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Geriatrics
Who, What, Why: Amy Wu and the Brain Exercise Initiative
Who, What, Why: Amy Wu and the Brain Exercise Initiative
The fourth-year is the founder and president of Penn’s chapter of the Brain Exercise Initiative, a service club that connects student volunteers with senior citizens to help combat social isolation and cognitive decline.
Promoting exercise for healthy brain aging in the Latino community
Promoting exercise for healthy brain aging in the Latino community
Penn Nursing’s Adriana Perez engages the Latino community in fitness classes through Tiempo Juntos Por Nuestra Salud.
Social isolation and anxiety in older adults with cognitive impairment
Social isolation and anxiety in older adults with cognitive impairment
Social isolation among older adults with cognitive impairment has been historically understudied. Since the pandemic, older adults, particularly those with cognitive impairment, may be particularly vulnerable to ill effects from social isolation.
Family and friends are the invisible workforce in long-term care
Family and friends are the invisible workforce in long-term care
Family and friends continue to provide substantial amounts of care in nursing homes, amounting to an invisible workforce, providing more than an extra “shift” of care every week in nursing homes and two “shifts” in assisted living facilities, a new study finds.
Older adults’ access to primary care during the pandemic
Older adults’ access to primary care during the pandemic
Older patients who accessed primary care via telemedicine had lower hospitalization rates, but racial disparities in outcomes of in-person primary care persist, with Black older adults more likely to be hospitalized after a telemedicine visit.
Nursing home staffing during the pandemic
Nursing home staffing during the pandemic
While the pandemic hit nursing homes especially hard, one area it did not suffer is in staffing. A new study finds that staffing levels in nursing homes did not decrease during the pandemic.
A new theory for what’s happening in the brain when something looks familiar
A new theory for what’s happening in the brain when something looks familiar
This novel concept from the lab of neuroscientist Nicole Rust brings the field one step closer to understanding how memory functions. Long-term, it could have implications for treating memory-impairing diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Jason Karlawish on the science and history of Alzheimer’s
Jason Karlawish on the science and history of Alzheimer’s
The the co-director of the Penn Memory Center outlines the medical, social, and ethical challenges that surround Alzheimer’s disease.
Companionship that spans generations and reduces isolation for seniors
Companionship that spans generations and reduces isolation for seniors
With the pandemic, Penn Memory Center’s social interaction and companionship program for seniors moved online.
A new vision for the Population Aging Research Center
A new vision for the Population Aging Research Center
For more than 25 years, PARC has been a hub for work on disparities in aging and mortality. Co-directors Hans-Peter Kohler and Norma Coe, who took over in July, want to expand its reach.
In the News
CNN
Have this talk with your parents now to reduce heartache later
A 2017 study of 800,000 Americans by the Perelman School of Medicine found that only 29% had completed a living will detailing their care wishes and only 33% had designated a health care power of attorney.
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Wired
A new blood test may predict your Alzheimer’s risk. Should you take it?
Jason Karlawish of the Perelman School of Medicine cautions that the uncertainty of learning one’s Alzheimer’s risk from test results might be difficult for some people to handle.
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Men’s Health
How saunas benefit your brain
Jason Karlawish of the Perelman School of Medicine says that saunas aren’t a silver bullet for dementia but might represent one of several combined ways to counteract it.
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The Scientist
Integrate and innovate with NGS and multiomics
A group of researchers from Penn found that protective pathways involved in healthy aging are disabled to initiate epigenetic changes that drive Alzheimer’s disease.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
We can’t drug our way out of despair over Alzheimer’s
Jason Karlawish of the Perelman School of Medicine wrote an opinion piece calling for a more holistic approach to funding Alzheimer’s research and care. “We do need effective drug treatments,” he said. “But short of cures, patients need services and supports.”
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The New York Times
In reversal, FDA calls for limits on who gets Alzheimer’s drug
Jason Karlawish of the Perelman School of Medicine weighed in on revised FDA guidance on a new Alzheimer’s drug and calls for an investigation into its approval and price. “This event only adds to the importance of having those congressional hearings to figure out what’s going on at F.D.A. and why they’re doing this,” he said.
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