The U.S. National Institutes of Health and Japanese drugmaker Eisai are seeking Tampa Bay, Fla., residents 55 and older to volunteer for a research study that aims to delay or prevent symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, reports the Tampa Bay Times . The AHEAD Study is the first Alzheimer's trial to recruit participants as young as 55 at risk of developing symptoms. Researchers intend to treat people with personalized doses of antibodies based on the volume of amyloid proteins in their brain at the study's outset. "Right now, it's estimated that we are somewhere between 5 and 6 million people in this country who are suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and we really think, unfortunately, that's the tip of the iceberg," said Harvard Medical School Professor Reisa Sperling. Participants will get intravenous doses of the antibodies every month while being tracked for four years, with 10 or 11 of the 100 study sites to be in Florida. "We think by intervening decades before, we can really bend the curve," said Sperling. "And hopefully, instead of dying in nursing homes, they can die out ballroom dancing, living independently, because that's what we all want."

A study published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry detailed how researchers used artificial intelligence to analyze language patterns of older adults to determine degrees of loneliness, reports NBC San Diego . "We used natural language processing or NLP, an unbiased quantitative assessment of expressed emotion and sentiment, in concert with the usual loneliness measurement tools," said University of California, San Diego School of Medicine Professor Ellen Lee. The research focused on 80 independent senior living residents aged 66 to 94, average age 83. The study highlighted that lonely individuals took longer to respond in qualitative interviews, and more greatly expressed sadness to direct questions about loneliness. Moreover, women were more likely than men to admit feeling lonely during interviews, while men used more fearful and joyful words in their responses than women. The machine learning models predicted qualitative loneliness with 94 percent accuracy. Preliminary findings suggest that there may be "lonely speech" that could be used to identify loneliness in older adults, improving how clinicians and families evaluate and treat loneliness, especially during physical distancing and social isolation.

Rapper and recording artist Future has created a wellness program for seniors in Atlanta, under the auspices of his FreeWishes Foundation, reports Atlanta Daily World . The foundation this year implemented a "Wellness on Wheels" campaign to accommodate the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, employing a contactless, drive-in delivery system. Atlanta-based seniors received shopping bags containing stress balls, disposable masks, first aid kits, activity books, healthy snacks, and other items. Wellness on Wheels was conceived to promote healthy independent living by giving the senior community the means to maintain their health, via nutritional instruction, health items, and wellness practices. All staff and volunteers follow COVID-19 guidelines recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including compliance with social distancing protocols and wearing masks. Future believes it is even more critical that his foundation continues to service senior citizens, as many community activities in Metro Atlanta remain canceled. "After speaking with a few of the senior adults they are feeling a little scared and somewhat isolated," he said. "I don't want COVID-19 to stop our foundation's commitment to their health and wellness. Through it all . . . life is good."

Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has received a $2 million donation for the creation of a center focused on dementia-related services, reports The Gazette . Mercy Medical Center Foundation announced that the family of Chris and Suzy DeWolf gave the funds to establish the Chris and Suzy DeWolf Family Innovation Center for Aging and Dementia. Mercy officials declared that the center will be "a hub of research, training, and education" to help those who are aging and with chronic ailments "live their lives with purpose." The Innovation Center will be part of Mercy's HallMar Village, a senior living community scheduled to break ground in spring 2021. The Echo Hill Presbyterian Church will be renovated to house the new center. "We believe the Innovation Center for Aging and Dementia has the potential to change the trajectory of dementia research and, thus, the way people with dementia live, and that's something we're pleased to support and nurture," said Chris DeWolf, chairman of Mercy's board of trustees. The center will host services that include a geriatric medical clinic, an adult day community for patients with early-stage dementia, and an extension of the Family Caregivers Center of Mercy.

The Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Task Force announced by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine last year is slated to organize a state Alzheimer's plan by next summer, reports Cleveland.com . The strategy will highlight the need for early detection and diagnosis, while outlining resources for caregivers and discussing issues of care and safety. The plan intends to drum up and concentrate support from the public, private interests, and nonprofits. The Alzheimer's Association 2020 Facts and Figures Report calculated that 220,000 Ohioans 65 and older are currently suffering from Alzheimer's and are projected to rise by almost 14 percent to 250,000 by 2025. Aging baby boomers are already starting to boost the number of residents 65 and older across the country, which will compound Alzheimer's and related diseases. Furthermore, many Ohioans younger than 65 suffer from early-onset Alzheimer's and many more are undiagnosed, while other related forms of dementia are excluded from the count. DeWine has tapped Ohio Department of Aging Director Ursel J. McElroy and a representative from the Ohio Department of Health to lead the task force charged with devising the state plan.

