Women with Alzheimer's live longer than men with the disease while suffering less severe effects in the early stages, and a study in Science Translational Medicine says this predisposition is common in both humans and mice because they have genetic protection, reports Medical Xpress . Women's second X chromosome grants two "doses" of a protective protein from a gene, KDM6A, that only exists on this chromosome. Certain individuals, both male and female, have an especially potent variant of this gene with added protection — but women have two copies of KDM6A. About 13 percent of women and 7 percent of men around the world have this variant. A review of studies of older people, many of whom already had mild cognitive impairment, showed women with one or two copies of the variant appeared to progress more slowly toward Alzheimer's. Gene expression analyses indicated that women overall had more KDM6A protein in their brains than men, and that people with Alzheimer's had more of the protein in brain regions that are harmed early. "This protective mechanism on the X chromosome opens the possibility that we could increase resilience to Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative disorders by boosting KDM6A or other X factors in both men and women," said Professor Dena Dubal at the University of California, San Francisco.

The GoldPine Home assisted living community in Bemidji, Minn., recently hosted a music performance by Rene and Don McKercher, who entertained locked-down residents who listened through open windows, reports the Grand Forks Herald . The McKerchers have brought joy to area seniors for more than 15 years through their mix of country and pop songs from the 1960s. "It's the one thing that we can do for the community and that we're able to contribute, and we just love doing it," said Don. GoldPine Activities Director Sarah Sundeen said the McKerchers were the first of her usual artists to return this summer. "There's so little I can offer these folks here," she lamented. "The importance of music is something we can all agree on. It truly carries us through the ups and downs of our entire lives."

A study published in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery found that cochlear implants offer "clinically meaningful improvement" over hearing aids in terms of hearing and quality of life for adults 65 and older with hearing loss, reports United Press International . Previous users of hearing aids experienced a 20 percent to 40 percent improvement on commonly used measures for hearing performance after receiving cochlear implants, with no reported side effects. The researchers evaluated the performance of cochlear implants in 75 adults ranging in age from 65 to 91 years who had hearing loss and were using hearing aids in both ears. Six months following cochlear implant surgery in one ear, participants saw a 37 percent improvement in scores on the Consonant-Vowel Nucleus-Consonant test, which assesses the perception of real words and of speech sounds. "Our study demonstrates clear superiority of cochlear implants over hearing aids in many key areas, such as understanding speech, hearing in background noise, and ability to communicate," said Washington University School of Medicine's Cameron Wick. Only about 5 percent to 10 percent of those who would benefit from cochlear implants are referred to an implant center, despite significant upgrades in the technology over the past 30 or so years.

A study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry associated lithium use among older adults with elevated risk for renal decline, reports Healio . The researchers employed healthcare databases from Ontario, Canada, to analyze data of older adults with a mean age of 71 years from 2007 to 2015. They propensity-score matched 3,113 lithium users 1:1 to 3,113 valproate users and further analyzed subjects with higher or lower serum lithium levels. A similar baseline of health indicators was observed over an average follow-up of 3.1 years between lithium and valproate users. The investigators perceived a link between lithium and increased risk for renal function loss compared with valproate, with 6.5 compared to 5.7 events per 100 person years for the former versus the latter. The risk of renal decline when baseline serum lithium concentrations were higher than 0.7 millimoles per liter (mmol/L) was 1.26 compared to valproate use, and this risk was 1.06 when baseline lithium concentrations were 0.7 mmol/L or fewer.

The state of Ohio has paused new NovaDX saliva-based coronavirus tests at assisted living communities after finding inconsistencies in results after just a few days of testing, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer . The state is probing whether the tests produced false positives and their possible cause. Dan Tierney, spokesperson for Gov. Mike DeWine, said none of the results has been counted as a case in Ohio's COVID-19 dashboards. The pause will continue while the state reviews the tests' accuracy, and some assisted living community staff will still be screened this week using both the saliva test and two nasal swabs, said the Ohio Assisted Living Association. All information about the assisted living program was taken down from the Ohio Department of Aging website early yesterday. The Ohio Department of Health paid $300,000 to procure 12,000 mLife saliva test collection units, which requires samples to be sent to a lab for testing.

