Archive for the ‘Geriatrics’ Category

Physicians from the University of California, San Diego believe that “exergames” – video games that combine game play with physical exercise, such as the Nintendo Wii – can improve symptoms of minor depression in seniors. Depression that is not yet classified as “major depression” is very common in seniors and can be associated with substantial suffering, functional disability, and increased use of costly medical services. In an exergames study published in the March 2010 issue of The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, researchers found that “More than one-third of the participants had a 50-percent or greater reduction of depressive symptoms. Many had a significant improvement in their mental health-related quality of life and increased cognitive stimulation.” Although this study was very small, it demonstrates a potentially cost-effective way of reducing morbidity among senior citizens and, indeed, many nursing homes around the country are already employing exergames in physical therapy. [via iHealth Bulletin]

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The world of industrial design doesn’t always take into consideration the health and safety of our senior citizens. For example, did you know that annually over 2,600 US senior citizens sustain serious elevator-related injuries? In a report in the January issue of the Journal of Trauma Injury, Infection and Critical Care researchers found that three-quarters of the injured seniors were women, more than half of the injuries were due to trips and falls, and one-third were as a result of elevator doors closing on the injured party. Senior citizens are more prone to elevator injuries due to decreased vision, balance problems, and their use of walking aids, which can impede ambulation. Study author Greg Steele is also advocating the elevator industry to implement larger elevator open buttons. “Elevator open buttons should be made twice the size of the other elevator buttons so they are not hard to find by passengers who want to stop the door from closing on an approaching individual,” Steele said. “This would be very inexpensive to change because electronics don’t have to be altered, just the button. Certainly all newly installed or updated elevators should have such buttons.” [via Health Day]

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In 2003 researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York isolated a gene, called CETP, which is associated with longevity in a population of Ashkenazi Jews. Now, the same researchers have found the gene in an elderly group of racially and ethnically diverse Bronx residents who have been followed for 25 years as a part of the current study on aging. Participants who carried two copies of the favorable CETP gene variant had a 70% reduction in their risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease, compared with participants who carried no copies of this gene. It’s believed that 1 in 5 people carry the CETP gene, but only those who have two copies of it (one from each parent) will inherit its benefits, including an increased likelihood of living to 100 years old. How will this affect us? Scientists are already working on a drug to mimic the effect of the gene. [via Science Daily]

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In an effort to curb healthcare spending, some insurance companies have tried to increase copays for outpatient visits in an effort to decrease the overall rate of visits to the doctor’s office. However, a new study from Brown University published in the Jan. 28 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine is showing that this strategy has some unintended consequences. After looking at some Medicare managed care plans that implemented such copay hikes between 2001 to 2006, the researchers noted an increase in hospital usage. Although these plans had 19.8 fewer annual outpatient visits per enrollee, they consequently had 2.2 additional hospital admissions and 13.4 more inpatient days per 100 enrollees. And as we all know being hospitalized is PRICEY. The authors estimate that by increasing outpatient copays in the short term Medicare plans might save $7,150 per 100 enrollees, but inpatient spending would swell by $24,000 per 100 enrollees in the year after the co-payment increase, thus not really saving any money at all. [via Medline Plus]

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You’ll likely be hearing (if not already) juice makers and berry growers tout the benefits of blueberry juice on memory. For the first time researchers have shown that a few daily glasses of blueberry juice can boost memory in older adults with early signs of memory loss. Blueberries, like tomatoes, grapes and tea, contain polyphenols which are known to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Therefore, it’s theorized that these substances can combat oxidative stresses that can lead to cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. The recent study is published in the current issue of the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. However, it must be noted that the researchers only studied a total of 18 patients – 9 were given blueberry juice and 9 given placebo – making this an extremely small study which may not necessarily extrapolate to an entire population of people. Therefore, the jury is still out on this one. Although drinking blueberry juice will likely not worsen your memory, there are other means that have been shown to slow memory loss, including keeping mentally active, exercise, cultivating a strong social network, stopping smoking, and getting plenty of sleep. [via Medical News Today]

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Researchers from the Karolinska Institute are embarking on a new paradigm in exercise physiology after publishing a paper in this month’s British Journal of Sports Medicine. The study authors argue that prolonged periods of sitting is an entity distinct from the commonly used terminology “sedentary behavior,” which means a general lack of exercise. Rather, they contend that the use of the term “muscular inactivity” more accurately describes a state of being in which people have prolonged periods when even light physical activity is not achieved. This is important because research shows that periods of prolonged sitting and lack of whole body muscular activity is strongly associated with the development of diabetes, obesity, heart disease and cancer, regardless of whether moderate or vigorous exercise was performed. This goes to show that maintaining an intermittent level of activity that involve total body muscle movement (climbing stairs, walking to run errands, taking a walking break during sedentary work) is just as important as incorporating moderate to vigorous exercise into your routine. [via Medical News Today]

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This week the British Medical Journal is warning physicians regarding high blood pressure (hypertension) treatment in people over 80 years of age. Despite limited evidence about treatment of hypertension in this age group, UK and US guidelines continue to recommend applying the same target blood pressures to people over 80 as to any other age group (the current target blood pressure for uncomplicated hypertension is 140/90). However, based on some new reviews of up-to-date data, there is evidence that mortality may likely be decreased by being more conservative with the number of drugs and the dosages of medications used in this group, in addition to allowing a higher target systolic blood pressure of 150. Trials are now needed to compare this conservative approach with the more aggressive treatment strategies currently in use. [via Medical News Today]

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Telomeres have been a focus of anti-aging research for quite sometime. Unfortunately, no breakthroughs have yet revealed any glimmer of the fountain of youth. Telomeres are pieces of DNA that cap the ends of our chromosomes. Each time a cell divides (which is required for us to stay alive) telomeres get shorter and shorter until they reach a point where division is halted, thus putting bodily cells into a state where they can no longer renew themselves – thus is part of the aging process. However, new research focusing on Ashkenazi Jews has found that those who lived the longest had inherited a hyperactive version of an enzyme called telomerase that is able to rebuild telomeres. “In effect, centenarians tend to have a top-notch body mechanic at work 24/7 repairing the hardware that runs the body, versus a normal person whose body’s cellular control center is left to wear out with time.” Will this startling research lead to future advances in the pursuit of longevity? Only time will tell. [via Yahoo! News]

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The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden released the latest results from the Prospective Population Study of Women, which has been following the health status of 1,500 women since the 1960s. Blood analysis has shown that middle-aged women with high levels of the amino acid homocysteine are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease years later. As well, the risk of any type of dementia for these women was 70% higher than women with the lowest levels of homocysteine. It’s unclear whether the relationship between Alzheimer’s and homecysteine is direct or indirect. If, in fact, future studies support this claim homocysteine levels may be an easy way to determine those at risk even before the onset of symptoms. [via EmaxHealth]

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Research presented this week at the Neuroscience 2009 meeting in Chicago revealed an interesting side effect of internet use on older brains. Researchers from University of California, Los Angeles found that frequent internet use among the elderly – even those who only recently started using the web – increased brain functioning beyond their baseline. By comparing novice users to seasoned internet veterans the researchers found that even after just one week of using the internet, the novice users’ brains showed activity in areas important for working memory and decision making – activity that wasn’t apparent on brain scans prior to engagement with the web. [via Medical News Today]

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