Alzheimer's San Diego has initiated a free program to train people who interact with the community to identify dementia symptoms and help sufferers access assistive services, reports the San Diego Union Tribune . The group teamed with Alzheimer's Orange County to develop the Dementia Gatekeepers program through a federal grant from the Administration for Community Living. The aim is to boost referrals to both nonprofits across the San Diego and Orange County areas. Alzheimer's San Diego Education Director Amy Abrams said the effort is focused on non-traditional gatekeepers like bankers, restaurant servers, and grocery clerks. "We have a real challenge as an organization . . . in trying to reach people with dementia who live alone or don't have a family member or some other care partner who can reach out to our organization directly," she explained. Trainees learn to spot possible symptoms of cognitive decline and communication skills for someone with dementia, and then ask the person if they can direct them to local resources, and submit their contact information online. A social worker from Alzheimer's San Diego will then reach out to help with accessibility.

A study from Baylor College of Medicine finds depressed seniors can benefit by incorporating spiritual faith into their traditional treatments, reports the Houston Chronicle . "It's important to pay attention to the role religion plays in the lives of older adults," said Baylor Professor Mark Kunik. He observed that seniors are less likely to see psychiatrists and more likely to prefer mental health via their religion. The researchers looked at 277 homebound seniors with depression, many of whom were minorities. Some subjects participated in hour-long video sessions, either focused on problem-solving therapy or behavioral therapy. In the second instance, religious individuals could opt to read the Bible or watch sermons on TV. The video sessions were found to be effective, and religious coping skills are more frequent among women and African-American participants. According to Kunik, religious individuals could benefit from counseling by clergy members.

An animal study published in Protein & Cell has yielded a combination of two experimental drugs that reverses the cellular and molecular symptoms of osteoarthritis in both rats and isolated human cartilage cells, reports SciTechDaily . "This is potentially a therapy that can be translated to the clinic quite easily," said Professor Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte at the Salk Institute's Gene Expression Laboratory. The combined alpha-KLOTHO and TGF beta receptor 2 molecules were administered to young, otherwise healthy rats with osteoarthritis. After six weeks, rats that had received the control particles had more severe osteoarthritis in their knees and disease progression. Those that received the drug combination exhibited thicker cartilage, fewer dying cells, and actively spreading cells — and a reversion of disease progression and no negative side effects. Treatment of isolated human articular cartilage cells with the same formula caused levels of molecules involved in cell proliferation, extra-cellular matrix formation, and cartilage cell identity to increase. "That's not the same as showing how these drugs affect the knee joint in humans, but we think it's a good sign that this could potentially work for people," noted Salk's Paloma Martinez-Redondo.

A study in Neurology suggests diets high in flavonol antioxidants could lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease, according to U.S. News & World Report . Flavonols are present in many fruits and vegetables, with green vegetables, apples, and tea especially flavonol-rich. The researchers followed 921 older adults — average age 81 — for six years, and the 20 percent who consumed the most flavonols were 48 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer's than the 20 percent with the lowest intake. The researchers also noted that people with a high flavonol intake were more educated and more likely to exercise, but this did not explain their reduced risk for Alzheimer's. Although this does not prove that flavonols are a cure for dementia, it adds credibility to the idea that a diet with abundant fruits and vegetables may help protect the aging brain.

Studies indicate that people 65 and older are more likely to be malnourished than any other age group — and this number is growing, reports The Conversation . In Britain, adults over 60 who were hospitalized for malnutrition rose from 1,405 in 2008 to almost 5,000 in 2018. Possible contributing factors to malnutrition among seniors include swallowing difficulties, poor dentition, limited mobility, acute and chronic illnesses, and failing to meet changing nutrient demands. Moreover, nearly 93 percent of people who are malnourished live at home, and are susceptible to loneliness, depression, an inability to cook for themselves, difficulty accessing shops, and low income. Common signs of malnutrition in older people may include looser clothing, jewelry, and dentures, along with reduced appetite, lack of interest in food, tiredness, mood swings, and frailty. The first step in preventing and managing malnutrition is to concentrate on boosting caloric and protein consumption with a food-first strategy, which aims to improve nutrition solely through diet. People also may require assistance with eating and drinking, while lonely seniors might improve their appetite by eating in a pleasant environment.

