Pearl's Memory Babies, a Kentucky-based nonprofit group, has donated more than 300 baby dolls to Alzheimer's patients in Indiana and Kentucky as a form of therapy, reports Insider . Doll therapy is believed to help ease anxiety among patients with Alzheimer's, and it has been used across the United States and internationally in the past. Pearl's Memory Babies founder Sandy Cambron said her mother-in-law showed positive emotion around her baby doll, and suggested that dolls can "bring back some kind of nice memory" for people with Alzheimer's. Ruth Drew, director of information and support services for the Alzheimer's Association, said that anecdotal evidence suggests doll therapy can help calm agitation and promote social engagement among people with Alzheimer's. But some critics argue that baby dolls "infantilize" and demean older adults with memory problems. Stephanie Zeverino, a community relations worker for Belmont Village Senior Living Westwood in Texas, asserts that art, music, and brain games are more appropriate ways to promote critical thinking for people with Alzheimer's.

A study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease detailed supervised machine learning as a modern approach and complementary tool in cognitive brain health evaluation and management of people with Alzheimer's, reports Medical Xpress . "Machine learning has an inherent capacity to reveal meaningful patterns and insights from a large, complex interdependent array of clinical determinants and the ability to continue to 'learn' from ongoing utility of practical predictive models," said Florida Atlantic University Professor Taghi Khoshgoftaar. "Seamless use and real-time interpretation will enhance case management and . . . care through innovative technology and practical and readily usable integrated clinical applications that could be developed into a hand-held device and app." The researchers used an existing dataset to review answers to general health screening questions, demographic information, and test results from a sample of adults who took the MemTrax test for episodic-memory screening. "By analyzing a wide array of attributes across multiple domains of the human system, and functional behaviors of brain health, informed and strategically directed advanced data mining, supervised machine learning, and robust analytics can be integral, and in fact necessary, for healthcare providers to detect and anticipate further progression in this disease and myriad other aspects of cognitive impairment," noted SIVOTEC Analytics' Michael F. Bergeron.

Science has proved that some animals are capable of human-like "episodic" memories of past experience, which could potentially be applied to the treatment of dementia, reports Fast Company . Research by Indiana University's Jonathon Crystal showed rats could recall past experiences, which also withstood interference from other memories. Crystal suggests the rodents' performance on memory tests could gain insights on treating Alzheimer's more effectively. "What's most debilitating in Alzheimer's . . . is episodic memory," Crystal notes. "So we're trying to develop models in rats that more closely mimic that." Such research is being aided by genetic tools like gene editing. Testing Alzheimer's therapies on rats whose episodic memories have been stolen would give researchers a better idea of a drug's effectiveness in humans, before moving on to costly and often fruitless clinical trials.

The University of Virginia's (UVA's) latest round of 2020-2040 population projections for the state of Virginia and its localities predicts the population of 65 and older residents will rise from 12 percent in 2010 to 18 percent in 2030, reports UVA Today . This growth will be driven by two factors: aging baby boomers and declining birth rates. More than 15 percent of Virginians are expected to be 65 years or older by next year. In rural regions such as Lancaster, Northumberland, Middlesex, Highland, and James City counties, more than 30 percent of residents are forecast to be older than 65 by then. "In spite of the future being inherently uncertain, these projections provide a probable population landscape for Virginia and are valuable for planning," said UVA's Qian Cai.

The Wonolo job platform found baby boomers earned the most money for short-term jobs, were contracted for the most gigs, and earned the highest ratings, reports the San Jose Mercury News . "I think traditionally, people think of the gig workers as millennials," said Wonolo's Beatrice Pang. "We actually always knew that they are much broader." Pang added that gig work gives older workers a way to earn additional income and can offer a flexible option between full-time employment and total retirement. Nationally, about a third of boomers worked more than three gigs on Wonolo every week versus 22 percent of millennials. "Boomers actually do a lot of physical work like fulfillment warehousing and general labor," Pang noted. However, experts are concerned that a general dearth of benefits like retirement accounts, sick paid leave, or health insurance could put workers at risk. "We need to think about policies that can address that," contended Shelly Steward with the Aspen Institute's Future of Work Initiative.

A study from Provision Living found large numbers of seniors are still employed in U.S. cities, reports TechRepublic . Researchers analyzed cities with a population of 200,000 or more, and learned that both Durham, N.C., and Plano, Texas, saw the biggest increase in senior workforces in the past 10 years. Five out of the 10 top cities with the most seniors in their labor forces were in Texas. The rest were located outside of major metroplexes. New York and Chicago were not among the top 50, indicating that younger generations are inundating the populations in those major metros.

A study in Alzheimer's & Dementia considers the challenge of researching the phenomenon of paradoxical lucidity, when a person with severe dementia abruptly displays surprising clarity just prior to death, reports Psych Central . Outlined are vital ethical ramifications of this research, including the ability of vulnerable individuals to participate and how the observation of paradoxical lucidity might alter how caregivers interact with people with dementia. "Would research that might identify a systematically observable paradoxical lucidity provide comfort, for example, by offering loved ones a potential channel for closure, or might it induce worry if loved ones are left to wonder if a reversible cause of the dementia could have been found?" asked the RAND Corporation's Lori Frank. "We do not know the answers, but these could be important research questions in their own right." The researchers hope their work will help raise awareness to fuel further progress into paradoxical lucidity research.

Santa Fe, N.M., is holding monthly gatherings dubbed "Alzheimer's Cafe" to focus on creative stimulus for people living with Alzheimer's disease or dementia, according to the Associated Press . Each meeting is two hours long and features snacks and crafts intended to help stimulate participants' minds. There are a variety of crafting options for participants, allowing them to select what they want to do without interference. Alzheimer's Cafe also incorporates music, with participants singing and dancing to widely-known classics ranging from "You Are My Sunshine" to "Fly Me To The Moon." Alzheimer's Cafe grew out of a program in the Netherlands over a decade ago. It enjoyed European popularity before migrating to North America. Santa Fe is the first U.S. city to introduce the gatherings.

Older men and women who regularly partake in moderate-intensity workouts in the morning hours enjoy the benefits of a sharper brain during the day when it comes to cognitive performance, a recent study led by researchers at the University of Western Australia's Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute found. The research, cited by StudyFinds.org , also showed that bouts of morning exercise combined with several brief, light-intensity walking breaks throughout an eight-hour day boosts short-term memory over uninterrupted sitting. The research team found that different patterns of physical activity are able to enhance specific cognitive tasks and aspects. The study involved 67 adults between the ages of 55 and 80. These participants were called upon to exercise on a treadmill in the morning, with some getting three-minute walking breaks throughout the day and some not. The researchers assessed different aspects of cognition and concentration, including attention span and decision-making.

The U.S. Census estimates that New York's senior population is growing at a slightly slower rate compared to the rest of the United States, reports Empire Center . As of mid-2018, New Yorkers 65 and older comprised 16.6 percent of the state populace, slightly below the national average of 17 percent. The 65-and-over New Yorker demographic was up 3 percent over the 2010 level, while the U.S. average increased 3.9 percent. New York was 35th out of 50 states in senior population share, with Florida leading this category with 23.1 percent of its population 65 and older. New York City's 65-and-up population was significantly beneath state and national averages, amounting to only 14.8 percent of the total, a 2.6 percent gain over 2010. The 65-and-up population was roughly equal to the national average in downstate suburban New York counties, within which the senior portion scaled from a low of 15.7 percent in Rockland County to 17.8 percent in Nassau County. The upstate 65-and-over population was 18.2 percent of all residents.