The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Northern District of Oklahoma are warning of online romance scams targeting older Americans, reports KJRH 2 . This week the Department of Justice announced 10 people from Nigeria have been indicted for money laundering with funds from such scams, which managed to steal $1.5 million from victims. "What you see is when they find someone who has bitten, hook, line, and sinker that they do not stop until they have taken every last penny that they can or until law enforcement have caught up with them," says U.S. Attorney Trent Shores of the Northern District of Oklahoma. Investigators suspect the fraudsters' victims number in the dozens, and they are encouraging people to come forward and report these scams.

The Open Minds Through Art program will soon enter its third year at Harmar Place Rehabilitation and Extended Care in Marietta, Ohio, reports WTAP-TV . The initiative matches seniors who have dementia and Alzheimer's with students from nearby Marietta High School for 12 weeks to bond and create paintings. Many students are grateful for the bond they develop with the seniors. Harmar Place chaplain Patricia Vargas says the relationship benefits both students and the older men and women. She notes students developing more patience and learning about Alzheimer's and dementia, while seniors are happy to have someone to spend time with and talk to. "Seniors can express themselves; even sometimes they cannot talk and they can't express what they are feeling. They can express that with art," says Vargas. Open Minds Through Art will return to Harmar Place next spring for another 12 weeks, and many students are eagerly awaiting it.

Medicare's revised plan finder now automatically displays the plan with the lowest premium on top, with the monthly premium prominently featured, reports the Associated Press . The plan finder previously sorted plans by overall cost, not just premiums. When taking into account out-of-pocket costs such as copays, the plan with the lowest total annual cost is often not the first one displayed by the current plan finder. "If they pick the plan based solely on the premium they are likely getting a plan that could cost them thousands more in a calendar year," says Christina Reeg of the Ohio Department of Insurance. She oversees a program that helps Medicare enrollees select the appropriate plan. Meanwhile, Ann Kayrish at the nonpartisan National Council on Aging notes the new plan finder can return options that do not cover all of an enrollee's medications. Medicare says it is testing ways to encourage consumers to look at total costs, such as a pop-up. Some experts said the revised tool is easier to use on mobile devices, and allows consumers to compare across Part D drug plans and Medicare Advantage plans.

A study published in Cell Reports suggests a brain scan could predict Alzheimer's disease decades before symptom onset by detecting a sharp-wave ripple (SWR), a brain wave that plays a direct role in spatial learning and memory formation in humans, mice, and other mammals, reports the Daily Mail . SWRs also shield against Alzheimer's, and experiments with mice revealed those with SWR deficits performed worse on memory tasks 10 months later — or 30 years later in humans. "A major advantage of this approach is that researchers have recently developed a noninvasive technique for measuring SWRs in people, without implanting electrodes in the brain," said the University of California, San Francisco's Yadong Huang. The procedure could potentially improve clinical trials of new drugs to ward off Alzheimer's, by enrolling individuals already exhibiting SWR deficits. SWRs occur when the brain of a resting mouse or human rapidly and repeatedly replays a recent memory of moving through a space, with their abundance and short gamma (SG) power especially quantifiable. The researchers speculated that SWR measurements could predict the severity of demonstrable memory problems in mice carrying the apolipoprotein E4 gene, which elevates the risk of Alzheimer's in people, as they age. Results showed SWR abundance and SG power deficits at an early age predicted which mice's memory task performance would worsen when they were much older.

University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) researchers have developed an app that aspires to be the first integrating mental and physical training for older men and women, reports WHNT News 19 . The mobile Physical Activity Training (mPACT) app combines brain training games like memory with low-impact physical activity like chair exercises. The app is currently undergoing testing in Huntsville under a grant from the American Nurses Foundation. "Once we get through with our research, and we find out that it does improve cognition . . . then we will offer it in the app store for free," said UAH Professor Lenora Smith. Fifty participants are now wearing Fitbit devices to read their heart rates as they use mPACT, which boasts larger print type and will eventually include social media functions.

A study published in Nutrients found seniors are at a higher risk for chronic dehydration, which can impair muscle function and performance of everyday tasks, reports WWLTV . The researchers found decreasing lean mass with aging means a potential increase in fat mass, and total body water decreases in women and obese individuals. "Prevalence of dehydration in seniors has been estimated at 20-30 percent and is associated with greater disability, morbidity, and mortality," the researchers explained. They added that "alterations in the hydro-electrolytic balance may cause decreased muscle strength, gait instability, falls, fractures, respiratory infections, confusion, renal failure, and increased medication toxicity, and may increase the risk of death." Causes of dehydration in seniors are primarily associated with reduced thirst sensation consistent with lessened ability to concentrate urine. Adults 60 to 79 years old have a maximum urine osmolality and solute absorption of 20 percent and 50 percent lower, respectively, versus younger adults. "Water is an essential nutrient for life as it plays fundamental metabolic, transport, structural, and temperature control roles in the body," the researchers concluded. "Aging is characterized by slow and progressive process of dehydration and hyperosmotic stress, which, apart from being related with inflammation, causes cell shrinkage and damage to intracellular protein structure and function."

A University of Southern California (USC) study published in Brain suggests women 70 to 80 years old who received higher doses of air pollution suffered greater declines in memory performance and had more Alzheimer's disease incidence than those who breathed cleaner air, reports WorldHealth.net . The researchers analyzed data on 998 women aged 73 to 87 who had up to two brain scans five years apart as part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health's Women's Health Initiative. The investigators also gathered data on where the women lived and environmental information from those locations to calculate exposure to PM2.5 fine particle pollution. A connection between higher exposure to this pollution and brain changes and memory problems was discovered, after accounting for other factors like income, education, race, geographic region, and history of smoking. "This study provides another piece of the Alzheimer's disease puzzle by identifying some of the brain changes linking air pollution and memory decline," said USC Professor Andrew Petkus." Each research study gets us one step closer to solving the Alzheimer's disease epidemic."

A TD Ameritrade survey of 2,000 adults found most Americans are planning to work past a traditional retirement age, and one in three respondents intend plan to work at least part-time in retirement, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Roughly 40 percent of respondents in their 40s and 50s said they will continue working in retirement, even if there is no financial reason for doing so. "Gone are the days of retirement being seen as an essential, defined life stage, where an employee could expect to work for a company long-term and be taken care of after retiring," noted TD Ameritrade's Christine Russell. However, baby boomers remaining employed longer may leave younger generations with fewer opportunities for promotion, and the accompanying financial incentives. "The concept of retirement is evolving," Russell said. "It's not just about finances. The value of work is also driving folks to continue working past retirement."

U.S. seniors are increasingly returning to college by joining university-based retirement communities (UBRCs), reports the Wall Street Journal . It costs a lot to enroll, but seniors enjoy many benefits, especially interacting with students, which some residents say helps keep them feeling youthful. To join a UBRC, applicants usually must have at least one spouse who meets the minimum age requirement, which is often somewhere between 55 and 65. Living arrangements are typically one-, two-, or three-bedroom apartments and often feature a continuum of care, in which seniors who begin living independently can change to assisted living or skilled nursing care if necessary. Much of the high admission costs is meant to cover future use of on-premises assisted living or skilled nursing care, and frequently as much as 90 percent can be refunded if a resident moves out or dies without using the funds for medical care. Georgetown University's Andrew Carle cautions many so-called UBRCs do not meet the ideal criteria, which should include being located within about a mile of the main campus; a defined program for interaction with students; a continuum of care; a written relationship between the university and the community; and inclusion of alumni, retired faculty, and staff.