The Synexus HealthyMinds Registry (HMR) has initiated a five-year study exploring the lifestyle and genetic risk factors impacting cognitive function over time, reports Business Wire . The project is seeking 30,000 U.S. participants 50 or older to help researchers identify ways to prevent and treat Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. "For those who want to empower themselves with the latest information in brain health and dementia prevention strategies and research, our new registry offers novel and valuable ways to get involved — to do good and do well," said Banner Sun Health Research Institute director Alireza Atri. "Synexus HMR provides opportunities to learn and engage in activities that can help protect our aging brains, as well as contribute to critical studies to determine what combination of age, lifestyle, and genetic factors can lead to better preservation of mental faculties and vital aging." The study includes yearly cognitive evaluations, lifestyle and medical questionnaires, and free brain training games. Participants also will be among the first to learn about clinical studies on new dementia therapies, and they may receive opportunities to participate in those trials. Synexus HMR is a partnership between Accelerated Enrollment Solutions and the University of Exeter in Britain.

A group of researchers with the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Berlin has discovered a possible cause for the connection between aging and the increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, reports ScienceDaily . The researchers, led by Susanne Wegmann, found that tau-proteins — certain molecules that are tied to Alzheimer's — spread more easily in the aging brain. Tau-proteins appear in the memory centers first, which is consistent with Alzheimer's patients' first experiencing memory decline. But eventually they migrate along nerve fibers and spread elsewhere in the brain. As tau-proteins spread, they begin to affect other cognitive abilities. Wegmann and her colleagues tested the speed at which tau-proteins spread in a laboratory experiment using mice. They discovered that tau-proteins spread twice as fast in older mice than in younger ones. Wegmann plans to continue her research at the DZNE.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, Arizona, Texas, and Florida are home to the neighborhoods with the highest concentration of baby boomers, reports MarketWatch . An affluent area of Scottsdale, Ariz., falling under the 85266 zip code, is at the top of the list, with boomers comprising more than one in every three residents there. Scottsdale is popular with this demographic for its top-rated hospitals, restaurants, and spas, as well as its appealing outdoor activities, including hiking and golf. Rounding out the list of the top five zip codes for baby boomers are neighborhoods in Tucson, Ariz.; Amarillo, Texas; Pompano Beach, Fla.; and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Baby boomers account for about 30 percent of the population in each of those zip codes. Retirees may be flocking to Arizona and Florida in particular because of low taxes in those states.

A study in the American Journal of Public Health found bringing younger and older people together in various settings, along with educating younger people about the aging process, can counter ageism, according to U.S. News & World Report . "The findings really suggest that these interventions had a very strong effect on outcomes, attitudes, and knowledge" about aging, said University of Toronto Professor David Burnes. The researchers also noted persons who adopt negative attitudes about aging die about seven years earlier, on average, than those who feel more positive. "There's a difference in the way that older adults are treated, including the assumption that they're less competent, with their views or opinions taken less seriously," Burnes said. "There's also a tendency to put older adults in a box in terms of the way they ought to behave or act. They may also have problems gaining employment or experiencing pressure to retire before they may want to." A review of 63 studies on more than 6,100 participants between 1976 and 2018 explored three varieties of interventions, including contact between generations, education, and a mix of both. The last intervention type was substantially more effective than the other two.

New Hampshire has passed legislation to form a commission to advocate for the needs of its older adults, reports New Hampshire Public Radio . This responsibility previously belonged to a small, mostly voluntary committee in the Department of Health and Human Services, which was lacking support, according to AARP New Hampshire's Doug McNutt. "We are not adapting to the issues that will help people age, including work longer, different types of housing," he warns. "All those sorts of things, I think we need to do a better job of." The new commission will include representatives from seven state agencies and a full-time director and will be tasked to bring certain issues to light among lawmakers. "I hope that we'll look at things like how do we keep people in their homes and communities, how do we will create a more inviting workforce . . . come up with some new ideas on housing," McNutt says.

