A study from the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at the New School estimated that almost 3 million workers between ages 55 and 70 have exited the workforce since March, reports the Business Journals ' BizWomen publication. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, older Americans have less time to recover financially than younger generations. The authors said health risks linked to working during the pandemic and fewer job prospects make involuntary retirement more likely. Women and workers of color have been hit hardest, as the lockdowns have been especially damaging to industries that employ more older non-white and women workers. Non-white women suffered the most, with 19.5 percent losing jobs, 7.7 percent becoming unemployed, and 11.8 percent leaving the labor force. The Schwartz Center added that it can take older workers almost twice as long as younger employees to find a new job, usually for lower salaries than previously. "If they return to work, they risk getting seriously ill due to COVID, but if they stay home, they may forfeit their earnings," said the Kaiser Family Foundation's Tricia Neuman. "For older workers who were hoping to work long enough to collect full Social Security benefits, the decision to stay home could have lifetime financial consequences."

A study published in the Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology said genes that play a crucial role in allowing SARS-CoV-2 to invade heart cells become more active with age, which could help explain older people's susceptibility to severe COVID-19 infection, according to ScienceDaily . "As the pandemic has progressed, we've seen more and more COVID-19 patients — particularly older patients — affected by heart problems," said Professor Anthony Davenport at the University of Cambridge. "This suggests that the virus is capable of invading and damaging heart cells and that something changes as we age to make this possible." The investigators analyzed cardiomyocytes, which when damaged can affect the ability of the heart muscles to perform. The coronavirus must first penetrate the cardiomyocyte to cause damage, and the virus's spike protein binds to ACE2, a protein receptor on the surface of certain cells. The virus also can invade by compromising other proteins and enzymes, including TMPRSS2 and Cathepsins B and L. In comparing cardiomyocytes from five 19- to 25-year-old men and five men aged 63 to 78, the team found the genes that govern the generation of these proteins were significantly more active in cardiomyocytes from the older subjects — implying a likely increase in the corresponding proteins in aged cardiomyocytes. "The more we learn about the virus and its ability to hijack our cells, the better placed we are to block it, either with existing drugs or by developing new treatments," Davenport said.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said at least 10 million Medicare beneficiaries have used telehealth since early March, versus about 13,000 appointments weekly before, reports CNBC . Although Congress and regulators are considering making the temporary expansion permanent, patient advocates are cautioning against a rush. "We have data about increased utilization, but we don't know much about the beneficiary's experience and what's working and what isn't," said Lindsey Copeland with the Medicare Rights Center. Issues that need to be tackled include quality of care, cost to beneficiaries, and services that are sensible for coverage. "Using it for all circumstances and all services, as we've seen generally through the pandemic, might not be the best possible way forward from both a program cost perspective or beneficiary cost perspective," said Juliette Cubanski with the Kaiser Family Foundation. Another issue concerns beneficiaries' access to technology, and the knowledge to use it. "If we have this expansion in telehealth, we have to do it in a way that doesn't leave those people further behind and increase existing disparities," Copeland emphasized. Policymakers also would have to flag those services most appropriate for telehealth appointments.

A study in Science Advances investigated a potential Alzheimer's disease treatment by targeting LC3-associated endocytosis (LANDO) and its role in neuroinflammation, reports Medical Xpress . Previous research uncovered a LANDO pathway in microglial cells, and the deletion of genes required for this pathway caused Alzheimer's progression to accelerate in a mouse model. Furthermore, LANDO guards against neuroinflammation, a telltale of Alzheimer's. In their continuing research, the authors learned the protein ATG16L, which plays a major role in autophagy, also plays a role in LANDO; deleting the protein's WD domain inhibits LANDO without impeding autophagy. "This work solidifies LC3-associated endocytosis as a pathway that prevents inflammation and inflammatory cytokine production in the central nervous system," said Bradlee Heckmann with St. Jude Children's Hospital. "While much of the data on LANDO suggests a significant role in neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases, there is also a strong possibility that it could be targeted as a therapy against cancer or even infectious diseases that rely on similar processes for survival."

A study published in JAMA determined that nearly 75 percent of older adults with dementia have filled prescriptions for drugs that carry special risks and affect their brain and nervous system, but are not engineered for dementia, reports MEA WorldWide . Some medications also have been associated with worse cognitive symptoms in seniors. The authors said none of the drugs studied have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat dementia or its behavioral symptoms, and evidence for their off-label use is thin. All of the medications are linked to adverse risks for people in their 60s and up, "including falls or dependence that could lead to withdrawal, as well as increased risk of death." These findings indicate the need for more research to understand factors driving prescribing, in view of little proof of benefit for adults with dementia. "I think perhaps clinicians and family members should revisit why patients are receiving medications like these and consider possibly stopping them, especially for patients on multiple such medications," said the University of Michigan's Donovan Maust.

