A study published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology disputes the assumption that vitamin D supplements improve bone health and stave off osteoporosis in older adults, reports HealthDay News . The researchers reviewed earlier studies noting that neither high nor low doses of vitamin D supplements prevented fractures or falls, or improved bone density. Persons at risk of vitamin D deficiency include those with little or no sun exposure, such as nursing community residents who are indoors all the time, or those who always cover their skin when outside, says the University of Aberdeen's Alison Avenell. The team reviewed 81 studies, most of which dealt with vitamin D alone, not in conjunction with calcium. "Calcium supplements on their own have minimal effect on bone mineral density and fracture, and may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease," Avenell notes. The only indication that both calcium and vitamin D prevent fractures came from a trial of nursing community residents with very low vitamin D levels. The meta-analysis found no meaningful effect of vitamin D supplements in terms of reducing any fracture, hip fractures, or falls. Avenell believes the study's findings should inform revised guidelines recommending vitamin D supplements for bone health.

Scientists have developed a new "atlas" of the hippocampus, the brain region impaired by Alzheimer's disease, reports the Daily Mail . It is their hope that this map can be used by doctors to deliver genetically-targeted drugs to specific neurons to retard the effects of the disease. "With a better map, we can see each region and how it functions," says the University of Southern California's Michael Bienkowski. "A better map is a resource scientists can use to better understand the hippocampus and how its degeneration leads to diseases." The researchers used a mouse brain, employing fluorescent tracers and three-dimensional animation to reveal cells and nerve connections to other brain regions. "We see it doing different things, and this gives us a new way to understand how the whole thing works together. This should have a very profound and broad impact," Bienkowski notes.

The George G. Glenner Alzheimer's Family Care Centers has started erecting faux towns resembling the 1950s and '60s to remind people with dementia of their youth, reports Business Insider . In August, the nonprofit opened the first "Town Square" in Chula Vista, Calif., just outside downtown San Diego. Town Square designs reflect reminiscence therapy, which is used to help those with dementia recall decades-old memories. The Atlantic cites studies demonstrating that such therapy helps improve subjects' quality of life and heightens their cognitive function. Earlier this year, Glenner Alzheimer's teamed with senior care franchise Senior Helpers to expand their operation. "Adult day care gives people a chance to continue to live their life independently in their own home," says Senior Helpers CEO Peter Ross. "It is an opportunity to have social interaction when they want it during the week at the Town Square." Each Town Square has several staffers, including a center director, an enrollment director, an activities director, a staff member who can provide health guidance and dispense medication, and a receptionist. Ross says moving forward, each Town Square will be able to hold about 105 seniors for daily programming. Senior Helpers currently has more than 300 locations around the country.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the sale of the first self-fitting hearing aid, reports WebMD . The wireless Bose Hearing Aid is for anyone 18 and older with mild to moderate hearing loss. "Today's marketing authorization provides certain users with access to a new hearing aid that provides them with direct control over the fit and functionality of the device," says Malvina Eydelman with the Division of Ophthalmic, and Ear, Nose, and Throat Devices at the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health. "The FDA is committed to ensuring that individuals with hearing loss have options for taking an active role in their healthcare." The Bose device is an "air conduction" hearing aid designed to capture sound vibrations through one or more microphones, and then process amplify, and play back the signal through an earphone placed in the ear canal. Users can adjust the hearing aid via an app on their phone, selecting the hearing aid settings themselves. Bose says the FDA approval "validates that Bose technologies can be applied to help people with mild to moderate hearing impairment take control of their hearing. We look forward to bringing affordable, accessible, and great sounding solutions to the millions of people who could benefit from hearing aids, but don't use them."

U.S. companies are increasingly opening clinics on or near their work sites or bringing in temporary setups to ensure their employees get annual physicals, reports the Associated Press . The National Business Group on Health predicts 56 percent of large employers will have an on-site or nearby health center by 2019, up from 47 percent in 2016. In many cases, employers are offering free primary care or charging only a small fee, noting they can improve employee health and reduce even larger bills in the future that stem from unmanaged chronic conditions or unnecessary emergency room visits. Providing convenient care also can help entice new workers and cut down on time away from the job, but this transition means workers will have to change how they use the healthcare system. Furthermore, companies, which do not see individual medical records, must wait for some potential benefits from their investment, such as a drop in healthcare costs, to materialize. Most of the businesses surveyed by the National Business Group on Health have 10,000 or more employees, but benefits experts also see this trend expanding in smaller businesses, with some companies partnering to pay for a nearby clinic that they share.

