Researchers at King's College London are in the process of launching a Phase 2 trial of a cannabis-based therapy for the treatment of certain dementia symptoms, reports MarketWatch . The therapy, known as Sativex, is currently approved in the United Kingdom for treating muscle stiffness and tightness in persons with multiple sclerosis. Sativex contains tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol in equal proportions, and the Phase 2 trial will assess how effective it is in treating agitation in people with Alzheimer's disease. "Current treatments for behavioral and psychiatric symptoms of dementia are very limited, and we desperately need to develop alternatives," said King's College London's Dag Aarsland.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has joined Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and Susan Collins (D-Maine) in reintroducing the bipartisan Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act (POWDA), reports WeAreIowa.com . POWDA's enactment would reinstate many Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) protections, making it easier for older employees to prove they are targets of age discrimination in the workplace. "Older Americans contribute greatly to our society and economy," stated Grassley. "They deserve the same protections as every other American." In 2009, Iowa resident Jack Gross was involved in a Supreme Court case that diluted the ADEA by requiring a significantly higher burden of proof on workers alleging age discrimination than is required of employees alleging racial, sexual, nationality-based, or religious discrimination. "Too many older workers have been victims of unfair age discrimination and are denied a fair shake in our justice system," stressed AARP Chief Advocacy & Engagement Officer Nancy LeaMond. "The time for Congress to act is now."

Research from the University of Western Australia (UWA) and the Baker Institute published in the Journal of Applied Physiology determined exercise in the morning lowers the detrimental effects of being sedentary on the brain blood flow of older, overweight adults, reports Medical Xpress . The researchers enrolled 12 men and women aged 55 to 80 in three sessions. In the first session, subjects sat uninterrupted for eight hours. In the second, they sat for an hour before 30 minutes of moderate-intensity walking on the treadmill, followed by another 6.5 hours of uninterrupted sitting. In the final session, they sat for an hour, engaged in moderate-intensity treadmill walking for 30 minutes, then sat for another 6.5 hours interrupted by three minutes of light-intensity treadmill walking every half hour. "During uninterrupted sitting, there was a pattern of decline in brain blood flow over eight hours," said UWA's Michael Wheeler. "However, when participants performed a morning bout of exercise with or without subsequent breaks in sitting, brain blood flow improved in the afternoon, several hours after exercise. Interestingly, the afternoon recovery seemed to occur more quickly when exercise was followed by subsequent breaks in sitting. Since preventing declines in brain blood flow is important in maintaining brain health as we age, these findings are relevant from a clinical and public health perspective."

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston are developing an experimental drug to boost muscle size and strength in seniors, reports New Atlas . According to a study published in Biochemical Pharmacology , the team identified a protein, nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT), in muscle stem cells that apparently governs their age-related dysfunction. The scientists synthesized a drug that minimizes the effect of the protein, allowing aged muscle stem cells to return to a more youthful state in which they still readily generate and regenerate muscle. Lab tests demonstrated old mice with a muscle injury had a higher number of functional muscle stem cells when administered the NNMT inhibitor (NNMTi) daily, compared to a second cohort that received a placebo after a week of treatment. Those mice also doubled their muscle fiber size, and exhibited 70 percent more muscle strength than the placebo group. Both groups' blood chemistry remained more or less unchanged, suggesting the NNMTi was not inducing any negative side effects. "There are no treatments currently available to delay, arrest, or reverse age-related muscle degeneration," remarks the University of Texas' Harshini Neelakantan. "These initial results support the development of an innovative drug treatment that has the potential to help seniors to become fitter, faster, and stronger, thus enabling them to live more active and independent lives as they age."

Ohio Sens. Steve Wilson (R) and Kenny Yuko (D) agree that their state must develop a comprehensive plan to deal with a growing population of Ohioans with Alzheimer's and dementia, reports KOSU.org . Wilson notes the longevity and numbers of senior Ohioans will increase, along with the proliferation of Alzheimer's and related dementia. According to Yuko, 5.7 million Americans, including 220,000 Ohioans, currently live with those diseases. He adds that "some estimates predict that these numbers will nearly triple by the year 2050." The senators cite Ohio as the only state lacking a plan to handle the coming crisis. They propose a rigorous review to devise a strategy that can be followed over the next few years to support people with dementia, as well as their loved ones and caregivers.

