Geriatrics Commons^™

The Tnfα-Transgenic Rat: Hippocampal Synaptic Integrity, Cognition, Function, And Post-Ischemic Cell Loss, L. Creed Pettigrew, Richard J. Kryscio, Christopher M. Norris

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

The cytokine, tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), is a key regulator of neuroinflammation linked to numerous neurodegenerative conditions and diseases. The present study used transgenic rats that overexpress a murine TNFα gene, under the control of its own promoter, to investigate the impact of chronically elevated TNFα on hippocampal synaptic function. Neuronal viability and cognitive recovery in TNFα Tg rats were also determined following an ischemic insult arising from reversible middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Basal CA3-CA1 synaptic strength, recorded in acute brain slices, was not significantly different between eight-week-old TNFα Tg rats and non-Tg rats. In contrast, slices from …

Reciprocity: Caring For America's Caregivers, Courtney Dunn

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

Should families be forced to choose between the health of a caregiver and patient? Through the eyes of a woman caring for her husband with Alzheimer's disease, we see that family caregivers suffer tremendous amounts of stress while caring for the patient. Despite the time and efforts required to care for someone with Alzheimer's disease, people every day choose this as an alternative to out-of-home care. This often leads to depression, anxiety, and physical stress which can result in series medical issues. Considering the increase of people with Alzheimer's disease in the United States, this article argues that support programs …

Behavioral Interventions In Six Dimensions Of Wellness That Protect The Cognitive Health Of Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Systematic Review, Kelley A. Strout, Daniel J. David, Elizabeth J. Dyer, Roberta C. Gray, Regula H. Robnett, Elizabeth P. Howard

Library Services Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVES: To systematically identify, appraise, and summarize research on the effects of behavioral interventions to prevent cognitive decline in community-dwelling older adults using a holistic wellness framework. DESIGN: Systematic review of randomized controlled trials that tested the effectiveness of behavioral interventions within each of the six dimensions of wellness: occupational, social, intellectual, physical, emotional and spiritual. Databases searched included PubMed MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ALOIS, and The Grey Literature Report through July 1, 2014. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals aged 60 and older (N = 6,254). MEASUREMENTS: Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials Checklist. RESULTS: Eighteen studies met the inclusion criteria. …

Changes In Physical Functioning And Muscle Strength In Men Receiving Androgen Deprivation Therapy For Prostate Cancer: A Controlled Comparison, Brian D. Gonzalex, Heather S. L. Jim, Brent J. Small, Mayer N. Fishman, Babu Zachariah, Randy V. Heysek, Paul B. Jacobsen

Aging Studies Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to examine changes in muscle strength and self-reported physical functioning in men receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer compared to matched controls.

Methods: Prostate cancer patients scheduled to begin ADT (n = 62) were assessed within 20 days of starting ADT and 6 and 12 months later. Age and geographically matched prostate cancer controls treated with prostatectomy only (n = 86) were assessed at similar time intervals. Grip strength measured upper body strength, the Chair Rise Test measured lower body strength, and the SF-12 Physical Functioning scale measured self-reported physical functioning. …

Rapid Step Test Based On Leg Length As A Novel Dynamic Standing Balance Test In The Geriatric Population: A Pilot Study, Harold L. Merriman, Kurt Jackson, E. Conkel, D Mcintyre, Q Rizvi, P Sharkey

University of Dayton Doctor of Physical Therapy Annual Research Symposium

Each year, 1 out of 3 adults over age 65 experience a fall resulting in a traumatic injury or even mortality. Falls are the leading cause of death in the elderly population and cause the greatest number of hospital admissions from trauma. The Balance Evaluation Systems Test (BEST), Berg Balance Scale, and Tinetti are frequently used tests to determine fall risk. However, they can be complicated, time consuming, and exhibit a ceiling effect. This study employed the Rapid Step Test (RST) to examine the use and practicality of a new, portable and easy to administer test that may differentiate between …

Implementing A Good Catch Program In Nursing Homes, Leigh Raposo

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

Rationale and processes for reporting near misses and evidence-based tools were collected by a literature search, seminal works by Sidney Dekker and James Reason, and websites for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Tools, information, and strategies found in this research were evaluated for implementation in Maine nursing homes. The tools provide a communication vehicle for nursing home staff to safely report to management near misses, or mistakes that do not harm residents. To emphasize a positive approach, the project replaces the term …

