A study published in JAMA Network Open found linkage between certain proteins and a tendency to commit criminal acts among persons with dementia, reports the Business Standard . "We observed that the likelihood of committing criminal acts was nine times higher among those with frontotemporal dementia who had accumulations in the brain of certain abnormal proteins, above all TDP-43, compared with those who had accumulations of tau protein," says researcher Madeleine Liljegren. "The TDP-43 proteins seem therefore to be particularly associated with developing criminal behavior among people with frontotemporal dementia." Liljegren concludes that the study verifies previous studies' findings. "With these subjects," she states, "the damage is in the frontal part of the brain where our personality, including impulse control and empathy, resides."

A study of mutated mice published in PLOS Biology discovered 38 new genes related to hearing loss, describing the metabolic pathways and regulatory processes involved in hearing, reports Medical Xpress . The researchers engineered 1,211 new mouse mutants, and screened each via the auditory brainstem response to assess their hearing. Also analyzed was human DNA data to find if any of the 38 new genes were associated with human adult-onset hearing loss, with 11 having a significant link to hearing ability in the U.K. population. In addition, one gene, SPNS2, was associated with childhood deafness. "Only a handful of genes have previously been linked specifically to age-related hearing loss in adults, and now our study adds many more potential new genes to follow up," said the Wellcome Sanger Institute's Chris Lelliott. Additional analysis suggested hearing loss varies extremely, and possibly involves as many as 1,000 genes. "This emphasizes the value of mouse studies for identifying genes and mechanisms underlying complex processes such as hearing," noted the Wellcome Sanger Institute's Selina Pearson.

Certain Washington state medical providers say dental care is a health cost that retiring seniors should prepare for, a fact complicated by a lack of awareness, reports the Spokane Journal of Business . "I suspect that oral health isn't as big of a concern for people who are planning retirement as it should be," says Timothy Naomi, a dentist with Providence Medical Group. He adds that oral checkups on a regular six- to eight-month basis are still very important for people older than 65, "because as we reach those later decades of life, we become more prone to certain oral health issues. And it's always more expensive and time-consuming to fix problems later, rather than working to prevent them." In addition, Naomi stresses that a significant number of seniors' dentists qualify for Medicaid, but "there are others who don't qualify for Medicaid, and Medicare doesn't cover dental care. It's a real issue for them, many of whom are already on fixed incomes." He also points out that many cases where the cost of dental care is unexpected involve persons living in a skilled nursing community, which "can identify issues, but there's nowhere for the resident to go for follow-up work or more involved procedures."

Research has demonstrated that social isolation heightens people's risk of heart disease, dementia, memory loss, and premature death, reports the Seattle Times . The University of Washington's (UW) first national longitudinal study of aging members of the LGBTQ community indicates isolation is amplified in this demographic. UW Professor Karen Fredriksen Goldsen suggests those who relocate to a retirement or assisted living community may revert to hiding their sexual orientation. Her survey spent the past decade polling 2,450 LGBTQ people between the ages of 50 and 102 on an every-other-year basis, which revealed that older, married LGBTQ adults enjoy better physical and mental health, more social support, and greater financial resources than singles. Later analysis determined more than 55 percent of LGBTQ seniors live alone, and 64 percent have suffered discrimination or been victimized three times in their lives. Fredriksen Goldsen has founded a non-profit LGBTQ senior community called the GenPride Center to alleviate social isolation. "I want to help build a senior-friendly Seattle," she says. "It's not just LGBTQ, it's all seniors. We have to think about cross-generational interventions and solutions, and demonstrate that seniors are an important resource."

A study of lab-grown mouse cells called "organoids" published in Cancer Cell adds significant evidence that epigenetic changes common to aging are critical to triggering colon cancer initiation, reports Medical Xpress . The researchers' lab model mimicked alterations more likely to cause cancer in colon cells over time, and determined epigenetic changes defined by changes in DNA methylation are essential to cancer initiation. Known cancer-driving gene mutations in the model did not cause colon cancers to form, unless epigenetic DNA methylation changes were present as well. The researchers utilized mouse colon organoids derived from six- to eight-week-old specimens, comparing organoids with and without mutations in the BRAFV600E, a cancer-initiating genetic mutation especially common to right-sided colon cancer in humans. "As the organoids aged, they remained genetically stable but became epigenetically unstable, even without the BRAF mutation being introduced," said Johns Hopkins' Hariharan Easwaran. Acquired DNA methylation during "aging" of the organoids suppressed cancer-protective genes in a pattern similar to human aging associated with risk for colon cancer by decade. "Our study indicates that promoter DNA methylation-mediated silencing for important stem cell regulator genes play critical roles in allowing the BRAF mutant oncogene to initiate cancer," Easwaran concluded.

