A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society suggests adults aged 65 years and older who are hospitalized with fever or respiratory symptoms during flu seasons are less likely to undergo a provider-ordered flu test than younger persons, reports EurekAlert . Included in the study were 1,422 adults hospitalized with symptoms of acute respiratory illness or non-localizing fever at four hospitals in Tennessee during the flu seasons from November 2006 to April 2012. In general, 28 percent of subjects had provider-ordered flu testing, and those who were tested were younger than those not tested, and more likely to have flu-like illness. Flu-like illness was found to decline with increasing age to 63 percent for those 18-49 years old, 60 percent for those 50-64 years old, and 48 percent for those 65 years old. The presence of flu-like illness and younger age were independent predictors of provider-ordered testing across all participants. Among the 399 subjects with flu verified by these laboratory tests, flu-like illness was the only significant predictor of provider-ordered testing. Nearly 50 percent of participants with confirmed influenza did not have testing ordered by their providers.

The U.S. National Institute on Aging warns older adults are much more vulnerable to hypothermia in wintertime, reports HealthDay News . Steps for preventing or reducing the odds of hypothermia include seniors asking their doctor or pharmacist if any prescription or over-the-counter medications they are on raise their risk for hypothermia. Seniors also should keep the thermostat in their home to at least 68 to 70 degrees, as even interior temperatures of 60 to 65 degrees can put older adults at risk for hypothermia. Also recommended is wearing long underwear under clothes indoors, as well as socks and slippers and a hat or cap. Using a blanket or afghan to keep legs and shoulders warm also is suggested. Seniors also are advised when going outside to wear a hat and scarf to prevent the loss of body heat through the head, and gloves or mittens to prevent heat loss through the hands. Wearing several layers of loose clothing also helps to trap warm air between the layers. In addition, older adults should inform someone when they are going outside, and carry a fully charged cellphone. The should call 911 if they notice any symptoms or suspect hypothermia.

A new study published in Brain found proteins in nerve cell synapses are abnormal in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, reports Alzheimer's News Today . Swedish researchers believe by analyzing these flaws, scientists could differentiate between those with Alzheimer's and those with Parkinson's-related dementia, and design treatments that prevent or retard cognitive loss by targeting the identified protein. The team studied 32 people who had died from Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease with dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies, along with older adults without dementia. They focused on the prefrontal cortex and compared proteins in the brains of people with dementia and healthy people, identifying 10,325 proteins, of which 851 had functions within synapses. Twenty-five proteins were found to be in either higher or lower than normal amounts, and they were strongly connected to the extent of cognitive impairment before death and the rate of cognitive decline. The team observed abnormalities in individuals with Alzheimer's disease, distinguishing them from subjects with dementia caused by Parkinson's. "Our findings suggest that particular pre- and postsynaptic proteins have an important predictive and discriminative molecular fingerprint in neurodegenerative diseases and represent potential targets for early disease intervention, such as synaptic regeneration," says Dr. Erika Bereczki.

The House approved a stopgap spending bill on Thursday to keep the government open through Feb. 16, but Democrats in the Senate are expected to block the measure in that chamber. The bill would provide funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for six years, and delay or suspend certain taxes imposed by the Affordable Care Act. President Donald Trump suggested that CHIP funding should not be part of the stopgap bill, writing on Twitter, "CHIP should be part of a long term solution, not a 30 Day, or short term, extension!" Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) made clear that she was unmoved by the inclusion of CHIP funding in the stopgap bill. Virginia's two Democratic senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, announced they would oppose the temporary spending bill in the Senate, reports the New York Times .

Harvard Business School doctoral candidate Paul Green and colleagues analyzed field data from a company that used a transparent peer-review process and also gave its employees a voice in defining their jobs and over whom they worked with, reports the Harvard Business Review . Their analysis revealed that critical appraisals from colleagues drove employees to adjust their roles to be around people who would give them more positive reviews, leading to the conclusion that negative feedback seldom inspires improvement. Green says the receipt of "disconfirming feedback" would usually spur employees to move away from the coworkers who had offered it, and seek new and different relationships. "And the more negative feedback they received, the further the employees would go to forge new networks," he notes. Green contends negative feedback "doesn't provide the sustenance we need to maintain a positive view of ourselves." He stresses people who provide such feedback should accompany it "with validation of who people are and of their value to the organization." Green suggests the performance appraisal process should be crafted to include this broader affirmation so the feedback will motivate someone to improve. "This makes sense if we think about it in the context of personal relationships," he notes.