Starting this week, residents at the Bryan's Assisted Living-CHI St. Joseph Health community in College Station, Texas, will be able to see their loved ones thanks to local first responders, reports the Bryan-College Station Eagle . College Station firefighters have erected a tent in the community's front driveway as an air-conditioned temporary area for visits between the public and residents. "Starting Aug. 31, we are going to have Monday-Wednesday-Friday visits," said community director Kim Varner. "We are having to structure them as appointments so things won't be overrun, and that keeps some order to it." Visitors may approach two at a time, with face masks and hand sanitizer, and can talk to loved ones in half-hour increments inside the tent, with two meetings held during each 30-minute slot.

CDC recently revised its COVID-19 testing guidelines to exclude people who do not have symptoms of the disease, even if they were recently exposed to the novel coronavirus, reports the New York Times . Models indicate that roughly one-half of transmission events can be linked to individuals still in the pre-symptomatic stage. Susan Butler-Wu, a clinical microbiologist at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, notes that the majority of experts encourage more frequent and widespread testing, especially to reach vulnerable and marginalized sections of the population, so the CDC's modification appears counterintuitive. She is concerned that people may believe the guidelines mean that people without symptoms are unable to pass the virus on to others. Experts warn a relaxation in testing could delay important treatments and conceal or facilitate COVID-19's spread in the community. NIH recently announced the first round of grant recipients for its Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) program, designed to ramp up coronavirus testing. On RADx's website, officials emphasize the importance of prioritizing tests that can "detect people who are asymptomatic." CDC's latest guidance says people who have been in close contact with an infected individual — typically defined as being within six feet of a person with COVID-19 and for at least 15 minutes — "do not necessarily need a test" if they do not have symptoms. CDC said exceptions might be made for "vulnerable" individuals.

Rosemary Chatterson of Alexandria, Ontario, has been crafting a half-dozen fidget blankets by request of Maxville Manor for day-program dementia clients, reports the Review Newspaper . Fidget blankets are lap quilts that offer sensory stimulation and entertainment for dementia patients. Each quilt contains stimulating objects, and Chatterson has created more than 50 altogether. Some blankets have gone to the Glengarry Memorial Hospital's stroke rehabilitation unit, while others have been donated to local nursing communities and private individuals. "I make every one different, and I just love the process of the placements and the color combinations," Chatterson says. She has established the Hillcrest Stitchery website for any organization, hospital, nursing community, or individual who might need fidget blankets for patients or a loved one.

Many seniors in Florida are working part-time freelance jobs with the likes of Uber, Postmates, and other technology services, reports the Tampa Bay Times . University of Chicago Professor Dmitri Koustas said demand for transportation services like Uber or Lyft has declined during the pandemic, but interest in delivery services like Shipt or Instacart is on the rise. He explained that workers ages 55 to 75 constitute about 27 percent of gig and contract work and 11 percent in new online platforms, according to the latest tax data. Meanwhile, a study by the JPMorgan Chase Institute found that more than 400,000 seniors held some type of part-time job on online platforms in 2017. AARP Florida Director Jeff Johnson said gig jobs appeal to baby boomers, especially retirees without pensions or savings. Their attractive qualities include flexible hours, autonomy, and a lack of ageism.

A study of 1,000 Americans over 50 years old said kindness is among the most important qualities they look for in a partner — with physical appearance less of a priority, reports People . Kindness was cited by the majority — 79 percent — while three in four said physical attraction was important to them as a young person looking for a partner. Two in five respondents admitted to being more nervous for their first date when they were older than as a young person. Half of those polled said they have met dates through friends and 43 percent have searched online. Politeness and personality gained importance as people grew older. Meanwhile, 61 percent of respondents believe the ability to spend time by themselves is one of the most liberating parts of growing old, making the dating process easier. Sixty percent said they enjoy being able to do whatever they want, when they want, and 36 percent love being able to choose their place of residence.