Jun 23rd, 2022 - Thanks to effective treatment, people with HIV are living longer. But as they age, they face higher rates of age-related comorbidities and hospitalizations, according to a recent study of hospitalized patients. Decisionmakers will need to allocate resources, train providers, and plan ways to manage chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cancer, among geriatric HIV inpatients, according to the a...

Jun 20th, 2022 - The following highlights are a brief overview of guideline updates, drug approvals, and diagnostics relevant to geriatric medicine from June 2021 to April 2022, some of which were discussed at the American Geriatrics Society conference in May. I selected these topics as they were among the most discussed by my colleagues in geriatric medicine and inquired about by my primary care patients in ge.

Jun 16th, 2022 - The study covered in this summary was published on medrxiv.org as a preprint and has not yet been peer reviewed. Key Takeaways Inteleukin-6 (IL-6) can be used as a predictive biomarker for delirium in perioperative geriatric patients as it was consistently identified in all studies reviewed. Delirium is often a result of multiple factors that lead to activation and dysregulation of immune prote...

Jun 16th, 2022 - June 15, 2022 – President Joe Biden issued an executive order today banning conversion therapy and offering other LBGTQI+ protections as part of White House efforts to advance equality during Pride Month. "My order will use the full force of the federal government to end inhumane practices of conversion therapy," Biden said in a speech before signing the order.  "This is the first time the fede...

Jun 15th, 2022 - I enjoyed reading “How to identify balance disorders and reduce fall risk” (J Fam Pract. 2022;71:20-30) from the January/February issue.

Jun 15th, 2022 - New York, NY – The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), a national non-profit organization whose mission is to support and advance healthy aging through biomedical research, is proud to recognize the outstanding contributions of Benjamin Han, MD, MPH, with the 2022 Terrie Fox Wetle Rising Star Award in Health Services and Aging Research. This award honors a health services researcher ...

Jun 14th, 2022 - Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center. Coronavirus reinfections will likely increase throughout the summer as two Omicron subvariants — BA.4 and BA.5 — become dominant in the U.S. The subvariants appear to be escaping immunity from vaccines and previous infections — even other Omicron infections — and have been causing hundreds of th...

Jun 14th, 2022 - Age-related cataracts usually affect both eyes. In most cases, the clouded endogenic lens is replaced surgically with an artificial intraocular lens (IOL), with a few weeks between eye surgeries. However, the cataract surgery can alternatively be performed on both eyes on the same day, with potential advantages and disadvantages. A recent Cochrane review concluded that, overall, there are unlik...

Jun 13th, 2022 - THE CASE A 78-year-old woman with a past medical history of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, osteoarthritis, and osteopenia was brought to the emergency department (ED) by her daughter. The woman had fallen 2 days earlier and had been experiencing a change in mental status (confusion) for the previous 4 days.

Jun 10th, 2022 - Thinning of the eye's macular retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) is linked to cognitive decline in older adults, new research suggests. Results from a study of more than 400 adults showed an association between baseline macular RNFL thickness and scores on two cognitive tests — with thinner baseline macular RNFL associated with greater cognitive decline. A steeper decline in cognitive scores and ...

Jun 9th, 2022 - Injections of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) are commonly offered to men with erectile dysfunction (ED) by a variety of healthcare professionals at high cost, despite the lack of evidence-based guidelines to back its use or any standardized protocols or duration of treatment, according to a new study. Investigators researched over 100 clinics in eight populous metropolitan areas of the United State...

Jun 8th, 2022 - Social isolation is associated with a significantly increased risk of dementia in older people, new research shows. Results of a large, prospective, epidemiologic study show that individuals who reported feeling socially isolated had worse cognitive function at baseline than those who did not report social isolation and were 26% more likely to have dementia at follow-up. MRI scans conducted nea...

Jun 8th, 2022 - Residents of private retirement (or assisted-living) homes have significantly higher rates of hospital-based healthcare service utilization, compared with patients receiving home care or living in long-term care (or nursing) homes, new data indicate. In a population-based Ontario study, rates per 1000 person-months of emergency department visits, hospital admissions, days of alternate level of ...

Jun 8th, 2022 - New York, NY – The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), a national non-profit organization whose mission is to support and advance healthy aging through biomedical research, recognizes the exemplary contributions of Thomas M. Gill, MD, and Jamie N. Justice, PhD, to the field of aging research through its 2022 Scientific Awards of Distinction. Thomas M. Gill, MD, will receive the Irvin...

Jun 8th, 2022 - In a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society that included a racially diverse group of 159,255 women, higher levels of optimism were associated with longer lifespans and a greater likelihood of living past 90 years of age. Investigators found that the link between optimism and longevity was evident across racial and ethnic groups, and that lifestyle factors accounted f...

Jun 7th, 2022 - Opioid use in the elderly is associated with an almost 40% increased risk of dementia, in new findings that suggest exposure to these drugs may be another modifiable risk factor for dementia. "Clinicians and others may want to consider that opioid exposure in those aged 75-80 increases dementia risk, and to balance the potential benefits of opioid use in old age with adverse side effects," Step...

Jun 7th, 2022 - A combination of high-dose vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, and a simple at-home training program has been proven to reduce the risk of cancer by 61% in healthy people over age 70 years. These were the findings of an exploratory analysis in the international DO-HEALTH study, which observed more than 2000 elderly people over 3 years. The risk of developing cancer increases as you get older. Aside...

Jun 7th, 2022 - Marquisa Jackson, a certified nurse assistant, was faced with an emergency: The power went out at the Highland, California, mental health facility where she worked. It was a sweltering summer day, and the building was quickly getting too hot for patients. "At first I was a little panicky," she said. "How are we going to take them outside and make it better if it's even hotter outside?" But with...

Jun 6th, 2022 - EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE 1 p.m. (PT) / 4 p.m. (ET), June 6, 2022 To coincide with the publication in Health Affairs While the hospice program was originally designed for patients with cancer, who are expected to die within six months, currently close to half of older adult hospice enrollees have a diagnosis of dementia. Now a new study by researchers at UC San Francisco and Icahn School of Medicin...

Jun 6th, 2022 - DARIEN, IL – Today, Jennifer L. Martin became the president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine board of directors during the membership meeting at SLEEP 2022, the 36th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The AASM is the leading professional society in the medical subspecialty of sleep medicine. During her one-year term, Martin will...