Geriatrics Commons^™

Lewy Body Dementia, Edward F. Ansello

Director's Editorials from Age in Action

While Alzheimer’s disease is the most common and widely known cause of dementia, it is not the only cause. Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB), in fact, may be the second most common cause of progressive dementia but it is certainly less well known.

Our Anniversary, Edward F. Ansello

Director's Editorials from Age in Action

The Virginia Center on Aging celebrates 40 years.

Addressing The Spiritual Needs Of People Aging With Dementia And/Or Lifelong Disabilities, Kathy Fogg Berry

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Present the need for spiritual care as part of holistic care for people living with dementia and/or lifelong disabilities.

2. Distinguish the difference between spirituality and religion.

3. Discuss how to assess the spiritual needs of people living with dementia and/or lifelong disabilities.

4. Show through case study examples specific ways to address the spiritual needs of people living with dementia and/or lifelong disabilities.

Gerontology Theory Communicated In The Primary Grades Through Picture Books, Edward F. Ansello

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. To recognize children’s first literature as a means of socialization to aging and older people.

2. To identify children’s books that reflect basic principles of gerontology theory.

3. To help primary school teachers, grandparents, and others interested in human development use books and activities to capture children’s attention.

4. To identify a unit of six brief, overlapping modules, each with objectives, activities, and recommended readings.

Into The Elder Law Trenches At Wake Forest University School Of Law, Kate Mewhinney

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives:

1. Examine the benefits of a medical-legal partnership for training law students how to represent older clients.

2. Review common legal issues in the field of elder law.

3. Explore broader policy concerns facing an aging population.

Silver Saddles: An Equestrian Intervention For Older Adults With Dementia, Christine Jensen, Jessica Lyon, Tina Thomas, Rachel Scrivano

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Demonstrate the encouraging outcomes therapeutic horseback riding programs can have for older adults with memory loss.

2. Describe the importance of trained volunteers and staff at both the riding center and the long-term care community for aiding older adults with memory loss during the therapeutic riding program.

3. Showcase the research process and pilot results.

4. Highlight lessons learned and future directions for Silver Saddles.

Suicidal Ideation Assessment In Individuals With Premanifest And Manifest Huntington Disease., Melissa Wesson, Nicholas R Boileau, Joel S Perlmutter, Jane S Paulsen, Stacey K Barton, Michael K Mccormack, Noelle E Carlozzi

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

BACKGROUND: Huntington disease (HD) is associated with increased risk of suicide.

OBJECTIVE: This study compares suicide ideation in HD to the general population, assesses factors associated with increased prevalence of suicidal thoughts, and compares clinician-rated to self-reported assessments of suicidal ideation.

METHODS: We examined 496 participants with premanifest or manifest HD. Clinician-rated suicidal ideation was measured using the Problem Behaviors Assessment - short form. Self-reported ideation was measured using two items from the HDQLIFE Concern with Death and Dying item bank. Independent sample t-tests were conducted to compare the prevalence of suicidal thoughts between our HD sample and the U.S. …

The Year In The Rear-View Mirror, Edward F. Ansello

Director's Editorials from Age in Action

The year 2018 is the Virginia Center on Aging's 40th anniversary. Our programs and activities have evolved over time but we have remained true to the charges given us in the Code of Virginia, essentially to conduct interdisciplinary studies, including training practitioners and offering educational opportunities for older adults, conducting research on and advancing knowledge about dementia, and serving as an information resource to those committed to the well-being of older adults. Our current operations feature four program areas: abuse in later life (domestic violence and elder abuse); dementia research; geriatrics and gerontology education; and lifelong learning.

A New Measure For End Of Life Planning, Preparation, And Preferences In Huntington Disease: Hdqlife End Of Life Planning, Noelle E Carlozzi, E A Hahn, S A Frank, J S Perlmutter, N D Downing, M K Mccormack, S Barton, M A Nance, S G Schilling, Hdqlife Site Investigators And Coordinators

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

BACKGROUND: Huntington disease is a fatal inherited neurodegenerative disease. Because the end result of Huntington disease is death due to Huntington disease-related causes, there is a need for better understanding and caring for individuals at their end of life.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to develop a new measure to evaluate end of life planning.

DESIGN: We conducted qualitative focus groups, solicited expert input, and completed a literature review to develop a 16-item measure to evaluate important aspects of end of life planning for Huntington disease. Item response theory and differential item functioning analyses were utilized to examine …

Baseline White Matter Hyperintensities And Hippocampal Volume Are Associated With Conversion From Normal Cognition To Mild Cognitive Impairment In The Framingham Offspring Study., Katherine J Bangen, Sarah R Preis, Lisa Delano-Wood, Philip A Wolf, David J Libon, Mark W Bondi, Rhoda Au, Charles Decarli, Adam M Brickman

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

INTRODUCTION: We examined associations between magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers of cerebrovascular disease and neurodegeneration with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) diagnosis at baseline and conversion from normal cognition to MCI at follow-up.

