A study in JAMA Oncology shows that when doctors fully appreciate the concerns of older adults with cancer, it improves care and customer satisfaction, reports EurekAlert . The research involved assessing geriatric assessment (GA) for meaningfully directing cancer care for vulnerable seniors. GA can tailor care and encourage better conversations between physicians, patients, and their families. "We've shown that we can modify the behavior of oncologists if they have the right tools and guidance," said Wilmot Cancer Institute Professor Supriya Mohile. "And when oncologists are better informed about the special needs of their older adult customers, everyone's experience is much improved." The researchers suggested a GA summary should be considered standard care for seniors with cancer, and suitable interventions based on the report should be applied on an as-needed basis.

The new Madison, Wis., nonprofit Bedside DJ uses music to offer companionship for the city's senior population, reports the Daily Cardinal . Bedside DJ works with University of Wisconsin Health and Meriter hospitals to provide hospitalized seniors with music of their own choice. The nonprofit was founded by Michigan State graduate Jake Nitzkin, who said the music — played via a portable speaker — allows for more interpersonal connection between volunteer workers and older adults. "The music essentially is our foot in the door," he explained. "But the companionship that you as a volunteer can have with someone after spending 15 to 30 minutes with them can be incredibly healing." The musical link allows seniors and volunteers to talk about things in a less artificial setting that seniors should find more enjoyable. The requested music also serves to nostalgically remind seniors of their past, elevating their spirits and temporarily relieving anxiety, depression, and/or loneliness.

A study in Psychology and Aging suggests quality social relationships may be as important to those older than 60 as they are to people younger than 45 in improving well-being, reports News-Medical . Participants gauged the number of people from different social networks and peripheral others with whom they had "regular contact in the past six months," including face-to-face, via phone or e-mail, or online. Older adults had smaller social networks than younger adults, yet the number of close friends bore no relation to age. Younger participants had large social networks mainly comprised of peripheral others, possibly because online social media networking sites have enabled the continuity of increasingly large and impersonal social networks. Only the reported number of close friends correlated with social satisfaction and well-being across the adult life span. This relationship remained relevant even after factoring in the number of family members, neighbors, and peripheral others. The same relationship also did not vary with age, which dovetailed with patterns of Facebook users who reported greater well-being if they perceived more actual friends on their online social networks. The researchers noted some policymakers appear to be increasingly interested in enhancing well-being in older adults by widening their social networks to counter loneliness.

A proposal to the U.S. Interior Department suggested privatizing national parks, forcing older visitors to pay full admission for the summer months that run from the end of June to just before the Labor Day weekend, reports CBS News . "What's most troubling . . . is that seniors have already paid for this senior pass and they would have to pay twice during the blackout period," said AARP's Bill Sweeney. "We think that if someone paid, they should get what they paid for and be able to enjoy a national park just as much as anyone else." The proposal from the Outdoor Recreation Advisory Committee is one of several that have raised the hackles of conservation experts, especially with the Trump administration proposing to reduce the National Park Service's budget by about $495 million to about $3.5 billion in 2020. An e-mail from an Interior Department spokesperson said the committee was terminated on Nov. 1 as part of a federal review. "No action has been taken on the committee's recommendations, and once the report is fully reviewed, we'll respond as appropriate," he wrote.

A study published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry names migraines a significant risk factor for Alzheimer disease (AD) and all-cause dementia, reports Neurology Advisor . The researchers analyzed data on migraine history and all covariates for community-dwelling seniors 65 or older who screened as cognitively intact at baseline. A cognitive evaluation was performed five years later, with dementia diagnoses based on clinical examination with diagnoses of all-cause dementia, AD, and vascular dementia. Migraine history had a significant association with all-cause dementia and AD, which continued after adjustment for confounding and intervening factors. No significant association between migraines and vascular dementia was observed, even after adjustment. "Identifying a midlife risk factor for dementia, such as migraines, enables earlier detection of at-risk individuals in addition to contributing to our understanding of AD etiology," the investigators concluded. "It also provides a rationale for the development of new preventive strategies for AD and treatments targeting migraines and associated intervening variables. Implications for clinical practice include earlier screening for cognitive decline in migraine sufferers, as well as more aggressive treatment of potential intervening variables to delay dementia, improve quality of life, and increase the likelihood of healthy aging."

