As COVID-19 breakthrough infections continue to emerge in some vaccine recipients and health authorities are developing policies around booster vaccinations, national data on COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough infections is inadequate but urgently needed. Now a study from the Public Health Institute, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the University of Texas Health Science Center, published today […]
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Common Alzheimer’s treatment linked to slower cognitive decline
Cholinesterase inhibitors are a group of drugs recommended for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, but their effects on cognition have been debated and few studies have investigated their long-term effects. A new study involving researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and published in the journal Neurology shows persisting cognitive benefits and reduced mortality for up […]
Widowhood accelerates cognitive decline among those at risk for Alzheimer’s disease
The death of a spouse often means the loss of intimacy, companionship and everyday support for older adults. A new study finds that widowhood can have another profound effect: It may accelerate cognitive decline. Investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital analyzed older, cognitively normal Americans enrolled in the Harvard Aging Brain […]
Decline in primary care visits continued after ACA
The long-term decrease in primary care contact was not interrupted following implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to a study published in the November/December issue of the Annals of Family Medicine. Michael E. Johansen, M.D., from OhioHealth in Columbus, and Caroline R. Richardson, M.D., from University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, used data […]
Study offers alternative explanation for much-heralded decline in hospital readmission rates under pay-for-performance
The decline in hospital readmission rates that occurred following the launch of a federal program designed to improve quality of care and reduce repeat hospitalizations has been lauded as proof of the program’s effectiveness. But a new analysis led by researchers at Harvard Medical School offers an alternative explanation for the outcome. The findings, published […]
Linguists track impact of cognitive decline across three decades of one writer’s diaries
Researchers at the University of Toronto (U of T) specializing in language variation and change have identified a specific relationship between an individual’s use of language, and the transition from healthy to a diagnosis of severe dementia. In a study of diary entries by Toronto resident Vivian White over a 31-year period, the researchers tracked […]
Link between paid employment and slower age-related memory decline
Over the past century, patterns of employment, marriage and parenthood have changed drastically for women across the Western World. In a study presented today at the Alzheimer’s Association Internal Conference 2019, researchers have explored how differences in life experiences affect later life memory decline. A team of researchers from the University of California looked at […]
Number of HIV cases continue to decline in New Zealand
For the second year in a row there has been a reduction in the number of confirmed cases of HIV in New Zealand. In 2018, 178 cases were reported – a decrease from the 198 reported in 2017 and 251 in 2016, figures released today by the AIDS Epidemiology Group, University of Otago, show. HIV […]
Inflammation in midlife hastens cognitive decline
The average age of the population of the United States is gradually increasing, so conditions of old age are moving into the spotlight. Growing older is associated with a progressive decline in average thinking abilities. However, it may only affect some people very mildly, while other individuals can develop significant cognitive deficits. Understanding the risk […]
Anesthesia, surgery linked to decline in memory and thinking
In adults over 70, exposure to general anesthesia and surgery is associated with a subtle decline in memory and thinking skills, according to new Mayo Clinic research. The study analyzed nearly 2,000 participants in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging and found that exposure to anesthesia after age 70 was linked to long-term changes in […]