A study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease found Hispanics and blacks are more likely to suffer from dementia partly caused by micro-strokes or hardening of the arteries that feed into the brain, reports HealthDay News . Meanwhile, whites are more likely to have dementia triggered by "pure" Alzheimer's, in which aberrations like protein plaques and tangles damage brain cells. "Hispanics and African-Americans are more likely to have mixed pathologies, a combination of Alzheimer's disease and cerebrovascular disease," said University of California, Davis Professor Brittany Dugger. Post-mortem brain tissue analysis determined 54 percent of Hispanics had a mixed dementia diagnosis versus 37 percent of whites and blacks. Symptoms of micro-stroke damage and hardening of large and small blood vessels were seen in 21 percent of Hispanics and 11 percent of blacks with dementia compared to 4 percent of whites. Pure Alzheimer's was observed in only 14 percent of Hispanics, and in 43 percent of whites and blacks. Keith Fargo with the Alzheimer's Association said these findings are "quite exciting, because we already have a toolbox" to prevent blood vessel disease. "We know how to reduce your risk for stroke and heart attack," Fargo stated. "That may now map onto dementia risk much more strongly in these groups, who need it because they are at higher risk."

A new TD Ameritrade survey found Americans' confidence in Medicare is flagging, the Motley Fool reports. Seventy-six percent of U.S. adults 45 and older with more than $250,000 in investable assets plan to use Medicare as their main retirement-support instrument, the research shows. However, just 44 percent feel Medicare will cover most of their healthcare costs. Medicare will not cover a welter of services important to older adults, including routine oral healthcare, routine eye care, and hearing services. However, Medicare Advantage can be used to pay for all healthcare services. Whether Medicare Advantage is more affordable to older adults than original Medicare depends on the specific plan beneficiaries select. Moreover, many Medicare Advantage plans, unlike original Medicare, offer a yearly out-of-pocket maximum, capping healthcare spending at a certain point while also covering services outside the United States.

News-Medical cites a study published in the European Heart Journal , which associated lower blood pressure with an elevated risk of death in adults older than 80 and in adults who have previously had a heart attack or stroke. European guidelines recommend a target blood pressure of less than 140/90 mmHg. But additional factors, like an individual's comorbidities, should be taken into account. Antihypertensive drugs administered to achieve target levels of under 140/90 mmHg were found to not consistently have a protective effect. Results were even more pronounced for target levels below 130/80 mmHg, based on epidemiological data from more than 1,600 people aged 70 or older being treated for high blood pressure. Mortality was 40 percent higher in 80-year-olds with blood pressure levels under 140/90 mmHg versus subjects whose blood pressure topped 140/90 mmHg. Participants who had previously had a heart attack or stroke exhibited similar findings, with mortality 61 percent higher among those with blood pressure under 140/90 mmHg versus persons whose blood pressure remained above this threshold despite antihypertensive treatment.

A study from the University of Virginia (UVA) published in Nature Communications found a new potential contributor to age-related hearing loss, reports the Augusta Free Press . The implication is that a genetic predisposition can cause the ear's cuticular plate to deteriorate over time. "The cuticular plate is important for the ability of the hair cells to detect sound but also for the overall vibrations that happen in the cochlea," said UVA's Jung-Bum Shin. "Defects in this cuticular plate appear to lead to progressive hearing loss." The team identified a protein specific to the cuticular plate, and found the gene Lmo7 to be critical for the plate's long-term stability in mice. Blocking the gene's expression led to gradual age-related hearing loss. Lacking the Lmo7 protein, "the structure of the plate is not as strong as it should be," Shin noted. "At some point, the system notices, leading to deterioration of overall function." Because Lmo7 is retained in all vertebrates, mutations in Lmo7 could potentially cause age-related hearing loss in people.