Alzheimer's Tennessee is working with the University of Tennessee College of Engineering on computer simulations to help people with dementia, reports NBC 10 News . "Eventually we think that it may have certainly application for people with a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment or people with early stage Alzheimer's," said Alzheimer's Tennessee CEO Janice Wade-Whitehead. The technology is a virtual program that exercises the brain by letting users simulate things like driving a car, with all movements controlled by thought. A headpiece quantifies brain signals to help enhance memory and attention in people with cognitive problems. Wade-Whitehead notes, "It may help them as well as helping researchers really understand the brain and how we can strengthen and kind of repair." Clinical trials for the technology are scheduled to begin next year, and Alzheimer's Tennessee hopes to extend the program to more users once it is fully developed.

A study from the nonprofit New America think tank found millennial employees are earning 20 percent less than baby boomers did at the same time of life, despite being better educated, reports CNBC . Median earnings for millennials have fallen since the 1980s, with the Great Recession and growth in contract and freelance positions having made modern salaries less predictable. The Pew Research Center estimated that almost 40 percent of millennials 25 to 37 have at least a bachelor's degree, versus 25 percent of boomers and 30 percent of Generation X at the same age. Reduced income levels are already affecting millennials' wealth accumulation in the long term, and New America reported the average millennial's wealth in 2016 was 41 percent lower than those who were at a similar age in 1989. Moreover, households headed by someone under 35 in 2016 had an average net worth of $10,900, or $8,000 less than compared to 1995. People hired after the recession also had fewer job opportunities, lower wages, and higher student loan and personal debt rates. "Even as the economy steadily added back jobs lost, the protracted recovery was experienced unevenly, with well-off households doing better at the expense of others," added New America's Reid Cramer.

A study by Mayo Clinic researchers published in JAMA Neurology analyzed a key region of the brain to find that patterns of Alzheimer's-related damage differed by subtype and age of manifestation, reports Medical Xpress . Examination of post-mortem brain tissue from more than 1,000 people with Alzheimer's looked at the cholinergic hub, which is the focus of the only treatments that effectively manage symptoms in certain sufferers. The team concentrated on neurofibrillary protein tangles, and observed more severe signs of disease in those with a subtype that chiefly affects the cortex rather than the hippocampus. This suggests persons with this subtype may exhibit symptoms related to behavior, language, or visual disturbances instead of memory loss. In addition, the researchers noted more Alzheimer's-related damage in people with young-onset Alzheimer's — presenting with symptoms before age 65 — versus those with later-age onset. The implication is that available therapies will be most impactful for people with young-onset Alzheimer's. The hippocampal-sparing subtype is believed to comprise more than 10 percent of Alzheimer's cases, but it is frequently misdiagnosed due to its younger onset and atypical symptoms.

The new Safety in Dementia website from the University of Colorado School of Medicine's Anschutz Medical Campus is the first comprehensive online resource to help caregivers manage issues related to firearm access and dementia, reports Medical Xpress . "This issue is a big deal for the families and caregivers trying to navigate the best solution for their loved one," said University of Colorado School of Medicine Professor Emmy Betz. The site covers the issues of firearms, along with driving and general home safety. The website walks caregivers through things to consider in deciding how to limit firearm access for persons with dementia, and offers common solutions for safe firearm storage, including at-home and out-of-home options. The tool's driving access resource suggests approaches and solutions for steering conversations and decisions that are difficult for people with dementia. The site also offers general home safety tips and guidance on what caregivers can do in the house to create a safer and more accessible environment for dementia sufferers. Clinicians, psychiatrists, caregivers, assisted living community managers, and others contributed to the site's content. "By developing a public resource, we hope that families and caregivers can have discussions and make decisions before potentially dangerous events occur," said University of Colorado School of Medicine Professor Daniel Matlock.

A study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found oral anticoagulants carried a much lower risk for osteoporotic fractures in seniors with atrial fibrillation compared to vitamin K antagonists like warfarin, reports Healio . Moreover, older adults taking direct oral anticoagulants were at a lower risk for the combined endpoint of any fracture or initiation of osteoporosis drug. "Direct oral anticoagulant treatment should not categorically be the choice of drug in all cases, but clinicians need to assess every person according to comorbidities when choosing oral anticoagulant treatment, and in doing so our findings should be taken into account," recommended Casper Binding with Copenhagen University Hospital Herlev and Gentofte. The researchers also found the standardized absolute two-year risk for any fracture was low among seniors who received direct oral anticoagulants as well as vitamin K antagonists. "This study . . . creates awareness of the subject, and since fractures among seniors are associated with increased mortality and reduced life quality, it's important to highlight these findings and to make clinicians aware of the potential connection," Binding said.