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Beth Newcomb

Could our ability to regulate our feelings impact our dementia risk? (Medical News Today)

By In the News

Medical News Today spoke with Mara Mather about the emotional regulation of older individuals. “A concern I have is that readers may get the impression that older adults, in general, are worse than younger adults at managing their emotion. … To the contrary, previous research indicates that emotional well-being typically improves through adulthood, with the lowest emotional well-being seen among young adults. And in the current study, the older adults felt more empathy and positive emotions when viewing the pictures than younger adults,” she noted. “The brain patterns that the authors focus on do not relate to these age-related positivity effects. Instead, they are associated with individual differences among these older adults.”

If amyloid accumulation is part of normal aging, what causes Alzheimer’s? (Medical News Today)

By In the News

Medical News Today featured a study led by Caleb Finch and Max Thorwald on amyloid accumulation in Alzheimer’s versus normal aging. “We were surprised to find extensive overlap between cognitively normal and Alzheimer’s patients for the soluble or non-aggregated form of amyloid proteins,” Thorwald said. “We also found that the precursor to this protein was reduced in Alzheimer’s brains compared to cognitively normal [brains].”

Scientists are finding increasing evidence for a link between air pollution and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s (STAT)

By In the News

STAT quoted Caleb Finch in a story on the apparent links between air pollution and neurodegenerative diseases. “Population-based studies have come into complete agreement on three continents — North America, Western Europe, and Asia — that air pollution above a certain level predicts a higher risk of dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s, and cognitive decline. That’s now proven by at least 10 major studies,” Finch said.

In Study, Reminder Letters Helped Doctors Make Safer Choices Prescribing Opioids (U.S. News and World Report)

By In the News

U.S. News & World Report quoted Mireille Jacobson about doctors making safer choices prescribing opioids. “The enduring impacts suggest that the letters encouraged engagement among clinicians who would not have otherwise created PMP accounts or searched the PMP. This finding is noteworthy because account creation is an important barrier to PMP use,” Jacobson said.