Geriatrics Commons^™

Impact Of Caregiving Role In The Quality Of Life Of Family Caregivers For Persons With Alzheimer's Disease, Supriya Sarkar

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study investigated quality of life of family caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Caregiving is a strenuous and challenging job. Family caregivers experience poor quality of life after they take the role of caregiving which might be related to depression. Purpose of this study was to find if caregiving duration and depression has any role in affecting family caregivers' emotional, physical, and general health.

Data for this study were collected through electronic and mailed survey methods. The questionnaires completed by subjects: Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 (MOS-36) and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Descriptive statistics …

Reassessment Of Risk Genotypes (Grn, Tmem106b, And Abcc9 Variants) Associated With Hippocampal Sclerosis Of Aging Pathology, Peter T. Nelson, Wang-Xia Wang, Amanda B. Partch, Sarah E. Monsell, Otto Valladares, Sally R. Ellingson, Bernard R. Wilfred, Adam C. Naj, Li-San Wang, Walter A. Kukull, David W. Fardo

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Faculty Publications

Hippocampal sclerosis of aging (HS-Aging) is a common high-morbidity neurodegenerative condition in elderly persons. To understand the risk factors for HS-Aging, we analyzed data from the Alzheimer’s Disease Genetics Consortium and correlated the data with clinical and pathologic information from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center database. Overall, 268 research volunteers with HS-Aging and 2,957 controls were included; detailed neuropathologic data were available for all. The study focused on single-nucleotide polymorphisms previously associated with HS-Aging risk: rs5848 ( GRN ), rs1990622 ( TMEM106B ), and rs704180 ( ABCC9 ). Analyses of a subsample that was not previously evaluated (51 HS-Aging cases …

The Effect Of Continuous Heat Wraps On Balance And Gait In The Elderly, Jerrold S. Petrofsky, Michael S. Laymon, Iman Akef Khowailed

College of Health & Human Services (TUN) Publications and Research

Background: In an ageing geriatric population, tremor and poor balance become more pronounced and can lead to falls. Falls are the leading cause of mortality in this population. Continuous heat wraps have been shown to increase tissue flexibility. It was the purpose of this study to examine the effects of heat on balance and gait in the elderly with impaired mobility.

Subjects: Twenty people with impaired mobility (assessed as a score of more than 4 on the “Stepping On” questionnaire) were tested with a balance platform after using ThermaCare continuous heat wraps on their legs and knees for …

Sample Interview Advisory, American Dental Association

Action for Dental Health

No abstract provided.

Efficacy Of A Cognitive Training Program For Individuals With Moderate Cognitive Impairment: Evaluating Cognition, Erica Catherine Johnson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy of a cognitive training program among those with moderate cognitive impairment. A total of 23 individuals participated in the study and were randomly assigned to a wait-list control group or a cognitive training program that consisted of 24 cognitive classes for a total of 12 weeks. The cognitive training classes aimed to activate the six primary cognitive domains impacted with dementia, reaction time, attention, memory, language, visual-spatial skills, and executive functioning. All participants were evaluated with a battery of neurocognitive assessments pre-and post-treatment. The findings tentatively support the use …

Osteoporosis In Older Saudi Women: A Perspective Study, Zahra Saeed Alfaraj

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this research is to first discuss and discover reasons behind this increasing outburst of osteoporosis cases in older Saudi women and then to develop certain prevention strategies based on Social Cognitive Theory and this research and its reasoning, in an attempt to check the rapid increase of this disease in menopausal Saudi women. All of these targets can be achieved by an in-depth study of osteoporosis, and then applying this knowledge toward prevention of the disease.

Attention Test Performance And Normal Aging: The Effect On Executive Function, Rachel Carmen

Honors Program Theses

In this pilot study, twenty-nine participants completed the following three executive function tests: the Behavioral Assessment of the Dysexecutive System, the Functional Assessment of Verbal Reasoning and Executive Strategies, and Auditory Process Training. Participants, aged blank to blank, were divided into two age groups: young adults, which was comprised of 16 participants, and older adults, which was comprised of 13 participants. Performance means of the two groups were established and compared. There were no predictive qualities to the younger adults’ scores, and there were only in two FAVRES subtests for the older adults: accuracy and reasoning. Further research is needed …

Hood's Theory Of Aging, Drew Michael Hood

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This thesis proposes that the theory of gerotranscendence can be improved by emphasizing life course events that influence the gerotranscendence process. Further, this paper proposes that teaching gerotranscendence to long-term care staff and residents with Hood's theory of aging and with a departmental framework will yield better results in staff following gerotranscendence best practices and thus result in increased resident development towards gerotranscendence.

