A study in JAMA Neurology sought to assess seniors' ability to handle outcomes on Alzheimer's risk tests, according to U.S. News & World Report . The study involved more than 1,700 people 65 to 85 recruited to detect elevated levels of amyloid plaques before becoming symptomatic of Alzheimer's disease. All underwent positron emission scanning and then were informed of the results, with nearly 1,200 exhibiting elevated amyloid. Author Joshua Grill at the University of California, Irvine's Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders emphasized the importance of this news coming from people who are suitably trained. "We have to share this information in a safe way, explaining what we understand and what we don't yet know about elevated amyloid and the increased risk of the coming years," he noted. When study volunteers returned to complete a series of psychological tests, the researchers observed no significant increases in depression, anxiety, or suicidal thinking between the groups with and without extra amyloid.

The St. Francis Villa Assisted Living community in River Ridge, La., is holding a mask-making contest to encourage residents to wear protective face coverings during the pandemic, reports WWL-TV . The community's marketing director, Lauralee Adams, has contacted residents' families, asking them to assist in this endeavor. Participants include resident Bette Knott, whose granddaughter crafted a Betty Boop mask, and fellow resident Joyce Yrle, who has a mask featuring the letter J fashioned from jewels by her own granddaughter. The community is posting pictures of the masks on Facebook for people to vote on the best one. The voting will continue until Friday.

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter on Monday sent a letter to U.S. congressional leaders, requesting that they amend the 1984 Victims of Crime Act to include seniors victimized by fraud as qualifying for reimbursement by the Crime Victims Fund, reports KFOR-TV . Reimbursements are typically allocated for victims of violent crime, and the Edith Shorougian Senior Victims of Fraud Compensation Act would channel penalties and fines from deferred prosecution and non-prosecution agreements into the Crime Victims Fund, for compensating seniors abused by fraud. "Especially now, with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, these are individuals who may be disconnected from their support system, making them easier targets for criminals," Hunter declared. "We must make sure we are protecting our most vulnerable from these awful crimes, and making every effort to make them whole if they have been victimized. My colleagues and I encourage Congress to act on this important legislation." Forty-three other state attorneys general signed Hunter's letter.

The U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIA) has awarded nearly $500,000 to a Maine laboratory to research a blood condition that is common in older adults, according to U.S. News & World Report . Jackson Laboratory Professor Jennifer Trowbridge will investigate clonal hematopoiesis, which puts older people at risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Jackson Laboratory Chief Operating Officer S. Catherine Longley said the award will help scientists further understand how blood cells become more vulnerable to disorders with age. State Sens. Angus King (I) and Susan Collins (R) said the research is an example of work at the laboratory that is "making great strides to conquer diseases that affect nearly every American family."

Reuters cites new Department of Labor (DOL) data in reporting that U.S. job openings increased during June, but remained below their pre-pandemic level. The figures support the contention that it could take years for the labor market to absorb the tens of millions of unemployed people. "Job openings, a measure of labor demand, rose 518,000 to 5.9 million on the last day of June," the DOL noted in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The job openings rate increased from 3.9 percent in May to 4.1 percent. The research came after last Friday's report that the U.S. economy created 1.763 million jobs in July, decelerating from a record 4.791 million the month prior. The economy has regained 9.3 million of the approximately 22 million jobs lost between February and April.

American Society on Aging CEO Peter Kaldes writes in The Hill that both Democrats and Republicans need to modernize their policies on aging, specifically "to include more policies that address the modern and diverse needs of older adults." Both parties operate under the negative association of aging with decline, deterioration, and decay, ignoring the higher numbers of senior voters and consumers compared to younger peers. Kaldes cites three key pillars that party platforms should incorporate to accurately reflect modern aging — job creation for older Americans; age-friendly tax policies; and expanded justice for older adults. "When it costs $1 million to retire by age 65, and 21 percent of Americans have no savings, older adults want and need jobs," Kaldes writes. "We must invest in bridging the digital divide for older adults in rural and urban parts of our country by deploying widespread broadband and accessible training." Kaldes also recommends eliminating federal income tax for low-income older adults and strengthening Social Security to keep benefits for future generations. The third requirement is to bolster funding for senior abuse countermeasures and enforcement.

