Nursing homes locked down this spring to protect vulnerable residents from the coronavirus pandemic — but prolonged confinement is also threatening residents' lives, medical experts say.

"The isolation is robbing them of whatever good days they have left — it accelerates the aging process," said Joshua Uy, a University of Pennsylvania professor. "There isn't a single part of a person's life that isn't affected."

Read more on this story at NBCNews.com and watch Kristen Dahlgren's report on "Nightly News with Lester Holt" tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT.