Beth Newcomb

Next Avenue quoted Susan Enguidanos on caring for older loved ones from afar.

NPR and KPBS spoke to Donna Benton regarding “hospital at home” programs for patients with serious but stable conditions and their impact on family caregivers. “As family members, we always will say yes. But we don’t know what that means.”

Forks Over Knives covered Mara Mather’s research on breathing exercises to reduce Alzheimer’s risk factors. “We know the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems influence the production and clearance of Alzheimer’s-related peptides and proteins,” Mather said. “Nevertheless, there’s been very little research on how these physiological changes in aging might be contributing to the factors that make it conducive for someone to develop Alzheimer’s disease or not.”

Los Angeles Times quoted Jennifer Ailshire on actors taking on action roles at older ages. “These folks have trainers and physical therapists and all kinds of people with high levels of expertise that can help keep them in really good physical shape,” she said. “When you have the resources to engage in regular physical activity, you’re going to age better across the board, whether we’re talking about cognitive functioning, psychological well-being or delaying the onset of disease and disability.” The story also ran in Yahoo News, AOL.com, Times Colonist (Victoria, British Columbia) Deutsche Presse-Agentur (Germany), and Brunswick News.

The Hill featured a column coauthored by Mireille Jacobson on how low-cost letters to physicians, including letters notifying them when a patient has died, could reduce inappropriate opioid prescribing. “The initial study found that in the three months after receiving the letter, opioid prescribing decreased by nearly 10 percent compared to the control group. The recent follow-up study found that after one year, those who received the letter wrote 7 percent fewer prescriptions than clinicians who hadn’t received the notification, showing that the letter had long-term effects on prescribing behavior.”

Los Angeles Times and Yahoo News featured Donna Benton on retirement and homelessness. “Everywhere you turn, gas bills are going up and people on fixed incomes could end up having to choose between the gas bill and housing,” she said.