An international study published in Nature Neuroscience suggests deficient clearing of dysfunctional mitochondria in the brain could play a central role in the development of Alzheimer's disease, reports ScienceAlert . "When the cleaning system does not work properly, there will be an accumulation of defective mitochondria in the brain cells," says Vilhelm Bohr from the U.S. Center for Healthy Aging and National Institutes of Health. "And this may be really dangerous." Analysis of post-mortem tissue samples taken from the hippocampus of deceased persons with Alzheimer's revealed more undersized and faulty mitochondria, as well as a large amount of AMP-activated protein kinase, a chemical that triggers the degradation of mitochondria so they can be broken down and removed. The researchers cultured Alzheimer's brain tissue and measured amounts and activity of proteins associated with mitochondria clearance. They then used Caenorhabditis elegans worms engineered to reflect Alzheimer's-like physiology and function, demonstrating the role of various proteins in locking up the mitophagy process so they could to reverse the condition's effects. Concentrations of beta amyloid plaques declined with the defective microchondria's cleansing, while the chemical changes to tau proteins that induce tangling also lessened.

Using a new technique to scan the brains of living people, Yale University scientists found subjects with depression had a lower density of synapses than healthy people the same age, reports the Daily Journal . "We think depression might be accelerating the normal aging," said Yale's Irina Esterlis. Volunteers were injected with a radioactive substance that binds to a protein in the synapses' vesicles, causing them to light up during positron-emission tomography (PET) scans so researchers could visualize how many synapses are in different brain regions. Esterlis said the lower the synaptic density, the more severe depression symptoms were, especially problems with attention and loss of interest in previously pleasurable activities. Esterlis is planning a larger study for the purpose of tracking synaptic density in larger numbers of people as they age, to determine if and how it fluctuates over time in individuals with and without depression.

Employment expert Laurence Shatkin suggests six high-demand, high-growth professions that people older than 40 can pursue through continuing education, reports CNBC . At the top are industrial-organizational psychologists, who the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology says "apply research that improves the well-being and performance of people and the organizations that employ them." Although the job requires a master's degree, Shatkin says, "Someone over 40 can use previous experience in the workplace to suggest topics for research, and provide insights that more green workers would not perceive." Second on the list are personal financial advisers, which has a high forecast growth rate; according to Shatkin, "Word of mouth is the main way advisers find clients, and seasoned workers who transition into this career benefit from having a better network for making such contacts." Ranked third are training and development specialists, which AARP says "create, conduct, and evaluate employee-training programs for corporations, financial institutions, and government agencies." Recreational therapists and medical records and health information technicians score in fourth and fifth place, respectively. In sixth place are psychiatric technicians, who demand the least amount of additional education and training. Shatkin notes older workers are ideal candidates, because "The work is less physically demanding than nursing, and mature workers can bring compassion and shared life experiences to the job."

A study from Wake Forest University determined a high-protein, low-calorie diet helps obese older adults lose more weight, maintain more muscle mass, improve bone quality, and lose "bad" fat, reports News-Medical . The researchers randomly assigned 96 older adults over 65 to follow either a six-month low-calorie meal plan that included more than 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight, plus adequate calcium and vitamin D; or a plan aiming for 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, which is the current, government-recommended dietary allowance. Participants lost about 18 pounds, with fat comprising 87 percent of those lost pounds, while also preserving muscle mass. The control group lost about 0.5 pounds. Participants also maintained bone mass even when they lost weight, with trabecular bone scores apparently showing improvement. Meanwhile, participants lost fat in the stomach, hips, thighs, and rear, which is critical for preventing or controlling cardiometabolic diseases. In addition, participants' score on the Healthy Aging Index improved by 0.75 points.

A study from the University of Bristol and University College London published in the British Journal of General Practice suggests seniors' mental health should be prioritized by healthcare professionals (HCPs), reports Medical Xpress . "Our research found primary care services may not give depression in older people the same priority as physical health, which is made worse by a lack of referral options suitable to older people's needs," said Bristol Professor Yoav Ben-Shlomo. "Further investment in psychological and social resources is needed, especially if older adults are to be encouraged to use psychological services." The researchers reviewed 27 qualitative studies on how primary care practitioners treat depression in seniors, and learned that many HCPs considered late-life depression to be caused by social isolation and functional decline, but appropriate treatments were limited. Good management of late-life depression seemed more reliant on the skills and interest of individual general practitioners and nurses than on any organized strategy.