Kyoto, Japan -- Dementia makes most things in life more difficult, including hospital care. Though often essential for patients suffering from severe acute illness, hospital care can be confusing for persons with dementia, or PWD. Compared to older adults without dementia, PWD in the United States visit the emergency room and are hospitalized at higher rates. In these cases, the decision for a hospital stay requires a delicate balance between the potential benefits and risks of hospital care.

Previous research has suggested that PWD who are admitted to the hospital have higher mortality rates and spend more days away from home in the following months than their non-admitted counterparts. However, a possible explanation for this is that the admitted patients are already in worse condition -- in unmeasured ways -- than their counterparts.

Intrigued by this conundrum, a team of researchers at Kyoto University and the University of California, Los Angeles examined whether hospital admissions have a causal effect on health outcomes for persons with dementia, and also investigated the effect on their subsequent healthcare spending.

University of Texas at Arlington researcher Yue Liao contributed to an international study showing that changes in people’s physical activity—whether light or moderate—are closely linked to changes in their mood throughout the day.

Using zebrafish as a model organism, UMaine researchers measured how Mylpf protein levels corresponded to muscle development, revealing a surprisingly sensitive relationship between protein levels and muscle health. When Mylpf function was eliminated, fast-twitch muscles failed to build the structures they needed to contract or generate force. Crucially, the severity of this defect tracked closely with how much protein was present. By testing many combinations of gene doses in a single study, the team was able to model the protein's effects with unusual mathematical rigor.