A study published in Nature has led to a blood test that can detect the accumulation of toxic amyloid beta proteins linked with Alzheimer's disease, reports BBC News . Researchers from Japan and Australia developed an approach that looks for fragments of amyloid that end up in the blood stream. The team says the test is less expensive than brain scanning, "potentially enabling broader clinical access and efficient population screening." The test was found to be 90 percent accurate when tried out on healthy people, those with memory loss, and persons with Alzheimer's. "These data are very promising and may be incredibly useful in the future, in particular for choosing which people are suited for clinical trials and for measuring whether amyloid levels are changed by treatments in trials," says University of Edinburgh Professor Tara Spires-Jones. King's College London's Dr. Abdul Hye notes the procedure has major ramifications as it is the first time a group has shown a strong connection between blood plasma amyloid and brain and cerebrospinal fluid. "Considering Alzheimer's disease has a very long pre-clinical phase, a truer test will be how well this test performs in independent, healthy, cognitively normal individuals or even in individuals in the early stages of the disease," he notes.

Studies show the approximately 40 million U.S. caregivers still find joy in caring for their loved ones, but also are in great need of aid, reports Forbes . "We need to find ways to support caregivers so they can sustain their own health and prioritize their own needs while they care for their loved ones," says HealthCare Services for Senior Care Action Network's (SCAN) Eve Gelb. "Through education about the resources available, we're getting closer." A SCAN poll of 1,000 nationally representative U.S. adults found 82 percent of senior caregivers have problems refusing to do the job, while 54 percent feel guilty about taking a break from their tasks to focus on themselves. Moreover, 29 percent spend 40 hours a week or more caring for someone. Nevertheless, about 86 percent of respondents called their responsibility a rewarding experience. "In light of their dedication to their job, we cannot let senior caregivers continue to put their own health and quality of life at risk, as they deserve better and their loved one needs them to be as healthy as possible, too," Gelb says. "It's a double impact — the health of the caregiver and the health of those they are caring for." Gelb's evaluation mirrors the passage of the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage Family Caregivers Act, which directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and maintain a national strategy to recognize and support family caregivers. The statute also sets up an advisory group that will convene stakeholders from the private and public sectors to make recommendations that communities, providers, government, and others may follow to assist caregivers.

A new global study by Development Dimensions International, the Conference Board, and Ernst & Young determined more than 28,000 employees from 2,500 organizations have a negative view of career development in most workplaces, reports the Wall Street Journal . Poll respondents said they would be able to immediately fill an average of 43 percent of critical leadership positions with people already working for the employer, while almost 66 percent of human resources professionals said their succession planning process is poor. Development Dimensions' Evan Sinar says although almost all executives said developing future leaders is prioritized, far fewer report taking the required steps to ensure employees are not overlooked. For example, just 58 percent of the surveyed organizations have defined a clear array of skills that lead to success in a leadership role. Furthermore, when hiring and promotion decisions are made, 50 percent of HR professionals said their selection is not based on performance assessment data or job simulations.

A study published in AIDS highlights the potential risks of prescribing additional medications to aging adults with multiple medical conditions, reports Medical Xpress . The researchers analyzed outcomes for HIV-positive and uninfected individuals, typically older than 50, who received at least one prescription from the VA in 2009, focusing on non-antiretroviral (ARV) drug prescriptions. They followed these individuals for an average of six years, and learned non-ARV polypharmacy was common among aging adults with and without HIV infection. After adjusting for the severity of the subjects' illnesses, the researchers determined polypharmacy continued to be associated with hospitalization and death. Significantly, the more drugs prescribed, the greater the risks for both groups of subjects. "The point of this study is that we need to start looking at medications among people with multiple conditions very carefully," says Yale University's Amy Justice. "Clearly HIV must be treated. But how many other medications a person should be taking remains an open question." Justice notes given the similar outcomes for individuals without HIV, the study also may be important for future research on polypharmacy in all aging adults.

Minnesota's Act on Alzheimer's collaborative and the FamilyMeans nonprofit are enlisting volunteers to train businesses on how to engage with people with dementia and host support groups for caregivers, reports U.S. News & World Report . Advocacy groups say cities and states need to do more to allow people with dementia to retain their independence as long as possible. Through Act on Alzheimer's, Minnesota is spearheading the development of dementia- and Alzheimer's-friendly communities, with a model of the state's initiative adopted in 27 other states. About 92,000 older adults in Minnesota have Alzheimer's, and that population is expected to grow to 120,000 by 2025, according to forecasts from the Alzheimer's Association. "People are passionate about this issue because they've lived it or have been close to it," says Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging Executive Director Dawn Simonson. "It's something that really unites people, and it unites people across the generations." Making communities more accessible for people with cognitive disabilities also benefits the community at large, says the Collective Action Lab's Olivia Mastry. Her organization helped form the nationwide Dementia Friendly America network in 2015 to reproduce its success in communities across the U.S. "We're seeing new services and supports popping up in communities," Mastry notes. "So it really is beginning to change the face of communities in terms of normalizing and destigmatizing the fact that people may have cognitive impairments, and then offering responsive and supportive services so they can be as independent as possible for as long as possible."