A study published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry found no increase in depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic among older adults with pre-existing major depressive disorder living in Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, and St Louis, reports Newswise . Subjects also were found to be resilient to the stress of physical distancing and isolation. "They told use that coping with chronic depression taught them to be resilient," said Professor Helen Lavretsky at the University of California, Los Angeles. All study participants were older than 60, and the investigators observed no changes in their depression, anxiety, or suicidality scores before and during the pandemic. Moreover, participants were more concerned about the risk of infection than the risks of isolation, and while all maintained physical distance, few felt socially isolated and were using virtual technology to connect with friends and loved ones. However, many participants admitted that their quality of life was lower, and were concerned that their mental health will deteriorate with continued physical distancing. They also were upset by the inadequate governmental response to the crisis. Among the self-care and coping strategies followed by participants was maintaining regular schedules; distracting themselves from negative emotions with hobbies, chores, work, or exercise; and concentrating on their immediate surroundings and needs without thinking beyond the present.

The Wesley House Assisted Living community in Hillsboro, Texas, is helping residents deal with the pandemic-related quarantine in an unconventional way, reports KSAT . A recent event allowed residents to enjoy alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and get temporary tattoos. "We have about 30 residents in our facility," said Wesley House officials. "Most of them are very independent, so having them on lockdown has really made a big change in their lives." It took about 90 minutes for all residents to come through the dining area of the community to participate in the event, and they hung around the event space for about 10 minutes before being sent back to their rooms. "We quickly disinfect tables and chairs used for other residents to use when their turn comes," Wesley House officials said. They added that all staff help during activities, "so that makes residents more open to participating as well. We are trying to keep their lives as normal as possible during this difficult time for them."

AARP Michigan will host virtual events for the remainder of the year to ensure its members can enjoy education and social events without exposing themselves to the coronavirus, reports WHMI 93.5 Local News . "While of course we're hearing they sort of miss being in person and the social opportunities that being in person afford us, we're able to offer more in a virtual environment and make that available to more individuals," said AARP Michigan's Careena Eggleston. She explained that modern technology is helping residents comply with social distancing, even as they keep in touch with others, avail themselves of resources, or learn something new. "We're using our social media platforms for programs like how can you engage with your friends and family using Zoom; or how to prepare your garden for the fall season," Eggleston noted. "We have an upcoming webinar on how to navigate the current job market." AARP Michigan provides programming through its Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages, and at aarp.org/mi .

In a collaborative study published in Brain , British academics and clinicians devised a diagnostic definition of Functional Cognitive Disorder (FCD), reports ScienceDaily . "While FCD involves impairment of thinking processes, unlike dementia, it is not expected to progress," explained the University of Bristol's Harriet Ball. "From a patient's point of view, that is a very different prognosis and one that requires different management." Ball added that "having clear diagnostic criteria for FCD will enable us to better characterize the condition and better explain it — and its prognosis — to patients and their families." The first clinical definition of FCD arrived at by academic and medical consensus will facilitate a new phase of FCD investigation as researchers can now consistently identify subjects for studies. The next stage for this work, already in progress, is to evaluate clinical markers and understand the epidemiology, in order to build treatment studies. "With a clear operational definition, we'll be better at picking the right people for trials against, for example, Alzheimer's proteins — because if lots of people with FCD are in those trials, it is much harder to show any treatment effect against Alzheimer's," Ball concluded.

U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) this week announced her support for the Assisted Living Facility Coronavirus Reporting Act, which aims to improve the safety of residents, their families, and personnel at assisted living communities by fortifying reporting mandates related to COVID-19 infections, reports the Augusta Free Press . The measure would obligate states to disclose weekly and historic COVID-19 data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and require assisted living communities to alert federal, state, and local health officials if anyone associated with the community contracts the virus. While less than 1 percent of the American population lives in nursing communities, 42 percent of all deaths from COVID-19 occurred among residents in these care facilities. Luria remarks, "This bill will hold nursing homes accountable as we work to stop the spread of COVID-19 and will give the CDC and the Department of Heath and Human Services the data and information they need to advise the public."