A study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease identified arterial stiffness as a dementia risk factor among older adults that should be alterable, reports ScienceDaily . Arterial stiffness can be mitigated by antihypertensive drugs as well as by lifestyle interventions, suggesting persons at risk may be able to prevent or retard the onset of dementia. "As the large arteries get stiffer, their ability to cushion the pumping of blood from the heart is diminished, and that transmits increased pulsing force to the brain, which contributes to silent brain damage that increases dementia risk," says University of Pittsburgh Professor Rachel Mackey. The investigators analyzed the association between arterial stiffness and dementia among 356 older adults, average age 78, with 15 years of follow-up. All participants were dementia-free at the beginning, and their aortic stiffness was tested with pulse wave velocity (PWV). Participants also underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of their brains. Subjects with high PWV readings were 60 percent more likely to develop dementia during the following 15 years versus those with lower PWV values. Meanwhile, arterial stiffness correlated with subclinical brain disease and risk factors for cardiovascular disease, but these factors failed to explain the results. "What's exciting to think about is that the strong association of arterial stiffness to dementia in old age suggests that even at age 70 or 80, we might still be able to delay or prevent the onset of dementia," Mackey says.

Enrollment in Medicare Advantage has doubled to more than 20 million in the last eight years, expanding from 25 percent of Medicare beneficiaries to more than 33 percent, reports Kaiser Health News . "The Affordable Care Act did not kill Medicare Advantage, and the program looks poised to continue to grow quite rapidly," says medical consultant Bill Frack. Fourteen new insurers have started selling Medicare Advantage plans for 2019, several more than in a typical year, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) notes beneficiaries may choose from about 3,700 plans for 2019, or 600 more than 2018. The agency also expects Advantage enrollment to soar to nearly 23 million people in 2019, a 12 percent gain. CMS officials say enrollees looking for new plans this fall will likely find lower or zero premiums and improved benefits. The Urban Institute's Robert Berenson notes with about 10,000 baby boomers aging into Medicare range daily, the insurance industry is following the assumption "that their future is Medicare, and it's crazy not to pursue Medicare enrollees more actively." Advantage plans have long enticed older adults with benefits, such as vision and dental coverage, not offered by government-run Medicare. Many private plans save seniors money because their premiums, deductibles, and other costs are lower than what beneficiaries pay with original Medicare. However, private plans typically require older adults to use a limited network of doctors and hospitals.

Center for Elderly Suicide Prevention and Grief Related Services founder Patrick Arbore thinks senior hoarders acquire dysfunctional relationships with things between ages 11 and 15, reports the Greensboro News & Record . He notes this is an opportunity for parents to teach their children how to organize their possessions and throw away items they no longer need, skills that are often deficient in adult hoarders. Arbore believes the tendency to hoard also stems from trauma or emotional pain, and he has had success at reducing hoarding by helping people cope with their underlying pain. Arbore says for seniors, who are more likely to have dementia and physical infirmities, hoarding also raises the risk of debilitating falls and isolation. The older population can be especially difficult to deal with because their behavior is entrenched and they have a negative image of mental health therapy. Arbore stresses the need for further study, as no evidence-based treatment currently exists. He also notes hoarders do not respond well to treatments for obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anti-depressants have mixed outcomes.

A study published in the European Journal of Neuroscience suggests a new approach for restoration of hearing loss, reports ScienceDaily . The researchers were able to regrow the sensory hair cells found in the cochlea that render sound vibrations as electrical signals. Earlier research identified a family of receptors called epidermal growth factors (EGFs) whose role is to activate support cells in the auditory organs of birds. When induced, these cells proliferate and foster the generation of new sensory hair cells. The multi-institutional team tested a hypothesis that transmissions from the EGF family of receptors could play a role in cochlear regeneration in mammals, focusing on the ERBB2 receptor in cochlear support cells. They determined that activating the ERBB2 pathway triggered a cascading series of cellular events by which cochlear support cells began to spread and initiate the process of activating neighboring stem cells to evolve into new sensory hair cells. It also seems as if this process could support the sensory hair cells' integration with nerve cells. "This research demonstrates a signaling pathway that can be activated by different methods and could represent a new approach to cochlear regeneration and, ultimately, restoration of hearing," says University of Rochester Medical Center Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience Professor Patricia White.

A study published in Journals of Gerontology, Series B considered how social media use affected the mental health of older adults with chronic pain, reports The Fix . The researchers followed 3,401 people 67 or older, all of whom lived in the community rather than in an assisted living or nursing home. Fifty-four percent of participants said they had experienced pain in the past month, and 15 percent of those who did not use social media showed signs of depression. This declined to 6 percent among people engaged with social media. "Using online social media to maintain contact with family members and friends is a good way to compensate for seniors who restrict their social activities due to pain," says the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor's Shannon Ang. "It is not going to replace seeing people in person, but it will help supplement their reduced activities. For us, this study is about preserving mental health." Still, only 17 percent of participants were using social media, and Ang thinks programs that teach seniors how to use computers and engage online could be beneficial. He wants future research to focus more on the connection between social media and mental health, studying the various platforms and patterns of use that are most closely associated with mental health benefits.

