Category Archives: Geriatrics

Group-Based Exercise Program Improves Mobility in Geriatric Population

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Jennifer Brach, Ph.D., P.T. Associate professor, Department of physical therapy School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences University of Pittsburgh

Dr. Brach

Jennifer Brach, Ph.D., P.T.
Associate professor, Department of physical therapy
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
University of Pittsburgh

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: This study compared two different group exercise programs to improve mobility in community-dwelling older adults. The first program, a seated program focused on strength, endurance and flexibility, was based on usual care. The second program, called On the Move, was conducted primarily in standing position and focused on the timing and coordination of movements important for walking. Both programs met two times per week for 12 weeks. It was found that the On the Move program was more effective at improving mobility than the usual seated program.

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Apathy Is a Risk Factor for Mortality in Nursing Home Patients

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Johanna MH Nijsten, Msc
Clinical Neuropsychologist
Archipel Landrijt, Knowledge Center for Specialized Care
Eindhoven, the Netherlands
Department of Primary and Community Care, Radboudumc Alzheimer Center
Radboud University Medical Center
Nijmegen, the Netherlands 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Apathy is common in nursing home (NH) patients with dementia and is repeatedly found to be the most prevalent neuropsychiatric symptom. Apathy is defined by diminished or lack of motivational, goal-directed behavior, and a lack of cognition and emotional affect. Apathy leads to reduced interest and participation in the main activities of daily living, diminished initiative, early withdrawal from initiated activities, indifference, and flattening of affect.

Over the last two decades, more scientific knowledge has become available about specific fronto-subcortical systems in the brain that may be highly involved in apathy. Disruptions in these systems are found in patients with frontal lobe damage resulting from, for instance, (early-onset) dementia, traumatic brain injury, stroke, or multiple sclerosis. Fronto-subcortical circuits also play an important role in neurological disorders involving the basal ganglia such as Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease. The neurodegenerative diseases and acquired brain injuries mentioned here are highly prevalent in patients receiving long-term NH care and the widespread clinical manifestation of apathy in NH-patients is thought to be related.

Since apathy is very common in nursing home-patients and may lead to a poor prognosis, clear insight into its risk for mortality is needed and NH-staff need to understand this risk.

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Alzheimer’s: Antidepressants Increase Risk of Head and Traumatic Brain Injuries

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Heidi Taipale, PhD Pharm Senior Researcher School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland; and Department of Clinical Neuroscience Karolinska Institutet 

Dr. Taipale

Heidi Taipale, PhD Pharm
Senior Researcher
School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland; and
Department of Clinical Neuroscience
Karolinska Institutet 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Antidepressant use among older persons has been associated with an increased risk of falling and fall-related events, such as hip fractures, in previous studies. Our previous study identified risk of hip fractures in antidepressant among persons with Alzheimer’s disease. As falling is the main causal factor for head traumas and traumatic brain injuries among older persons, we hypothesized that antidepressant use could also be associated with these injuries.

We utilized a nationwide cohort of 70,718 persons newly diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, identified from the Finnish registers. The risk of head injuries and traumatic brain injuries was compared between persons initiating antidepressant use and comparison persons of the same age, gender and time since they received diagnoses of Alzheimer’s disease but not using antidepressants. We found a 40-percent increased risk of head injuries and 30-percent increased risk of traumatic brain injuries associated with antidepressant use. Antidepressant use was associated with a higher risk of head injuries especially at the beginning of use – during the first 30 days – but the risk persisted even longer, up to two years. The association was also confirmed in a study design comparing time periods within the same person, thus eliminating selective factors. Continue reading →

Elderly At Greater Risk of Falls With Intensive Blood Pressure Control

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Donal J. Sexton, BSc, MD
The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing
Trinity College Dublin
Health Research Board Clinical Research Facility Galway
National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland
Trinity Health Kidney Centre, Tallaght Hospital
Department of Nephrology, Beaumont Hospital, Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland
Dublin, Ireland

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: In this study we used the inclusion criteria for SPRINT to identify those community dwelling elders who would meet criteria for the trial in clinical practice.

