Research from Brigham and Women's Hospital published in Aging investigated the linkage between sleep disturbances and deficiencies among older adults and risk of dementia and death, reports the Harvard Gazette . The authors used nationally representative data collected from older adults enrolled in the National Health and Aging Trends Study, a longitudinal analysis of Medicare beneficiaries 65 and older. They learned that dementia risk doubled among participants who reported getting less than five hours of sleep a night compared to those who reported seven to eight hours of sleep. Routinely taking half an hour or longer to fall asleep was associated with a 45 percent higher risk for incident dementia. Routine problems in maintaining alertness, routinely napping, noting poor sleep quality, and sleeping five or fewer hours a night was also affiliated with increased risk of death. "This prospective study reveals that sleep deficiency at baseline, when the average age of participants was 76 years old, was associated with double the risk of incident dementia and all-cause mortality over the next four to five years," said Brigham and Women's Hospital's Charles Czeisler. "These data add to the evidence that sleep is important for brain health and highlight the need for further research on the efficacy of improving sleep and treating sleep disorders on the risk of Alzheimer's disease and mortality."

ScienceDaily is reporting that a new study by a Canadian research team researched how different patterns in the way senior adults walk could more accurately diagnose different types of dementia and identify Alzheimer's disease. This study compared gait impairments across the cognitive spectrum, including people with Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body dementia, Subjective Cognitive Impairment, Mild Cognitive Impairment, Frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson's Disease, as well as cognitively healthy controls. Four independent gait patterns — rhythm, pace, variability and postural control — were identified. Only high gait variability was associated with lower cognitive performance, identifying Alzheimer's with 70 percent accuracy. The researchers, led by London scientists from Lawson Health Research Institute and Western University, evaluated the walking patterns and brain function of approximately 500 participants now enrolled in clinical trials. "We're seeing that motor performance, specifically the way you walk, can help diagnose different types of neurodegenerative conditions," says Dr. Manuel Montero-Odasso, Professor at Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.

In a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), scientists determined that five genes may play a key part in determining whether an individual will suffer from Lewy body dementia, reports News-Medical . The devastating disorder riddles the brain with clumps of abnormal protein deposits known as Lewy bodies, which are also a hallmark of Parkinson's disease. Published in Nature Genetics , the study's results not only support the disease's ties to Parkinson's but further suggest that people who have Lewy body dementia may share similar genetic profiles to those who have Alzheimer's. Early signs of the disease include hallucinations, mood swings, and problems with thinking. Patients who initially have cognitive and behavioral problems are usually diagnosed as having dementia with Lewy bodies. However, they are sometimes mistakenly diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

A study by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in the European Journal of Internal Medicine suggests medical cannabis might have beneficial effects on blood pressure (BP) for older adults, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution . The researchers considered subjects 60 and older with hypertension, who were prescribed cannabis and monitored with 24-hour ambulatory BP devices. A significant lowering of 24-hour systolic and diastolic BP values was observed, with the lowest point occurring three hours after oral cannabis ingestion or smoking. Patients exhibited reductions in BP in both daytime and nighttime, with more significant changes during the night. The researchers think the lower BP may be because cannabis eases any pain symptoms they had. "This study is part of our ongoing effort to provide clinical research on the actual physiological effects of cannabis over time," said BGU's Ran Abuhasira.

Voice of America News is reporting that President Biden has picked Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, a former Obama administration official, to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). If confirmed by the Senate, Brooks-LaSure would hold the distinction of being the first Black woman to run CMS, which has under its umbrella Medicare, Medicaid, children's health insurance, and the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as "Obamacare." The programs cover more than 130 million people, from newborns to assisted living residents. Brooks-LaSure has held health policy jobs at the White House, in Congress, and at CMS. Most recently, she spearheaded the Biden transition's "landing team" for the Department of Health and Human Services.