A Therapeutic Approach For Senile Dementias: Neuroangiogenesis, Charles T. Ambrose

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related senile dementias (SDs) represent a growing medical and economic crisis in this country. Apart from cautioning persons about risk factors, no practical, effective therapy is currently available. Much of the recent research in AD has been based on the amyloid cascade theory. Another approach assumes a vascular basis for SDs. This paper presents evidence from a score of studies that cerebral capillary density (CCD) declines during old age in animals and people as well as in AD. Neuroangiogenic (NAG) factors initiate and maintain capillaries in the brain. Thus a waning level of these factors and …

Polypharmacy Practice Inquiry Project, Mary T. Skinner

DNP Projects

“The impending crisis, which has been foreseen for decades, is now upon us.The nation needs to act now to prepare the health care workforce to meet the care needs of older adults.” Institute of Medicine.

Given the rising tide of people over the age of 65, taking multiple medications or polypharmacy is a becoming more prevalent in older adults. Unfortunately, there are many negative consequences associated with polypharmacy. Specifically, this burden has been associated with greater health care costs and an increased risk of adverse drug events, drug-interactions, medication non-adherence, reduced functional capacity and multiple geriatric syndromes including cognitive impairment. …

Geropsychiatric Medical Problems, Daniel Giorgio

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

With a growing elderly population in the United States, the development of

efficient methods to ensure high-quality care for geriatric patients is more important than

ever. In the emergency department (ED), geriatric patients account for up to 24% of

stays. Many of these patients come to the ED for neuropsychiatric reasons and some are

admitted to geropsychiatric units. These patients require medical screening to identify

issues that may in part account for their mental state. The purpose of this study was to

characterize the patients who were admitted from the Summa Health System ED to

geropsychiatric units. It was hypothesized …

Trailmaking Test Performance Contributes To Subjective Judgment Of Visual Efficiency In Older Adults, Annalisa Setti, James Loughman, George Savva, Rose Anne Kenny

Articles

Introduction.

The determinant factors that influence self-reported quality of vision have yet to be fully elucidated. This study evaluated a range of contextual information, established psychophysical tests, and in particular, a series of cognitive tests as potentially novel determinant factors.

Materials &Methods. Community dwelling adults (aged 50+) recruited to Wave 1 of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, excluding those registered blind, participated in this study (N = 5,021). Self-reports of vision were analysed in relation to visual acuity and contrast sensitivity, ocular pathology, visual (Choice Response Time task; TrailMaking Test) and global cognition. Contextual factors such as having visited …

Sugihara Causality Analysis Of Scalp Eeg For Detection Of Early Alzheimer's Disease, Joseph C. Mcbride, Xiaopeng Zhao, Nancy B. Munro, Greg A. Jicha, Frederick A. Schmitt, Richard J. Kryscio, Charles D. Smith, Yang Jiang

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Recently, Sugihara proposed an innovative causality concept, which, in contrast to statistical predictability in Granger sense, characterizes underlying deterministic causation of the system. This work exploits Sugihara causality analysis to develop novel EEG biomarkers for discriminating normal aging from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early Alzheimer's disease (AD). The hypothesis of this work is that scalp EEG based causality measurements have different distributions for different cognitive groups and hence the causality measurements can be used to distinguish between NC, MCI, and AD participants. The current results are based on 30-channel resting EEG records from 48 age-matched participants (mean age 75.7 …

Effects Of Video Enhancement In A Stated-Choice Experiment On Medical Decision Making, Susanne Hoffmann, Joachim Winter, Francis G. Caro, Alison Gottlieb

Gerontology Institute Publications

Background. The internet can be useful in administering stated-choice experiments to understand medical decision making and refine the content of patient decision aids. In internet-based stated-choice experiments, video and audio files can be used to provide information to respondents. Quality of data may or may not be affected.

Objectives. In a methodological experiment concerned with administration of a stated-choice experiment on the internet concerned with knee-replacement surgery, we compared the data quality obtained with video-enhanced and conventional text formats.

Methods. Members of the RAND Corporation’s American Life Panel and 50 years of age or older (n=1616) were randomly assigned to …

Alzheimer's Therapeutics Targeting Amyloid Beta 1-42 Oligomers I: Abeta 42 Oligomer Binding To Specific Neuronal Receptors Is Displaced By Drug Candidates That Improve Cognitive Deficits, Nicholas J. Izzo, Agnes Staniszewski, Lillian To, Mauro Fa, Andrew F. Teich, Faisal Saeed, Harrison Wostein, Thomas Walko Iii, Anisha Vaswani, Meghan Wardius, Zanobia Syed, Jessica Ravenscroft, Kelsie Mozzoni, Colleen Silky, Courtney Rehak, Raymond Yurko, Patricia Finn, Gary Look, Gilbert Rishton, Hank Safferstein, Miles Miller, Conrad Johanson, Edward Stopa, Manfred Windisch, Birgit Hutter-Paier, Mehrdad Shamloo, Ottavio Arancio, Harry Levine Iii, Susan M. Catalano