METHODS: Framingham Offspring participants underwent brain MRI and neuropsychological assessment at baseline (n=1049) and follow-up (n=561). Participants were classified at baseline and at follow-up as cognitively normal or MCI using sensitive neuropsychological criteria. White matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume, covert brain infarcts, hippocampal volume, and total cerebral brain volume were quantified.

RESULTS: Baseline measures of WMH and hippocampal volume were associated with MCI status cross-sectionally and also with conversion …

Assessing Working Memory In Mild Cognitive Impairment With Serial Order Recall., Sheina Emrani, David J Libon, Melissa Lamar, Catherine C Price, Angela L Jefferson, Katherine A Gifford, Timothy J Hohman, Daniel A Nation, Lisa Delano-Wood, Amy Jak, Katherine J Bangen, Mark W Bondi, Adam M Brickman, Jennifer Manly, Rodney Swenson, Rhoda Au, Consortium For Clinical And Epidemiological Neuropsychological Data Analysis (Cenda)

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

BACKGROUND: Working memory (WM) is often assessed with serial order tests such as repeating digits backward. In prior dementia research using the Backward Digit Span Test (BDT), only aggregate test performance was examined.

OBJECTIVE: The current research tallied primacy/recency effects, out-of-sequence transposition errors, perseverations, and omissions to assess WM deficits in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

METHODS: Memory clinic patients (n = 66) were classified into three groups: single domain amnestic MCI (aMCI), combined mixed domain/dysexecutive MCI (mixed/dys MCI), and non-MCI where patients did not meet criteria for MCI. Serial order/WM ability was assessed by asking participants to repeat …

Review Of Risk Assessment Tools To Predict Morbidity And Mortality In Elderly Surgical Patients Brief Title: Review Of Surgical Risk Assessment Tools, Gilgamesh Eamer, Mohamed Al-Amoodi, Jayna Holroyd-Leduc, Darryl Rolfson, Lindsey Warkentin, Rachel Khadaroo

School of Medicine and Health Sciences Student Works

Background

Informed surgical consent requires accurate estimation of risks and benefits. Multiple risk assessment tools are available; however, most are not widely used or are specific to certain interventions. Assessing surgical risk is especially challenging in elderly patients because of their range of comorbidities, level of frailty, or severity of illness and a number of available surgical interventions.

Data sources

We searched MEDLINE from January 2014 to July 2017 for studies that used risk assessment tools in studies on elderly surgical patients. We then sought the original articles describing each assessment tool and subsequent validation studies.

Conclusions

We identified risk …

Does Music Therapy Decrease Agitation In Patients With Dementia?, Clinton Billhorn

Theses and Graduate Projects

Dementia is an encompassing word that includes specific symptoms which alter a patient’s problem-solving ability, decision making capacity, and personality.1 Personality changes, otherwise known as Behavioral and Psychotic Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) can have negative impacts on caregivers and families. BPSD can include agitation, depression, elation, and hallucinations. Music therapy has been proposed as a non-pharmacologic treatment for BPSD in patients with dementia. This research is intended to identify whether or not music therapy decreases agitation in patients with dementia. Although evidence for efficacy varies, there are no side effects in the literature. Widespread use may provide an increase in …

The Effects Of A Cognitive Training Program For Cognitively Intact Older Adults, Caroline Kinskey

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Cognitive training is a term used to describe programs that provide guided practice on tasks requiring different cognitive abilities such as memory or language. It is assumed that regular practice will improve or maintain functioning in a particular cognitive domain (e.g., memory) and those results will generalize beyond the context of training. Results have been mixed in the existing literature that has evaluated the potential benefits of cognitive training on cognitive and emotional functioning in cognitively intact older adults. This study investigated the effectiveness of a cognitive training program for older adults with no to very minimal cognitive decline. Nine …

Novel Extra-Thoracic Vats Minimally Invasive Technique For Management Of Multiple Rib Fractures., Natalie N Merchant, Osita Onugha

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

We report an elderly patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Alzheimer's disease and early dementia who presented with multiple displaced rib fractures of left ribs 4 through 9 with flail segments of ribs 4 through 8 and an associated traumatic pneumatocele from rib puncture of the left upper lobe. The decision to treat this patient operatively was based on the presence of flail chest, the patient's age, baseline co-morbidities and limited physiological reserve. Surgical rib fixation is traditionally performed with a thoracotomy incision and open exposure for extra-thoracic rib fixation, however, this patient underwent chest wall stabilization using an …

