Geriatrics Commons^™

Early Stage Drug Treatment That Normalizes Proinflammatory Cytokine Production Attenuates Synaptic Dysfunction In A Mouse Model That Exhibits Age-Dependent Progression Of Alzheimer's Disease-Related Pathology, Adam D. Bachstetter, Christopher M. Norris, Pradoldej Sompol, Donna M. Wilcock, Danielle Goulding, Janna H. Neltner, Daret St. Clair, D. Martin Watterson, Linda J. Van Eldik

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines in the CNS has been implicated as a key contributor to pathophysiology progression in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and extensive studies with animal models have shown that selective suppression of excessive glial proinflammatory cytokines can improve neurologic outcomes. The prior art, therefore, raises the logical postulation that intervention with drugs targeting dysregulated glial proinflammatory cytokine production might be effective disease-modifying therapeutics if used in the appropriate biological time window. To test the hypothesis that early stage intervention with such drugs might be therapeutically beneficial, we examined the impact of intervention with MW01-2-151SRM (MW-151), an experimental therapeutic that …

Influence Of A Short-Term, Multicomponent Intervention On Balance And Strength Among The Elderly, Pamela C. Webert

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Background: Few studies have combined strength and balance training to assess improvement of activities of daily living among subjects over the age of 65. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate how an eight-week balance and strength training program can lead to improvements in activities of daily living among elderly individuals.

Methods: The subjects consisted of 14 elderly women and 3 elderly men who were all residents of an independent living community. There were 10 subjects in the intervention group and 7 subjects in the control group. The intervention group participated in a supervised balance and strength …

Rna Oxidation Adducts 8-Ohg And 8-Oha Change With Aβ42 Levels In Late-Stage Alzheimer's Disease, Adam M. Weidner, Melissa A. Bradley, Tina L. Beckett, Dana M. Niedowicz, Amy L.S. Dowling, Sergey V. Matveev, Harry Levine, Mark A. Lovell, M. Paul Murphy

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

While research supports amyloid-β (Aβ) as the etiologic agent of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the mechanism of action remains unclear. Evidence indicates that adducts of RNA caused by oxidation also represent an early phenomenon in AD. It is currently unknown what type of influence these two observations have on each other, if any. We quantified five RNA adducts by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy across five brain regions from AD cases and age-matched controls. We then used a reductive directed analysis to compare the RNA adducts to common indices of AD neuropathology and various pools of Aβ. Using data from four disease-affected brain …

Hip Power Asymmetry In Older Adult Fallers And Non-Fallers, Lauren Grace Mcdonald

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if a difference exists in hip power asymmetry between community-dwelling older adult fallers and non-fallers. Hypothesis: fallers would be more asymmetrical than non-fallers. Participants: 21 non-fallers (10 females, 11 males) and 18 fallers (14 females, 4 males) over the age of 65 (76.5 ± 6.9yrs). Method: Isokinetic peak torque during flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction at four velocities was recorded as measures of leg power. Asymmetry equaled the percent of power difference between each leg. Data analysis: Differences in age, physical activity, height, weight, and BMI were assessed …

Algal Biofuel, Feb. 12, 2010, Harry Reid Center, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Biofuels

News in Brief

1. Fatty Acids Protect Against Aging (Feb. 8, 2010)

Physiological Changes And Participation To Exercise In Older Adults Living In Age Restricted Communities, Mary F. Shaughnessy

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is known that the aging population is more susceptible to musculoskeletal and metabolic disease and would benefit from a regular exercise program. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate whether older adults (55 years of age and older) participation in a more regular exercise program would increase if there was supervision from a health professional. The second objective was to evaluate whether supervision in a regular exercise program would show physiological benefits. Subjects were recruited from three age-restricted communities; however one community was disregarded due to lack of subjects. A physical activity plan based on the American …

Congregate Mealsite Participants’ Self-Reported And Functional Health, Participation In Activities And Attitudes Toward Aging In Wisconsin, Amy Ramsey

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The number of older Americans is increasing. Participation in activities is essential for maintaining health and functional independence, preventing or delaying chronic diseases and improving quality of life. Generally, as older adults age, prevalence of regular activity declines. Many older adults are not engaging in activities and are not receiving the health benefits that these offer.