A study presented at a recent American Society of Nephrology meeting suggests low-sodium diets may be contributing to seniors contracting hyponatremia, a condition characterized by loss of balance, dehydration, attention deficits, and loss of cognition, reports Channel 3000 . The investigators followed more than 5,000 Dutch adults over the age of 55 over six years. They found 8 percent of the participants were in assisted living communities, and all in this subgroup were suffering from mild hyponatremia. Follow-up visits showed they had higher rates of diabetes and falls than those with normal salt levels. "This is one of the first studies to show that mild hyponatremia ... has important complications in the general population," says the Erasmus Medical Center's Ewout J. Hoorn. "Screening for a low sodium concentration in the blood, and treating it when present, may be a new strategy to prevent fractures." Seniors in assisted living communities are regularly assigned low-salt diets, contributing to malnutrition and weight loss among a significant percentage, according to a report published by the Pioneer Network.

A 2016 study published in Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research found about 22 percent of U.S. seniors are "elder orphans," or older people without a spouse or children whom they can rely on for care, reports Kaiser Health News . "This is an often overlooked, poorly understood group that needs more attention from the medical community," says Maria Carney with Northwell Health. A 500-person survey also found 70 percent of respondents had not identified a caregiver who would help if they became ill or disabled, while 35 percent did not have "friends or family to help them cope with life's challenges." Financial insecurity and health concerns were common among respondents, with 25 percent saying they feared losing their housing, 23 percent noting they lacked money to meet basic needs at least once in the past year, and 31 percent citing insecurity about their financial future. Moreover, 40 percent admitted to depression, 37 percent to anxiety, and 52 percent to loneliness. Retirement coach Sara Zeff Geber says planning for challenges that can arise with advancing age is imperative for people who go it alone, and a good starting point is thinking about things that adult children do for older parents and how they are going to do all of that themselves or with outside assistance.

A study published in PLOS One suggests periodontal disease could trigger Alzheimer's in humans based upon inflammation and degeneration of brain neurons in mice, reports United Press International . University of Illinois at Chicago Professor Keiko Watanabe acknowledges that other studies found a close linkage between periodontitis and cognitive impairment, "but this is the first study to show that exposure to the periodontal bacteria results in the formation of senile plaques that accelerate the development of neuropathology found in Alzheimer's subjects." The scientists established chronic periodontitis, marked by soft tissue damage and bone loss in the oral cavity, in 10 mice, while 10 mice served as controls. Following 22 weeks of repeated oral application of the bacteria, brain tissue analysis revealed that mice chronically exposed had significantly higher amounts of accumulated amyloid beta and greater brain inflammation and fewer intact neurons due to degeneration. Furthermore, amyloid beta protein and RNA analyses exhibited greater expression of genes associated with inflammation and degeneration in the study group. Moreover, DNA from the periodontal bacteria was identified in the brain tissue of mice and a bacterial protein was discovered inside their neurons in the study cohort. "Our data not only demonstrate the movement of bacteria from the mouth to the brain, but also that chronic infection leads to neural effects similar to Alzheimer's," Watanabe notes.

A study published in PLOS Computational Biology details an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that has been trained to make accurate predictions regarding cognitive decline leading to Alzheimer's disease, reports ScienceDaily . The AI learns signatures from magnetic resonance imaging, genetics, and clinical data to help predict whether an individual's cognitive faculties are likely to deteriorate toward Alzheimer's in the next five years. "Our AI methodology could have significant implications as a 'doctor's assistant' that would help stream people onto the right pathway for treatment," says McGill University Professor Mallar Chakravarty. "For example, one could even initiate lifestyle changes that may delay the beginning stages of Alzheimer's or even prevent it altogether." The algorithm was trained on data from more than 800 people ranging from healthy seniors to those experiencing mild cognitive impairment and people with Alzheimer's. The investigators replicated their results within the study on an independently collected sample from the Australian Imaging and Biomarkers Lifestyle Study of Aging. "We are currently working on testing the accuracy of predictions using new data," says Chakravarty. "It will help us to refine predictions and determine if we can predict even farther into the future."

The Senate on Wednesday passed a bipartisan opioids bill for President Trump to sign, setting up, expanding, and reauthorizing programs and policies across nearly all federal agencies, reports the Washington Post . The legislation will mandate that the U.S. Postal Service screen packages for fentanyl shipped from overseas, mainly China. Public-health proponents praise the bill's increased attention to opioid treatment, and its creation of a grant program for comprehensive recovery centers that include housing, job training, and mental and physical healthcare. The measure also would boost access to medication-assisted treatment that helps addicts safely wean themselves off opioids. Furthermore, the bill lifts an obscure rule that has long banned Medicaid from covering beneficiaries with substance abuse disorders who were receiving treatment in a mental health center with more than 16 beds, by now permitting 30 days of residential treatment coverage. "This legislation edges us closer to treating addiction as the devastating disease it is, but it neglects to provide the long-term investment we've seen in responses to other major public health crises," said Lindsey Vuolo at the Center on Addiction. "We won't be able to make meaningful progress against the tide of addiction unless we make significant changes to incorporate addiction treatment into the existing healthcare system."