A study from Mayo Clinic researchers published in Nature Medicine found that the removal of senescent cells from old mice increased their longevity and reversed their decrepitude, reports Stat . The elimination of senescent cells might slow aging because those cells actively pump out inflammatory compounds that destroy young cells and disable progenitor cells that give birth to new cells, says the Mayo Clinic's James Kirkland. "Senescent cells put the brakes on the production of new cells," he notes. Kirkland's team initially transplanted 500,000 Methuselah cells into six-month-old or 17-month-old mice. The transplantation accelerated the mice's aging process, making them slower, weaker, and frailer within two weeks. The older mice with the transplants also were five times more likely to die within 12 months than the non-transplanted mice. The team then gave both the young mice with transplanted senescent cells and naturally old mice two senolytics: dasatinib, a leukemia drug, and quercetin, a plant compound. The compounds killed sufficient transplanted senescent cells in young mice to keep the animals from becoming prematurely slow, weak, and frail. Naturally old mice given the compounds walked faster, scampered longer on a treadmill, gripped objects more strongly, and were generally more active than their peers. Meanwhile, 24- to 27-month-old mice administered the senolytics lived 36 percent longer than their peers without the poor health and frailty typical of late life.

A study published in Science Translational Medicine revealed the role that cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) plays in dementia and stroke, reports Medical News Today . By analyzing the molecular features of CSVD in rats, the researchers identified a mechanism through which blood vessel changes from CSVD damage the myelin covering of nerve fibers that carry signals between neurons. They also discovered that certain drugs could reverse the blood vessel changes and prevent harm to those nerve fibers. The team learned that CSVD causes dysfunction of endothelial cells, which form the inner lining of blood vessels, and that this dysfunction prevents precursor cells from evolving into cells that comprise the myelin covering. The rats that developed CSVD had a mutated form of an enzyme called ATPase, which triggered the endothelial cell dysfunction and has been found in the brain tissue of humans with CSVD. Experiments demonstrated that using drugs to stabilize the endothelial cells "could reverse the white matter abnormalities in early-stage SVD in the rat model, suggesting a potential therapeutic approach." Alzheimer's Research UK's Dr. Sara Imarisio says the study's findings could point to "a promising direction for research into treatments that could limit the damaging effects of blood vessel changes and help to keep nerve cells functioning for longer."

A study published in Nature Nanotechnology found quantum dots can mitigate symptoms in mice dosed to develop Parkinson's disease, and also impede formation of the toxic protein clumps in Alzheimer's, reports New Scientist . In a dish, quantum dots produced from graphene bind to synuclein, preventing it from fiber clumping as well as triggering the breakup of existing fibers into individual molecules, the researchers found. They injected quantum dots into mice dosed with fibrils, and the animals exhibited improvement on two different physical tests six months later. A second team found quantum dots also show promise for Alzheimer's disease because they bind to amyloid protein and reduce it from clumping. "This might be a universal effect on any kind of fibrillation process related to disease," suggests Byung Hee Hong with Seoul National University. His team is exploring the use of quantum dots in Alzheimer's and motor neuron disease, which also involves protein clumping.

Can early retirement lead to an early death? That's one possibility of a new study by Maria Fitzpatrick of Cornell University and Timothy Moore of the University of Melbourne, reports Forbes . The researchers found a surge in the number of men dying at age 62, despite overall life expectancy in the U.S. being around 79. One explanation is that there has been a large loss in high-paying manufacturing jobs over the past four decades. Some 7 million jobs have been lost since 1979, when manufacturing employment peaked, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics. With that steep drop-off has been a massive loss of guaranteed pensions and healthcare, so workers forced into the much lower-paying hourly economy are getting poor medical care and saving less. Such individuals may also be engaging in unhealthy behaviors and encounter opioid addiction, alcoholism, traffic accidents, and lifestyle-related diseases such as lung cancer, the study suggests.

Stanford Center on Longevity Director Laura Carstensen says baby boomers are more disengaged with their neighbors and even their loved ones than any other generation, which is "going to be harder to make new friends," according to Kaiser Health News . Authentic friendships at any age usually require repeated contact, says author Dr. Andrea Bonior, who recommends seniors join group exercise classes or knitting or book clubs. She also says seniors should participate in "altruistic behavior" such as volunteering in a soup kitchen or an animal shelter or tutoring English as a second language. Carstensen suggests returning to school can be one of the most successful ways for an older person to make new friends, while Bonior advises seniors to adopt social media. Center for Loss and Life Transition founder Alan Wolfelt notes social media connections can help older people strike up new friendships with relatives. "It's important to create support systems that don't isolate you with your own generation," he says. Many seniors consider their children their best friends, which Carstensen says can be a major benefit. "I don't think it matters who your friends are," she notes. "It's the quality of the relationship that matters most."

