Though the COVID-19 pandemic provided a brief respite, influenza virus is back in circulation and, as usual, poses a special danger to people over the age of 65. But why are older people more susceptible to the flu? New research from the U-M Medical School, published in Nature Communications, offers clues. The study, led by first author Judy Chen, a Ph.D. […]
In the first nationally representative study of cognitive impairment prevalence in more than 20 years, Columbia University researchers have found almost 10% of U.S. adults ages 65 and older have dementia, while another 22% have mild cognitive impairment. People with dementia and mild cognitive impairment are more likely to be older, have lower levels of education, and to be racialized […]
Older people may be able to boost their working memory with a new approach that couples online therapeutic games with a non-invasive brain stimulation technique. Working memory is critical for people to function well in everyday life. This volatile form of memory holds and manipulates a finite amount of information over a short time interval, enabling people to interact with […]
Aging is universal. Both osteoporosis and the bone fractures that occur as a result of osteoporosis become more likely with age. Current clinical guidelines do not recommend bed rest during treatment for osteoporotic vertebral fractures—spinal fractures that occur in bones that has been weakened by osteoporosis—because there has not been enough evidence to make conclusive recommendations. However, a recent study […]
Emergency departments in England don’t seem to be set up to meet the basic care needs of frail older patients, suggest the findings of a small qualitative study published online in the Emergency Medicine Journal. Treatment with dignity and respect, clear and timely explanations of what’s happening and what’s wrong, and the opportunity to have a say in their care—all key […]
The median age for receiving a bladder cancer diagnosis is 73, and a significant number of those living with the disease are in their 70s and 80s. A longstanding stereotype in cancer care is that older patients favor a more paternalistic style of care, one in which they defer to the authority of a care provider and may not ask many questions […]
A new study by a University of South Florida researcher found important revelations that could provide chain-operated nursing homes with crucial implications for operational goals and strategic findings that carry over to other service industries. The biggest takeaway for nursing home operators is that having a similar percentage of Medicaid patients among its mix of residents while having a staff […]
Despite guidelines that call for early and aggressive treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, a new study suggests many older adults are not prescribed disease-modifying medications for their inflammatory autoimmune disease. Researchers at Michigan Medicine used the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey to analyze all ambulatory visits for rheumatoid arthritis by adults 65 years of age and older, representing 7.8 million visits […]
When a person nearing the end of their life enters hospice care, their hospice agency’s doctors may prescribe a “comfort kit” of small amounts of medications that their caregivers can give them in case of urgent, distressing symptoms such as severe anxiety, agitation, delirium, nausea and more. They may also get other prescriptions as their hospice care goes on. But […]
Medicines are the most common treatments used in healthcare, especially for older people. But when they’re not used correctly, they can cause serious and sometimes fatal outcomes. Now, new research from the University of South Australia shows that regular visits from pharmacists to aged-care residents can reduce problems due to medicines and improve health outcomes. Working with 248 aged-care residents across 39 aged-care facilities […]
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