Vanderbilt University's Center for Cognitive Medicine's Warren Taylor and the University of Pittsburgh's Charles Reynolds III contend in a commentary in JAMA Psychiatry that older adults use mental health services the least, in spite of the prevalence of mental problems, reports Healio . "Recent observations that the U.S. life expectancy has been decreasing are unlikely to change these trends," the authors note. "Instead, factors likely contributing to that decline, such as suicide, addiction, and medical conditions related to obesity, only highlight the need to better identify and treat mental disorders in older populations." Among Taylor and Reynolds' recommendations for future studies to consider are suicide prevention, preventive approaches for recurrent disorders, management of addiction-related complications, treatment of mental problems that adversely affect the outcomes of medical disorders, and further exploration of how mental disorders and cognitive decline/dementia risk are linked. Taylor and Reynolds also stress the need for better evidence-based therapy and early detection approaches, such as machine learning, to spot high-risk individuals. The authors also warn of little evidence on how to avoid future mood and anxiety episodes — which occur most often in older populations — while markers indicating recurrence apart from medical history are nonexistent. "Research in these areas requires transdisciplinary and translational team-based science, where psychiatrists and psychologists work with geroscientists, implementation scientists, and social scientists," Taylor and Reynolds conclude.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) will soon unveil legislation requiring companies to provide employees with advanced notice and more training when adopting new technology, reports the Richland Source . This week Brown discussed the "Workers' Right to Training Act of 2019" with community leaders and worker advocates in Mansfield. "I see in communities like Mansfield . . . too many cases where people lose jobs because of globalization, where companies shut down production here and move it overseas, and other times, they lose their jobs because of technology," he stated. Brown added that President Trump has little commitment to adapting U.S. trade agreements and tax policy to fuel domestic production, "but in terms of technology, companies are going to do that. They should. They want to be more efficient." Brown's legislation is designed to protect workers whose jobs or training are threatened by new technology. The bill would direct employers to provide 180 days advance notice to workers when new technology will change employment positions, and 270 days advance notice if jobs will be eliminated. Another requirement is for companies to pay for and deliver on-the-job training to any workers who will be affected by new technology. Brown asserted that these requirements would have employers consult and remunerate employees whose jobs are changed or lost due to technology, to guarantee technological adoption is done in a "just way for workers."

The Australian government's Medical Research Future Fund is underwriting a $1.9 million study to prevent unnecessary hospital stays for senior care community residents, reports News-Medical . The three-year Early Detection of Deterioration in Elder residents (EDDIE+) program aims to provide tailored training and resources to nursing staff for early detection of cognitive deterioration, so they can proactively care for residents and avoid hospitalization. The program will be piloted in 12 senior care communities and promises to carry benefits for both residents and healthcare providers. Previous research identified urinary tract infection, dehydration, constipation, chest pain, breathing difficulty, delirium, falls, and palliative care as factors that can lead to hospitalization for seniors. "When we modeled the program in a cohort of 1,000 residents, it resulted in a total of 1,606 fewer hospital bed days a year, which was a cost saving of $2.6 million to the Australian healthcare system," said Queensland University of Technology's Hannah Carter.

A study published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry suggests women prone to migraine headaches may be more susceptible to dementia, reports the New York Post . The researchers examined 679 individuals older than 65, to find the migraine-dementia connection was strongest for Alzheimer's. One implication is that older women with dementia were three times more likely to have suffered migraines than those without dementia. "Identifying a link to migraines provides us with a rationale to guide new strategies to prevent Alzheimer's disease," noted University of Waterloo Professor Suzanne Tyas. Such approaches could include more intensive screening of people with migraines to look for degeneration in brain function. "Identifying a midlife risk factor, such as migraines, enables earlier detection of at-risk individuals," Tyas said.

A pilot study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) School of Pharmacy published in JMIR Formative Research found tablets loaded with apps for photos, music, and video like YouTube can improve the moods of people with dementia, reports UW-Madison News . Caregivers successfully tailored subjects' interactions, and enjoyed related benefits. The researchers teamed with Generation Connect, a company that develops mobile software for home care use. Generation Connect staff trained caregivers to develop personalized tablet sessions in 2017 and 2018, and requested that they rate care recipients' moods before and after using the tablet across more than 1,000 sessions. Interventions were mainly carried out in skilled nursing communities or in caregivers or recipients' private homes. Most recipients ended the sessions in a positive mood, with music and YouTube the apps most strongly correlating with improving or maintaining positive moods. Multiple approaches, like playing music then viewing family photos, also were associated with positive moods. "One of the things the tablet allows you to do is to bring all those non-pharmacological approaches together so they can be offered through one device," noted UW-Madison Professor Jay Ford.

