The first statistical analysis of saving appearance responses (SARs) in people with dementia published in PLoS One determined that such responses are common in people with Alzheimer's disease (AD), leading to recommendations that doctors and caregivers develop a more respectful attitude toward such people, reports EurekAlert . The researchers argue SARs suggest conflicted feelings about questions that persons cannot answer correctly. Most observations on SARs are based on the experiences and impressions of medical personnel and lack sufficient numerical data. The Kumamoto University team compared the appearance frequency of SARs seen during cognitive function assessments using definitions from earlier research for four pathological conditions that cause dementia, including AD, AD with cerebrovascular disease, Lewy body dementia, and mild cognitive impairment. More than 50 percent of the AD cohort had SARs, which occurred much more often compared to Lewy body dementia and mild cognitive dysfunction. Specifically, AD was 4.24 times more likely than Lewy body dementia and 3.48 times more likely than mild cognitive impairment to produce SARs. "The reason more SARs are seen in AD may be because even though the memory function of the brain is in decline, thinking and judgment abilities are barely compromised," says Kumamoto University's Dr. Masateru Matsushita. "Attention to SARs might be helpful for more accurate dementia diagnosis. We expect that a better understanding of the characteristics of SARs, particularly in AD, will lead to earlier detection and better medical care for people suffering from dementia."

The Medicare board of trustees' annual report to Congress warned Medicare's hospital insurance trust fund could be depleted by 2026, three years earlier than forecast last year, reports Kaiser Health News . One government official cited several factors that are shrinking funding and causing spending to spike, including reduced wages for several years, which adds up to lower payroll taxes. Meanwhile, the recently-passed tax cut means there will be fewer Social Security taxes paid into the hospital trust fund, as some higher-income seniors pay taxes on their Social Security benefits. In addition, the senior population's growth is straining Medicare funds, while maneuvers by the Trump administration and Congress to rescind two provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) also are threatening the program's future. Those moves include repealing the penalties for people who lack insurance and the elimination of an independent board charged with regulating spending if certain financial thresholds are reached. Marc Goldwein with the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said the change to the ACA's individual mandate penalties, which takes effect in 2019, will likely leave millions more uninsured, burdening hospitals with higher rates of uncompensated care. The Kaiser Family Foundation's Juliette Cubanksi noted the board's report signals that Medicare Part A will only be able to pay 91 percent of covered benefits starting in 2026.

Letters in May and June that appear to be from the Social Security Administration stating they could assist recipients in paying Medicare costs are legitimate, reports the National Council on Aging . The letters go to beneficiaries who may qualify for two money-saving programs that can help them cover prescriptions and healthcare costs. The Medicare Part D Extra Help program helps beneficiaries pay their Part D drug plan premium and saves money on medications at the pharmacy. People who qualify will pay no more than $8.35 for prescriptions for each drug their plan covers. Meanwhile, the Medicare Savings Program (MSP) pays the Part B premium each month, and also may help cover other Medicare costs such as the Part B deductible and co-pays at the doctor's office. Receiving this letter does not mean recipients automatically qualify for these programs, as they still need to fill out an application for each program. Beneficiaries who apply for Extra Help or MSP will receive requests for more information about their overall finances.

The approaching 2018 Atlantic hurricane season has prompted some Gulf states and companies to heed the lessons of last year's storms, according to Morning Consult . The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts this year's season will be near- or above-normal, with a 70 percent probability of 10 to 16 named storms; five to nine storms are expected to potentially turn into hurricanes. In response to 2017's storms, the Petroleum Marketers Association of America set up a Disaster Fuel Response Program to connect companies to petroleum marketers and help a range of firms access fuel during and after a disaster. The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers' Jeff Gunnulfsen says in view of the extreme rainfall experienced during Hurricane Harvey, some companies consider that storm to be mainly a major flooding event in working out how to fortify dikes or ensure ahead of time that supplies are accessible to refiners if certain areas are prone to heavy flooding. However, hurricanes may prompt stakeholders to focus on the potential for structural damage caused by high winds and tornadoes. Two states profoundly impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, Texas and Florida, are more deeply evaluating utility performance to ensure power remains uninterrupted during future storms. Meanwhile, congressional lawmakers have failed to enact legislation that targets improving federal emergency preparedness for hurricanes since 2017, despite appropriating emergency funding to help victims.