The Impact Of Sarcopenic Obesity On Inflammation, Lean Body Mass, And Muscle Strength In Elderly Women, Dahan Da Cunha Nascimento, Samuel Da Cunha Oliveira, Denis Cesar Leite Vieira, Silvana Schwerz Funghetto, Alessandro Oliveira Silva, Renato Valduga, Brad J. Schoenfeld, Jonato Prestes

Publications and Research

Objective: The objective of this study was to apply the newly standardized definition for sarcopenia from the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) and the current definition for obesity to 1) determine the prevalence of sarcopenic obesity (SO) in obese elderly women; 2) compare the muscle strength, lean body mass, and markers of inflammation between obese elderly women with SO and nonsarcopenic obesity (NSO), and 3) elucidate the relation- ship between appendicular lean mass adjusted for body mass index (aLM/BMI) with muscle strength, lean body mass, and obesity indices.

Methods: A total of 64 elderly obese women (age: …

Microrna Expression Patterns In Human Anterior Cingulate And Motor Cortex: A Study Of Dementia With Lewy Bodies Cases And Controls, Peter T. Nelson, Wang-Xia Wang, Sarah A. Janse, Katherine L. Thompson

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Overview

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated in neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Here, we evaluated the expression of miRNAs in anterior cingulate (AC; Brodmann area [BA] 24) and primary motor (MO; BA 4) cortical tissue from aged human brains in the University of Kentucky AD Center autopsy cohort, with a focus on dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).

Methods

RNA was isolated from gray matter of brain samples with pathology-defined DLB, AD, AD+DLB, and low-pathology controls, with n=52 cases initially included (n=23 with DLB), all with low (<4hrs) postmortem intervals. RNA was profiled using Exiqon miRNA microarrays. Quantitative PCR for post-hoc replication was performed on separate cases (n=6 controls) and included RNA isolated from gray matter of MO, AC, primary somatosensory (BA 3), and dorsolateral prefrontal (BA 9) cortical regions.

Results

The miRNA expression patterns differed substantially according to …

Enriching Clinical Learning Environments Through Partnerships: Academic And Practice Partnerships To Strengthen Care For Older Adults In Residential And Assisted Living Settings, Juliana Cartwright, Diana L. White

Institute on Aging Publications

This report was prepared by Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) School of Nursing and the Institute on Aging at Portland State University to describe an academic-community partnership using the Enriching Clinical Learning Environments through Partnerships (ECLEPs) model. This two-year project was conducted with 34 students in the RN-BSN program in eight assisted living (AL) communities and ElderPlace, a PACE program serving residents in assisted living and other residential settings. Quality improvement was the focus of the project. Features of the ECLEPs model include:

• An intentional partnership between academic and clinical organizations
• Relationship-based; shared decision making
• Long-term commitment between partners …

Intra-Arterial Nitroglycerin As Directed Acute Treatment In Experimental Ischemic Stroke, Michael E. Maniskas, Jill M. Roberts, Rebecca Trueman, Annastazia E. Learoyd, Amanda A. Gorman, Justin F. Fraser, Gregory J. Bix

Neuroscience Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Nitroglycerin (also known as glyceryl trinitrate (GTN)), a vasodilator best known for treatment of ischemic heart disease, has also been investigated for its potential therapeutic benefit in ischemic stroke. The completed Efficacy of Nitric Oxide in Stroke trial suggested that GTN has therapeutic benefit with acute (within 6 hours) transdermal systemic sustained release therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To examine an alternative use of GTN as an acute therapy for ischemic stroke following successful recanalization.

METHODS: We administered GTN IA following transient middle cerebral artery occlusion in mice. Because no standard dose of GTN is available following emergent large vessel occlusion, we …

Low-Level Cadmium Exposure And Cardiovascular Outcomes In Elderly Australian Women: A Cohort Study, Kane Deering, Anna C. Callan, Richard Prince, Wai Lim, Peter Thompson, Joshua Lewis, Andrea Hinwood, Amanda Devine

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background

Cadmium has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in observational studies, however there has been a limited focus on this relationship in women.

Objectives

This study investigated the association of urinary cadmium (UCd) concentrations with CVD outcomes and all-cause mortality in elderly Western Australian (WA) women.

Methods

UCd excretion was measured at baseline in 1359 women, mean age 75.2 ± 2.7 years and 14.5 years of atherosclerotic vascular disease (ASVD) hospitalisations and deaths, including both the principle cause of death and all associated causes of death. Health outcome data were retrieved from the Western Australian Data …