Our data are based on a prospective cohort study composed of participants chosen by a national stratified random sampling mechanism. If SPRINT participants were truly representative of the population, then the participants in the standard care arm of the trial should resemble the population to some extent. If this were true then the injurious falls rate might be similar between the two samples also.

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Frequent Sex In Older Adults Linked To Better Cognitive Function

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Hayley Wright BSc(Hons) MSc PhD C.Psychol Research Associate Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Coventry University Centre for Research in Psychology, Behaviour and Achievement, Coventry University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Last year, we published a study that showed a significant association between sexual activity and cognitive function (Wright & Jenks, 2016). This study showed that sex is linked to cognition, even after we account for other factors such as age, education, and physical and mental wellbeing. One important question that emerged from this study was centred around the role of frequency with which we engage in sexual activity. In the current study (Wright, Jenks & Demeyere, 2017), we found that engaging in sexual activity on a weekly basis is associated with better scores on specific cognitive tasks. MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report? Response: We have demonstrated that sexual activity in later life may have measurable benefits that stretch beyond pleasure-seeking. We - society at large, and individual researchers - should challenge notions of embarrassment around sexuality that may prevent older people from accessing help and support for sexual or relationship issues. MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study? Response: It may be advisable to take relationship factors into account when conducting studies around cognitive ageing. Researchers often make statistical adjustments for factors that are known to influence cognition and health (such as age, education and health problems), but actually, more personal factors may also have an effect on how our brain works. MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add? Response: The research so far has been cross-sectional (or correlational), and so we cannot say at this time whether sexual activity is causing better scores on cognitive tests. This issue of causality is something that we will address in future research as more data becomes available. We are currently researching whether all types of sexual activities are associated with cognitive function to the same extent. We are also working with support services to address barriers to relationship and sex therapy for older people and marginalised groups. MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community. Citation: Hayley Wright, Rebecca A. Jenks, Nele Demeyere. Frequent Sexual Activity Predicts Specific Cognitive Abilities in Older Adults. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 2017; DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbx065 Note: Content is Not intended as medical advice. Please consult your health care provider regarding your specific medical condition and questions.

Dr. Wright

Dr Hayley Wright BSc(Hons) MSc PhD C.Psychol
Research Associate
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Coventry University
Centre for Research in Psychology, Behaviour and Achievement,
Coventry University

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Last year, we published a study that showed a significant association between sexual activity and cognitive function (Wright & Jenks, 2016). This study showed that sex is linked to cognition, even after we account for other factors such as age, education, and physical and mental wellbeing. One important question that emerged from this study was centred around the role of frequency with which we engage in sexual activity. In the current study (Wright, Jenks & Demeyere, 2017), we found that engaging in sexual activity on a weekly basis is associated with better scores on specific cognitive tasks.

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Many Older Adults Welcome A Stop To Cancer Screenings

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Nancy Schoenborn, MD Assistant Professor Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Nancy Schoenborn, MD
Assistant Professor
Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Response: A lot of cancer screenings are not expected to save lives until up to 10 years later; however, the side effects of the test happen right away. Because of this, clinical guidelines have recommended against routine screening for those patients who will not live long enough to benefit but may experience the potential harm of the test in the short term. However, many patients with limited life expectancy still receive screening and clinicians are worried about how patients would react if they recommended that patients stop screening. This research is important because it is the first study that explores how patients think about the decision of stopping cancer screening and how patients want to talk to their doctors about this issue. Understanding patient perspectives would help improve screening practices and better align recommendations and patient preference.

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People Who Live To 100 Do So With Fewer Chronic Illnesses

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Raya Elfadel Kheirbek, MD, MPH Geriatrician and Palliative Care Physician  Washington DC VA Medical Center  Associate Professor of Medicine  George Washington University  School of Medicine and Health Sciences

Dr. Raya Elfadel Kheirbek

Raya Elfadel Kheirbek, MD, MPH
Geriatrician and Palliative Care Physician
Washington DC VA Medical Center
Associate Professor of Medicine
George Washington University
School of Medicine and Health Sciences

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: In the past decade, there has been a shift in the concept of successful aging from a focus on life span to health span. We all want to age gracefully “expecting” optimal health, quality of life and independence.

