Forbes reports that the Candoo Tech startup was founded by tech entrepreneur Liz Hamburg to help older Americans overcome tech accessibility frustrations so they can continue to live independently, safely, and connected. Customers are matched with "Tech Concierges" who work with geriatric experts, audiologists, vision impairment specialists, and enrichment specialists for specific training beyond simple technical support. Candoo Tech's customers range from individuals to larger organizations, including geriatric care managers, senior living communities, area offices on aging, and social service groups. Customer-Concierge interaction was intended to be face-to-face, but the pandemic has moved such engagement online. However, this remote model has allowed Candoo Tech's customer base to expand 940 percent from 2019 to 2020 to thousands of users today. The company's longer-term plans include partnering with healthcare providers who need last-mile support to reach senior patients. Hamburg also envisions using the data collected by the company to provide feedback to tech manufacturers on how to better design their products for older users.

The Washington Post reports that an FDA advisory panel recommended late last week, in a vote of 19-1, against approving Pfizer's experimental drug for the treatment of mild to moderate knee and hip pain. Experts on the committee pointed out that injectable tanezumab was no more effective than common NSAID treatments for arthritis, but carried risks that could not be overlooked. Results from studies showed that tanezumab may result in damage to healthy joints, swelling or nerve damage, or accelerated joint damage possibly leading to knee or hip replacement — risks that outweigh the benefits of the drug. The FDA is not required to follow recommendations or advice from its outside experts, but usually does. Pfizer, which has been developing the arthritis drug for 15 years, expressed disappointment but indicated that it will work with the government on next steps.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is urging all nursing and assisted living communities in the state to sign up for the "COVID Maintenance Program," an initiative to ensure new senior care residents and staffers have access to a coronavirus vaccine, reports WLWT News . DeWine publicized the names of more than 200 communities that are holding out, but there are indications that this may be less a matter of resistance than miscommunication. "What our fear is is that people in the nursing community are not being protected as well as they could be protected because the vaccination is not continuing," he said.

The state of Pennsylvania has ordered vaccine providers to cooperate with agencies that serve older adults to clear a backlog of people 65 and older who have spent months waiting for COVID-19 shots, reports NBC Philadelphia 10 . Despite ramped-up distribution, only 35 percent of older Pennsylvanians had been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus as of press time, and hundreds of thousands of older adults still need to be inoculated before the state intends to open up eligibility. Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam directed vaccine providers to collaborate with area agencies on aging, along with Medicaid managed care organizations, to book appointments for people who want but have been unable to get vaccines. Moreover, providers may not refuse to schedule an appointment for someone who is currently eligible for vaccination, and they cannot advertise that no appointments are available. Providers under Pennsylvania jurisdiction are supposed to book all currently eligible people who request a vaccine — including younger people with high-risk medical ailments — by March 31. Beam said the state wants to complete inoculations for the most vulnerable residents "in short order so that we can continue on the path of making vaccine available for all Pennsylvanians." Pennsylvania Association of Area Agencies on Aging President Holly Kyle said the state's bewildering, scattershot vaccination registration system has frustrated many seniors. She thinks Beam's order could especially help seniors in rural areas.

Assisted living and long-term care communities are increasingly using virtual reality (VR) to improve wellness and quality of life for residents, reports the Wall Street Journal . Caregivers say allowing residents to roam through virtual environments helps them combat such age-related conditions as loneliness, depression, and possibly even cognitive deficits. The pandemic has given VR a big boost as care community residents faced new constraints on visitors and activities. The technology's long-term utility could apply to a rapidly aging population with growing life expectancy. A 2018 field study in Human Aspects of IT for the Aged Population found that nearly 39 percent of a group of assisted-living residents reported "better perceived overall health" after viewing VR images related to travel and relaxation. Meanwhile, emotional well-being improved 29.7 percent for the VR group compared with 4.8 percent of a group that just watched TV. A separate study in Scientific Reports considered 48 older adults with typical cognitive capabilities for their age (68.7 years), and those who played a specially developed VR game over a four-week period had improvement in long-term memory, while those who played the game on a tablet did not have the same effect.