Life expectancy in the United States decreased a full year in the first six months of last year, according to a newly published report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics and cited by CNN . Experts say that the coronavirus was a major factor contributing to the decline. The life expectancy for the entire American population dipped to 77.8 years, or around what it was in 2006, CDC data shows. Changes to life expectancy also widened ethnic and racial inequities. Compared to 2019, life expectancy for non-Hispanic Black people in the U.S. declined nearly three times what it did for non-Hispanic White people (by 2.7 years). It dropped by twice as much for Hispanic people, or by 1.9 years.

A new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society and cited by EurekAlert indicates that while adults aged 75 years and older do not benefit from taking aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease, many still choose to do so on a regular basis. The research further found that, although statins are known to help prevent heart problems in seniors who have experienced a cardiovascular event, many do not take a statin. The analysis included data on nearly 11,400 U.S. adults 50 years and older who were polled from 2011 to 2018. Investigators found that over 50 percent took aspirin or a statin. The study's lead author, Dr. Greg Rhee of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, comments, "Healthcare providers should inform their older patients about appropriate aspirin use so that they can avoid misuse of aspirin, which can be easily purchased over the counter. Ultimately, safer prescribing practice, patient education, and patient-oriented effectiveness research should be continually encouraged to reduce potential harms and improve cardiovascular health in older adults."

New research from Duke Health in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease found carriers of the APOE4 gene variant associated with increased risk of Alzheimer's tend to exhibit changes in the fluid around their brain and spinal cord that can be identified years before symptom manifestation, reports EurekAlert . In such carriers, the cerebrospinal fluid contains lower concentrations of inflammatory molecules called C-reactive proteins (CRP), which suggests that they may be accumulating in the brain and damaging synapses. People with more copies of APOE4 had lower CRP levels in their cerebrospinal fluid, which Duke Professor Miles Berger said aligns with the current risk profile associated with APOE4 carriers. People with one APOE4 variant have about a three- to four-fold elevated risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, while those who carry two APOE4 variants are more than 10 times as susceptible. "We found that spinal fluid CRP levels are lower in people with the APOE4 allele, before they ever develop dementia or even mild cognitive impairment," Berger added. "This suggests that CRP might be actively involved in damaging synapses. We think CRP is doing this together with a cascade of inflammatory proteins called complement, which sequentially activate each other like a row of dominoes falling."

A study in Neurology of younger and older adults in Denmark between 2005 and 2018 found that rates of ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage remained stable in adults aged 18 to 49 years while declining in older adults, particularly in those 70 years and older, reports Healio . The incidence of subarachnoid hemorrhage also fell, though more significantly among younger adults. Stroke mortality also decreased over time in both age groups, mainly due to declines in mortality following severe strokes. Thirty-day and one-year mortality from subarachnoid hemorrhage "indicated declining trends for both younger and older adults," the researchers noted. Most trends also were similar for men and women. "Our study extends existing knowledge by examining trends in younger and older adults according to stroke severity," the researchers concluded. "Mild ischemic strokes have increased in incidence, while the most severe cases have declined. In younger adults, the lack of an upward trend reported in some prior studies is encouraging, and further risk factor reduction could lead to a decline."

Older Americans are opting to remain employed longer than ever before, observes 401kTV . However, this aging workforce may be at risk. Because of the pandemic and the resulting economic crisis, more workers over the age of 55 are unemployed than their younger counterparts — the first time this has happened in 50 years. This trend may get more pronounced in the months and years to come. One contributing factor may be an endemic bias against older workers. Two out of three people over 45 say they've experienced age discrimination in the workplace, according to an AARP survey. Meanwhile, many older Americans simply cannot afford to retire. The average 56- to 61-year-old has savings of just $163,577, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The benefits of older workers are many, ranging from the passion they have for their work to the vast pool of knowledge they possess and can share with younger workers. The article's author urges more employers to be "champions for inclusiveness for an aging workforce. Employers should have a plan to help older employees make the most of their time on the job." This means offering everything from continuing education to workplace wellness programs to mentorship opportunities.