Northwestern Mutual's 2019 Planning & Progress Study finds that 18 percent of both baby boomers and Generation Xers expect to work past age 74. USA Today provides a few reasons why staying in the work force can be good for people as they age. For example, the more money you accumulate in your nest egg, the more financial security you will buy yourself during your golden years. Also, holding off on receiving Social Security benefits until age 70 will allow recipients to accrue delayed retirement credits that increase their benefits by 8 percent a year. Finally, retirees are 40 percent more likely than workers to be diagnosed with depression, and much of that boils down to the boredom factor. Extending your working years, especially if you enjoy your job and it serves as a social outlet for you, may be the best choice.

New York's Department for the Aging (DFTA) has implemented a statewide pilot program that is deploying robot pets made by Hasbro to 60 seniors to alleviate their loneliness, reports the New York Post . The toymaker donated the robo-dogs and robo-cats, which feature built-in sensors that respond to touch and movement. The robo-cats take "naps" after repeated petting, while the robo-dogs respond to sounds and even have a heartbeat. DFTA Commissioner Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez says the artificial pets are "a wonderful way to replace that same gratification and tenderness and joy that you once had with your pets." But these dogs don't have to be walked, and seniors don't have to feed or provide veterinary care.

Insights into how a gene that increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease disrupts brain cells have been revealed by scientists led by Professor Tara Spires-Jones at the University of Edinburgh, reports Medical Xpress . Brain tissue from men and women with Alzheimer's showed that a protein called clusterin builds up in vital parts of neurons that connect cells, possibly damaging these links. The researchers say their findings shed light on the causes of Alzheimer's and could help to speed the search for a treatment. The study focused on synapses, or those connections between brain cells that allow the flow of electrical and chemical signals — signals that are key to brain health and vital for forming memories. Spires-Jones' team showed that synapses in people who had died with Alzheimer's contained clumps of clusterin and clumps of amyloid beta, the damaging protein that's found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's. Those without dementia symptoms had less of the damaging proteins in their synapses. These discoveries were made utilizing powerful technology that enabled the scientists to view detailed images of over one million synapses.

A new memory test taken by nearly 60,000 men and women between the ages of 18 and 85 found that participants between 18 and 65 who had family members with Alzheimer's scored lower than those who did not, according to WebMd . Study author Matt Huentelman, a professor of neurogenomics with TGen, a genetics research institute based in Phoenix, says that while many non-inherited factors play a role in Alzheimer's risk, approximately 75 percent of Alzheimer's risk is thought to be driven by genetics. The test suggests that a young person's memory may be impacted by genetic risk "as many as four decades before the typical onset of Alzheimer's disease," Huentelman states.

A UnitedHealthcare survey found almost 70 percent of Americans 62 and older named their physical health most important as they age, followed by cognitive health (16 percent), social health (13 percent), and financial health (6 percent), reports Business Wire . Nearly all respondents were concerned with ending up ill or hospitalized. Most have made lifestyle changes to improve their health, mainly through diet and exercise, while 56 percent are trying to sustain or improve their mental health. Respondents said the next stage of their lives is a time to search for novel experiences via travel, community involvement, or exercise. Other high-priority goals include better health, socialization, and continued employment. "We have a unique opportunity to help these people forge a new path and redefine aging," said Ben Kehl with UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement. "Understanding the goals of our members enables us to design and deliver programs and services that will help them achieve those goals, whether that means staying active, improving health, or navigating complex healthcare needs."

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the 2019 CMS NTP workshops are set to take place in five cities this summer. The workshops in Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Francisco will be 2½ days long, while the ones in Arlington, Texas, and Providence, R.I., will be three full days. Agendas, which vary slightly in each city, will be available on the details page for each location. Topics to be covered include: opioids, the new Plan Finder on Medicare.gov, and specific information on key aspects of the Medicare Program. NTP training workbooks will be provided onsite for Day 1 and Day 3, with additional meeting materials available for download before each workshop. Registration requests are being considered on a first-come, first-serve basis until each meeting reaches capacity. Note that the number of attendees from the same organization may be limited.

In a 3-1 decision earlier this month, Duane Morris reports that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) reversed long-standing precedent regarding union access rights to "public spaces" of employers. The decision in UPMC, 368 NLRB No. 2, grants employers greater rights to limit union activity on their property. It also maintains that employers may prohibit non-employee union representatives/organizers from soliciting employees or promoting union membership in public areas within an employer's location. The NLRB's decision in UPMC rejected a previously held, generalized "public space" exception and held that employers do not have to allow non-employee union representatives/organizers access to the public areas of their property to engage in promotional or organizational activity unless the union has no other reasonable means of communicating with employees or the employer discriminates against the union by allowing access to other non-employee groups.

The Seismic company has developed prototype apparel with robotic muscles placed along the hip and around the stomach to help frail or mobility-challenged seniors move, reports NewsChannel5 . "Kind of like your tendons harness your biological muscle to your skeleton," says Seismic Chief Executive Rich Mahoney. "So those muscles, when they turn on, they pull on your body on the outside of your body." It is Mahoney's hope that this robotic clothing could help seniors with walking, and even relieve back pain. Each Seismic suit is personalized for users, with the goal of making it available for less than $5,000. "It's like you just put on a pair of shorts that's a little tight, then another pair, and then the tightest possible shorts," Mahoney notes. "And that's happening in a way that's automatic. And as it's happening, it's supporting you; it's creating this extra strength."

A pilot study in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease found a variant of the Atkins diet can moderately improve cognitive performance in some older adults, reports SlashGear . The modified diet had very low amounts of carbohydrates, but higher fat levels. In comparison to subjects who consumed a low-fat diet, the participants exhibited small but "measurable" improvements when taking standardized tests. The findings verified that a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet can positively affect cognition in adults who may be in the early stages of Alzheimer's. Persons who consume a very low carbohydrate diet and offset this with more fat can use ketones as an alternative source of energy. Participants with the highest levels of ketones in their urine also experienced "significant improvements" in memory.

Research published in Health & Place found rural Australians may be at a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's, reports The Conversation . The researchers reviewed data on more than 260,000 adults in New South Wales. Those living in regional or remote areas were 6 percent to 19 percent less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's over 11 years, compared to urban dwellers. Metropolitan residents are generally exposed to more air pollution, which could partly explain why the risk of Alzheimer's was higher among this group. Rural living could enhance environmental factors that may protect against the disease — including less noise, better air quality, and comfortable heat, which contribute to a better night's sleep. However, access to healthcare also is important, as rural inhabitants generally have to travel longer distances and have fewer options than city dwellers, which could skew study results due to lags in Alzheimer's diagnoses. Living near more green space has beneficial cognitive effects for adults, according to other research. Such environments tend to be more plentiful in regional and remote areas.