A study published in Cell Stem Cell suggests the brains of older people can replenish cells in the hippocampus region as well as those of younger people, reports HealthDay News . The researchers found both old and young brains could generate the same number of new neurons from more primitive "progenitor" cells in the hippocampus. They examined autopsied brain tissue from 28 people between the ages of 14 and 79 who had died suddenly, but had previously been healthy. None were diagnosed with dementia or any neurological or psychiatric disorder. The team generally observed that older and younger brains had similar numbers of "intermediate" progenitor cells and "immature" neurons, which indicated that older people had a similar capacity for producing new cells as young people. However, the older brains exhibited less angiogenesis, and also possessed a smaller pool of progenitor cells in one region of the hippocampus. The researchers think by comparing healthy older brains and dementia-affected brains, scientists could better understand why some people's cognitive abilities continue well into old age, while others decline. The possibility is of cultivating new dementia treatments.

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) has published a summary of a stakeholder discussion meeting following the December 2017 release of the issue brief, "The Opioid Public Health Emergency and Older Adults." ACL's Center for Policy and Evaluation, the Administration on Aging, and the National Institute for Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research, along with other colleagues throughout ACL, teamed up on this discussion. The opioid emergency is a priority for ACL and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and the administration and all its operating divisions play a role in addressing the emergency. ACL members are collaborating to determine how best to help aging and disability stakeholders. The summary emphasizes themes from the discussion about opioids and the impact on seniors and people with disabilities, including areas where more information is needed, how the Aging and Disability Networks may participate in providing support in addressing the emergency, and recommendations for possible ACL actions.

The number of women running for the U.S. House set a record Thursday, most of them Democrats, reports the Associated Press . In many places, women are running for seats that have never had female representation. "It's about time," says Kara Eastman of Nebraska, one of two Democrats trying to win a primary and the right to challenge a GOP incumbent in a district based in Omaha. After Virginia issued its candidate list on Thursday, 309 women from the two major parties have filed candidacy papers to run for the House, exceeding the previous record of 298 in 2012. Even with these record numbers, women are still outnumbered by male candidates. However, experts say the sheer number of female candidates combined with numerous House seats open due to retirements or resignations provides one of the best opportunities for women to make significant gains in terms of representation and a shift in priorities. Many candidates have focused their campaign messages on healthcare, education, early childhood development, family leave, and workplace equality. Eastman says she was motivated by the GOP's attempts to reduce health coverage for low-income people and rollbacks of environmental protections.

An analysis of recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) annual National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found asthma is most common among healthcare workers and those in related industries, reports MedPage Today . The current asthma prevalence among employees in healthcare and social assistance is 8.8 percent, versus 5.4 percent for workers in manufacturing, 5.2 percent in agriculture and related industries, and 6.1 percent in mining and oil and gas industries. Workers in the healthcare and social assistance industry and in healthcare support occupations were most likely to report current asthma, asthma episodes, and asthma-related visits to an emergency department. The researchers cited the fact that these factors were self-reported as a study limitation, as was the dearth of temporal information on asthma onset and exacerbations. "New-onset work-related asthma in these workers has been associated with exposure to cleaning and disinfecting products, powdered latex glove exposures, and exposures to aerosolized medications," note the CDC's Jacek Mazurek and Girija Syamlal. They also say the high prevalence of workers with a history of asthma "suggests a high risk for work-related exacerbation of asthma." In healthcare, the corresponding figure was 45.8 percent, nearly the overall national average among employed people.

A study published in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine examined a radioligand that could potentially guide and assess treatment of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's with positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, reports Radiology Business . The PET radioligand, called C-Me-NB1, is designed to image NMDA receptors. The researchers measured the dose and effectiveness of the NMDA receptor eliprodil via PET scans in rats, and determined the receptors were fully occupied at neuroprotective doses of eliprodil. "The significance of the work lies in the fact that we have for the first time developed a useful PET radioligand that can be applied to image the GluN2B receptor subunit of the NMDA receptor complex in humans," says C-Me-NB1 co-inventor Simon M. Ametamey. "The availability of such a PET radioligand would not only help to better understand the role of NMDA receptors in the pathophysiology of the many brain diseases in which the NMDA receptor is implicated, but it would also help to select appropriate doses of clinically relevant GluN2B receptor candidate drugs." The researchers also think future imaging studies using C-Me-NB1 would reveal more insight on the participation of NMDA receptors in normal physiological processes such as learning and memory.

