Drinking coffee may help protect older people against inflammation, the underlying process for many age-related diseases, Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have discovered. The scientists, who published their findings in the journal Nature Medicine, found that older people whose bodies had low levels of inflammation shared another common characteristic — caffeine consumption. The results may help explain why coffee drinkers tend to live longer than those who avoid the beverage, according to a Stanford press release. In fact, the more caffeine older people took in, the more protected they were against chronic inflammation, David Furman, the study’s lead author,…
For the first time, the SEC will begin scrutinizing financial professionals who offer advice through robo platforms in 2017. For firms that provide electronic advice, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations is warning that exams this year may examine marketing, disclosures of conflicts, compliance programs and the manner in which investment recommendations are produced. In its annual exam guidance, the commission also signaled it will not relent on evaluating registrants’ cybersecurity policies and procedures, an ongoing area of concern as cyber thieves are increasingly targeting financial firms’ data. The commission also indicated that it will ramp up scrutiny…
The 20-fold increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism in the past 30 years may be due to clinicians diagnosing less severe autism in children. A study of more than 1,200 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders – which encompasses a range of behavioral symptoms – in Western Australia found no evidence of more children being born with autism than in the past. Professor Andrew Whitehouse, the head of autism research at Perth’s Telethon Kids, said there had been a clinical shift towards diagnosing autism in children with less severe behavioral symptoms. “Other research has shown these children…
As President Donald Trump took office, nearly every reference to disabilities on the White House website disappeared. The online presence of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. got a revamp tailored to its new resident after Trump’s swearing in on Friday and, with the changeover, came a noticeably reduced emphasis on disability matters. A section on disabilities was one of more than two dozen issues listed prominently on the homepage of whitehouse.gov during former President Barack Obama’s tenure. The outgoing administration’s site featured information on expanding education and employment opportunities for people with disabilities, enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act and a…
Donald J. Trump ran on a campaign promise to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. So it should not come as a surprise that he has signed an executive order urging his administration to fight it as much as possible. But that order, alone, won’t allow President Trump to unwind the sprawling health law known as Obamacare. Mr. Trump and Republican leaders in Congress are engaged in negotiations about legislation that might substantially undo or replace the health law. Even before the inauguration, Congress took a first step toward gutting major provisions. But as that process underscores, major changes to health…
Common viruses pose a serious threat in nursing homes, often sabotaging standard infection control measures, a new case study suggests. “Long-term care facilities have unique challenges. Infection-control policies from acute care hospitals cannot simply be mirrored in this setting and expected to work,” said study lead author Dr. Schaefer Spires. The report details a 16-day outbreak of two viruses — respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human metapneumovirus (HMPV) — that swept through a long-term dementia ward in Tennessee. Nearly three-quarters of the patients became sick and five died. According to the report, 30 of 41 patients contracted at least one…
Following the release of statistics that showed an overwhelming majority of pedestrians killed on Toronto’s streets last year were older adults, the city has announced details of its plans to create “seniors safety zones” at 12 intersections. According to police data released last week, 37 of the 43 pedestrians killed last year were 55 or older. It was the deadliest year for pedestrians in more than a decade, and also the worst year for older pedestrian deaths over that time. The intersection will be the first location where the city establishes a seniors zone, which was one of the measures…
Imagine seniors walking around with stylish ear devices that amplify and clarify sound and connect wirelessly to smart phones, tablets, televisions and digital assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri. Technology is already moving in this direction, and consumer marketers such as Samsung, Bose Corp., and Panasonic Corp. are reportedly readying new products of this kind. They’ll be sold over the counter, to customers who will test their own hearing with cell phone apps or online programs and adjust sound parameters themselves. The devices “will be widely used by older people,” just as earbuds are used by younger people…
Before leaving office, the Obama administration is releasing a flurry of guidance related to the rights of students with disabilities in the nation’s schools. The U.S. Department of Education is weighing in on everything from restraint and seclusion to charter schools in a series of “Dear Colleague” letters and other resources distributed to educators just before the end of the year. In the correspondence, the agency outlines limitations on the use of restraint and seclusion in schools warning that the practices could be discriminatory. A separate letter addresses the rights of those with disabilities applying to or attending charter schools…
The state and six of the largest providers of non-medical home care for elderly Medicaid clients are sparring in court over a new fraud-busting system that electronically tracks the visits and the work that the caregivers do in the homes. Home care could be interrupted at least temporarily for up to 1,350 clients of the largest of the firms, Companions & Homemakers, Inc. The state has removed the firm from the Medicaid program because it refuses to work under the electronic monitoring system, which is set to begin Feb. 3. The new technology requires workers to check in and check…
Frederick, MD 
301-663-9230
