Geriatrics News

• Osteoporosis Diagnosis, Care Suboptimal in Older Men Osteoporosis screening and diagnosis rates were low among veterans, particularly older veterans, men, and men with a prior hip fracture, a study found.
  Medscape Medical News, February 2019
• Hunger Hormone Protective Against MCI, Alzheimer's? Cholecystokinin, a little-studied amino acid involved in appetite regulation, specifically satiety, may protect against mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.
  Medscape Medical News, February 2019
• Physicians Call for Action on Root Causes of Drug Shortages Physicians have urged US officials to take steps to end chronic shortages of critical hospital drugs. The government and private groups are considering options to expand production of these medicines.
  Medscape Medical News, February 2019
• Alzheimer's Patients Show Cardiac Abnormalities A new Italian study reports preliminary clinical evidence that Alzheimer's may involve the heart as well as the brain.
  Medscape Medical News, February 2019
• New Lessons About Education Levels and Dementia Risk A unique study that combined clinical measures of cognition with autopsy findings suggests more education may not protect against dementia or the rate of cognitive decline later in life.
  Medscape Medical News, February 2019
• House Committee Seeks Bipartisan Paths to Lower Drug Costs A powerful House panel sought expert advice on changing the design of Medicare to tackle what have been called 'perverse incentives' that raise the pharmacy bills of senior citizens.
  Medscape Medical News, February 2019
• Fluoroquinolones Overprescribed Despite Dangers In the past year, more concerns about the drugs' side effects have led the FDA to issue new warnings about their use.
  WebMD Health News, February 2019
• Many Types of Workouts May Reduce Falls in Older Adults Older adults who get regular exercise are less likely to experience falls than their counterparts who are inactive, a research review suggests.
  Reuters Health Information, February 2019
• How Do You Handle Tough Conversations With Your Patients? Although many physicians believe it is their duty to talk about prognosis and life expectancy, many patients don't want to have that discussion.
  Medscape Reader Polls, February 2019
• Statin Benefits in the Elderly: New Meta-Analysis Statins reduce vascular events in all age groups, including people older than 75 years, concludes a new meta-analysis from the Cholesterol Treatment Trialists' Collaboration.
  Medscape Medical News, February 2019
• Updated Beers Criteria Guide Drug Use in Elders The Beers Criteria for Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Ddults was updated for 2019.
  Medscape Medical News, February 2019
• When PCI Becomes the Backup for Coronary Bypass Surgery Results of a nationwide study suggest this scenario occurs more commonly than previously thought, and 'it's not as pretty as we think,' the senior author says.
  Medscape Medical News, January 2019
• U.S. Lawmaker Yarmuth Says Democrats to Begin Medicare for All Hearings Democrats in control of the U.S. House of Representatives will begin holding hearings on expanding Medicare this spring and will aim to pass a bill by the end of next year, a senior Democratic lawmaker said on Tuesday.
  Reuters Health Information, January 2019
• Tool Does Not Help Care Decisions in Prolonged Life Support A Web-based decision aid did not help surrogate decision makers and clinicians agree on treatment goals for patients on prolonged mechanical ventilation.
  Medscape Medical News, January 2019
• Alzheimer's Blood Test May Detect Damage Ahead of Symptoms Changes over time in levels of neurofilament light protein in blood can help predict neurodegeneration and clinical progression to Alzheimer's disease.
  Medscape Medical News, January 2019
• Hearing Loss Under-Researched in Older Adults Hearing loss research in older adults lags far behind that in children, researchers report.
  Reuters Health Information, January 2019
• Australia's Aged Care Sector Braces for Powerful Inquiry A public inquiry into mistreatment of the elderly in Australia's A$20 billion ($14 billion) aged-care industry begins hearings on Friday, with investors expecting damaging testimony to be followed by tighter regulation and a possible sector shakeout.
  Reuters Health Information, January 2019
• Hyperglycemia Tied to Higher Fracture Risk in Elderly Japanese Men Community-dwelling elderly men with hyperglycemia are at elevated risk of osteoporotic fracture, according to Japanese researchers.
  Reuters Health Information, January 2019
• Evictions Loom for Poor, Elderly as U.S. Government Shutdown Drags on
  Reuters Health Information, January 2019
• U.S. Lawmaker Launches Investigation Into Pharma Drug Pricing A top U.S. lawmaker launched an investigation into pharmaceutical industry pricing practices on Monday, less than a week after he and fellow Democrats introduced legislation aimed at lowering medicine prices.
  Reuters Health Information, January 2019