A study published in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology determined that adults who suffer head injuries in their 50s or younger have lower-than-expected scores on cognitive tests at age 70, reports United Press International . Seventy-year-olds who had suffered a serious head injury 15 or more years previously scored an average 46 on 93-point cognitive tests for attention and quick thinking, compared to 48 for those without a history of head injuries. Their brain volumes also were 1 percent smaller and had differences in brain structure, which may account for the cognitive differences compared to those with no history of head injuries. 'It might be that a head injury makes the brain more vulnerable to, or accelerates, the normal brain aging process," suggested University College London's Sarah-Naomi James. She added that "we have not found evidence that a head injury would cause dementia, but it could exacerbate or accelerate some dementia symptoms." A separate study in Alzheimer's and Dementia found that sustaining just one head injury may raise the odds of developing dementia decades later by 25 percent, and that this risk increases with each subsequent head injury.

A study in Nature Communications found an increase in overall hospitalizations among older adults in the week following exposure to tropical cyclones, reports News-Medical . The investigators used data over 16 years on 70 million Medicare hospitalizations and a database of county-level local winds associated with tropical cyclones. More than 16,000 additional hospitalizations were associated with tropical cyclones over a 10-year average exposure, with a 14 percent average increase in respiratory ailments in the week after exposure. Respiratory disease hospitalizations doubled the day after tropical cyclones with hurricane-force winds. Also observed was an average 4 percent rise in infectious and parasitic diseases and 9 percent rise in injuries. Hospitalizations from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease spiked 45 percent the week following tropical cyclone exposure compared to weeks without exposure. The boost in hospitalizations was fueled mainly by increases in emergency hospitalizations. Meanwhile, declines in hospitalizations were impelled by non-emergency hospitalizations, suggesting that people possibly canceled scheduled hospitalizations due to the cyclone.

Although millions more citizens in the state of Georgia qualified for the COVID-19 vaccine on Monday thanks to an expansion, many seniors are still struggling to schedule inoculation appointments, reports FOX 5 Atlanta . Organizers at St. Philip AME Church said the rush in the first three days ahead of the extension depleted their vaccine supply. "Once we start expanding the number of people who are able to get vaccinated, the younger, more tech-savvy individuals are definitely going to snatch up those spots from the seniors," noted Cecil Bennett with Newnan Family Medicine. He reckons 60 percent of his senior patients have been unable to secure a vaccination appointment, and said the race for a coveted slot will only intensify as the expansion allows anyone 55 and older, and those with underlying health conditions, to qualify. Bennett would like the state to partner with Georgia's family doctors in the vaccine rollout in a more established manner. He said private practices are for the most part unaware of channels available to help them vaccinate senior patients.

A report in the Business Insider says Amazon will soon launch Amazon Care, its app-based healthcare service for employees, across the United States, according to Healthcare IT News . The company will solicit employers to use Amazon Care as well. The app presently links Washington state-based employees to providers for various primary and urgent care services, and those in the greater Seattle area can have a nurse sent to them for follow-up treatment. The wider launch also will include telehealth services to Amazon workers in all 50 states. Amazon also may announce partnerships with one or two more companies to provide Amazon Care to their employees, although it is unclear whether home services will be offered. Amazon will likely have to deal with shifting regulations on licensing and telehealth as lawmakers look toward the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Insider's Blake Dodge said the launch "will . . . be the first time that the company makes clear the purpose behind Amazon Care, which is to not just serve Amazon's own employees but also stand up a lucrative healthcare business in the $3.8 trillion healthcare industry, while solving for other employers their shared cost headaches."

Several dozen clergy members in Washington, D.C., got vaccinated against COVID-19 earlier this week during an interfaith "vaccine confidence" event, in a bid to encourage others to get inoculated, reports the Associated Press . The goal of the event was to help curb reluctance to get immunized among populations disproportionately affected by the pandemic. While the District has offered vaccinations to residents older than 65, statistics indicate older Americans in neighborhoods with some of the highest numbers of poor and Black people are laggards in getting vaccinated. "Unfortunately many who could most benefit because they are at highest risk of serious and even life-threatening infections are still holding back, worried about stories they hear, skeptical, unimpressed by how government has previously shown interest in their medical care," said U.S. National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins. Melissa Rogers with the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships said working with faith communities is crucial to the vaccination effort because many people are more comfortable getting their shot in houses of worship, and religious leaders are highly trusted by these communities.