A movement is growing to eliminate the association of the word "senior" with those older than 50 on the grounds that it is dehumanizing, reports azfamily.com . According to some proponents, the frequent use of the term "senior" creates an unconscious bias in the workplace and other environments. "When you have a term like senior citizen, what people are doing is trying to make a short cut to understand that person by putting them in a category," says Arizona Employers Council President Jennifer Ward. "There is no way for us to turn that off. It's going to exist because that is the way our brains work." AARP's Alex Juarez remarks, "In reality, aging gives us experience. At AARP, we don't think we should be defined by age. For a couple of years, we have been using the term '50-plus.'"

A study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry found a diet containing certain compounds found in green tea and other plants reverse Alzheimer's-like symptoms in mice, reports Fox 10 . The compounds include epigallocatechin-2-gallate and ferulic acid. The outcomes suggest the potential of an easily accessible, plant-based human remedy for dementia. Male and female mice were tested with one or both of the compounds or a placebo for three months. Some affected mice treated with the diet were better able to solve mazes, implying the partial restoration of their memory. "After three months, combination treatment completely restored spatial working memory and the Alzheimer's mice performed just as well as the healthy comparison mice," said University of Southern California Professor Terrence Town.

A study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found persons with Alzheimer's are at an approximately 30 percent greater risk of head injuries, and a 50 percent higher risk of traumatic brain injuries, compared to those without Alzheimer's, reports Medical Xpress . This represents the first study to evaluate the incidence of head and traumatic brain injuries among men and women with Alzheimer's. The findings stress the importance of fall prevention, as head injuries in people with Alzheimer's can cause the loss of activities of daily living and independence, and the need for assisted care even at the early stages of the disease.

President Trump's fiscal 2020 budget proposal calls for a 12 percent reduction in the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget, and $100 million in user fees for the e-cigarette industry via a 12 percent funding boost for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), reports The Hill . The proposed NIH reduction would constitute a $5 billion loss. The Trump administration also is urging a new cap on Medicaid payments, with a general request for a 12 percent cut for the Department of Health and Human Services' budget. Congress is unlikely to grant Trump's funding request, which should further stoke Democrats' opposition to the GOP's healthcare agenda. "It is disheartening to see a budget that would dismantle so many programs that people rely on every day," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) on the House Appropriations Committee health panel. "It would be a cold day in hell before I helped pass a budget like this." Democrats also criticized Trump for his proposed Medicare spending cuts, although experts said most of those cuts would impact payments to healthcare providers that do not directly affect seniors.

President Trump's proposed fiscal 2020 budget includes capping out-of-pocket prescription drug expenses for seniors covered by Medicare, reports Stat . A cap appears increasingly popular in the government, and its advocates include U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. The proposal would restrict spending on prescription drugs for seniors with Medicare coverage, delivering financial certitude to both beneficiaries and drugmakers. Meanwhile, the government would foot the bill for anything seniors spend on drugs beyond a certain threshold. The budget document does not indicate what that threshold would be, but suggests the policy change would cost the federal government $14 billion. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) on the Senate Finance Committee has proposed capping annual drug costs at about $7,500 per Medicare beneficiary. Other Trump administration priorities cited in the proposal include an allowance for certain state Medicaid programs to develop their own more limited drug formularies and negotiate prices directly with drugmakers. The budget also outlines steps to empower the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to crack down on tactics drugmakers use to block generic competition.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that by 2022 nearly 42 million American workers 55 and older will still be employed, reports Forbes . With veteran workers increasingly staying on the job, companies can maximize this trend for their benefit. One strategy is to tap older workers' expertise, including a wide network of connections and relationships built over multiple years. These employees can be enlisted to help find outside experts and vendors from their connections. A second tip is to leverage boomers' soft skills like networking, sales, negotiation, and relationship-building to enhance business tactics and complement younger employees. Older employees also can work with and mentor their younger counterparts on cultivating their own soft skills, familiarity with work processes, networking methods, and other techniques. Older workers also are highly engaged at work and adapt to changing environments, while their younger cohorts can share new technologies and methodology. Finally, companies should harness older workers' strong work ethic as a driver for all employees, by organizing mixed-age teams in which older workers set the tone and example for others to follow.