University of Michigan Professor Joshua R. Ehrlich led a study in JAMA Ophthalmology of older Americans with blindness and vision impairment, whose number is expected to double over the next three decades, reports Medical Research . "This study was designed to provide crucial data on contemporary data on patterns of eye care utilization in older adults," he notes. The study found more than 80 percent of older adults had an eye exam in the past two years — which was less likely among certain groups, including those who did not have a spouse or partner, had lower household incomes, or were from certain regions of the United States. Not noticing a problem, cost, and dearth of insurance coverage were common reasons for not having an exam. "In addition, 28 percent of those with diabetes reported not having an eye exam in the past year, though annual eye exams are recommended for this group that is at high risk for vision problems as a complication of diabetes," Ehrlich says. "While many older U.S adults appear to be receiving eye care, targeted public health messaging may be warranted to reach those who are at high risk for vision problems and are less likely to get eye exams."

A study of nearly 60,000 individuals published in eLife suggests those at higher risk of developing Alzheimer's because of family history may undergo changes in memory performance as soon as their 20s, reports Technology Networks . The data was compiled via an online word-pair memory test called MindCrowd. Subjects younger than 65 and with a family history of Alzheimer's performed less well than counterparts with no family history of Alzheimer's. The implication is that the family history effect is especially pronounced among men, and in those with lower educational attainment, diabetes, and who carry a common genetic change in the APOE gene. The study suggests this risk can be identified up to 40 years before the typical age of disease onset. Analysis of 59,571 MindCrowd participants aged 18 to 85 found the effect of family history was apparent across every age group, up until age 65. "This study supports recommendations underscoring the importance of living a healthy lifestyle and properly treating disease states such as diabetes," concluded the Translational Genomics Research Institute's Joshua S. Talboom.

A study in JAMA Network Open found older adults who survive cancer have better memory performance, reports WebMD . The researchers tracked older Americans for 16 years, and determined those who developed cancer usually had sharper memory skills — both before and after diagnosis — compared to cancer-free individuals. This appears to back the hypothesis that certain biological processes that contribute to cancer may actually shield against dementia. Finding their underlying mechanisms "might point the way to strategies to prevent dementia," suggests University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine Professor Maria Glymour. Her team cites the example of an enzyme called PIN1, whose activity is enhanced in cancer, but lessened in Alzheimer's. PIN1 is suspected of helping prevent accumulation of abnormal proteins in the brain.

University of Texas (UT) Health San Antonio's School of Nursing announced this week that San Antonio has been officially designated a dementia friendly city, reports Spectrum News . The designation recognizes San Antonio for having a grassroots effort in place, led by an advisory board of dedicated stakeholders. Texas comes in fourth place nationally in terms of residents with Alzheimer's, and second place in the number of Alzheimer's-related deaths, with a 180 percent gain between 2000 and 2015. The UT Health School of Nursing's Caring for the Caregiver program supports the Dementia Friendly initiative, along with University Health System and the Bexar County Sheriff's Office.

The U.S. Department of Labor's annual American Time Use Survey determined working women put in longer hours on the job, spent more time caring for their children, and did more housework last year compared to a year earlier, reports the Wall Street Journal . Women also committed less social time, and slept less. Women are still the primary caregivers and organizers of their households, despite growing workplace responsibilities. Working women worked about seven hours and 20 minutes during the average workday in 2018, while men spent slightly less than eight hours a day working. Employed women who care for a child spent an average two hours daily doing that last year, about 15 minutes more compared to 2017. Working men with children spent less than 90 minutes on child care on an average day, a decrease from 2017. Meanwhile, working women spent about three and three-quarter hours daily relaxing or exercising, which is less than in previous years. Mothers, whether working or not, devoted less time to leisure activities, with about three hours and 30 minutes a day on average. Working women's hours of sleep dropped last year to slightly more than eight and a half hours a night, while working men's average sleep time, though longer than in previous years, still is lower than women's.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is calling for reforms to the state's process for appointing guardians to oversee the finances of seniors, reports MLive.com . She said the current system is excessively arbitrary, and lets too many people be assigned to one guardian. Nessel also cited the system as too complex for individuals to seek a change in guardians or resume control over their finances. She stressed these issues are increasingly important as baby boomers reach retirement age. Nessel warned seniors are a demographic ripe for financial abuse, as they tend to have substantial savings along with passive income — such as Social Security and pensions — and may be reliant on others to help with finances. However, she noted even if an individual makes a wise decision on granting power of attorney, "the probate court doesn't have to honor their choice." Nessel suggested an operational model for guardianship and conservatorship decisions similar to child custody cases, where judges are required to apply a specific rubric. She also wants to limit the number of cases that a professional guardianship can accommodate, and make it easier for a person to regain control of their finances.

