A study published in PLOS One has revealed biomarkers of Alzheimer's in the spinal fluid of subjects with no clinical diagnosis or signs of dementia when they were hospitalized to repair hip fractures, reports News-Medical . The researchers suggested this finding adds credibility to the theory that brain alterations that unbalance older adults may underpin both an elevated risk of hip-fracturing falls and Alzheimer's, and that hip fracture itself may therefore serve as a first sign of undiagnosed disease. The implication is that anyone facing hip repair surgery following a fall should be monitored closely for symptoms of post-operative delirium or other mental or cognitive problems during recovery, as some people may have underlying Alzheimer's, which might make them more vulnerable. In 168 study participants, spinal fluid samples were tested for elevated levels of commonly accepted biomarkers of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. The biomarkers included the proteins amyloid beta 42, Aß40, tau, and tau with a phosphate chemical group attached (p-tau).

The U.S. healthcare and insurance industries are prepping a massive lobbying effort to defeat Medicare-for-all proposals floated by Democrats, reports the New York Times . The lobbyists are pushing the concept that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is performing reasonably well and should be enhanced, not repealed by the GOP or replaced by Democrats with a new public program. The lobbying coalition alleges that Medicare for all will require tax hikes, and give politicians and bureaucrats control of medical decisions currently made by doctors and the people they treat. Among the coalition's recently-joined members are the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) calls such a criticism "a knee-jerk reaction to anything that expands Medicare," stressing that a buy-in option is especially important for Americans in the 50 to 60 age bracket. Although the coalition is vehemently opposed to any proposals that sound like socialized medicine, it wants to expand Medicaid under the ACA in Texas, Florida, and other holdout states.

An increasing number of American caregivers are trying to alleviate the stigma of dementia by de-emphasizing its tragic aspects, reports the Washington Post . "The main framework America has available to contend with this is ... that it's a terrible, destructive ride all the way down and then you die," said geriatrician Bill Thomas. "While factually true, that is extremely unhelpful to families and seniors." Thomas and others are advocating a more adaptive strategy that entails flexibility and a willingness to expand one's ideas of how things are supposed to be — and even to view Alzheimer's as beneficial in certain respects. Thomas' organization, ChangingAging, holds a traveling show exploring the emotions associated with dementia, while a collective movement in Seattle, Wash., coordinates social gatherings at coffee shops, museum tours, zoo walks, and even gibberish conversations for people with dementia and their caregivers. "Dementia is enormously painful," noted Mary Fridley at the East Side Institute in New York. "I truly believe it is an opportunity, if people so choose, to be improvisational, to be silly, to play, to free ourselves from the constraints of truth and knowing and assumptions." Jennifer Carson, director of the University of Nevada at Reno's Dementia Engagement, Education, and Research program, encourages such engagement. "Alzheimer's can be a liberating event, an opportunity to fly," she said. "This is in no way to dismiss the pain and suffering that comes from dementia, but to understand that a lot of that pain and suffering comes from the response."

Bosses who are overconfident breed arrogance, which can estrange employees, customers, and other stakeholders, reports the Wall Street Journal . To assess whether they have fallen prey to this tendency, employers should ask how much time they actually spend listening to employees. One helpful suggestion is to record team meetings several times each quarter, and then watch the recording to see whether they are doing most of the talking. If so, the boss should make a practice of giving others more airtime. A second factor is whether most ideas come from the boss, which can be rated by gathering the team together to perform a "creative audit" on a quarterly or annual basis. Should this signify overconfidence, the boss ought to appoint a team member to play the role of devil's advocate in meetings when the team discusses key decisions. Bosses who often feel like they are the smartest person are advised to give themselves 10 minutes at the end of the workday to consider their mental reaction to new ideas, criticism, and inconvenient facts; if this suggests less open-mindedness, bosses should strive to correct this behavior. Finally, those who consider themselves indispensable to the company's success may be misguided, and one remedy is to give other team members credit and recognition for idea generation and business milestones.

A study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases found high-dose vaccines are more effective in preventing influenza- or pneumonia-associated hospitalizations, cardiorespiratory hospitalizations, and all-cause hospitalizations among adults 65 and older than standard-dose vaccines, reports Healio . "This long-term analysis across five flu seasons — 2010-2011 through 2014-2015 — provides a succinct appraisal of the high-dose vaccine's effectiveness over the standard-dose vaccine," said Yinong Young-Xu at the VA Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt. His team evaluated the relative vaccine effectiveness of the high-dose influenza vaccine compared with the standard dose in preventing hospitalizations among Veterans Health Administration (VHA)-enrolled veterans 65 and up. Analysis of VHA and Medicare administration files for the five flu seasons included 3,638,924 person-flu seasons of observation. Of these, 4 percent were among individuals who received the high-dose vaccine and 96 percent were among those who received the standard-dose vaccine. The high-dose vaccine had an estimated 10 percent instrumental variable-adjusted relative vaccine effectiveness — or additional reduction — in all-cause hospitalization compared with the standard dose. The high-dose vaccine also demonstrated 18 percent and 14 percent relative vaccine effectiveness against cardiorespiratory-associated hospitalization and influenza/pneumonia-associated hospitalization, respectively.

