A Miami-based nonprofit has deployed virtual reality (VR) to help seniors overcome isolation, loneliness, and depression, reports Tech Xplore . The "VR Genie" program from Equality Lab provides seniors with VR goggles through which they can visit simulated locations. The Miami-Dade County Mayor's Age Friendly Initiative funds the program, with the goal of giving local nursing communities VR helmets once a more extensive "dream library" is compiled. Many senior participants are no longer physically or financially capable of traveling by themselves, says Equality Lab's Alexandra Ivanovitch. "We know that things like guided imagery and meditation can be very beneficial for cognition and things of that nature, and we also know that direct behavioral interventions can be very helpful for individuals as well," noted the University of Miami's Aldrich Chan. A study in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology found persons who used VR to have positive experiences reported lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress compared to standard therapy, which concentrates on treating negative symptoms.

Aging experts warned in a report from the Lown Institute of too many older adults taking too many medications, causing an explosion in adverse drug events (ADE) over the past 20 years, reports Next Avenue . The rate of emergency department visits by older adults for ADEs doubled between 2006 and 2014. Lown's Shannon Brownlee estimates medication overload could lead to 74 million outpatient visits, 4.6 million hospitalizations, and 150,000 premature deaths among older Americans, costing the U.S. health system $62 billion. "No healthcare professional group, public organization, or government agency to date has formally assumed responsibility for addressing this national problem," Brownlee added. The Lown report cited three classes of drugs responsible for 60 percent of emergency department visits for ADEs among older adults — blood thinners, diabetes medications, and opioids. The potential for adverse side effects also can be increased by sedative hypnotics, blood pressure medications, antipsychotics, and over-the-counter drugs like antihistamines. Brown University Professor James Rudolph urges primary care providers and specialists to partner on addressing polypharmacy and ADEs.

A Snow Software survey found just 22 percent of 3,000 polled workers worldwide said they do not take employer-provided devices with them on holiday, reports ValuePenguin . Meanwhile, 34 percent said they always take their work devices with them on vacation, while 27 percent said they bring their work devices most of the time, and 17 percent said they take them some of the time. Thirty-six percent of American respondents said they always bring their work devices with them on vacation, but 26 percent do not. Millennial employees were less likely to completely disconnect from work, with 37 percent in this generation admitting they always bring their work devices on vacation, versus 24 percent of baby boomers. In addition, 33 percent of boomers said they always leave their devices home, compared to 18 percent of millennials.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have developed artificial intelligence tools to determine whether individuals at high risk for Alzheimer's will suffer cognitive decline, reports Health IT Analytics . The algorithm predicted cognition test scores up to two years in the future, and the resulting models could help with selecting candidate drugs and participants for clinical trials, as well as help persons and their loved ones prepare for this decline. The MIT team initially trained a population model on an entire dataset that included clinically significant cognitive test scores and other biometric data from people with Alzheimer's and healthy individuals between biannual checkups. A second model is more personalized for each subject, and continuously updates risk scores based on newly posted data. To optimize the models' results, the team developed a "metalearning" framework that automatically selects the best model for any given participant at any given time. The framework cut the error rate for future predictions by 50 percent. Trials showed the models can produce accurate forecasts six, 12, 18, and 24 months in advance.

Several studies in Alzheimer's and Dementia examine the phenomenon of paradoxical lucidity, reports Scientific American . Paradoxical lucidity refers to surprisingly coherent moments of meaningful communication in dementia sufferers just before they die. "If the brain were able to access that normal state of clarity, even if it's transient, it would suggest that there's some requisite level of machinery that can work under some kind of unique circumstance," said the University of Michigan's George Mashour. "That prompts a reconsideration of whether or not at this late stage in the disease, even with known degeneration, there is some kind of functional configuration that the brain can achieve with what remains." The U.S. National Institute on Aging plans to underwrite related research next year, with the goal of formulating of an operational definition and gauging paradoxical lucidity's prevalence.