Wake County, N.C., Sheriff Gerald Baker has announced the termination of the county's 16-year-old senior well-check program, a move that does not sit well with many older residents, reports CBS17 . The program was initiated by previous Sheriff Donnie Harrison to check on older adults who live alone and have no family in close proximity via daily calls. According to Baker, "ending the program was the same thing as trying to make it better and to be able to serve Wake County instead of 100-something seniors. There are approximately 91,000 older adults in Wake County. And there were a lot of people who wanted to be a part of that program, but there just wasn't room for it." As for potential services to replace the program, Baker said, "there are some resources that are available and we'll be getting information out to the people who are accustomed to getting that call every day. A group of volunteers who focuses on targeting and helping seniors, they'll be more than happy to help, they've indicated that they'll make those types of calls, they're looking for something to do." Local seniors say this expectation is unrealistic, with resident Robin Ingram arguing, "You can't expect volunteers to do that. Who volunteers to call 100 people 365 days a year?"

Physicians at Health Partners in Minnesota's Twin Cities are increasingly positive about a nasal spray undergoing clinical trials, which they say is improving memory loss among people with Alzheimer's, reports CBS Minnesota . Researchers at the Health Partners Neuroscience Center have been exploring insulin's effects on the brain, which is greatly reduced in people with Alzheimer's. "Not unlike a diabetic where you don't have enough insulin in the body, insulin allows the sugar to go into the cell and that creates energy. And your cells need energy to do their jobs," said Health Partners' Leah Hanson. The doctors think Alzheimer's drugs can become less effective when digested or injected into the blood stream, so the nasal spray dispatches insulin directly through the nose and into cells that link to the brain. "Once in the left, once in the right — twice a day," Hanson noted. "Within 15 minutes of one spray of insulin in the nose, they saw an improved ability to remember words and remember stories."

A study published in Science suggests the constriction of cells surrounding blood vessels may reduce blood flow to the brain, which is already associated with Alzheimer's, reports United Press International . "Our research generates new leads for possible treatments in the early phase of the disease," said University College London's (UCL) Ross Nortley. The team focused on capillaries in human brain tissue affected by Alzheimer's and in mice engineered for the disease. They added amyloid beta to healthy brain tissues, which apparently resulted in capillary constriction. This constriction was enough to halve blood flow, resembling less flow in other brain regions affected by Alzheimer's. "In clinical trials, drugs that clear amyloid beta from the brain have not succeeded in slowing mental decline at a relatively late phase of the disease," noted UCL's David Attwell. "We now have a new avenue for therapies intervening at an earlier stage."

Researchers at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) are investigating why certain older adults retain their youthful cognition, despite evidence of neurodegeneration or Alzheimer's-related pathology in the brain, reports Forbes . They are studying cognitive reserve, which focuses on the mind's resistance to brain damage. Brainstorming among various scientists led to a recommended lifelong study of rats, to produce state-of-the-art neuroimaging, phenotypic results, and non-invasive biological samples to gain knowledge on what drives healthy neurocognitive aging. The NIA says this study, Successful Trajectories of Aging: Reserve and Resilience in RatS (STARRS), will be an open source dataset and sample hub to be shared with the aging science community. "NIA-supported scientists aim to study reserve at the cellular level and establish baseline data to evaluate how various interventions might impact brain aging and the ability to compensate for dementia pathology," said the NIA's Peter Rapp.