Aspen Public Radio in Colorado has undertaken a pilot project to help combat loneliness among older adults, reports Current . The project's initial phase intends to provide about 40 smart speakers to people living in four local assisted-living communities. Comcast awarded a $5,000 grant to the station to kickstart the project, and the station is seeking additional grant funding to continue the project after the initial allocation expires. Aspen Public Radio has yet to distribute the speakers, but hopes to connect with long-term care communities to train residents on their use. Executive Director Tammy Terwelp wrote on the station's website that one of her loved ones lives in such a community, and she has seen "how helpful smart speakers have been in combating loneliness." According to Terwelp, smart speakers "can help individuals play public radio, laugh at new jokes, hear interesting news stories daily, and spark curiosity about the world. It literally connects people to our mission." Aspen Public Radio's Lisa DeLosso said as a long-term goal, the station would like to give smart speakers to people outside of assisted-living communities, and to have other stations replicate the project.

A study in Nature Communications suggests that the process of memory as one ages is different rather than worse, reports ScienceDaily . Researchers analyzed the brain activity of older people via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans as they watched an eight-minute film. Their brains were recognizing, interpreting, and categorizing events in the movies, which often involves marking boundaries where one event ends and another starts. What constitutes a boundary is consistent among people, and the fMRI results — which measure changes in blood flow and oxygen to highlight brain activity — showed older adults had similarly higher activity as a control group at the boundaries of events. "In some areas, activity goes down and, in some, it actually goes up," said Washington University in St. Louis Professor Zachariah Reagh. Much of the activity is concentrated in the posterior medial network, which is heavily involved in memory, and representing context and situational awareness. In older adults, activity in the medial prefrontal cortex was ramped up. "What might be happening is as older adults lose some responsiveness in posterior parts of the brain, they may be shifting away from the more detailed contextual information," Reagh suggested, adding that as activity levels increase in the anterior regions, "things might become more schematic."

A study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute suggests that aspirin may elevate the risk among older adults with advanced cancer for disease progression and early death, reports EurekAlert . The ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly trial included 19,114 Australian and U.S. community-dwelling participants aged 70 and up without cardiovascular disease, dementia, or physical disability. They were randomized to 100 daily milligrams of aspirin or placebo and monitored for a median of 4.7 years. The researchers reported that 981 participants taking aspirin and 952 taking placebo developed cancer. No statistically significant difference between the groups was observed for overall or specific cancer development. Aspirin was associated with a 19 percent higher risk of diagnosis of cancer that had metastasized, and a 22 percent higher risk of diagnosed stage 4 cancer. Moreover, participants diagnosed with advanced cancer who took aspirin were at higher risk of dying during follow-up than those on placebo. "Deaths were particularly high among those on aspirin who were diagnosed with advanced solid cancers, suggesting a possible adverse effect of aspirin on the growth of cancers once they have already developed in older adults," said Harvard Medical School Professor Andrew T. Chan.

The state of Minnesota is issuing new guidelines to help long-term care and assisted-living communities reopen to visitors, even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the United States, reports the St. Cloud Times . "Loneliness, depression, isolation, and heartbreak are all safety issues," said state Deputy Ombudsman for Long-Term Care Aisha Elmquist. "Everyone needs others, including those who live in long-term care settings." Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm unveiled visitation guidance with the goal to "maximize the health and well being" of residents in these communities. The guidance recommends communities set up a two-tier system allowing for visits and trips outside the community if COVID-19 is contained, and then limit those visits and mandate more testing when there is a spike. Precautions for visitors like masks and screening are also advised. "The long-term care sector as a whole is working very hard to keep these communities as safe as possible and have gotten significantly better in partnership with the state Health Department and other resources in managing cases," Malcolm said.