A report from the National Poll on Healthy Aging suggests older adults are not ready to handle emergency situations, according to ScienceDaily . Less than half of over 2,200 surveyed adults age 50 to 80 have signed up for emergency warning systems offered by communities, which can provide critical information in times of emergency. Moreover, fewer than 33 percent have organized an emergency kit with essential supplies and medication to get them through an emergency at home or take with them in the event of evacuation. Just 25 percent of respondents who rely on electrical power to run health-related equipment were found to have a backup power supply. "Whether it's as straightforward as a power outage that lasts a day, or as severe as a hurricane, tornado, or earthquake, preparing can make a huge difference," said University of Michigan (U-M) Professor Preeti Malani. "A bit of time spent now can protect your health, and spare you worry and expense, when something like this does happen." U-M's Sue Anne Bell added that the survey's findings can be applied to target efforts to better support seniors for emergency preparation. "By knowing areas where older adults are well prepared, and where they are not, programs can work alongside older adults to become fully prepared and ready," she declared.

A study by the anti-hunger group Feeding America found 5.5 million U.S. seniors 60 and older lacked consistent access to sufficient food for a healthy life in 2017 — more than twice as many since 2001, reports Time . The problem is most pronounced in the South and Southwest United States, with 12 percent of Louisiana's seniors facing food insecurity. Food insecure seniors in Memphis comprise 17 percent of the metropolitan population, making that city the top urban center with this problem. Meanwhile, funding for the Older Americans Act has been trailing both senior population growth and economic inflation. AARP learned the act's nutrition services budget has declined 8 percent over the past 18 years when adjusted for inflation, and home-delivered and group meals have dropped by nearly 21 million since 2005. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that only 45 percent of qualifying adults 60 and older have enrolled in the federal food stamp program, whose eligibility would be severely curtailed by a recent White House proposal. The House approved a $93 million addition to the Older Americans Act's nutrition budget as part of the legislation's fall reauthorization, but its passage in the Senate is considered doubtful.

The University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center in Ohio is hosting music therapy sessions where older adults with pulmonary illness can learn to control their respiration by playing the harmonica, reports Fox 8 . "Playing the harmonica involves controlling your lungs and this is a major thing for people with lung disease, especially when their capacity is much less," says pulmonary rehab coordinator Bob Rosneck. According to the Fox affiliate in Cleveland, each senior participant is tasked with learning a new song each week. "It brings them a peace, brings them calm, and gives them the ability to be in control," adds music therapist Forrest Paquin.

A study in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association found most older Americans do not consult with a dementia specialist, with specialty care especially low among Hispanics and Asians, reports USC News . The researchers analyzed Medicare data to pinpoint dementia diagnoses among some 250,000 people over five years, and 85 percent of people first diagnosed with dementia were diagnosed by a non-dementia specialist, with "unspecified dementia" diagnoses a frequent outcome. Twelve months following diagnosis, fewer than 25 percent of subjects had seen a specialist, which only rose to 36 percent after five years. A third received a diagnosis that lacked a specific type of dementia, versus 22 percent diagnosed by a specialist. Diagnoses of Alzheimer's among those who saw a specialist within the first year of diagnosis were 42 percent compared to 29 percent among those who did not. About 37 percent of Hispanics and 40 percent of Asians with an initial dementia diagnosis had no follow-up care within the first year of diagnosis, whereas whites and African Americans each had a rate of roughly 33 percent. "While the study shows that specialists seem to be able to identify the subtype better, what we're really interested in is whether that leads to better health and financial outcomes," said the University of Southern California's Julie Zissimopoulos. "If, in the future, these diagnoses are going to be handled in large part by non-dementia specialists, they may need better training and tools."

A study in Science Translational Medicine suggests that resistance to the "hunger hormone" ghrelin in the brain is associated with cognitive impairments and memory loss linked to Alzheimer's disease, reports Medical Xpress . The stomach generates ghrelin, which transmits signals to the brain that regulate energy balance and body weight. In a healthy hippocampus, ghrelin binds with ghrelin receptors, which mix with similarly activated receptors for the neurotransmitter dopamine, then form a protein complex that helps maintain interaction between neurons and memory. Amyloid beta was found to bind ghrelin receptors in the hippocampus, impeding their combination into dopamine receptors. "As the brain loses the function of ghrelin receptors due to amyloid beta, the body tries to compensate by increasing the production of ghrelin and the number of ghrelin receptors," said University of Texas at Dallas Professor Heng Du. "But the amyloid prevents the receptors from functioning." The researchers administered the ghrelin receptor-activating compound MK0677 and the dopamine receptor-activating SKF81297 compound in mice with Alzheimer's. Concurrent administration improved cognition and memory, suggesting a possible treatment.