To combat loneliness, companies are offering seniors high-tech solutions and novel services, such as therapeutic robots to offer emotional comfort, and apps like Join Papa, which allows seniors to rent college-age people as "grandchildren on demand," through a gig-economy model, reports the Wall Street Journal . The Rock Health venture fund estimates that venture capitalists invested a record $8.1 billion in digital health startups last year, compared to $5.7 billion the year before. This wave of funding is partly thanks to how private insurers in the Medicare Advantage program have more flexibility to cover supplemental benefits, says Papa CEO Andrew Parker. Studies have found therapy bots can help the emotional state of certain residents in senior care communities. Apple is in talks with private insurers to pay for Apple Watches with fall-detection sensors, in order to monitor vulnerable seniors.

A video posted on Facebook showing a conversation between a mother and her adult daughter in a parked car is raising awareness about the struggle faced by millions of parents and children in coping with dementia, reports Today . MJ Grant's deaf mother, Carmen, began talking about her children without realizing one of them was next to her. Grant asked Carmen, "Where's MJ?" Carmen replied by saying she did not recall the last time she saw her daughter, signing "I saw her a long time ago ... Christmas. I forget." MJ asked,"Where is MJ right now?" Carmen responded, "Maybe traveling? Have you met her?" Her daughter nodded and smiled, then helped her mother remember who she was with questions and hints about her parents. The video, captioned by Grant as "Dementia can be beautiful," has generated more than 4,000 comments and 28,000 reactions. "I don't think I stop in those moments and think how special it really is," Grant admitted. "But putting it out there and seeing people's reactions, it's like a recognition of how special and kind of momentous it is."

A study of 800 women between 38 and 54 years old published in Neurology suggests maintaining hobbies in middle age could prevent dementia later on, reports Newsweek . Physical and cognitive activities like reading books, visiting art exhibits, gardening, being a member of a club, attending church, and singing in a choir were correlated with these findings. The women were labeled as inactive, engaging in light exercise, or regular exercisers. The results indicated that having hobbies that engage the brain and body in middle age reduce the risk of developing dementia and its subtypes in old age. Physically active participants tended to have a 56 percent lower chance of developing dementia than inactive participants. High-level mental activity corresponded to a 46 percent reduction in developing Alzheimer's, and 34 percent in dementia. "These results indicate that these activities in middle age may play a role in preventing dementia in old age and preserving cognitive health," noted the University of Gothenburg's Jenna Najar. "It's exciting as these are activities that people can incorporate into their lives pretty easily and without a lot of expense."

Some U.S. lawmakers — among them Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) — are backing legislation to expand Social Security benefits and bolster the retirement program so that it would be sustainable for decades, reports the Forum Newsgroup . The bill's congressional sponsors said the measure would raise yearly benefits for nearly all recipients by about $800 and increase the current cap to incomes topping $250,000, ensuring those with such incomes pay the same rate into the retirement system as everyone else. In addition, the bill would apply the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly to more accurately mirror benefits that keep pace with inflation, update the Special Minimum Benefit to make it easier for low earners to qualify for the program, and reinstate student benefits up to age 22 so children of deceased or disabled parents have educational support. "We have to make sure that Social Security is actually giving retirees and their families the support they need — and the support they spent their entire lives earning," said Gillibrand. "For so many retirees and their families ... Social Security is truly a matter of survival."

A study published in Communications Biology found 18-month-old mice that received a bone marrow transplant from four-month-old mice exhibited higher cognitive ability than mice of the same age that did not get transplants, reports United Press International . "While prior studies have shown that introducing blood from young mice can reverse cognitive decline in old mice, it is not well understood how this happens," said Cedars-Sinai's Helen Goodridge. "Our research suggests one answer lies in specific properties of youthful blood cells." The older mice that got young marrow had greater synaptic connectivity in the hippocampus than the older mice that received old-marrow transplants or the ones that received no transplants. The researchers speculate that the synapses in the mice with poor cognitive function may have been deactivated by microglial cells. The young-marrow transplants apparently deactivated some of the microglia, maintaining synaptic connectivity. The researchers think this discovery could help advance the development of an effective treatment for Alzheimer's.