A study in Brain found tau protein builds up at a higher rate in women compared to men, reports EurekAlert . "Tau accumulation rates vary greatly between individuals of the same sex, but in the temporal lobe, which is affected in Alzheimer's disease, we found a 75 percent higher accumulation rate in women as a group compared to men," said Lund University's Ruben Smith. Tau buildup is faster in patients who already have a pathological accumulation of beta-amyloid, and are in the early phase of Alzheimer's disease. The higher accumulation rate among women persisted after adjusting for age and the levels of tau they had at the study's outset. "Our study strongly indicates that the faster spread of tau makes women more prone to develop dementia because of Alzheimer's pathology compared to men," said Lund Professor Oskar Hansson. "Future experimental studies will be important to understand the reasons behind this."

A study in Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research and Clinical Interventions suggests Sargramostim, a medication used to boost white blood cells after cancer treatments, can effectively treat and improve cognition and memory in people with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease, reports SciTechDaily . "The goal of the clinical trial was to examine the impact of a natural human protein called granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor GM-CSF on people living with Alzheimer's disease," said Huntington Potter at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. "We tested GM-CSF because people with rheumatoid arthritis tend not to get Alzheimer's disease and we had previously found this protein, which is increased in the blood of people with rheumatoid arthritis, reduced amyloid deposition in Alzheimer's mice and returned their poor memory to normal after a few weeks of treatment. Thus, naturally increased levels of GM-CSF in people with rheumatoid arthritis may be one reason that they are protected from Alzheimer's disease." GM-CSF/Sargramostim can boost macrophage and granulocyte production in bone marrow, and also generate more progenitor cells that repair blood vessels. These cells circulate throughout the body and purge unwanted cells, bacteria, and amyloid deposits. Potter said the study results "suggest that short-term Sargramostim treatment leads to innate immune system activation, cognition and memory improvement, and partial normalization of blood measures of amyloid and tau pathology and neuronal damage in participants with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease."

KLTV ABC 7 reports that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced an outreach alliance between the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and several partners to improve the state's Save Our Seniors program. The Texas Employee Retirement System, the Texas Teachers Retirement System, AARP, and Medicare health plans are participating in the effort, which aims to encourage seniors to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and provide them with the tools and information they require to receive a vaccine. The partnership is expected to reach about 2 million seniors. The Texas Division of Emergency Management and the Texas Military Department will work alongside local jurisdictions through the program to establish a central drive-through vaccine clinic in each community, or administer directly to homebound seniors. This week 24,000 doses were allocated via Save Our Seniors, the largest number to date. "With more vaccines on the way and more Texans eligible, we will continue to make tremendous progress to ensure that every Texan who wants a vaccine will get on," declared Abbott.

FOX 11 News reports that 50 percent of people 65 and older in Wisconsin have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as the state's federal vaccine apportionment has increased to 2.68 million doses. The state's Department of Health Services says 2.38 million doses had been administered as of Tuesday. A total of 1,494,521 people — 25.7 percent of Wisconsin's population — had received at least one dose, while 874,884 — 15 percent of the state — had completed their vaccine shots. Among residents 65 and older, 72.8 percent had been given at least one dose and half were fully vaccinated. There was a slight uptick in hospitalizations for COVID-19 on Tuesday, as the Wisconsin Hospital Association reported treating 217 COVID-19 patients, 14 more than on Monday and two more than a week earlier.

KRWG reports that the state of New Mexico is about to ease limits on visits to nursing and assisted living communities as the spread of COVID-19 declines and more people receive vaccines. State Aging and Long Term Services Secretary Katrina Hotrum-Lopez announced the new guidelines. Beginning today, outdoors is still preferred for visiting residents of long-term care communities, while indoor visits will be permitted with rules on room size and capacity.