Amid spiking COVID-19 cases, the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) is recommending that all hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living communities restrict visitation for the next 14 days, reports the Newport Buzz . During that time, RIDOH will continue to work with communities on plans and other measures to guarantee safe visitation for vulnerable populations. Department officials recommend no hospital visitations, except for people who are essential to a patient's care. Essential visitors must have no COVID-19 symptoms, and visits will only be allowed during specified blocks of time. For nursing and assisted living communities, RIDOH advises only allowing compassionate care visits for the next two weeks. Such visits include end-of-life visits and visits with loved ones in emotional distress. These recommendations are effective as of yesterday, Nov. 3.

A new Oklahoma law going into effect this week will enable families to install cameras in their loved ones' rooms at assisted living communities, reports KTUL Channel 8 . The Barbara E. Hoover act will close a loophole in state law that allows nanny cams in nursing and retirement communities, but not in assisted living and memory care communities. The law is named after an assisted living resident with dementia, who was threatened with eviction due to the presence of a nanny cam in her room. Hoover's son-in-law, Bob Howard, went to state Sen. James Leewright (R). The legislator said the law is "not only good for seniors in assisted living, but for families across the state of Oklahoma." The next challenge is to have Hoover's community, Legend Senior Living, install the camera since her family cannot do it themselves. "Let's not use COVID as an excuse. Let's figure out a way to get it done," said Howard.

The Conversation reports that a new study shows that eccentric exercises like walking downhill may temporarily increase the risk of falling in older adults. Eccentric contractions can incur short-term muscle damage and sensations of muscle soreness. The study, published in Frontiers in Physiology , compared the effects of exercises involving mainly concentric contractions like walking on a level surface, with those of regimens involving mainly eccentric contractions such as downhill walking. The researchers enlisted 19 healthy older men and women who were unused to eccentric exercise, with 10 assigned to a level walking group and nine to a downhill walking group. Level walking caused a short-term elevation in the risk of falling immediately after exercise, and half an hour of level walking caused a loss of balance, reduced physical function, and muscle weakness. The higher risk of a fall immediately after concentric muscle contractions is likely due to the accumulation of metabolic byproducts that reduce the muscle fibers' ability to produce force — although the negative effects of fatigue from this type of exercise did not last long. However, there was a delayed and prolonged increase in the risk of a fall following downhill walking. The implication is that the muscle damage that occurs after unaccustomed eccentric exercise leads to muscle weakness, balance problems, and impaired physical function, which can linger for several days.

A study in Angewandte Chemie suggests a bacterium found among the soil in close proximity to roots of ginseng plants could help treat Alzheimer's disease, reports ScienceDaily . Researchers identified a natural substance, rhizolutin, that may provide a foundation for novel therapies. Rhizolutin is produced by a strain of Streptomyces, and the team boosted rhizolutin production of the bacterium 10-fold. This enabled them to determine the structure of the novel compound, while a screening of natural product libraries indicated that rhizolutin is a drug lead that can dissociate amyloid-ß (Aß) plaques and tau tangles. A series of in vitro and in vivo experiments indicated clear dissociation of insoluble Aß and tau aggregates by the compound. Rhizolutin significantly reduced the inflammatory processes and cell death caused by Aß in cultures of neuronal and glial cells, and also dissociated the Aß plaques in the brains of mice with Alzheimer's.

A Danish study in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports finds that heavy physical labor can raise the risk of dementia, reports Big Think . The researchers analyzed 50 years' worth of data from some 5,000 Danish men, and those who reported working physically demanding jobs developed dementia 55 percent more often than their peers working desk jobs. This accounts for differences in education, socioeconomic levels, drinking habits, and other variables that could compound memory loss. Jobs involving some physical activity but which were less strenuous entailed less risk. The researchers suspect that the operating mechanism may dovetail with the potentially negative impact of occupational physical activity on the cardiovascular system. Moreover, among Danes, men working in physically intensive occupations are more likely to smoke, drink, weigh too much, remain unmarried, and end up in lower socioeconomic levels — all of which can contribute to memory loss. The study also reconfirms earlier findings suggesting that light exercise lowers the odds of dementia somewhat.

