HealthDay News reports that screening for fall risk and targeted exercise, with or without a multifactorial intervention to prevent falls, does not reduce fractures in older adults. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine considered 9,803 persons aged 70 and older who were randomly assigned to receive fall prevention advice by mail only, falls-risk screening and targeted exercise plus mail advice, and falls-risk screening, exercise, and targeted multifactorial fall prevention in addition to advice by mail. The researchers determined that 89 percent of the exercise group and 87 percent of the multifactorial fall-prevention cohort returned completed fall-risk screening questionnaires, of whom 37 percent were considered to be at higher fall risk and were invited to receive the intervention. Fracture rates were not lower with screening and targeted intervention. The researchers observed only small gains in health-related quality of life and the lowest overall costs in connection with the exercise strategy. "Some possible benefits were associated with screening and a targeted offer of exercise, including small enhancements of quality of life and reduced healthcare costs," they concluded.

Personal-finance columnist Kerry Hannon writes in MarketWatch that work should not be a four-letter word, as it offers a financial cushion to older Americans in these volatile times. She cites U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures that the number of long-term 55-and-older unemployed job seekers out of work for more than 27 weeks and still looking climbed to 26.4 percent in September from 14 percent in August. Hannon quotes Urban Institute Senior Fellow Richard W. Johnson's observation that older workers were less likely to lose jobs than younger workers in previous recessions, but as unemployment rates fell later this year, the gap between older and younger workers narrowed while jobless rates at age 65 and up remained atypically high. And when older workers get new jobs, they usually earn less than in their previous job. "When workers earn more, over their lifetimes, by delaying retirement that raises their future earnings base for Social Security and pensions," Johnson added. Hannon, meanwhile, argues that employers, higher education, and public-sector leaders must collaborate to provide the training and upskilling needed for older workers to stay employed. "In light of the pandemic, the change in the way we work is accelerating and the path to future jobs and careers will look different than it did even a few months ago," said WorkingNation editor in chief Ramona Schindelheim. "When we come out of this on the other side, the people who have taken this time to learn new tech skills though online courses are going to be better positioned to find work. People have to be adaptable."

Medical Xpress reports that a study published in Alzheimer's and Dementia probed the genetic risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias among six diverse Latinx populations: Cubans, Central Americans, Dominicans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and South Americans. The researchers associated the APOE-e4 genetic variant with risk of cognitive decline in these groups, especially among those of Cuban backgrounds. "Our findings highlight how important it is to look beyond European ancestry and European genetic risk factors to understand in what ways genetics may or may not contribute to their risk," explained Einat Granot-Hershkovitz at Brigham and Women's Hospital. The Latinx subgroups differ based on what concentration of genes are rooted in African, European, and Amerindian ancestries. In looking at whether the impact of APOE-e4 is augmented by genetic ancestry proportions, the researchers noted that increased proportion of genetic Amerindian ancestry guards against the risk of APOE-e4-associated cognitive decline. "We think proportion of ancestry is a crude measure of genetics, but there are probably specific genetic factors that may be specific to Amerindian ancestry that drive this difference in the effect of APOE," suggested Brigham's Tamar Sofer.

The "Connecting Seniors" program is providing electronic tablets, digital training, and technology-enabled healthcare services to low-income senior citizens in southeastern Michigan, reports the Grand Rapids Business Journal . The project is a joint effort between the city of Detroit, local businesses, and nonprofits, underwritten by the Connect 313 Fund and a $3.9 million grant from the Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities Rapid Response Initiative. Participants include the Rocket Mortgage Classic golf event, Rocket Companies, Microsoft, and the United Way of Southeastern Michigan. "The disparity in digital equity is a systemic, generational issue that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic," said Connect 313 chief advocate Joshua Edmonds. "We've already made great strides in connecting students to critical technology resources, but we must not lose focus on our seniors who are facing economic hardship and persistent technology adoption challenges that make telehealth a distant reality." Rocket Companies CEO Jay Farner added that the pandemic highlights the need for creative solutions in bridging the digital divide, and Connecting Seniors "provides an impactful solution for our seniors to access the healthcare they need."

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker late last week announced additional measures to shield the health and safety of residents in long-term care communities, reports CapeCod.com . The state administration has imposed temporary admissions moratoriums at certain nursing and rest communities to prevent and contain uncontrolled transmission of the coronavirus. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) also has updated visitation and group activities guidance to boost the minimum length of any visit from 30 minutes to 45 minutes; banned communities from developing policies for out-of-state visitors that are more restrictive than Baker's travel order; and brought definition of compassionate care visits into alignment with federal guidance, which covers not just end-of-life situations. The guidance also specifies criteria to guarantee safe indoor group activities, including spacing between residents and frequent cleaning, while permitting communities to use point of care rapid antigen testing for visitors. MassHealth also will start mandating that nursing communities report hours per patient day staffing levels every two weeks, along with information on contingency staffing plans, including the use of agency staff. The DPH has further issued updated guidance to set clear reporting deadlines that highlight the importance of vaccination early in the flu season while clarifying financial penalties for non-compliance.