A study published in the Journal of Physiology focuses on the deterioration of the body's ability to regulate its temperature with age, which could offer insights to help older adults better regulate body temperature and hydration, reports News-Medical . For instance, because of reductions in thirst and the ability to preserve body fluid, people may require more frequent reminders to drink water during work in the heat or during heatwaves as they get older. Prolonged perspiration also can cause excessive fluid loss. The researchers had young and older men perform exercise in the heat, artificially increasing their blood salt content beforehand with infusions of saline. The regulation of body temperature in the older subjects was not influenced by increases in blood salt content. Given that both the young and older adults were physically active without any overt chronic health conditions, it is difficult to determine whether the results translate to more sedentary individuals or those with common age-related chronic diseases like Type 2 diabetes.

An assisted living provider has been staging adapted versions of Broadway hits to help seniors express themselves creatively, reports Patch.com . Juniper Communities recently earned Argentum's "Best of the Best Award" for its Perennial Players program, which offers residents opportunities to perform classic Broadway musicals. "Juniper's Perennial Players shows unparalleled passion and commitment to providing an optimal environment for residents and their families," declared Argentum CEO James Balda. "This innovative program stands out for its uniqueness and ability to advance excellence in senior living." Partnerships with other local groups and organizations have been essential to the program's success, according to Juniper's senior director of community relations Katie Kensinger. "For seniors, particularly those with dementia, musical theater demonstrates therapeutic value and a unique outlet for creative expression," she added. Juniper Village at Brookline in State College, Pa., piloted the program in 2018 and was the first senior living community to perform "Guys and Dolls, Senior," followed by "Singin' in the Rain, Senior" in 2019. The program's success has prompted its extension to other Juniper locations, including Bloomfield, N.J.

A study in Age and Ageing indicated that delirium is a key symptom of COVID-19 in frail, older adults, reports News-Medical . The researchers analyzed data from two groups of people 65 or older from March through May. The first cohort included 322 subjects hospitalized with COVID-19 who had tested positive for the virus, while the second comprised 535 users of the COVID Symptom Study application who reported having had a positive diagnosis. Older hospitalized adults classified as frail were more likely to have had delirium as one of their symptoms than people of the same age who were not classified as frail. Delirium, along with tiredness and breathlessness, also were more frequent in frailer users of the COVID Symptom Study app with the virus, compared with fitter people of the same age. A third of app users with delirium did not report suffering "classic" COVID-19 symptoms of cough and fever, while delirium was the only symptom for 18.9 percent of hospitalized patients. "Older, frailer people are at greater risk from COVID-19 than those who are fitter, and our results show that delirium is a key symptom in this group," said King's College London's Rose Penfold. "Doctors and carers should watch out for any changes in mental state in seniors, such as confusion or strange behavior, and be alert to the fact that this could be an early sign of coronavirus infection."

A study in JAMA Network Open has validated a dementia marker that may help doctors identify patients who have the condition or are at risk of developing it, reports the Harvard Gazette . Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers compiled the Brain Age Index (BAI), a model that uses artificial intelligence and sleep data to estimate the difference between a person's chronological age and the biological age of their brain when computed by electroencephalogram during sleep. A higher BAI indicates deviation from normal brain aging, which could signal the presence and severity of dementia. The team computed values for 5,144 sleep tests in 88 persons with dementia, 44 with mild cognitive impairment, 1,075 with cognitive symptoms but no impairment diagnosis, and 2,336 without dementia. BAI values increased across the groups with the degree of cognitive impairment, and subjects with dementia had an average value of about four years older than those without dementia. BAI values also correlated with neuropsychiatric scores from standard cognitive evaluations performed before or after the sleep study. "BAI has potential as a screening tool for the presence of underlying neurodegenerative disease and monitoring of disease progression," suggested Alice D. Lam at MGH.

The 40 West Arts District in Colorado received a $9,000 grant from the AARP to help connect multigenerational communities through art, reports NBC 9 Colorado . One application of that grant was a socially distanced and masked performance at the Residences at Creekside senior community in Lakewood, staged on Wednesday by the Handsome Little Devils company. The performance included a giant blow-up squid. "This is very silly and it's very frivolous, but it's done with a much higher intention and that intention I think is what resonates," said artistic director Cole Huling. "And there's an authenticity to that." Creekside resident Helen Mossman called the performance "awesome, very awesome. We needed this uplifting with all of this stuff with the virus going on and everything. And a lot of my friends here have been real depressed."