A Case Western University study published in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association found that people with dementia are twice as likely to get COVID-19, while African Americans with dementia are three times as likely to be infected, reports WKBN 27 . "That's why we're really encouraging people with dementia to get the vaccine," explained Rebecca Hall with the Alzheimer's Association of Greater East Ohio. However, not all Ohioans with Alzheimer's are currently eligible for COVID-19. The Alzheimer's Association says roughly 200,000 people across the country have early-onset Alzheimer's, which means they are younger than 65 but still have problems with social distancing and other preventative measures like older Alzheimer's sufferers. "Not remembering like we would to wash hands after a gathering or . . . just not understanding in the same way that a person without cognitive decline would," Hall said. "So, regardless of age, that's going to be a factor."

A study to be presented at the American Stroke Association International Stroke Conference 2021 suggests that silent heart attacks appear to elevate stroke risk in adults 65 and older, reports News-Medical . The researchers analyzed health information on more than 4,200 participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study. Participants who had evidence of a silent heart attack had a 47 percent higher risk of developing a stroke, versus those who did not have a silent heart attack. Participants who exhibited classic heart attack symptoms also had an 80-fold greater risk of stroke within one month after their heart attack, compared to heart attack-free subjects. Following the high-risk, one-month period, participants with classic heart attack symptoms had a 60 percent increased risk of having a stroke. "Our research suggests the increased risk for having a stroke in those with silent heart attacks is similar to the risk found in traditional heart attacks," said Weill Cornell Medicine Professor Alexander E. Merkler. "A silent heart attack may be capable of causing clots in the heart that dislodge and travel to the brain causing a stroke." These findings suggest that patients presenting evidence of a silent heart attack on an electrocardiogram should be considered at higher stroke risk.

A report from medicareadvantage.com estimates that more than 312,173 seniors in the United States do not plan to be vaccinated for COVID-19 because they think they have to pay for it, according to KDKA Newsradio . Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Nevada are among the top states with seniors reporting cost concerns based on the U.S. Census Bureau's weekly Household Pulse surveys. In terms of vaccination costs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, "The federal government is providing the vaccine free of charge to all people living in the United States." The agency adds that providers can be reimbursed for administrative costs from insurers or the Health Resources and Services Administration Provider Relief Fund, but vaccination cannot be denied to anyone because they cannot cover the fee.

WNYT 13 reports that U.S. state governors largely favor President Biden's recent announcement that all adults should qualify for coronavirus vaccinations by May 1, but accomplishing this requires following a methodical vaccine rollout to shift their strategy. Governors in Wisconsin, Louisiana, North Carolina, Kansas, and Vermont said they are prepared to open the floodgates on May 1, although some emphasized the need for a dramatic boost in vaccine supply. California's top health official said the state must make a better effort in the weeks ahead to ensure the most vulnerable populations get vaccines before they have to vie with the general public. Meanwhile, Oregon planned to make essential workers and younger disabled adults eligible by May 1, and said last week that it would not revise that timeline without firmer supply commitments. "In order for widespread and comprehensive vaccination to work, the federal government will need to come through with increased doses and infrastructure," stated Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. White House Coronavirus Coordinator Jeffrey Zients last week told reporters that May 1 is an "absolute deadline" and that the country will have sufficient supply to inoculate all adults by the end of that month.

A retrospective cohort study in JAMA Psychiatry found the prevalence of dementia by the time of Medicare eligibility was significantly high among schizophrenic individuals, reports MedPage Today . The researchers analyzed medical data from January 2007 to December 2017 on more than 8 million people in fee-for-service Medicare and Part D, including 74,170 diagnosed with schizophrenia and 7.9 million without a diagnosis of a serious mental illness (SMI). The team calculated that the prevalence of diagnosed dementia by 66 years old was 25 times higher for patients with schizophrenia, at 27.9 percent versus 1.3 percent in those without a history of SMI. By 80 years, prevalence in these cohorts rose to 70.2 percent and 11.3 percent. Prevalence of Alzheimer's disease was 8.2 percent by age 66 in the schizophrenia group and 37.2 percent by age 80. "When aging and other risk factors for dementia start accumulating, individuals with schizophrenia might cross a threshold for dementia diagnosis much sooner," warned Columbia University's T. Scott Stroup.