Using An Online Learning Module In A Nursing Program To Improve Knowledge And Skills To Prevent Falls In The Community Dwelling Older Adult Population, Susan Kane Patton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nationally, 28.4% of older adults fall each year. Falls and resulting injury result in decreased mobility, functional impairment, loss of independence, and increased mortality. Utilization of evidence based protocols by providers to identify older adults at risk of falling is limited and rates of participation by older adults in prevention activities is low. Because of nursing’s increasing role in caring for older adults, development of fall prevention education for nursing students would result in increased awareness of the need for fall prevention in community dwelling older adults and increased access of older adults to falls risk assessment. There is a …

Video Game Interventions To Improve Cognition In Older Adults, David E. C. Marra

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Cognitive abilities decline as part of the normal aging process. Various non-pharmacological interventions are being studied in an effort to ameliorate this cognitive decline. Some of these interventions include computerized cognitive training, such as neuropsychological software (i.e., brain training games) and video games. A previous study in our lab found that older adults who played a brain training game or a video poker game showed similar cognitive gains. The purpose of the present study was to follow the methodological procedures of our previous study to try and determine if the positive effects seen for the brain training program and video …

Reinforcement Learning, Error-Related Negativity, And Genetic Risk For Alzheimer's Disease, Christina Marie Figueroa

Dissertations (1934 -)

Reinforcement learning (RL) has been widely used as a model of animal and human learning and decision-making. The neural networks underlying RL involve many of the same structures primarily affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) such as the hippocampus. Yet, RL and non-invasive evaluation of its neural underpinnings have been underutilized as a framework for understanding disease pathology and its pre-clinical states. This study aimed to provide a novel approach for assessing subtle changes in asymptomatic apolipoprotein-E (APOE) carriers and non-carriers. Electroencephalography was collected from forty APOE genotyped older adults (Male n = 11; Mage = 79.30; Meducation = 14.88 years) …

Learning By Living: Empathy Learned Through An Extended Medical Education Immersion Project, Ianna Hondros-Mccarthy, Philip Barber, Marilyn R. Gugliucci

Geriatric Medicine Faculty Publications

Introduction: Medical student training and experiences in nursing homes are often viewed as negative; however, long-term care services represent a growing aspect of our medical system that receives little attention in medical education. The University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine Learning by Living Nursing Home Immersion Project accelerates students learning about older adult care and the importance of empathy. Methods: Learning by Living applies qualitative ethnographic/autobiographic research methods to answer the question: “What is it like for me to live the life of an older adult nursing home resident?” Two first year medical students (female, 25 y/o & …

Preserving Cognition In Older African Americans With Mild Cognitive Impairment., Barry W. Rovner, Robin J. Casten

Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Mw151 Inhibited Il-1Β Levels After Traumatic Brain Injury With No Effect On Microglia Physiological Responses, Adam D. Bachstetter, Zhengqiu Zhou, Rachel K. Rowe, Bin Xing, Danielle S. Goulding, Alyssa N. Conley, Pradoldej Sompol, Shelby Meier, Jose F. Abisambra, Jonathan Lifshitz, D. Martin Watterson, Linda J. Van Eldik

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

A prevailing neuroinflammation hypothesis is that increased production of proinflammatory cytokines contributes to progressive neuropathology, secondary to the primary damage caused by a traumatic brain injury (TBI). In support of the hypothesis, post-injury interventions that inhibit the proinflammatory cytokine surge can attenuate the progressive pathology. However, other post-injury neuroinflammatory responses are key to endogenous recovery responses. Therefore, it is critical that pharmacological attenuation of detrimental or dysregulated neuroinflammatory processes avoid pan-suppression of inflammation. MW151 is a CNS-penetrant, small molecule experimental therapeutic that restores injury- or disease-induced overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines towards homeostasis without immunosuppression. Post-injury administration of MW151 in a …

AΒ40 Reduces P-Glycoprotein At The Blood-Brain Barrier Through The Ubiquitin-Proteasome Pathway, Anika M. S. Hartz, Yu Zhong, Andrea Wolf, Harry Levine Iii, David S. Miller, Björn Bauer

