Geriatrics News

Certain markers of cerebral small vessel disease, such as lower total brain parenchyma volume and subcortical infarcts, could indicate incident depressive symptoms in elderly patients, according to recent research.

New data suggest the successful development of a reliable, universal, standardized protocol that captures the changes that occur in the structure of the brain known as the hippocampus.

The use of citalopram combined with methylphenidate improved depression severity, cognitive performance and remission rates in geriatric patients compared to either treatment alone, according to results from this randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

Recent data suggest that elderly patients with dementia being treated with antipsychotics may have a greater increased risk for mortality than previously expected, according to researchers.

Forty-five percent of patients with Alzheimer’s disease or their caregivers are informed of the diagnosis by their clinician, according to a press release issued by the Alzheimer’s Association.

Multiple interventions such as healthy eating habits, exercise and web-based cognitive training may prevent or postpone cognitive decline among older patients, according to data published in The Lancet.

Spousal bereavement among older couples may increase depressive symptoms, thereby leading to an incorrect diagnosis of depression, according to data published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.

Late preterm birth is associated with lower performance on neurocognitive, visuospatial and executive functioning tests in adulthood, according to data published in Pediatrics.

Approximately 4 million households in the U.S. have one or more adults experiencing increased confusion or memory loss, according to a recently published study by the CDC.

U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) introduced legislation this week that would require Medicare prescription drug plans to cover six categories of medications, according to a press release.