Scams surrounding new Medicare cards are spreading, and the Massachusetts Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) Program has worked with the Serving the Health Insurance Needs of Everyone (SHINE) Program on a new awareness campaign, reports the Lowell Sun . "The concern is this is another opportunity for those unscrupulous people to scam seniors," says SMP's Lucilia Prates-Ramos. "They use any opportunity they can, so think of it: somebody gets a call. They do something to their phone to make it look like it's from Medicare because you know how they can do that now. And they call and say, 'Hi Mrs. So-and-so, we're getting ready to mail you your new Medicare card. I just need to verify your information.'" According to the campaign, Medicare and the Social Security Administration will never call beneficiaries for their personal information. Council on Aging Executive Director Bethany Loveless says it will take Medicare a year to issue all beneficiaries a new card, and the card rollout for people in Massachusetts is scheduled for sometime after June.

A study published in JAMA found that people with lower socioeconomic status have substantially poorer health outcomes, reports 2 Minute Medicine . For older American adults, a sudden loss of affluence can represent a significant permanent change in economic status. About 25 percent of older adults in the United States underwent a negative wealth shock, as defined by a loss of more than 75 percent of their net worth over two years. For those who experienced a wealth shock, all-cause mortality was greatly elevated, and loss of a primary residence with wealth shock exacerbated the increased mortality rate. Gender, ethnicity, and baseline net worth did not substantially influence the association of wealth shock and higher mortality. A clear association was observed between wealth shock towards the end of life and increased mortality, further implying that socioeconomic status greatly impacts health. It remains unknown if macroeconomic trends, such as the 2008 Great Recession, influenced the association between wealth shock and mortality. In addition, with the Affordable Care Act in place, it is uncertain if the mortality rate would be as highly raised with wealth shock, as greater systemic safeguards would be in place for these individuals.

More and more employers are hiring "dietary interventionists" to help ensure their workers are eating healthy, reports the Sun Sentinel . For example, GEICO launched a dietary intervention project in which it partnered with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) to demonstrate that office workers can lose weight, lower blood pressure, and reduce absenteeism if the company offers healthy low-fat vegetarian alternatives in the cafeteria. The effort targeted employees with a body mass index of 25 or higher who had Type 2 diabetes. In the initial 22-week study, participants were offered a diet that included vegetables, hummus, green salads, and black bean chili. They also received cooking demonstrations and educational sessions led by doctors and dietitians, so they could change their culinary habits at home. Participants lost an average of about 11 pounds and missed fewer hours at work. The second study had nearly 300 employees from 10 regional offices throughout the United States switch to a diet high in vegetables, fruits, fiber, legumes, and whole grains as they also attended weekly support meetings, took courses in healthy cooking, and toured the grocery store to understand how to find healthy products. Participants lost an average of 10 pounds, lowered their "bad" cholesterol by 13 points, and improved blood sugar control. They also experienced increased productivity and less anxiety, depression, and fatigue.

A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society analyzed how often healthcare providers prescribe potentially inappropriate medications such as anticholinergics in light of recommendations from the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Beers Criteria, reports EurekAlert . The researchers used data from the 2006-2015 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, examining visits for people aged 65 or older. They concentrated on the 35 anticholinergics that healthcare professionals are advised to avoid for older adults, including antidepressants, medications used to treat overactive bladder and Parkinson's disease, antihistamines, muscle relaxants, and treatments for people with chronic muscle spasms. Between 2006 and 2015, 6.2 percent of older adult visits to a doctor led to a prescription for a "high-risk" anticholinergic. Older women who had more than two chronic conditions also were most likely to be prescribed potentially inappropriate anticholinergics. They were most often given a diagnosis of overactive bladder or urinary incontinence, nerve pain, dizziness, or motion sickness. The trend for prescribing these drugs had declined by about 2 percent between 2008/2009 and 2014/2015. The findings suggest future research should be performed to help create better care practices to reduce the use of high-risk anticholinergic prescriptions for older adults.

A study published in Age and Ageing found older adults' risk of falling increases significantly in the first six months of a hospital release, reports Reuters . "Hospital stays are an adverse event," says Curtin University's Chiara Naseri. "The older care recipient faces prolonged bed-rest, changes in medications, diet, and daily routine. And their progressive deterioration doesn't stop once they reach home, especially as they are generally still medically unwell and recovering from their hospital stay." The researchers assessed 16 studies, among them 15 "gold-standard" randomized controlled trials, that evaluated 12 intervention strategies in eight countries. The studies involved 3,290 men and women with an average age of 77. The majority of fall prevention interventions included home modifications, vitamin D3 supplements, and exercise. Results implied that home modifications were most useful for people with a history of falling, with one study noting such subjects were 37 percent less likely to experience a second fall after home modification. Neither vitamin D therapy nor home exercise interventions significantly reduced falls or fall injuries. Naseri says the observation that standard approaches to fall prevention are less effective when seniors return from the hospital might reflect the complexity of the release process for older people. "When you have been in the hospital, recognize that you need to take care of your health when you first return home," she recommends. "Visit your family doctor or seek help from your healthcare team if you don't feel that you are recovering well."