A study published in Nature Communications suggests many dementia cases may not be the result of hereditary, but caused by spontaneous errors in DNA that occur as cells divide and reproduce, reports Medical Xpress . The investigators theorized that clusters of brain cells containing spontaneous genetic errors could trigger production of misfolded proteins with the potential to spread throughout the brain, eventually causing neurodegenerative disease. The team analyzed 173 tissue samples from the Newcastle Brain Tissue Resource in the U.K., derived from 54 individual brains. The brains were of 14 healthy individuals, 20 patients with Alzheimer's, and 20 persons with Lewy body dementia. The researchers sequenced 102 genes in the brain cells more than 5,000 times, and discovered spontaneous "somatic mutations" in 27 brains, including both healthy and diseased brains. The implication is that the mutations would have arisen during the developmental phase while the embryo is growing in the womb. The application of mathematical modeling to these results suggests that "islands" of brain cells containing these potentially important mutations are likely to be common in the general population. "These mutations likely form when our brain develops before birth — in other words, they sit there waiting to cause problems when we are older," says University of Cambridge Professor Patrick Chinnery.

Recently announced Social Security changes linked to rising prices include plans to grant beneficiaries a 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2019, reports the Motley Fool . The SSA estimates that the average benefit paid to all retired workers will consequently climb from $1,422 to $1,461. Meanwhile, Social Security's maximum taxable earnings for workers will increase by $4,500 for 2019. The maximum Social Security tax an employee could pay will shift from $7,960.80 in 2018 to $8,239.80. More income will be required to earn a Social Security credit. For 2019, one credit translates to $1,360 in earnings, a $40 boost from 2018. Beneficiaries who claimed Social Security early and are still employed will be able to earn more without a benefit reduction in 2019, while the maximum possible Social Security benefit also is climbing for high earners. For next year, the most someone claiming Social Security at full retirement age can receive is $2,861 monthly, which could become even higher if workers entitled to the maximum decide to wait longer to claim. If they claim in 2019, a beneficiary's full retirement age is still 66, which means if they were to wait until they turn 70 in 2023, their benefit would begin at $3,776.52 plus any additional COLAs that are given between now and then.

A study by the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at the New School estimates that approximately 40 percent of middle-class Americans are at risk of poverty in retirement on account of depressed earnings and asset values and increased healthcare costs, reports CNBC . In addition, 74 percent of U.S. workers are planning to work past traditional retirement age. The researchers determined if workers age 50 to 60 choose to retire at 62, 8.5 million will fall below twice the Federal Poverty Level, with retirement incomes below $23,340 for singles and $31,260 for couples. Moreover, 2.6 million of those downwardly mobile workers and their spouses will have incomes below the poverty level — $11,670 for an individual and $15,730 for a two-person household. Both workers and employers must strive toward a solution, with the former upping their personal savings and the latter guaranteeing that defined benefit plans are efficient and sufficient. Such plans must be managed like a separate line of business, with budgets, projections, and a strategic plan. Finally, pension plan sponsors must monitor investment strategies on a ongoing basis, along with the impact of potential regulatory changes to ensure they are suitably managing their risk and cost issues, but acting in the most prudent manner for current employees and retirees.

NCBA partners with companies to find jobs for people 55 and older in counties across North Carolina, reports Fox8 . One baby boomer who has benefited is Ruby Carlson. NCBA helped her obtain an internship at Goodwill's Alamance-Burlington Career Center, which has helped her acquire new skills. "I would say for the past year we've been doing the actual internships," says career center coordinator Jason Norris, "where we're bringing folks in, they're working right alongside of us day to day and gaining those skills that they're maybe lacking or need to brush up on." Also receiving aid from NCBA is Sheila Anderson, who cites "ageist employer attitudes" as a barrier to getting a job. "When they see my resume, some of them will say, 'Well, at this time, we don't have a position. You're qualified for this and that, but you're over-qualified for this.'" she notes. Anderson is currently in an NCBA program that helps foster computer skills, which she hopes will boost her chances of employment.

AARP has premiered the "Raise Your Voice" app for smart speakers to encourage political activism from its 38 million members and anyone over the age of 50, reports Mobile Marketer . The app operates with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and it has information on voting and top issues for older Americans, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, prescription drugs, and healthcare. The app responds to a digital assistant's wake command followed by a vocalized order to "Open 'Raise Your Voice.'" AKQA helped design the voice app, which on Oct. 18 will begin allowing users look up polling information and transmit it to their smartphone. AARP's development team also intends to add a contact-your-representative feature and more information about key political issues.