A study published in the Journal of Aging Research and Clinical Practice found older adults are at risk for both impaired oral health and malnutrition, reports Futurity . The researchers analyzed the health records of 107 community-dwelling seniors who underwent treatment at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine clinic from 2015 to 2016. More than 25 percent of the subjects exhibited malnutrition or were at risk for malnutrition, and that those with 10 to 19 teeth were more likely to be at risk for malnutrition. Subjects classified as malnourished had higher rates of weight loss, ate less, and more frequently said they suffered from dementia and/or depression and severe illnesses compared to those with a normal nutrition status. "The mouth is the entry way for food and fluid intake," says Rutgers' Rena Zelig. "If its integrity is impaired, the functional ability of an individual to consume an adequate diet may be adversely impacted." Zelig concludes that these findings indicate dental clinics are perfect locations to conduct nutritional status screenings as they can identify persons who may not regularly visit a primary care provider and who could be at risk for malnutrition. "Clinicians also can provide seniors with referrals to registered dietitians and community assistance programs such as Meals on Wheels to prevent further decline in nutritional status," she notes.

A study by Florida State University (FSU) researchers published in the Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences determined loneliness can elevate the risk of dementia by 40 percent, reports FSU News . Analysis of 12,000 participants collected over a decade concluded with 1,104 people developing dementia, with those noting greater feelings of loneliness more likely to develop dementia over the next decade. Lonely people are likely to have several risk factors for dementia, such as diabetes, hypertension, and depression, while also being less likely to be physically active and more likely to smoke. Among the ways that loneliness may heighten dementia risk is a physiological reaction, such as through higher inflammation, or via behavior. People may deal with loneliness with brain-damaging habits like heavy drinking or being sedentary. A lack of meaningful social interaction also can be a risk factor, and keeping the mind engaged meaningfully can promote cognitive health that provides the motivation and structure to help sustain cognitive functioning. "Loneliness is a modifiable risk factor," notes FSU's Angelina Sutin. "Most people might describe periods where they felt lonely and then periods where they didn't feel lonely. So just because you feel lonely now, you don't always have to feel this way."

A study published in Neuropsychologia found a much weaker relationship between what the eyes see and brain activity among older adults, reports News-Medical . "Eye movements are important for gathering information from the world and the memory center of the brain — the hippocampus — is important for binding this data together to form a memory of what our eyes see," says Jennifer Ryan at Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute. "But we found that older adults are not building up the memory in the same way as younger adults. Something is falling apart somewhere along the path of taking in visual information through the eyes and storing what is seen into a memory." The study involved 21 older adults between 64 and 79 and 20 younger adults between 19 and 28. Participants were briefly shown faces on a screen where some of the images were displayed multiple times. The team analyzed the eye movements and brain scans of individuals as they looked at and analyzed the images. Older adults exhibited greater eye movements, but did not have a corresponding pattern in brain activity. "These findings demonstrate that the eyes and brain are taking in information from their surroundings, but the linkage aspect of creating a memory appears to be broken," Ryan notes. "When the memory isn't being created, the object continues to remain unfamiliar to a person, even when they have seen it multiple times."

President Trump has detailed a plan allowing Medicare to start negotiating drug prices to bring costs in line for its Part B coverage with what other countries pay for the same drugs, reports CNBC . The proposal authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to permit Medicare to create a new payment model meeting this mandate. Earlier, HHS Secretary Alex Azar disclosed a report that the U.S. pays 1.8 times more for the exact same medication as other nations. "The United States will finally be able to confront one of the most unfair practices ... that drives up the cost of medicine," Trump stated. "For decades other countries have rigged the system so that American consumers are charged much more, and in some cases much, much more for the exact same drug." Medicare reimburses the list price of the drug plus 6 percent, so capping price increases could help reduce the program's costs. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data estimates that total Medicare drug spending reached $162 billion in 2015.

A study published in the Journal of Aging Research and Clinical Practice says older adults are at risk for both impaired oral health and malnutrition, reports News-Medical . Rutgers University researchers analyzed the health records of 107 community-dwelling seniors treated at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine clinic between 2015 and 2016. More than 25 percent exhibited malnutrition or were at risk for malnutrition. Subjects with 10 to 19 teeth were more likely to be at risk, and those categorized as having malnutrition had higher rates of weight loss, ate less, and more often said they had dementia and/or depression and severe illnesses than those with a normal nutrition status. Rutgers' Rena Zelig says these results show that dental clinics are ideal locations to conduct nutritional status screenings as they can identify individuals who may not regularly visit a primary care provider and who may be at malnutrition risk. "Clinicians also can provide seniors with referrals to Registered Dietitians and community assistance programs such as Meals on Wheels to prevent further decline in nutritional status," she notes.