Couples can harbor markedly different views toward aging, and those who mainly concentrate on the disadvantages should realize this behavior is more harmful than they might think, reports the Wall Street Journal . Scientists have learned that people who consider aging primarily in terms of decline or disability will likely experience declining health. On the other hand, those who frame getting older in terms of opportunity and growth tend to have better health outcomes as a whole. According to psychologist Maryanne Vandervelde, spouses can anticipate these issues by asking each other pointed questions early in retirement about aging and its effects, like their attitudes about aging and strategies to improve their mental health. She stresses that spouses should have a sense of humor about aging, and get in the habit of forgiving each other. "Forgiveness may not come easily after many years of disappointments or old grudges within a relationship," Vandervelde admits. "We also get more set in our ways as we age. But 'practice makes perfect' applies to forgiveness."

Deutsche Bank Securities Chief Economist Torsten Slok estimates that the employment-to-population ratio for Americans 65 and older reached a record high of 20 percent in July, reports Fox Business . As disclosed in earlier research, 30 percent of male and female baby boomers between 65 and 72 were either working or looking for work last year, which was a higher engagement rate than what was seen among previous generations at the same age. Challenges with earning enough for retirement amid increasing life expectancy is one reason Americans might be opting to remain employed. The U.S. Government Accountability Office says nearly 30 percent of people older than 55 have no retirement savings and no pension plan, while the personal savings rate has fallen from 14.2 percent in 1975 to 6.8 percent in 2018. Meanwhile, working longer can enlarge Social Security benefits.

Monash University researchers conducted the first global study on frailty published in JAMA Network Open , concluding that it is its own medical condition, and deserves more focus by the medical and scientific community, according to Earth.com . This research is the first to offer a measurable estimate in terms of the chances of getting frail. Women are at greater risk of developing frailty compared to men, and 4.3 percent of adults older than 60 will become frail every year. Over 20 percent of the world's population will be older than 60 by 2050, meaning that the number of people expected to become frail will drastically increase. A person is diagnosed with frailty if they fulfill specific criteria, yet there is no "gold standard" definition for medical professionals to use. A major reason why frailty is not just a part of the aging process is that anyone can become frail in their lifetime. The researchers suggest physical therapy could help slow the progression of frailty or even reverse it. They also recommend medical professionals screen older individuals for signs of fragility.

Revised Endocrine Society clinical practice guidelines on identifying adults at higher risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes considers metabolic risk to mirror the latest findings on blood pressure and blood fats, reports Medical News Today . As detailed in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism , the update emphasizes measures to detect and lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), rather than defining metabolic syndrome. The guidelines advise doctors to regularly check blood pressure, waist size, blood sugar, blood fats, and high density lipoprotein cholesterol, in addition to usual heart disease risk evaluations. Individuals with three or more risk factors are at metabolic risk and have greater odds of developing type 2 diabetes and ASCVD. Doctors are recommended to screen persons with one or two risk factors every three years, and those with three or more on a more frequent basis. The guidelines also indicate that persons at metabolic risk should undergo "global assessment of 10-year risk for either coronary heart disease or atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease" to guide decisions on appropriate medical and drug therapies.

A study in Intensive Care Medicine showed that seniors in an intensive care unit (ICU) have lower odds of dying and suffering a blood clot or bleeding in the brain if they have been vaccinated for influenza, reports ScienceDaily . Of roughly 90,000 survivors admitted to the ICU due to influenza, vaccinated individuals had a 16 percent reduced risk of stroke, and an 8 percent lower risk of dying during the first year following hospitalization. "This supports the current recommendation that older people should be vaccinated," says Aarhus University Hospital Professor Christian Fynbo Christiansen. The study is the first time that researchers have examined the effect of flu vaccine specifically on critically ill seniors. Although other researchers learned that the vaccine reduces the risk of bacterial infections and heart attacks, this research shows this not to be the case for seniors in the ICU. "This raises new research questions about what effect of the vaccine on the immune system and whether there were other differences between the subjects," notes Christiansen.