Engadget is reporting that MIT researchers have developed artificial intelligence (AI) that can recognize forced coughing from people who have the coronavirus, even if they are otherwise asymptomatic. The breakthrough came in the development of a slew of neural networks that can distinguish subtle changes indicative of COVID-19's effects. One neural network detects sounds associated with vocal strength, while a second listens for emotional states that reflect a neurological decline. Another network, meanwhile, gauges changes in respiratory performance. Additionally, an algorithm has been developed that checks for muscular degradation — i.e., weaker coughs — and it provides a more complete picture of someone's health. The AI has been highly accurate in initial tests, recognizing 98.5 percent of coughs from people with confirmed COVID-19 cases. It also identified 100 percent of people who were ostensibly asymptomatic. However, researchers note that the technology is not meant to diagnose symptomatic people, as they might have other conditions that produce similar behavior.

The Wall Street Journal reports that scientists are exploring whether artificial intelligence (AI) can help clinicians better identify patients with early-stage dementia. Researchers and companies are currently testing machine learning for mining and extracting meaning from vast, diverse datasets. According to the U.S. National Institute on Aging's (NIA) Nina Silverberg, having more and different types of data, combined with better methods of making sense of it, means "there is definitely an opportunity now that we just didn't have before." Much of the current research involves sifting through electronic-health records to determine what combination of risk factors most accurately reflects cognitive decline in patients. One NIA-funded study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society analyzed electronic records of more than 16,000 medical visits of 4,330 participants in a Kaiser Permanente Washington health system. The researchers used a model that identified 31 factors associated with cognitive decline to cite more than 1,000 visits leading to a dementia diagnosis, including nearly 500 in which cognitive changes were previously overlooked in the health system. Duke University School of Medicine Professor P. Murali Doraiswamy explains that researchers want to use AI to assist rather than replace doctors. "This isn't a battle between AI and doctors, it's about how to optimize doctors' ability to deliver better care," he says.

DesignBoom reports that the Japanese mobility firm GLM has revealed a new electric mobility scooter (EMS) concept for older adults, driven by a steadily growing number of active, youthful seniors in various communities. The scooter is shaped from a solid spherical mass and is designed to evoke comfort and approachability. "The new mobility design that GLM is creating aims to change preconceived notions and ideas about EMS and to inspire this new breed of seniors to accept and use its products," a GLM statement declared. "With this focus, the company will continue its development work to make EMSs that people genuinely want to ride."

A study in JAMA Ophthalmology suggests older Americans with vision impairment may be less likely to use cancer-related preventive services than those lacking impairment, reports HealthDay News . The researchers analyzed data from the 2015 and 2018 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and 2016 and 2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Older NHIS participants with vision impairment were less likely to report breast cancer screening and colon cancer screening, but not flu and pneumococcal vaccination, than non-impaired individuals. BRFSS participants with vision impairment were less likely than those without to report breast cancer screening, colon cancer screening, and pneumococcal vaccination, but not flu vaccination. "These findings suggest that interventions to improve access to health information and healthcare services for individuals with vision impairment may be needed to improve cancer screening among this population," the authors conclude.

China's Ministry of Civil Affairs predicts that there may be as many as 300 million seniors living in the country by 2025, reports That's Online . A report recently released by the ministry said that 12.57 percent of China's population were aged 65 or above as of Dec. 31, 2019. According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, the dependency ratio of the senior population has climbed to 17.8 percent over the last three decades. That figure signals that each senior resident needs to be supported by six people. Several consequences of an aging population are feared. For one, China's massive pension system will take a hit as the number of people drawing from the account will surpass those paying into the system. In addition, labor costs will rise with a shrinking total supply of workers. Finally, the increase in the aging population will cause a change in consumption structure, warns a population report by Tsinghua University's Evergrande Research Institute.