Members of the Forbes Coaches Council cite 14 ways to prepare for aging workforces, including implementing practices to keep older workers from feeling obsolete by nurturing a "beginner's mind" among teams. Other suggestions include hiring more seasoned professionals, offering sabbaticals, and setting up expectations for all age groups. Ensuring the company values experience also is recommended, as is providing emotional intelligence workshops and coaching. Companies should familiarize themselves with each team member's personal goals and establish roles supporting long-term clients where a broad knowledge of the organization is appreciated. Meanwhile, mentoring and adaptability programs should be provided, and leaders can model the value of a company's tribal knowledge by respecting a tenured employee's views. In addition, employers should be flexible so that older workers' requirements are accommodated, and prepare for this by creating job books to fully document each role in the company. Finally, employee development programs capitalizing on workers' various skills should be developed, while employers' workforce demographics must be balanced based on their strategic direction.

A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society suggests the stronger older adults are, the better able they may be to prevent future disability, reports Medical Xpress . The researchers examined a survey of 30,434 people aged 50 and older across the European Union and Israel performed every two years. The team analyzed the respondents' answers to questions concerning their ability to walk 100 meters; sit for about two hours; get up from a chair after sitting for long periods; climb several flights of stairs without resting; climb one flight of stairs without resting, stooping, kneeling, or crouching; reach or extend their arms above shoulder level; pull or push large objects such as a living room chair; lift or carry weights over 10 pounds; and pick up a small coin from a table. The investigators examined the impact of grip strength and cognition on participants over time, and determined maintaining grip strength and protecting mental ability might prevent or delay disability. The researchers implied that older adults who perform physical and mental training may be able to decelerate their physical decline and potentially prevent future problems such as the loss of independence, lower quality of life, the likelihood of depression and dementia, and even death.

A study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease from researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the University of São Paulo demonstrated that the earliest stages of brain atrophy associated with Alzheimer's are linked to neuropsychiatric symptoms including anxiety, depression, loss of appetite, and sleep disturbances, reports Sleep Review . They suggest the findings could support earlier Alzheimer's diagnosis and provide a valuable biomarker in the development of therapies. "The discovery that the biological basis for these symptoms is the early Alzheimer's pathology itself was quite surprising," says UCSF's Lea Grinberg. "It suggests these people with neuropsychiatric symptoms are not at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease — they already have it." The investigators examined the brains of 1,092 seemingly healthy adults older than 50 in São Paulo, ultimately focusing on 455 brains with either no signs of degeneration or a range of Alzheimer's-related pathology. In persons whose brainstems exhibited the very earliest stages of neurofibrillary (NF) tangles but lacked memory changes, relatives and caregivers reported increased rates of one or more neuropsychiatric symptoms including agitation, anxiety, appetite changes, depression, and sleep disturbances, but no perceived memory problems. Greater NF buildup in the brainstem was associated with increased odds of agitation. Later stages in which NF accumulation reached the brain's outer cortex were accompanied by dementia-like delusions and Alzheimer's-associated cognitive and memory decline.

A study presented at the American Society of Nephrology's Kidney Week 2018 associated acute kidney injury (AKI) with a higher risk of developing dementia, reports Medical Xpress . Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine examined information on 2,082 persons without a prior history of dementia from an integrated healthcare delivery system in Utah. Subjects had a hospital admission between 1999 and 2009. Over a median follow-up time of 5.8 years, 97 subjects developed dementia. More people with AKI developed dementia, and those with AKI had a more than threefold elevated risk of dementia compared with those without AKI. "AKI, even with complete renal recovery, is associated with an increased risk of dementia," noted the University of Colorado's Jessica Kendrick. "Further studies are needed to determine the long-term cognitive consequences of AKI."

President Trump has signed a comprehensive bipartisan bill into law to make medical treatment for opioid addiction more widely available while also cracking down on illegal drugs being sent through the mail, reports Fox News . The measure will expand access to substance abuse treatment in Medicaid. Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar suggested multi-pronged initiatives, including an increase in medication-assisted treatment and greater access to naloxone, are helping to stem the crisis. He further noted that toward the end of 2017 and through the beginning of 2018, the number of deaths "has begun to plateau." However, Azar cautioned that the country remains "so far from the end of the epidemic. But we are perhaps, at the beginning of the end."