Medical journalist Jeanne Lenzer warns of potential dangers for people with implanted medical devices, which she says are cleared with far less scrutiny than drugs, and go to market without clinical trials, reports National Public Radio . "One of the problems with devices is that nobody's really tracking the numbers of harm — or the rates of harm," Lenzer says. She cites as one instance the vagus nerve stimulator (VNS) for controlling epileptic seizures, for which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave conditional approval due to concerns about deaths. "The idea of conditional approval is that once the company proves it's safe after it's on the market, then its approval is complete," Lenzer says. She notes the five studies the device maker provided her did not record how many people died, if they died, or when they died, while her request for them to release mortality data from the Social Security Death Index on behalf of the British Medical Journal was denied. "When I brought all this to the FDA, the FDA said, it's safe," Lenzer recalls. "And I said, how can you say it's safe when we don't have death data? And their answer ... is we never asked the company to count the number of deaths." One person with a VNS device suffered heart stoppage because of the implant, and an FDA database recording adverse device events listed similar incidents and significant deaths. "Only about 1 percent of all serious adverse events make it into the FDA's adverse event database," Lenzer says. She also suggests the FDA does a poor job of regulating these devices because they are heavily influenced by the industries they regulate.

A study of 3,074 nonprofessional or unpaid caregivers by the Transamerica Institute found caring for loved ones can imperil their retirement, reports CNBC . "Caregiving responsibilities can impact a caregiver's finances, ranging from lost income due to time off the job to incurring out-of-pocket expenses on behalf of the care recipient," says Transamerica Institute President Catherine Collinson. The study found 76 percent of employed caregivers have sought accommodations at work to help them balance their duties, including using vacation and sick days, reducing hours or responsibilities, and quitting or retiring. Those who leave their jobs lose their primary source of income, cannot participate in a 401(k), and lose access to their employer's health insurance plan. The study estimated caregivers spend an average $150 a month to cover expenses for their loved one, while 75 percent of caregivers do not receive any payment or financial aid for their duties. The Transamerica Institute offers suggestions to help people balance their personal finances as they care for a senior parent, including attempting to receive payment. Some states may provide such payments if the loved one qualifies for Medicare, although the Center for Medicaid & Medicare Services recently announced guidance for states that are considering Medicaid work requirements. Not quitting one's job is also recommended, as is maintaining one's own financial health.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is warning of a new scam in which intended victims are deceived by people masquerading as CFPB employees, claiming they have won a lottery. The scam has four basic components, including a call alerting victims of their "win," followed by several other calls. One such call may come from an imposter playing an CFPB employee, or someone from another U.S. government agency, to confirm the prize. The victim is later informed that they have to pay the taxes upfront to collect the prize, after which the target sends the money to pay the taxes and never hears from the callers again. CFPB personnel do not collect information about lottery or sweepstakes winnings, nor do they call people to confirm winnings. Suspicion of imposter scams should prompt people to report them to their law enforcement's non-emergency number. Any suspicions of someone being a victim of senior abuse or financial exploitation should be reported to local Adult Protective Services at eldercare.gov .

States are increasingly wading into the fight to combat the financial abuse of older adults, the top state securities regulator said Thursday. The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) released a model rule two years ago that mandates that advisers report suspected abuse to certain state authorities, allows them to stop disbursements from seniors' accounts, and gives them protection from liability, reports InvestmentNews . To date, 13 states have passed a version of the model act, and roughly 10 more states are expected to follow suit this year, said Joseph Borg, NASAA's president and the securities commissioner. "We know it's going to be introduced in a number of state legislatures," Borg said at an event in New York focused on financial wellness and aging. Some states may be waiting to see what happens at the federal level before taking action, Borg said. Legislation similar to NASAA's model rule is currently working its way through Congress.

The financial turmoil gripping the U.S. insurance industry is leaving millions of long-term-care policyholders with the hard choice of either paying steeper premiums or losing their coverage, reports the Wall Street Journal . Only about 12 insurers still sell long-term-care coverage, down from more than 100. Financial advisers estimate long-term care often exceeds $100,000 annually per person, while LTCG analysts say the nationwide total tops $200 billion. Nearly all insurers in the industry grossly underestimated how many claims would be filed and how long people would draw payments before dying, as beneficiaries are living and retaining their policies much longer than expected. Following the financial implosion, nine years of ultralow interest rates also left insurers with much lower investment returns than they needed to cover those claims. Limra calculates fewer than 100,000 long-term-care insurance policies were sold in the U.S. in 2016, and sales declined to about 34,000 in the first half of last year. The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance says a 60-year-old couple can now expect to spend about $3,490 in combined annual premium for a typical policy beginning with a maximum payout of $164,050 a person and then expanding 3 percent a year to $333,000 when the couple is 85.