Geriatrics News

• Potentially Preventable Medicare Spending High in Frail Elderly Although frail elderly adults make up a small proportion of high-cost Medicare beneficiaries, they account for the greatest proportion of potentially preventable costs, a new study shows.
  Medscape Medical News, October 2017
• Florida Needs More Pet-friendly Hurricane Shelters for the Elderly When pet owners need to flee from disasters like hurricanes and fires, they often think first of their animals, but a new study suggests a scarcity of pet-friendly emergency shelters could make older evacuees all the more vulnerable.
  Reuters Health Information, October 2017
• Chikungunya Virus Infection Manifests Atypically in Older Adults The acute phase of Chikungunya-virus (CHIKV) infection commonly lacks fever, joint pain, or both, in older adults, according to a retrospective study.
  Reuters Health Information, October 2017
• Older Patients With Breast Cancer Still Overtreated With RT -- Why? Surgeons and radiation oncologists frequently overestimate the benefits of radiotherapy (RT) after lumpectomy and thus continue to recommend its use, despite a lack of evidence for a survival benefit or protection against local recurrence.
  Medscape Medical News, October 2017
• Deprescribing Intervention Improves Nursing Home Care A multidisciplinary, multistep intervention helped clinicians deprescribe potentially inappropriate medications in nursing home patients, a study found.
  Medscape Medical News, October 2017
• Elderly With Dementia at Risk for Inappropriate Medications More than half of elderly patients with dementia are prescribed at least one potentially inappropriate medication, a recent study from eight European countries suggests.
  Reuters Health Information, October 2017
• Older Adults More Likely to Disclose Suicidal Thoughts as They Age More than one in five older adults who commit suicide disclose their intention to kill themselves before taking their own lives, a U.S. study suggests.
  Reuters Health Information, October 2017
• Exercise Prevents Elderly Mobility Problems, and the More the Better Less than an extra hour a week of moderate exercise can make a big difference in helping older adults stay mobile and reduce their risk of developing major mobility problems, a U.S. study suggests.
  Reuters Health Information, October 2017
• Medicare Patients With Diabetes at Risk of Overtreatment Physicians need to dial back diabetes medications to reduce serious risks associated with strict glycemic control.
  Medscape Medical News, October 2017
• USPSTF Draft Recommendations for Falls and Fracture Prevention USPSTF draft recommendations extol exercise for fall prevention in older adults but not vitamin D or calcium supplements to reduce fracture risk.
  Medscape Medical News, September 2017
• Inhaled Steroids Linked to Non-TB Mycobacterial Lung Disease in Elderly Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) have a strong dose-response relationship with non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) in older adults with obstructive lung disease.
  Reuters Health Information, September 2017
• Death Toll From Overheated Florida Nursing Home Rises to 10 A 10th elderly patient at a Miami-area nursing home has died after she was exposed to sweltering heat in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, police said on Thursday.
  Reuters Health Information, September 2017
• Criminal Probe Opens Into 8 Deaths at Florida Nursing Home After Irma Eight elderly patients died after being left inside a stifling South Florida nursing home that lost power during Hurricane Irma, officials said on Wednesday, prompting a criminal probe and adding to the mounting loss of life from the storm.
  Reuters Health Information, September 2017
• Dementia Incidence on the Decline Dementia incidence rates decreased significantly among individuals born after 1929. But reduced cardiovascular disease and increased education levels don't fully explain this decline.
  Medscape Medical News, September 2017
• ESC Ibuprofen Ups Systolic BP, New-Onset Hypertension Risk The blood-pressure increases were observed in arthritis patients taking prescription-strength doses and may in part explain the elevated cardiovascular risk previously seen with the NSAID.
  Medscape Medical News, September 2017
• More Older Men Get Prostate Radiation When Docs Own Equipment Elderly men with prostate cancer are more likely to be treated with radiation when their doctors own radiation machines - even patients who may be too old to benefit from the treatment, a U.S. study suggests.
  Reuters Health Information, September 2017
• ESC Nonagenarians 'Good Candidates' for TAVI Surgery Severe aortic-stenosis patients aged 90 years or older can be candidates for transcatheter aortic-valve implantation, with similar outcomes to those in younger patients, researchers say.
  Medscape Medical News, September 2017
• Dancing Keeps Older Brains on the Ball Strength and aerobic training improve cognition and function in older individuals, but dancing has the most profound effect on counteracting age-related gray matter loss and improving balance.
  Medscape Medical News, August 2017
• Prospective Study Shows Just How Bad TV Can Be Long hours of TV watching increased risk of walking limitations among seniors, even with high levels of general physical activity, new data show.
  Medscape Medical News, August 2017
• Retinal Imaging Device May Offer Insight Into Alzheimer's A noninvasive retinal imaging device that detects changes in the eye that are indicative of brain amyloid may provide new insight into Alzheimer's disease.
  Medscape Medical News, August 2017