, we are so humbled that Matthew took the time to play our favorite game with us," wrote an unnamed Enclave employee. "As Matthew would say, let's turn this red light into a green light!" Enclave Sales Director Molly Davis Nedley said staff cannot interact with residents as they normally would because of the coronavirus, "so we have been doing everything possible to uplift them virtually."

The University of Oklahoma (OU) Health Sciences Center is using technology to offer online classes to seniors across the state during the COVID-19 pandemic, reports KFOR . "The very action that can protect people from the COVID-19 virus — socially distancing from other people — brings the potential to send older adults spiraling into loneliness," warned the center. OU Medicine's Lee Jennings acknowledged that "we needed to think creatively about how we can continue our programming, but also gear it toward helping older adults and their caregivers during this time." The class offerings cover a wide range of topics, including diabetes self-management, chronic disease management, tai chi for better balance, brain health, consulting with doctors, tools for caregivers, and strategies for maintaining activity and independence. In addition, the Oklahoma Healthy Aging Initiative (OHAI) is live-streaming five classes daily on its Facebook page, while the Oklahoma Dementia Care Network is using the Zoom videoconferencing platform for its classes. "We are hopeful the Facebook Live and interactive Zoom classes will help to address the isolation and loneliness that older Oklahomans are feeling during this time," said Paula Cockrell with OHAI's Central Oklahoma Center of Healthy Aging.

Palo Alto University (PAU) has joined the Age-Friendly University (AFU) Global Network, a group of colleges and universities dedicated to meeting and serving the needs of older adults, reports Yahoo! Finance . "Given PAU's commitment to underserved and marginalized communities, using AFU's 10 principles to further our ongoing efforts to address the needs of a rapidly aging population makes perfect sense," said Palo Alto University Professor Lisa M. Brown. Those principles include encouraging the participation of older adults in all core activities of the university, including educational and research programs; promoting personal and career development in the second half of life and supporting those who want to pursue second careers; and recognizing the scope of older adults' educational requirements. PAU's concentration on cultural competency, its diverse program, and its undergraduate and graduate degree offerings in both on-campus and online formats place the school in a prime position to serve older adults interested in changing careers, promoting personal development, or probing leadership opportunities. "It's our responsibility as leaders to commit to meeting the diverse needs of our society, regardless of age," said Palo Alto University President Maureen O'Connor. "Educating students who are providing mental health care to older patients is an active form of social justice. I feel proud to have Palo Alto University be a member of the Age-Friendly University Global Network as their principles are well aligned with PAU's core values."