As the number of Americans with Alzheimer's continues to increase to an estimated 5.7 million, so do the many relatives caring for friends and family members, reports National Public Radio . The Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA) has been stressing the need for better caregiver support through a national tour. At these events, Alzheimer's scientists and clinicians offer guidance on a number of topics, including how to ensure safety for persons at home, care planning, and entertaining people with memory loss. The foundation promotes in-person and phone support groups, and a 2014 study found even virtual support systems have shown some efficacy at mitigating loneliness, stress, and depression. Among the AFA's recommendations is feeding people with Alzheimer's one food at a time, marking rooms in the house with signs to avoid confusion, reminding a person with Alzheimer's to use the toilet, sticking with familiar destinations when traveling, watching for coughing when eating, and scheduling overnight stays at a memory-care clinic so the caregiver gets some rest. "We want to do everything we can to avoid caregiver burnout," says AFA CEO Charles J. Fuschillo Jr.

The Trump administration has announced the suspension of a program that pays billions of dollars to insurers to stabilize health insurance markets under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which insurers say could unbalance the markets and cause premium elevations this fall, according to the New York Times . Many insurers that enroll large numbers of unhealthy people rely on these "risk adjustment" payments, which are designed to lower incentives for insurers to seek out healthy consumers and block those with chronic illnesses and other pre-existing conditions. "Any action to stop disbursements under the risk adjustment program will significantly increase 2019 premiums for millions of individuals and small-business owners, and could result in far fewer health plan choices," warns Justine G. Handelman with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. "It will undermine Americans' access to affordable care, particularly for those who need medical care the most." Administration officials said their decision to suspend payments is based on a federal district court ruling in February in which the judge rejected the formula used to calculate payments on the grounds that it was flawed. ACA advocates contend the move is another attempt by President Trump to weaken the health law. America's Health Insurance Plans CEO Matt Eyles expects costs to taxpayers to increase because the government provides subsidies that rise along with premiums; those subsidies will continue for low- and moderate-income citizens.

A federal data analysis by Kaiser Health News found that most U.S. nursing communities had fewer nurses and caregivers than they had reported to the government for years, according to the New York Times . The analyzed data included daily payroll records that Medicare only recently began collecting and publishing from more than 14,000 nursing communities, as required by the Affordable Care Act. Previously, Medicare gauged each community's staffing levels based on the communities' own unverified reports. The agency is now using the new data to assess staffing, but revamped five-star ratings still conceal high fluctuation of day-to-day staff. Almost 1.4 million people are cared for in skilled nursing communities in the United States. Medicare does not establish minimum resident-to-staff ratio, but it does mandate the presence of a registered nurse for eight hours daily and a licensed nurse at all times. Payroll records also indicated that even positively-rated communities were short of nurses and aides on certain days. In April, the government began using daily payroll reports to estimate average staffing ratings, while the old method depended on communities to report staffing for the two weeks prior to an inspection. The communities sometimes anticipated the coming inspection and could staff up before it. The new records found that on at least one day during the last three months of 2017, 25 percent of communities reported no registered nurses at work.

A report from the Federal Trade Commission's Division of Consumer and Business Education found phone scammers are calling older victims and making up family emergencies to steal money over the phone, according to Financial Advisor . These fraudsters will call, text, email, or send messages on social media requesting funds to be sent immediately. They fabricate convincing stories and insist their request be kept a secret, and it is common for these callers to have personal information about loved ones or attempt to guess facts about them. FTC attorney Carol Kando-Pineda says victims who receive such calls should contact the relative to confirm the claims even if instructed not to. She advises against wiring money, sending checks, overnighting money orders, or paying with a gift card or reloadable cash card, as they would require immediate action to successfully intercept. Kando-Pineda warns that if anyone calls with instructions to send them money in this way, it is likely they are a scammer.

Women have been retiring earlier than men in the United States, though that is generally not in their financial interest, according to research by Nicole Maestas, a professor of healthcare policy at Harvard Medical School. The research found that husbands and wives tend to retire at around the same time, but that because women typically marry older men, the joint retirement of married couples means that married women retire at younger ages than their husbands do, reports the New York Times . Married women tend to be two to three years younger than their husbands, and retire two to three years earlier, the data suggests. That earlier retirement age "seems counterintuitive," said Maestas, since women have longer life expectancies and have shorter careers due to delayed or interrupted labor force participation while raising children.