Geriatrics News

• USPSTF: Exercise, Not Supplements, for Preventing Falls The US Preventive Services Task Force's new recommendations advised exercise, but not calcium and vitamin D supplementation, for preventing falls and fractures.
  Medscape Medical News, April 2018
• Food Delivery Programs May Reduce Senior Healthcare Costs Ensuring that vulnerable elderly are well-fed could trim their healthcare costs, especially for emergency-room visits, U.S. researchers say.
  Reuters Health Information, April 2018
• Japanese Man, 112, Recognized as World's Oldest Male A 112-year-old Japanese man born months before Albert Einstein published his theory of special relativity was recognized on Tuesday as the world's oldest man.
  Reuters Health Information, April 2018
• In Aging Thailand, Developers Race to Supply Locals and Elderly Expats At 79, Thai businessman Boon Vasin's latest $500 million venture is a bet on a market he knows well - looking after Thailand's rapidly growing population of old people.
  Reuters Health Information, April 2018
• U.S. Medicare Sets Outpatient Rate for Yescarta Reimbursement Medicare, the U.S. government healthcare program for the elderly and disabled, will pay hospitals close to its standard mark-up rate for administering cell therapy Yescarta for cancer outpatients, who will have a co-payment of nearly $80,000.
  Reuters Health Information, April 2018
• Fall Prevention More Challenging When Elderly Leave Hospital Older adults have a greater risk of falling to begin with. But this risk heightens considerably within the first six months of a hospital release, Australian researchers say.
  Reuters Health Information, April 2018
• AAGP 2018New Inpatient Program Stems 'Epidemic of Violence' A novel interdisciplinary program called BOOST improves care of hospitalized geriatric patients with behavioral disturbance; 78% of staff said it enhanced workplace safety.
  Medscape Medical News, April 2018
• AAGP 2018Positive Long-term Results for Tardive Dyskinesia Drug Long-term efficacy and safety/tolerability outcomes are positive in older patients with tardive dyskinesia treated with valbenazine, according to pooled analyses from several phase 3 trials.
  Medscape Medical News, April 2018
• Home Health Care Plans Don't Get Careful Review Physicians charged with approving treatment plans for skilled home health care often spend no more than a minute reviewing the plans, a study of U.S. doctors suggests.
  Reuters Health Information, April 2018
• Brand-Name Prescription Drug Prices Skyrocketing for Seniors The cost of popular brand-name drugs commonly used by older adults has grown at 10 times the rate of inflation over the last 5 years, a new report shows.
  Medscape Medical News, March 2018
• Aging Japan: Robots May Have Role in Future of Elder Care
  Reuters Health Information, March 2018
• AAGP 2018Switching Antidepressants May Boost Suicide Risk in Elderly Prescribing patterns for antidepressant treatment may affect risk for suicidal behavior in elderly patients, suggests a new population-based study of more than 185,000 Swedish residents.
  Medscape Medical News, March 2018
• Casting as Good as Surgery for Unstable Ankle Fractures in Older Adults
  Reuters Health Information, March 2018
• Reticular Pseudodrusen More Common Than Thought in Caucasians As many as one in 20 elderly Caucasians may harbor reticular pseudodrusen (RPD), a risk factor for progression to advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to new research from the U.K.
  Reuters Health Information, March 2018
• AAGP 2018Nicotine Patch May Help Late-Life Depression Transdermal nicotine treatment can significantly improve outcomes in nonsmoking patients with late-life depression and cognitive impairment, suggests a new open-label pilot study.
  Medscape Medical News, March 2018
• Fall Injuries in Oldest Old Rising, Outcomes May Be Slightly Better An increasing number of U.S. patients in their 90s are hospitalized with injuries after falling, but they may be faring slightly better than in the past, a small study suggests.
  Reuters Health Information, March 2018
• AAGP 2018Schizophrenia Drug Reduces Alzheimer's-Related Agitation Brexpiprazole, approved by the FDA in 2015 to treat schizophrenia and depression, is also effective for treating agitation in patients with Alzheimer's-related dementia, two phase 3 trials suggest.
  Medscape Medical News, March 2018
• AAGP 2018Ageism in Medicine Must Stop, Experts Say Ageism is rampant in medical education and in clinical settings and can lead to adverse consequences for older patients, say experts.
  Medscape Medical News, March 2018
• Medicare Patients With Larger Support Networks More Likely to Get Cataract Surgery Older adults with fewer family members in their social support network are less likely to undergo cataract surgery, regardless of whether they have a partner, according to a new study using nationally representative survey data.
  Reuters Health Information, March 2018
• Excessive Daytime Sleepiness a Risk Factor for Alzheimer's Disease Elderly individuals with excessive daytime sleepiness may be more vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease-related pathologic changes in the brain, new research suggests.
  Reuters Health Information, March 2018