The Ohio Senate has unanimously passed legislation to create an Alzheimer's and Dementias Task Force, reports the News-Herald . Bill co-sponsor Sen. Steve Wilson (R-Ohio) said his state is the only state in the Union that has not crafted a comprehensive plan to cope with a "growing public health crisis." He and fellow Sen. Kenny Yuko (D-Ohio) noted 220,000 residents currently live with dementia, with each Ohioan typically depending on two to three caregivers. The state governor would appoint the 27-member task force if the bill goes into effect, and one member would be a person, or a relative, diagnosed with Alzheimer's or another dementia, while another would be the caregiver. Additional members would include a physician with expertise diagnosing, treating, and researching Alzheimer's, and a psychologist specializing in dementia care. Other members would include two representatives of Alzheimer's/dementia advocacy groups, as well as the state directors or designees of health and aging. The bill stated the task force will "examine the needs of individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias, the services available in this state for those individuals, and the ability of healthcare providers to meet the individuals' current and future needs." The group will submit a report on its findings and recommendations no later than 18 months after its establishment.

Rising stress and confusion often means older adults and their families do not make the best decisions for post-hospitalization recovery, reports Kaiser Health News . A 2018 study from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) found nearly 84 percent of Medicare beneficiaries who go to a skilled nursing facility (SNF) following a hospital stay could have chosen a higher-rated provider within a 15-mile radius, while hospitals refer persons needing short-term rehabilitation to 34 SNFs on average. The MedPAC study noted where older adults go is important "because the quality of care varies widely among providers," which impacts how fully people recover, whether they suffer complications, and whether they go home or into a skilled care situation. University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing Professor Kathryn Bowles said definitive guidelines for physicians or discharge planners are lacking, but older adults who have difficulty walking or taking care of themselves, with complex medical conditions and complicated medication regimens, or who require close monitoring or are missing caregiver support, are often considered candidates for such care. Medicare will only cover short-term rehabilitation at SNFs if an older adult has had an inpatient hospital stay of at least three days, or if an older adult needs physical, occupational, or speech/language therapy at least five days a week or skilled nursing care seven days a week.

Musical Health Technologies is one of several companies developing products based on a growing body of research indicating that music can have a significant effect for treating Alzheimer's and dementia, reports Billboard . "To be able to express a song, you're literally capitalizing on the whole brain," says company co-founder and licensed music therapist Andy Tubman. "Language centers, timing centers, motor centers, planning centers — you get this whole brain exercise." Musical Health Technologies' SingFit Prime program uses music as an interactive tool, but even passive music listening can positively stimulate the brain. A 2018 study at University of Utah Health used real-time magnetic resonance imaging scans of brain activity to show that familiar music lit up regions of the brain that stay active in persons with advanced Alzheimer's, even as activity in speech and memory pathways deteriorates. Music therapist Kate Richards Geller notes SingFit repertoires are selected based on seniors' "sticky years" between 13 and 23, which she describes as "the years they were listening to that music and all those songs went in and stayed. That's what we're providing them is this opportunity to re-enter that world."

Walgreens has announced it will open primary care doctors' offices in some of its stores in Houston through a partnership with VillageMD, reports CNBC . VillageMD will run primary care clinics in five Walgreens stores, working with social workers, nurses, and store pharmacists. The offices will be within the stores, but they will have a separate storefront and a door connecting the two spaces. Unlike existing Walgreens walk-in clinics, visitors to the doctors' offices can go for annual physicals and any other ailment they would normally see their physician for. Walgreens Chief Medical Officer Patrick Carroll said the offices will include six to eight exam rooms and a waiting area, with the first offices scheduled to open by the end of the year. "What the Village Medical at Walgreens is going to offer is really high-quality primary care that can both improve quality and reduce costs at very convenient locations with a huge benefit quite honestly of that pharmacy support to work on adherence to prescription drugs," Carroll stated.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Chuck Rettig has called on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee to provide multi-year funds for modernizing both the agency's information technology system and its workforce, reports the Federal News Network . Hiring future-generation employees is one of the agency's top priorities, as about 45 percent of its workforce will be eligible to retire within the next two years and less than 3 percent is 30 or younger. Rettig also lamented that a hiring freeze extending from 2011 through 2018 locked out "an entire generation of IRS employees." Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) cited a "long trend of not providing adequate resources" to the IRS, noting that has had an impact on the workforce's ability to carry out their mission.