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Social isolation and anxiety in older adults with cognitive impairment
Elderly person sitting alone wearing a face mask.

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
Elderly person wearing face mask in their home at a window being cared for by an adult also wearing a face mask.

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.

From Penn LDI

Older adults’ access to primary care during the pandemic
Elderly African American person waves to a doctor via telemedicine on their smartphone.

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.

From Penn LDI

In reversal, FDA calls for limits on who gets Alzheimer’s drug

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.

Nursing home staffing during the pandemic
Nursing home hallway with an empty wheelchair parked outside an open door.

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.

From Penn LDI

A new theory for what’s happening in the brain when something looks familiar
A black-and-white illustration with many lines and circles and a person sitting in the middle.

How can the brain distinguish between something new and something familiar? Research from the Visual Memory Lab led by Nicole Rust has a new theory, replacing one long-held by the field. (Image: Julia Kuhl)

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.

Michele W. Berger

A year of isolation was hard on older adults with dementia. Families and experts wonder how much damage can be undone

A year of isolation was hard on older adults with dementia. Families and experts wonder how much damage can be undone

With the pandemic triggering declines in aging and dementia patients, Pam Cacchione of the School of Nursing shares a personal story about how the elderly living on their own during the pandemic face different challenges than those in nursing homes.