New research focuses on how seniors' lifetime of experience and perspective makes them resilient to disruptive trauma like the current pandemic, reports Kaiser Health News . The work demonstrates that older adults have amended behaviors as they attempt to keep safe. According to a new study in The Gerontologist , older adults have listened to public health authorities and taken action to minimize the risk of coronavirus infection. Habits they have adopted include less face-to-face time with family and friends, restricting trips to the grocery store, canceling plans to attend celebrations, turning down out-of-town trips, not attending funerals, taking fewer trips to public places, and canceling doctors' appointments. Another study in the same journal looked at seniors' adaptations, which include connecting with family and friends, engagement on digital platforms, hobbies, interacting with pets, spending time with spouses or partners, and reliance on faith. However, it remains uncertain whether these coping strategies will prove effective as the pandemic persists. The University of Michigan's National Poll on Healthy Aging highlights social isolation and loneliness's growing strain on the older population, with most respondents reporting that social media and video chats did not relieve them of these feelings.

The Pennsylvania Department of Aging is recommending that older adults stay up to date on immunizations, especially the flu vaccine, with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, reports the Beaver County Times . "Older adults need to keep their vaccinations up to date because immunity from the vaccines can wear off as they age, making them vulnerable to sickness and disease," said Department of Aging Secretary Robert Torres. "It is especially important for seniors with chronic health conditions, like diabetes, asthma, or heart disease to stay up to date on their vaccinations and learn which inoculations are covered by their healthcare insurance." The department advises all older adults to get vaccinated for flu, and for adults 65 and older to receive shots for tetanus, diphtheria, and neumococcal polysaccharide. Furthermore, adults 60 and older are recommended to get inoculated for shingles.

The number of job postings declined 0.3 percent in September from August, after logging monthly gains between 5 percent and 7 percent throughout the summer, according to data from jobs website Glassdoor cited by the Wall Street Journal . Separate data from jobs site Indeed also show weaker improvements in job postings in September than in early summer. September job postings on Glassdoor and Indeed remained well below precrisis levels. The slowdown reflects a pullback in employer demand across numerous sectors, said Daniel Zhao, economist at Glassdoor. Job postings for higher-wage occupations have recovered more slowly than those for lower-wage roles, according to Indeed. The sharp decline in postings for higher-wage occupations from pre-pandemic levels is one reason job postings in larger metropolitan regions have lagged behind the rebound in smaller metro areas.

Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) School of Medicine will receive a $53.6 million grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health to explore the role of incidental white matter lesions (WMLs) in dementia among people with cognitive ailments, reports Newswise . "Our team has been at the forefront of genetic studies of WMLs for two decades," explained UTHealth Professor Myriam Fornage. "Through the genetic risk profiles we will develop, we will have an opportunity to apply what we have discovered and improve the precision with which we identify patients with a higher prior probability of cognitive impairment and dementia. At the same time, we will be contributing new resources for dementia research everywhere." UC Davis Professor Charles DeCarli will be principal investigator. "This grant gives us the chance to study WMLs from every angle and definitively understand their roles in age- and disease-related cognitive decline and risk for future dementia," he said. "It's the culmination of our three decades of research that has given us great directions, but no final answers yet." DeCarli and Fornage will study patients with WMLs on magnetic resonance imaging scans and issues about cognitive symptoms, but no dementia diagnosis; it will be the first large study of a diverse population on the long-term impact of WMLs on thinking and dementia risk.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has officially acknowledged that COVID-19 can sometimes be transmitted through the air with an addition to its website on Monday, reports Yahoo! Life . "Some infections can be spread by exposure to virus in small droplets and particles that can linger in the air for minutes to hours," the update reads. "These viruses may be able to infect people who are further than six feet away from the person who is infected or after that person has left the space." This update came several weeks after the CDC removed statements acknowledging the virus can spread through aerosols. "There is evidence that under certain conditions, people with COVID-19 seem to have infected others who were more than six feet away," the CDC wrote. "These transmissions occurred within enclosed spaces that had inadequate ventilation. Sometimes the infected person was breathing heavily, for example, while singing or exercising." Experts have welcomed the CDC's acknowledgement on Twitter. The University of California, San Diego's Kimberly Prather tweeted that she was "feeling hopeful" following the update, along with a newly published paper in Science calling on the medical community to "harmonize discussions about modes of virus transmission."