The U.S. Department of Labor reports that there are presently 6.3 million job openings, which companies are struggling to find the right talent to fill, reports the Harvard Business Review . One approach that has proven to be successful in recent years consists of targeted partnerships between business and education. After assessing their human capital needs and job requirements, companies collaborate with schools to produce workers with the needed skills. AT&T, for instance, has provided $1 million over the last year to fund an online Master's program in analytics at Georgia Tech. Another example is Shire, a biotechnology company with its U.S. headquarters in Lexington, Mass. It has been working with nearby Quincy College for the last several years, providing financial support and donating equipment and supplies.

Automated labor is about to explode, with the purported advantages including less manpower for menial tasks and more refined and precise healthcare, reports Axios . Potential downsides include obsolescence of certain jobs and perhaps a considerable lag time before salaries recover. Researcher Carl Frey also believes this trend will cause an "automation anxiety" that sparks popular resistance to robotization. A 2017 Pew Research survey found 72 percent of respondents were concerned about automation. There is little disagreement among experts that the expected wave of automation will upend jobs and industries that will likely dwarf the manufacturing crisis in comparison.

The University of Minnesota seeks to mitigate childcare shortages while employing students at the Pillars of Prospect Park senior living complex, reports the Minnesota Daily . Planned senior living options at the complex include independent living, assisted living, and memory care, while an on-site daycare center will accommodate intergenerational programs geared toward interaction between children and senior residents. The second service from Oppidan Investment will be enabled via Ebenezer, a senior living provider with two other communities in the metro area that use the program. "On our campus we do a ton of different activities, and it helps the seniors feel a sense of purpose," says Ebenezer's Jody Schumann. Oppidan's Shannon Rusk says developers are working closely to involve university students in the project through employment and childcare. She notes the project could address the possible closure of the university's Child Development Center. The Oppidan team has reached out to the university's Alumni Association and Retirees Association to offer research opportunities in its memory care branch, and the center also could offer internships to nursing students.

Wisconsin resident Kathy Helgerson has made it a priority to enhance the lives of seniors with modern technology such as virtual reality and wireless headphones, bringing state-of-the-art equipment into local assisted living communities, reports the Associated Press . Helgerson has learned that most seniors are open to try out such equipment, which she rents. Helgerson hopes the senior communities will access grants and donations to have the technology on site for ongoing use. Among the technologies she uses are Eversound headsets, which come with microphones and wireless transmitters, and which can be adjusted to each user's preferred volume and worn over hearing aids. MINDVR's VR products have enabled seniors to virtually explore Paris, a rocket launch, and a tour of a World War I tank. Animal-centric visuals such as a drive-thru zoo and puppy playtime virtual realities are proving to be especially appealing.

In the south of France is the construction site of the country's first "Alzheimer's village," a $28 million community that will house 120 people and features amenities such as shops, a gym, a restaurant, and a small farm, allowing residents to walk freely and maintain a social life, reports Newsweek. The village is scheduled to open in 2019, and former mayor of the Dax commune Gabriel Bellocq says the goal is to make residents "feel at home in an environment that could remind them of life in the good old days." The settlement is designed to emulate a lifestyle outside hospital walls in southwestern France, with about 200 plainclothes carergivers and staff. Residents will be confined to a 12-acre, gated piece of land, at the urbanized corner of sub-Pyrenean farmlands and forests. Included in the settlement's design are four different housing complexes that resemble the area's medieval "bastide" villages. The new community in Dax is to be based about 50 miles from one such bastide. "This is an experiment, validated by the Regional Agency of Health and the Ministry of Health which intends to use this village to study the evolution of Alzheimer's outside the medical environment," Bellocq notes. Local residents will be prioritized for admission into the village, which will depend on both medical referral and application.

Age Wave CEO Ken Dychtwald sees a lack of geriatric experts who focus on having fun as a lost opportunity, citing a study co-authored with Merrill Lynch that older adults have seven and a half hours of daily leisure compared to four hours among 35-to-44-year-olds, reports the Wall Street Journal . Moreover, the Stanford Center on Longevity's Laura Carstensen says older adults are generally happier than younger ones, with stress, anger, and worry declining with age. She says the things associated with fun can counter stress, depression, and anxiety. It often involves being with others, and this is connected to better cognitive health in later life and a lower probability of developing dementia. A 2011 study published in the American Journal of Play found "playful older adults are psychologically upbeat: they are happy, optimistic, cheerful, joyful, positive, relaxed, and enthusiastic individuals." Fun typically does not consist of being kept busy by other people. "There's a real sense of choice," says Boston College Professor Peter Gray. National Institute for Play founder Stuart Brown also notes loneliness "is ameliorated when older adults find a group and have a playful interaction."