Study finds large gap in breast cancer treatment recommendations for patients aged 70 vs 69

Age-based heuristics can lead to large differences in breast cancer treatment based on small differences in chronologic age, according to a new analysis of more than 500,000 patient records. Patients aged 70 were nearly twice as likely to be passed over for standard-of-care radiation as those aged 69. There were no similar gaps between other age pairs. The study is among the first to demonstrate an age cutoff heuristic in oncology.

More Steps, Moderate Physical Activity Cuts Dementia, Cognitive Impairment Risk

UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science study: senior women were less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment or dementia if they did more daily walking and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.

Researchers Find That Brains With More Vitamin D Function Better

Researchers at Tufts University have completed the first study examining levels of vitamin D in brain tissue, specifically in adults who suffered from varying rates of cognitive decline. They found that members of this group with higher levels of vitamin D in their brains had better cognitive function.

Cellular housekeeping process implicated in fatal neurological disorder

A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates that as patients age, Huntington’s disease gradually impairs autophagy, which eliminates waste from cells. This housekeeping is significant because a buildup of waste in a specific kind of neuron leads to such cells’ untimely deaths. The researchers also showed that enhancing the autophagy pathway in such neurons that were created from skin cells of Huntington’s patients protects those cells from dying.

UCI is key member of multi-institutional, $126 million NIH brain mapping project

Irvine, Calif., Sept. 22, 2022 – The University of California, Irvine will participate in a five-year, multi-institutional, $126 million grant from the National Institutes of Health supporting the BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network. The project aims to describe the cells that make up the human brain in unprecedented molecular detail, classifying them into more precise subtypes and pinpointing their location.

Daily Multivitamin May Improve Cognition and Possibly Protect Against Decline

New research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine shows that taking a daily supplement may improve cognition in older adults. In the study, researchers estimated that three years of multivitamin supplementation roughly translated to a 60% slowing of cognitive decline (about 1.8 years).

Wayne State University designated as age friendly

Wayne State University has been named a member of the Age-Friendly University Global Network, an innovative consortium of universities dedicated to promoting equity, inclusion and opportunity for older adults. A strategic focus of the university is diversity, equity and inclusion. The AFU designation confirms that “age” is an important dimension of that strategy.

Poll: Aching joints make older adults reach for many forms of pain relief – but health risks could follow

Popping a pill may bring short-term relief for arthritis-related joint pain, but many older adults may not realize that what they swallow could raise their risk of other health problems, or that other non-drug options could help them, a new poll suggests.

Ochsner Accountable Care Network announces sixth straight year of exceptional quality outcomes and multi-million-dollar healthcare savings

OACN’s 2021 clinical successes, highlighted by a 100% quality score, can be attributed to increasing primary care physician visits, focusing on high-risk patient care coordination and support, reducing unnecessary hospitalizations through ambulatory care coordination, and improving patient satisfaction.

Having a partner more important than children to staving off loneliness during pandemic, new study finds

A new study released in the European Journal of Ageing found that having a partner had a greater impact than having children in helping to stave off loneliness among older adults during the pandemic’s first wave. Researchers at the University of Rhode Island, University of Florence, University of Maryland Baltimore County and the SGH Warsaw School of Economics analyzed data on more than 35,000 adults aged 50 and older from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe to examine if unpartnered and childless older adults reported more loneliness and how that changed over the course of the pandemic.

Research links red meat intake, gut microbiome, and cardiovascular disease in older adults

A new study shows older adults who ate about a serving of meat daily had a 22 percent higher risk of cardiovascular disease than those who didn’t eat meat, and identifies biologic pathways that help explain the risk. Higher risk and links to gut bacteria were found for red meat, not poultry, eggs, or fish.

Research reveals how brain inflammation may link Alzheimer’s risk, sleep disturbance

A multisite research team from the University of California, Irvine, the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Wake Forest University has discovered that brain inflammation may link Alzheimer’s disease risk with sleep disturbance, which may aid early detection and prevention efforts by identifying novel treatment targets at preclinical stages.

John P. Hussman Institute to Lead International Genetic Study of Alzheimer’s Disease in People of Hispanic and African Ancestry

To build a resource that greatly expands Alzheimer’s disease genetic studies in the currently underrepresented African ancestry populations and Hispanic/Latinx groups, the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics (HIHG) at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine will lead a major five-year, international, multi-site initiative with Case Western Reserve University, Columbia University, Wake Forest University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Ibadan, which is the lead institution for the African Dementia Consortium (AfDC).

Chula’s Innovations for the Aging Society

As one of the countries with a rapidly increasing aging population, especially this 2022, Thailand is now becoming an ‘aging’ society and will likely become a ‘super-aging society’ by 2031. To better meet the needs and provide services to the nation’s aging society, experts from various fields at Chulalongkorn University have conducted research to produce and develop innovations for the elderly.

Listening Can Be Exhausting for Older Cochlear Implant Users #ASA182

In her presentation, “Aging effects on listening effort in cochlear-implant users,” Kristina DeRoy Milvae will discuss the results of two experiments that examined impacts on listening effort. The session will take place May 24 at 12:50 p.m. Eastern U.S. at the 182nd Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel.