A study in JAMA Network Open found many people with advanced dementia, especially men, receive onerous medical interventions in their final month of life, reports Newsmax Health . The researchers analyzed 27,243 nursing community residents in Ontario, Canada, with advanced dementia, who died between June 1, 2010, and March 31, 2015. In the last 30 days of subjects' lives, 8.9 percent visited an emergency department, and more than 20 percent were hospitalized, with a quarter of hospitalizations occurring in the last three days of life. Moreover, 13.6 percent died in an acute care center, and men were more likely than women to experience transitions in care at end of life. Transitions in this case can entail relocating a resident from their nursing community and moving them to a hospital or acute care center. Nearly 10 percent of subjects received invasive critical care for potentially life-threatening conditions. Men had 33 percent higher odds of receiving critical care for life-threatening conditions, 17 percent higher odds of being physically restrained, and 33 percent higher odds of receiving an antibiotic, than women. The authors also referred to research that men with dementia are more likely to receive healthcare than women.

U.K. research presented at the recent Alzheimer's Association International Conference found individuals who wear a hearing aid for age-related hearing issues tend to maintain superior brain functioning and cognition versus those who do not, reports StudyFinds.org . A total of 50,000 people over the age of 50 were split into two groups — one group wore hearing aids for age-related hearing problems, and one did not. Annual cognitive tests taken over the course of two years revealed the hearing aid cohort performed better on working memory and attention tasks, and had faster everyday reaction times. "Our work . . . suggests that wearing a hearing aid could actually protect the brain," says lead researcher Anne Corbett. "We now need more research and a clinical trial to test this and perhaps feed into policy to help keep people healthy in later life."

First responders in Montgomery County, Ky., are using trackers on people with Alzheimer's, dementia, and autism to recover them if they wander off, reports WKYT News . "It's similar to LoJack that police would use to find a stolen vehicle several years ago," said Montgomery County Battalion Chief Jeffery Jackson. "So it emits a constant beep." People can be found within 20 to 30 minutes with the trackers, which are similar to watches, worn around the wrist and hard to take off without cutting them. Most healthy adults can walk about three or four minutes an hour, while many with handicaps walk about two miles an hour. However, Jackson said when the missing person's direction is unknown, that two miles becomes a 16-mile radius. "Sixteen square miles is a lot to cover, especially when we get in a rural area where there's a lot of woods, trees, streams where someone can hunker down and hide," he noted. The trackers cost about $300 per unit, and the Montgomery County fire department can loan one out for residents if one is available.

Brookdale Senior Living is investigating the use of artificial intelligence, data analytics, and voice assistants to improve care and quality of life for senior-housing residents, reports the Wall Street Journal . Brookdale CIO Chris Bayham said the voice-assistant apps can particularly help visually impaired and less technology-proficient residents to engage with cellphones and tablets, while receiving useful information on events from community managers. Bayham also sees promise in integrating data from Wi-Fi or Bluetooth-enabled medical devices, like heart-rate or respiratory monitors, with secure electronic health-record systems. Brookdale runs more than 800 senior communities, serving roughly 80,000 older residents and persons with independent living, assisted living, outpatient therapy, and hospice care services.

A study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found poor representation of older adults is typical in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of systemic treatment for plaque psoriasis, reports Healio . The researchers performed a systematic literature search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, and CENTRAL databases for such RCTs over 15 years, evaluating for direct exclusion based on age limits and indirect exclusion based on other criteria. The review covered 162 trials, with 54 showing an upper age limit of 55 to 85 years. Two trials had no exclusion criteria, and 106 RCTs had exclusion criteria but no upper age limit. Still, 96 of those trials had some form of exclusion criteria that might disproportionately impact older adults. The most commonly cited exclusion criteria were serious concurrent infection, malignancy, hematologic disease, immunodeficiency, and hepatic or renal impairment. "Given the increasingly aging world population, the need for guidance in treating older adults with psoriasis is likely to increase over time," the researchers concluded. "In order to be able to make better and more thoughtful management choices in older adults in the future, more clinical research is needed regarding the efficacy and safety of systemic therapy in older people with psoriasis."

A study by Canadian researchers found nearly three million people older than 65 might be suffering silent strokes each year after surgery, reports SpotNext . Silent strokes can only be detected via brain scan, and occur more frequently than strokes that exhibit visible symptoms. A survey of more than 1,000 people from North and South America, Asia, New Zealand, and Europe determined one in 14 persons had a silent stroke following surgery. "'Silent' covert strokes are actually more common than overt strokes in people aged 65 or older who have surgery," said McMaster University's P.J. Devereaux. Subjects who had a silent stroke after surgery were 13 percent more likely to present cognitive decline, delirium, overt stroke, or a mini-stroke due to temporary disruption of the brain's blood supply. The Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health's Brian Rowe said the research "provides important insights into the development of vascular brain injury after surgery, and adds to the mounting evidence of the importance of vascular health on cognitive decline."

A study published in Stroke suggests excessive consumption of diet soda could raise the risk of dementia, reports Fox 35 . Boston University researchers studied 4,000 people of both sexes over a decade. They learned that drinking just one artificially-sweetened soda a day increases the odds of causing brain changes that could lead to dementia or stroke by a factor of three compared to those who do not drink diet soda.

A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found online brain games can help older adults cognitively multitask, reports Earth.com . "We discovered that people in the upper age ranges who completed specific training tasks were able to beef up their brain's ability to switch between tasks in the game at a level similar to untrained 20- and 30-year-olds," says the University of California, Irvine's Mark Steyvers. The researchers worked with the Lumosity online brain training game platform, randomly choosing a sample from 1,000 Lumosity members 21 to 80 years old who played a task-switching game in which players switch between identifying shapes and movement. Users were grouped into a 21-to-80 cohort who completed fewer than 60 sessions, and a 71-to-80 group who completed at least 1,000 sessions. Users in the second cohort who had completed many different sessions could match the scores and performance of younger users in the first group who had not played much. Their performance declined compared to younger users that completed more than 10 sessions. Nevertheless, the findings suggest online brain games could help enhance mental performance and cognitive multitasking.

A survey found 225,000 British seniors 65 or older speak to no one at all most weeks, and 2.6 million speak to three familiar people a week at most, reports the New York Post . The Age UK charity's poll of 1,896 people determined that respondents felt engaging with neighbors or smiling at strangers at a bus stop would make a significant difference to them. Efforts to combat this loneliness epidemic include the United Kingdom formally appointing a minister for loneliness. "Loneliness is a huge problem because retirement, bereavement, and ill health mean many older people find they are spending a lot less time enjoying the company of others than they'd like," says Age UK charity director Caroline Abrahams. The Cadbury chocolatier and Age UK are jointly developing a limited-edition chocolate bar called "Donate Your Words," with part of its proceeds to be donated to Age UK.

A study in the American Journal of Medicine suggests older adults who reduce consumption of vegetable protein may be more likely to experience age-related health problems, reports Reuters Health . Researchers analyzed data on 1,951 people 60 and up on functional impairments, reduced vitality, mental health issues, and chronic medical problems or use of health services. Participants provided this data in three intervals, from 2008-2010, in 2012, and in 2017. Participants generally derived an average 12 percent of their calories from animal protein, and about 6 percent from vegetable protein. In comparison with people who lowered vegetable protein consumption by more than 2 percent between the first wave and 2012, those who increased their intake by more than 2 percent experienced fewer deficits associated with unhealthy aging. "Since substitution of plant protein for animal protein has been associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes, and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, it is relevant to understand which source of protein may be more beneficial for a healthy aging," said the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid's Esther Lopez-Garcia.