The Times Record News reports that researchers at the University of Texas' (UT) Dell Medical School are investigating deep brain stimulation through electrical wires inserted into the brain as a treatment for people with Alzheimer's disease. The team has already used Functional Neuromodulation's device in 42 patients with Alzheimer's, which is now undergoing testing in 210 people in the United States and Europe. Dell Medical School plans to enroll about 10 people in the study, and the institution is looking for people 65 and older with mild Alzheimer's symptoms. Dell Medical School is working with Ascension Seton to implant the devices and with UT Health Austin to monitor participants. The wires to the devices will be positioned near the fornix, which creates the pathway from where information enters and is stored in the brain. The stimulation is thought to help where that pathway might be slowed because of neuron death. "We're trying to make what's good stronger, to reinforce those connections so they don't die away," explained Dell Medical School's Robert Buchanan.

An Associated Press analysis of federal data from 20 U.S. states found coronavirus cases are spiking at nursing communities, with new weekly cases among residents climbing nearly four-fold from the end of May to late October. Resident deaths more than doubled from 318 to 699 weekly. Moreover, weekly cases among nursing community staff in surge states more than quadrupled, from 855 the week ending May 31 to 4,050 the week ending Oct. 25. These findings cast doubt on the Trump administration's strategy of insisting that states reopen while maintaining that vulnerable people can be isolated even if the virus resurges around them. "Someone has to care for vulnerable nursing community residents, and those caregivers move in and out of the nursing community daily, providing an easy pathway for the virus to enter," warned the University of Chicago's Tamara Konetzka. The COVID Tracking Project estimated that nursing communities and other long-term care communities are responsible for roughly 1 percent of the U.S. population, but represent 40 percent of COVID-19 fatalities. Konetzka said her research found that nursing community quality has no significant impact on coronavirus cases and deaths once community spread is considered, which means "it's not like the high-quality communities have figured out how to do things better."

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has requested help from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency to support long-term care and assisted living communities in the state hit by worker shortages, reports Fox 21 . Spirit Valley Assisted Living in Duluth has one staffer for every 10 residents, which means a shortfall can impact various facets of care. "If we do not have enough staff on-site to care for our residents, we won't have enough staff to attend to our visitors," warns Spirit Valley administrator Lindsay Merritt. "A lot of people forget we have to care for everyone. It's not just the residents, it's the people coming and going, the vendors, and the providers." Although Duluth's St. Ann's Residence community currently has enough workers to prevent staffing issues, this has not always been the case during the pandemic. When St. Ann's was struck by COVID-19, a lack of workers ensued. Johnson adds that the healthcare sector was already experiencing an employee shortage before the pandemic, mainly because its competitive nature always makes it difficult to retain top staff.

This Is Reno reports that a new, weekly radio program catering to Reno, Nev.'s senior community was launched in October on radio station KWNK. The Bluebird Radio Hour airs live every week at 10 a.m., and is rebroadcast Saturdays at 3 p.m. Those lacking radios can stream the program live by visiting the station's website. The program was organized by people associated with the nonprofit Note-Able Music Therapy Services (NMTS), which has worked in the Reno senior community to promote physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing through music. It also is associated with the Note-Ables, a band of players with different disabilities, who have been performing locally for 15 years. Bluebird Radio Hour's creators hope it will help relieve some of the isolation that seniors have endured during the COVID-19 pandemic. The show is co-hosted by NMTS' Nate Eng and Sharon Hickox, who said their goal was to create a local riff on programs like "A Prairie Home Companion." Content includes local history and profiles, musical performances, singalongs, and guided relaxation and meditation sessions.

Medical Xpress reports that research from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has identified new therapeutic targets for Alzheimer's disease (AD) with a newly-developed brain analysis technique. The researchers studied the functions of specific cell types in the postmortem brains of AD patients, creating a comprehensive profile of cell-type-specific changes in the transcriptome. Subsequent analysis flagged AD-associated cell subtypes and pathological pathways, citing a subpopulation of endothelial cells in the brains' blood vessels. Elevated formation of new blood vessels from current ones and immune system activation in this subpopulation is linked to AD pathogenesis, implying a connection between the dysregulation of blood vessels and the disorder. The team also identified novel targets for restoring neural homeostasis in people with AD, and pinpointed the mechanism by which the cytokine interleukin-33 could potentially function as a therapeutic intervention. The researchers detailed their findings in a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , and a second study in Cell Reports .