Centenarians are living examples to the progress we have made in health care. They are the best example of successful aging since they have escaped, delayed or survived the major age-related diseases and have reached the extreme limit of human life. However, little is known about Veterans Centenarians’ incidence of chronic illness and its impact on survival.

Utilizing the VA Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW), I worked with my colleagues’ researchers and identified 3,351 centenarians who were born between 1910 and 1915. The majority were white men who served in World War II and had no service related disability. The study found that 85 % of all the centenarians had no incidence of major chronic conditions between the ages of 80 and 99 years of age. The data demonstrate that Veteran centenarians tend to have a better health profile and their incidence of having one or more chronic illness is lower than in the general population.

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Modified Hospital Elder Life Program Reduces Post-Op Delirium and Length of Stay

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Cheryl Chia-Hui Chen, RN, DNSc
Vice Dean for Student Affairs
Professor of Nursing
National Taiwan University
Nurse Supervisor at National Taiwan University Hospital
Taipei, Taiwan

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Older patients undergoing abdominal surgery often experience preventable delirium, which greatly influences their postoperative recovery and hospital length of stay. The modified Hospital Elder Life Program (mHELP) utilizes nurses to reduce postoperative delirium and LOS among older patients undergoing abdominal surgery for resection of malignant tumor. The mHELP consisted of 3 protocols: oral and nutritional assistance, early mobilization, and orienting communication, researchers say.

Researchers at the National Taiwan University Hospital randomly assigned 377 patients undergoing abdominal surgery for a malignant tumor to an intervention (n = 197) or usual care (n = 180).

Postoperative delirium occurred in 6.6 percent of mHELP participants vs 15.1 percent of control individuals (odds of delirium reduced by 56 percent). Intervention group participants received the mHELP for a median of 7 days, and they had a median LOS that was two days shorter (12 vs 14 days).

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May Be No Benefit To Statins For Primary Prevention in Older Adults

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Benjamin Han, MD, MPH
Assistant professor
Departments of Medicine-Division of Geriatric Medicine and Palliative Care, and Population Health
NYU Langone Medical Center

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: There are an increasing number of older adults being prescribed statins for primary prevention, but the evidence for the benefit for older adults is unclear.

Our study finds that in the ALLHAT-LLT clinical trial, there were no benefits in either all-cause mortality or cardiovascular outcomes for older adults who did not have any evidence of cardiovascular disease at baseline.

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Aerobic or Resistance Exercise, or Both, in Dieting Obese Older Adults?

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dennis T. Villareal, MD Professor of Medicine Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism Baylor College of Medicine Staff Physician, Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center

Dr. Villareal

Dennis T. Villareal, MD
Professor of Medicine
Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism
Baylor College of Medicine
Staff Physician, Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: The prevalence of obesity in the elderly is rapidly increasing, given that the baby boomers are becoming senior citizens, but we do not know how best to manage obesity in the elderly population. Weight loss is the cornerstone of management for obesity but weight loss in the elderly is controversial because weight loss could cause not only fat loss but also muscle mass and bone mass losses, that could worsen rather than improve frailty.

We tested the hypothesis that weight loss plus exercise training, especially resistance training, would improve physical function the most compared to other types of exercise (aerobic training or combined aerobic and resistance training added to diet-induced weight loss).

Previous studies especially in younger adults have shown that combining aerobic with resistance exercise could lead to interference to the specific adaptations to each exercise, and thus less gain in strength with combined exercise compared to resistance training alone.

On the other hand, contrary to our hypothesis, we found that there was no interference between aerobic and resistance exercise, and the most effective mode to improve physical function and thus reverse frailty was in fact weight loss plus the combination of aerobic and resistance exercise, which was also associated with some preservation of muscle and bone mass.

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