A study in Alzheimer's Research & Therapy has identified biochemical differences in how the brains of people with Alzheimer's process the amyloid precursor protein (APP), reports Medical News Today . The researchers suggest the manner in which APP is "labeled" with sugar molecules may determine whether it gets broken down into beta-amyloid, which helps form insoluble plaques in the brain, or a harmless type of fragment. "We have discovered that the glycosylation of the amyloid precursor in the brains of Alzheimer's patients is altered," said Javier Sáez-Valero at Spain's Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante. "And, therefore, this protein is probably being processed in a different way. We believe that this different way of processing leads to more beta-amyloid and to the triggering of the pathology." Fragments of APP penetrate the cerebrospinal fluid that immerses the brain and spinal cord, and the finding that these fragments are glycosylated differently in people with Alzheimer's suggests they could be used as biomarkers of the disease. This also could potentially inspire the design of treatments that prevent the creation of beta-amyloid and plaque buildup.

In California, the Solano Transportation Authority (STA) will be able to invest in a new program to encourage pedestrian safety among seniors and older adults through a $110,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, reports The Reporter . "With this grant, the STA's Solano Mobility Program will be able to continue to support safe walking and driving especially in communities and neighborhoods with a high senior population," declared STA Board Chair and Vacaville Mayor Ron Rowlett. "The ultimate goal is to reduce the number of pedestrian and vehicle collisions in Solano County." This is the third grant that the Office of Traffic Safety will be teaming with STA on to improve safety in the county. The California Office of Traffic Safety will allocate the STA grant through its Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program.

In Illinois, hundreds of low-income men and women 65 and older will be allowed to avail themselves of Medicaid-like healthcare coverage this December regardless of immigration status, reports the Chicago Tribune . Between 400 and 2,000 people are expected to enroll initially, and Illinois is the first U.S. state to fully fund such a program for noncitizen immigrant seniors. But coinciding with this is a new study showing that the population of older immigrants without legal status in Illinois should swell exponentially in the next decade. Healthy Illinois Campaign Director Graciela Guzman said the study implies that the expansion is just a first step, and her group has campaigned for a bill to ensure healthcare for all Illinoisans regardless of income or immigration status since 2016. According to the unpublished study, the state's 65-to-74 age demographic should experience 12-fold growth while people lacking legal immigration status who are 75 to 84 should increase 11-fold — leading to more than 55,000 older Illinoisans without legal immigration status in 2030. The Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus is supporting the health coverage expansion in response to data indicating that uninsured older people who got COVID-19 could risk more severe complications. The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services' Evan Fazio said the program should cost the state $5 million, which is modest compared to taxed paid by the group covered. Although the effort will benefit all noncitizen seniors 65 and older below the poverty line, most immigrants in that age group are Latino.

A study published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians determined that little has been done to improve older adult representation in clinical trials of new cancer drugs, even when the treatment focuses on a disease that disproportionately affects this demographic, reports EurekAlert . According to City of Hope's Mina Sedrak, two in five Americans with cancer are 70 or older, yet fewer than 25 percent of subjects in cancer clinical trials registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are in this age group. The investigators reviewed 8,691 studies that evaluated barriers to the participation of older adults in cancer trials. Twelve articles cited complex, interrelated problems as root causes, including rigorous eligibility criteria, clinician concern about toxicity, age discrimination, transportation, and caregiver burden. A single study implemented an intervention intended to boost enrollment of older adults in trials, which was unsuccessful. The researchers said trials must ask appropriate questions tailored or driven by the needs of older cancer patients, and should quantify relevant outcomes. "Ask your doctor about clinical trial opportunities when you're diagnosed with cancer and do your own research because there may be an option that you haven't heard about," Sedrak recommended. "It may benefit you, but perhaps your doctor may not have considered you for the investigational trial."

A study from Edith Cowan University (ECU) published in BMC Geriatrics found 94 percent of 104 Australians caring for a loved one with dementia are sleep-deprived, reports News-Medical . The potential effects include poor caregiver health that also affects their ability to care for the dementia sufferer. The researchers also learned that 84 percent of participants were having difficulty falling asleep and 72 percent had difficulty staying asleep. Psychological distress also was common among participants, with high levels of moderate to severe depression, anxiety, and stress. ECU's Aisling Smyth said disrupted sleep is a significant factor in predicting stress on caregivers and placing a loved one into long-term care. "Enabling people living with dementia to stay at home, rather than transfer to long-term care, is the optimal outcome for many families, but this can't be at the detriment of the caregiver's own well-being," she explained. "Therefore, to support the person living with dementia to remain at home, preserving sleep and maintaining caregiver health is vital." Smyth is currently developing a program to promote better sleep for dementia caregivers at ECU Psychological Services.