The Alzheimer's Association in late January issued 56 new dementia care practice recommendations, including one for person-centered, non-drug treatments, reports Next Avenue . The recommendations are aimed at helping nursing communities, assisted living communities, "and other long-term care and community care providers deliver optimal quality, person-centered care for those living with Alzheimer's and other dementias," said the Gerontological Society of America. The recommendations can be accessed here and will be published as a supplement to The Gerontologist . University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Professor Sheryl Zimmerman says some of the behavioral and psychological symptoms that often accompany dementia "are due to the interplay of the person with the environment." Zimmerman and colleagues studied 197 articles describing scientific evidence on non-drug practices to treat behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. Among the treatments looked at was massage, and the researchers determined "through tactile connection, a person living with dementia may feel comforted and cared about, especially in residential care environments where touch tends to be instrumental and task specific." Another practice showing potential is pet therapy, with the study noting "physiologically, quiet interaction with an animal can help lower blood pressure and increase production of neurochemicals associated with relaxation and bonding." Both researchers and proponents agree everyone is different, and individuals with dementia have their own preferences about their environment, their activities, and their medical treatments.

The Department of Health and Human Services on January 31 announced that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald has resigned from her post following disclosure that she bought shares in a tobacco company, reports Politico . The stock in Japan Tobacco was one of about 12 new investments Fitzgerald made following her installation at the CDC, according to documents obtained by Politico . In addition to Japan Tobacco, Fitzgerald bought tens of thousands of dollars in new stock in at least a dozen companies, including between $1,001 and $15,000 each in Merck, Bayer, and health insurer Humana, as well as between $15,001 and $50,000 in US Food Holding. Fitzgerald was already under congressional investigation for slow-walking divestment from older assets that government officials said posed potential conflicts of interest and prevented her from testifying before Congress.

The American Health Lawyers Association conference, Feb. 28-March 2, will highlight leading in-house and outside lawyers for the long term care industry presenting on legal, compliance, and operational issues faced by providers. Sessions will focus on cutting edge issues that are front and center within the post-acute continuum. See the agenda and register .

An analysis published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found a Mediterranean diet could stave off frailty in older adults, reports Reuters . The researchers analyzed data on nearly 6,000 older adults who were part of four studies, including three conducted in countries that border the Mediterranean Sea and one in Asia. Regardless of where they lived, people whose diets most closely followed Mediterranean diet principles were less than half as likely as those with the least-Mediterranean diets to become frail as they got older. All the studies scored participants' diets based on how closely they adhered to Mediterranean principles, with a score of 6-9 marking the highest adherence and 0-3 representing the lowest. Participants were monitored for an average of about four years. People whose diets scored 4-5 had 38 percent lower risk of developing frailty during the follow-up period versus those who scored 0-3, while those with a diet score of 6-9 had 56 percent lower risk. The Mediterranean diet follows traditional food patterns typical of Greece and southern Italy and includes many plant-based foods such as fresh vegetables, legumes, and nuts, as well as fish and seafood. The chief source of fat is usually olive oil instead of animal fat, and alcohol, typically wine, is consumed in low to moderate amounts.

Alcohol remains the most prevalent substance of abuse among older adults, and a study published in JAMA Psychiatry found older adults are one demographic group experiencing a spike in alcohol addiction, reports Next Avenue . Furthermore, seniors who live in rural areas face particular challenges in accessing treatment and follow-up care. "The onset of alcoholism in this age group is usually due to a significant event," says the Caron Treatment Center's Sharon Matthew. "Job loss, the death of a spouse, kids leaving home. Sometimes they've been social drinkers but after retirement, they don't know who they are and have too much time on their hands. It's a perfect storm." Matthew also notes completing treatment programs can be difficult for rural seniors. "We may be sending them home to an area without adequate programming," she says. "They need to be in the care of a doctor who specializes in addiction medicine and understands aging. It's tough to find sober living places where their medical needs can be accommodated." Dr. Kathleen Grant with the Nebraska Center for Substance Abuse Research says rural communities themselves can present challenges. "There can be support for recovery in rural communities, but there can also be blindness to problems," she notes. "Privacy and denial are two sides of the same coin. We're often unwilling to ask hard questions, to probe older people about their alcohol use in the same way we might with younger people."