According to a newly released Congressional Budget Office report cited by Politico Pro , Democrats' signature policy proposal to hike the federal minimum wage would cost roughly 1.3 million jobs nationwide, even as it boosts wages for approximately 17 million workers and lifts 1.3 million households out of poverty. The study offers the most detailed analysis yet of the proposed $15 hourly federal wage. But it represents a decidedly mixed bag for House Democratic leaders, who are only days away from putting the legislation on the floor after recently winning enough support from across the caucus. The Democrats' bill would phase in the $15 minimum over five years. Not surprisingly, GOP legislators were quick to jump on the potential job losses. Chief among them is Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), the top Republican on the House Budget Committee who requested the CBO score. He remarks, "I urge House Democrats not to advance a proposal that would unravel progress and hurt millions of families in the process."

The U.S. National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute on Aging will use a two-year $4.23 million grant to establish the Cleveland Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, reports Crain's Cleveland Business . The center will be one of 31 NIH-funded Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers of Excellence in the country, and the first in Ohio. It will be helmed by James Leverenz of the Cleveland Clinic, and staffed by scientists and clinicians from the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University, the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, the MetroHealth System, and University Hospitals. Leverenz said the center "will bring together the considerable expertise from the Northeast Ohio medical and academic communities to focus on one of the largest healthcare crises facing our country and the state of Ohio." Experts will focus on areas that include administration, biomarkers, clinical, data management and statistics, neuropathology, outreach, recruitment and engagement, research education, and translational therapeutics. The center will specifically explore atypical Alzheimer's and Lewy body dementia, in addition to healthy individuals at risk for dementia and underserved populations. The center also will teach scientists, healthcare professionals, and the public about dementia, its causes, and treatments.

A study in JAMA Neurology showed a blood test for Alzheimer's accurately read levels of beta-amyloid protein in all stages of the disease, reports Medical News Today . The researchers explored the use of a "fully automated immunoassay" for detecting beta-amyloid in a population sample that included people with Alzheimer's, people with mild cognitive impairment, and people with neither condition. Two cross-sectional studies were performed to investigate the accuracy of the test in 842 participants, and in an separate validation cohort of 237 participants. Lund University's Oskar Hansson said the blood test "accurately predicted cerebral beta-amyloid status in all stages of Alzheimer disease." He added, "We are starting to approach a level of accuracy that is usable in routine clinical care around the world." According to the researchers, using the assay to prescreen participants for Alzheimer's clinical trials would "minimize the number of unnecessary (beta-amyloid-negative) lumbar punctures and beta-amyloid PET scans, as well as lowering the costs for the examinations up to 30-50 percent, depending on the cutoff."

A University of Washington (UW) study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that about a third of older adults who own guns do not store their firearms in the safest way, reports KERA News . In addition, 91 percent of firearm deaths from this demographic are caused by self-inflicted wounds. Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia have some type of safe storage ordinance requiring guns to be locked up. Seniors are at a higher risk of developing cognitive issues and medical conditions like dementia or depression, which means a gun presents risks for its owner and any visitors. Medical professionals recommend doctors talk with seniors often about safety risks, including firearms. UW's Ali Rowhani-Rahbar says the medical community should find more validated screening tools to identify the relationship between gun access and declining health as people age. "I think the majority of reasonable individuals would agree that if somebody has very mild, cognitive impairment, there would be some questions, such as, 'Is there access to firearms?'" he notes. "And, are their plans, that if this gets worse — then the firearm could be stored with someone else, potentially."

On Monday, Fox Business reports, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta blocked the Trump administration from implementing a new rule that would force pharmaceutical companies to include the wholesale prices of their drugs in TV advertising. In doing so, the judge sided with drugmakers Amgen Inc., Eli Lilly and Co., and Merck & Co Inc. by halting the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS's) rule from going into effect today as planned. "HHS Secretary Alex Azar announced the rule on May 8," Fox recalls, "saying that forcing drugmakers to disclose their prices in direct-to-consumer TV advertising could help drive down skyrocketing prescription drug costs if the companies were embarrassed by them or afraid they would scare away customers."