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Failure to clear amyloid-β (Aβ) from the brain is in part responsible for Aβ brain accumulation in Alzheimer's disease (AD). A critical protein for clearing Aβ across the blood–brain barrier is the efflux transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in the luminal plasma membrane of the brain capillary endothelium. P-gp is reduced at the blood–brain barrier in AD, which has been shown to be associated with Aβ brain accumulation. However, the mechanism responsible for P-gp reduction in AD is not well understood. Here we focused on identifying critical mechanistic steps involved in reducing P-gp in AD. We …

Medical Students' Perceptions Of Dementia After Participation In Poetry Workshop With People With Dementia., Alaina J Garrie, Shruti Goel, Martin M Forsberg

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

Purpose. Researchers assessed whether medical students' participation in a poetry workshop with people with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) affected their attitudes towards persons with ADRD. Objective. To add to the growing body of research summarizing the impact of nonclinical interventions on medical students' perspectives about people with ADRD. Design. Researchers used dementia attitudes scale (DAS) and interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) to analyze participants' attitudes. Setting. Osteopathic medical school and dementia care unit in the state of New Jersey. Participants. Eleven out of fourteen medical students completed the study. Measurements. Emerging themes were classified from the postintervention semistructured interviews …

Grant Application: Health Practitioners’ Perspective On Caring For Older Adults In Rural Maine – A Pilot Study, Jessica Harnisch, Allie Stanley, Amanda Langley, Jordan Beall

Health Practitioners' Perspective On Caring For Older Adults In Rural Maine

IPEC Mini-grant application for funding of UNE student project Health Practioners’ Perspective on Caring for Older Adults in Rural Maine. This pilot study was designed to identify challenges and determine potential solutions for Maine practitioners delivering health care to rural Maine’s aging population. UNE students from several healthcare professions partnered to interview physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, social workers, occupational therapists, and physical therapists caring for community-dwelling older adults in Rural Maine. The student researchers then analyzed the interviews and identified themes.

Factors Associated With Unmet Needs Among African-American Dementia Care Providers, P. J. Desin, Allison M. Caban-Holt, Erin L. Abner, Linda J. Van Eldik, Frederick A. Schmitt

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Racial and ethnic minorities currently comprise 20% of the U.S. population; in 2050, this figure is expected to rise to 42%. As a result, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the 5th leading cause of death for people aged 65 and older, is likely to increase in these groups. Most dementia caregiving for these populations comes from family and friends, especially among families with lower socioeconomic status. A convenience sample of 30 African-American dementia caregivers was interviewed to determine unmet needs. Participants expressed a limited desire for formal services, such as support groups, legal advice, case management, and homemaker services. Instead, commonly expressed …

Pathological Tau Promotes Neuronal Damage By Impairing Ribosomal Function And Decreasing Protein Synthesis, Shelby Meier, Michelle Bell, Danielle N. Lyons, Jennifer Rodriguez-Rivera, Alexandria Ingram, Sarah N. Fontaine, Elizabeth Mechas, Jing Chen, Benjamin Wolozin, Harry Levine Iii, Haining Zhu, Jose F. Abisambra

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

One of the most common symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related tauopathies is memory loss. The exact mechanisms leading to memory loss in tauopathies are not yet known; however, decreased translation due to ribosomal dysfunction has been implicated as a part of this process. Here we use a proteomics approach that incorporates subcellular fractionation and coimmunoprecipitation of tau from human AD and non-demented control brains to identify novel interactions between tau and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). We show that ribosomes associate more closely with tau in AD than with tau in control brains, and that this abnormal association leads …

What Are The Needs Of Older Adults?, Edward F. Ansello

Director's Editorials from Age in Action

Mobility, social connections, health declines, lifelong learning, safety, caretakers or caregivers speak to interdependence or assisted autonomy, rather than to independence. Realizing the best of ourselves means that we are engaged or interdependent with others.

Animal Cruelty And Elder Abuse, Edward F. Ansello

Director's Editorials from Age in Action

Continuing and expanding the American Psychological Association's guidance that those in counseling roles be alert to and ask questions about care of animals could provide some early warnings, perhaps in time to avoid harm to both animals and people. Encouraging our children to interact with kindness towards animals can’t help but pay dividends over the life course. We need to pay attention to the link of indifference or neglect of pets leading to the same with humans, with those in later life.

Fix And Fit To Age In Place, Edward F. Ansello

Director's Editorials from Age in Action

If aging in place is the goal, simple targeted improvements to one’s home and ability to function in it may be central.