Patient advocates decry CMS decision on Alzheimer’s drug coverage
By
Alicia Lasek
Feb 24, 2023
The Alzheimer’s Association and others have strongly criticized a decision by CMS to stand by its highly restrictive coverage for new dementia drugs.
Laxatives linked to increased risk for dementia
Feb 22, 2023
Regular use of osmotic laxatives or multiple laxative types may raise the odds of all-cause or vascular dementia, a new study finds. Osmotic laxatives were tied to a 64% increase in risk.
RSV vaccine succeeds in phase 3 trial
By
Rachael Zimlich
Feb 22, 2023
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is perhaps best known for causing severe illness in infants in children, but it leads up to 150,000 hospitalizations and 10,000 deaths in adults aged 65 and older each...
Clinical briefs for Wednesday, Feb. 22
By
Rachael Zimlich
Feb 22, 2023
Long COVID could lead to brain chemistry changes … COVID vaccination linked to decrease in heart attacks and strokes in people previously infected with the virus … FDA approves first medication designed...
Study: Elder abuse leads to rise in ED visits up to 2 years later
By
Rachael Zimlich
Feb 17, 2023
A new study finds that emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations were recorded at higher rates among elderly who were abused in some way for as long as two years after the abuse initially occurred.
Medicare would cover power seat equipment under new proposal
By
Liza Berger
Feb 16, 2023
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Wednesday released a proposed National Coverage Determination decision that would expand coverage for power seat elevation equipment on certain power wheelchairs...
Clinical briefs for Wednesday, Feb. 15
By
Rachael Zimlich
Feb 15, 2023
Medicaid beneficiaries may be among the first affected when the public health emergency ends … New wearable smart devices can help signal falls among the elderly at home … A Velco-like protein...
Medicare eligibility comes with increase in tooth loss, Harvard study reveals
By
Alicia Lasek
Feb 10, 2023
When patients become eligible for Medicare coverage, restorative dental care immediately falls and tooth loss increases, a new study from Harvard University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital has found.
COVID-19 a bigger threat to seniors than pneumonia, real-world study finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Feb 09, 2023
COVID-19 is much more deadly than bacterial or viral pneumonia, causing double the mortality rate in older, hospitalized adults, investigators say.
Early screening curbs C. auris in ventilator-assisted facilities: study
By
Alicia Lasek
Feb 02, 2023
Targeted screening for Candida auris at admission to ventilator-assisted units in nursing homes helps to identify colonized residents, physician researchers report.