Senior living leaders and communities can obtain accurate and continually updated information on the coronavirus via the Emergency Partners Information Connection (EPIC) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC link offers information about the virus, which was first detected in China and continues to expand. Patients with confirmed infection have reportedly had mild to severe respiratory illness with such symptoms as cough, fever, and shortness of breath. CDC always recommends everyday preventive actions to help prevent the spread of any respiratory viruses, including: one, wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; two, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands; three, avoid close contact with people who are sick; remain at home while you are ill; and so forth.

A study at Augusta University's Medical College of Georgia (MCG) is investigating a possible connection between higher or more rapidly increasing blood pressure in childhood and later vascular damage that could lead to dementia, reports EurekAlert . The researchers are examining 600 people — about equally divided between blacks and whites and male and female — currently 40 years old, on average. The researchers are analyzing data collected over 23 years, including ambulatory blood pressure, arterial stiffness, and other measures of chronic stress and lifestyle. About 33 percent of the study group has hypertension, and the investigators are applying brain imaging to study factors like cerebral blood flow as well as cognitive testing to assess brain health. "We will be able to look at associations between their cardiovascular measures over time and the current status of their cognitive ability, their cerebral blood flow, and brain structure," says MCG's Catherine Davis. MCG's Nathan Yanasak adds that decreased blood flow elevates the likelihood of a negative impact later on.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has rallied seniors to support a $25 million fund to help them with various services, reports the Albuquerque Journal . The bill would set up the Kiki Saavedra Senior Dignity Fund — named after a state representative who passed away a year ago — with oversight handled by the Aging and Long-Term Services Department. The fund would be committed to "high-priority services" for seniors, including assistance with meals, transportation, physical and behavioral health, caregiving, and case management. Focus would be especially directed at helping seniors, veterans, and disabled adults in rural areas where services are not always available. "We need to reinvest in those services," stated Rep. Deborah Armstrong (D).

Researchers at Temple University's Lewis Katz School of Medicine report in Molecular Neurodegeneration that they have developed a new drug for preventing amyloid beta and tau from clumping in the brain, according to FierceBiotech . The drug is a so-called "chaperone" because it is engineered to increase concentrations of a molecule, VPS35, critical to cells' ability to sort and move proteins. VPS35 separates dysfunctional proteins and shunts them out of cellular compartments called endosomes for purging. Previous research indicated that levels of VPS35 decline in Alzheimer's disease, and tied that reduction with the formation of tau tangles within neurons and external amyloid plaques. The drug chaperone, TPT-172, restored levels of VPS35 in mouse models along with synaptic functions. Mice treated with the drug exhibited improved memory and behavior versus animals engineered for Alzheimer's which received no treatment. "Because our most recent investigation was a preventative study, we want to know now whether this therapy could also work as a treatment for patients already diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease," said Temple Professor Domenico Praticò.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said at a panel at an AARP-hosted event that seniors are getting "locked out" of the city's technology economy, reports The Hill . She pointed to the massive flow of tech jobs into Seattle. "The bridges to that economy have been shut, so we really have to be looking at how do we make Seattle more affordable for more people?" Durkan asked. "How do we make sure that there's true economic opportunity both for our youth coming up, but also for our seniors and whatever their second and third acts are?" U.S. Census data projects that seniors will comprise almost 20 percent of the population in Seattle's King County by 2040. Durkan stressed that not only must senior access to Seattle's tech economy be assured, but also that cities should make a more concerted effort to serve the senior community in terms of housing and transportation. "We want a city where mobility is easy, people can walk to where they need to get, we have housing that is affordable near the places they want to live, and that they're in and around multiple generations," she said.