This cross-sectional study used a self-administered survey to examine whether there is an association between attitudes toward aging, self-reported and functional health, and participation in activities among older adults aged 55 and older who attend congregate mealsites in Wisconsin. It was hypothesized that older …

Response Of Endothelial Cells To Stressors: The Impact Of Aging And Diabetes, Katie Mclellan

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Preliminary research indicates there is some impairment of the endothelial cells to respond to single stressors such as local heat, shear stress, and global heat in older people and people who have diabetes. The response of the skin blood flow to local heat is an indicator of the endothelial cells ability to cope with stress. In addition, factors such as thicker subcutaneous fat and skin moisture may impair the skin’s ability to dissipate heat. For older people and people with diabetes, this endothelial dysfunction may cause an even more diminished response to multiple stressors. However, no studies have examined the …

The Expression Of Microrna Mir-107 Decreases Early In Alzheimer's Disease And May Accelerate Disease Progression Through Regulation Of Β-Site Amyloid Precursor Protein-Cleaving Enzyme 1, Wang-Xia Wang, Bernard W. Rajeev, Arnold J. Stromberg, Na Ren, Guiliang Tang, Qingwei Huang, Isidore Rigoutsos, Peter T. Nelson

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small regulatory RNAs that participate in posttranscriptional gene regulation in a sequence-specific manner. However, little is understood about the role(s) of miRNAs in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We used miRNA expression microarrays on RNA extracted from human brain tissue from the University of Kentucky Alzheimer's Disease Center Brain Bank with near-optimal clinicopathological correlation. Cases were separated into four groups: elderly nondemented with negligible AD-type pathology, nondemented with incipient AD pathology, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) with moderate AD pathology, and AD. Among the AD-related miRNA expression changes, miR-107 was exceptional because miR-107 levels decreased significantly even in patients with …

Comparison Of Long-Term Care Residents' Food Intake, Body Weight, And Food Costs Between Two Meal Service Styles, Dee Murphy

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if residents (n = 26) living in an Iowa long-term care facility had differences in food intake at their noon meal and body weight when served traditional tray meal service for 10 weeks compared to being served restaurant-style meal service for 10 weeks. The study also evaluated the facility’s raw food costs of the two meal service styles.

Mean meal intake scale scores improved when residents were served restaurant-style meal service (0.4±0.3) compared to traditional tray meal service. Residents did not show a significant percent weight (1.1%±3.7%) change or percent BMI (0.9%±3.7%) …

Effectiveness Of A Practice Regimen For Decreasing Floor Rise Time In Older Adults, Deborah Waldschmidt Gibbs

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Some older adults experience extended periods of time lying on the floor waiting for help to arrive because they can not rise up independently (Campbell et al., 1990; Nevitt, Cummings, and Hudes, 1991). In many of these cases the older adults are not seriously injured, yet they lack the ability to rise up (Tinetti and Speechley, 1989; Vellas, Cayla, Bocquet, Pemille, and Albarede, 1987). Body Recall, an exercise program that teaches floor rising to older adults, advocates practicing getting up from the floor as a method for retaining this ability. The benefit of Body Recall is only anecdotal and has …

A Comparison Of Selected Nutrition Factors Of Personal Care Residents With Nutrition For The Elderly Residents., Jill Kay Costin

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Persons in the Nutrition for the Elderly program in Barren River Area Development District in Kentucky and personal care residents at Lakeview Nursing Home, Morgantown, Kentucky, and Glasgow Rest Home, Glasgow, Kentucky participated I this study on a voluntary basis. The population consisted of an intact sample of sixty-eight persons: forty-six personal care residents (PC residents) and twenty-two Nutrition for the Elderly participants (NE participants). The Ne participants and Pc residents were compared to determine which received the best nutritional care. Selected parameters of nutritional assessment were compared for the two groups be means of a t test. The groups …

The Role Of Exercise And Nutrition In The Rehabilitation Of The Geriatric, Robert R. Ladd

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

[Abstract not included]

Aging: The Last And Greatest Challenge, Bernard L. Strehler

Henry Ford Hospital Medical Journal

The Edsel B. Ford Memorial Lectures, which are sponsored jointly by the Edsel B. Ford Institute for Medical Research and the Henry Ford Hospital, have been held annually since 1952. The following is an adaptation of Dr. Strehler's lecture before staff doctors and guests, including pathologists, physiologists, biochemists, physicists, biologists and clinicians from Michigan and Ontario.

A Comparative Study Of The 5- And 3-Meal Plans In Six Convalescent Hospitals In San Bernardino County, Donna J. Meek

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

A study comparing the 3- and 5-meal plans of food service, as used in long-stay geriatric units in San Bernardino County, have been compared. Three homes utilizing the 5-meal plan and three utilizing the 3-meal plan, to serve as controls, were chosen. A random sample of ten patients from each home was observed for three days to find the daily average nutrients in the foods served, eaten, and wasted. Also, interviews to compare factual information and attitudes were utilized for sample patients and personnel. The nutritional data was analyzed on the computer.

The results indicated that those on the 5-meal …