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Synaptic dysfunction and loss caused by age-dependent accumulation of synaptotoxic beta amyloid (Abeta) 1-42 oligomers is proposed to underlie cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Alterations in membrane trafficking induced by Abeta oligomers mediates reduction in neuronal surface receptor expression that is the basis for inhibition of electrophysiological measures of synaptic plasticity and thus learning and memory. We have utilized phenotypic screens in mature, in vitro cultures of rat brain cells to identify small molecules which block or prevent the binding and effects of Abeta oligomers. Synthetic Abeta oligomers bind saturably to a single site on neuronal synapses and induce …

Alzheimer's Therapeutics Targeting Amyloid Beta 1–42 Oligomers Ii: Sigma-2/Pgrmc1 Receptors Mediate Abeta 42 Oligomer Binding And Synaptotoxicity, Nicholas J. Izzo, Jinbin Xu, Chenbo Zeng, Molly J. Kirk, Kelsie Mozzoni, Colleen Silky, Courtney Rehak, Raymond Yurko, Gary Look, Gilbert Rishton, Hank Safferstein, Carlos Cruchaga, Alison Goate, Michael A. Cahill, Ottavio Arancio, Robert H. Mach, Rolf Craven, Elizabeth Head, Harry Levine Iii, Tara L. Spires-Jones, Susan M. Catalano

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Amyloid beta (Abeta) 1-42 oligomers accumulate in brains of patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and disrupt synaptic plasticity processes that underlie memory formation. Synaptic binding of Abeta oligomers to several putative receptor proteins is reported to inhibit long-term potentiation, affect membrane trafficking and induce reversible spine loss in neurons, leading to impaired cognitive performance and ultimately to anterograde amnesia in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We have identified a receptor not previously associated with AD that mediates the binding of Abeta oligomers to neurons, and describe novel therapeutic antagonists of this receptor capable of blocking Abeta toxic …

Which Clinical Guidelines Should Be Implemented For Management Of Osteopenia In Primary Care? A Clin-Iq, Turia Hollingsworth

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Literature review was conducted to determine clinical guidelines for osteopenia management of immunocompetent patients in the primary care setting. It was concluded that pharmacological treatment should be offered to patients with osteopenia if they are considered high risk, which can be determined by utilizing the World Health Organization Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX^®) to evaluate 10-year risk. Patients with a calculated hip fracture probability of at least 3% or those with probability of 20% or more for all osteoporotic fractures may be offered bisphosphonate therapy.

The P38alpha Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Limits The Cns Proinflammatory Cytokine Response To Systemic Lipopolysaccharide, Potentially Through An Il-10 Dependent Mechanism, Adam D. Bachstetter, Bin Xing, Linda J. Van Eldik

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The p38α mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) is a well-characterized intracellular kinase involved in the overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines from glia. As such, p38α appears to be a promising therapeutic target for neurodegenerative diseases associated with neuroinflammation. However, the in vivo role of p38α in cytokine production in the CNS is poorly defined, and prior work suggests that p38α may be affecting a yet to be identified negative feedback mechanism that limits the acute, injury-induced proinflammatory cytokine surge in the CNS.

METHODS: To attempt to define this negative feedback mechanism, we used two in vitro and two in vivo models …

Self-Reported Memory Complaints: Implications From A Longitudinal Cohort With Autopsies, Richard J. Kryscio, Erin L. Abner, Gregory E. Cooper, David W. Fardo, Greg A. Jicha, Peter T. Nelson, Charles D. Smith, Linda J. Van Eldik, Lijie Wan, Frederick A. Schmitt

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: We assessed salience of subjective memory complaints (SMCs) by older individuals as a predictor of subsequent cognitive impairment while accounting for risk factors and eventual neuropathologies.

METHODS: Subjects (n = 531) enrolled while cognitively intact at the University of Kentucky were asked annually if they perceived changes in memory since their last visit. A multistate model estimated when transition to impairment occurred while adjusting for intervening death. Risk factors affecting the timing and probability of an impairment were identified. The association between SMCs and Alzheimer-type neuropathology was assessed from autopsies (n = 243).

RESULTS: SMCs were …

Interpersonal Communication In The Context Of Dementia: Examining Family Caregivers' Appraisals And Burden, Stacy Lynn Barnes

Dissertations (1934 -)

Purpose and Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore dementia family caregivers' appraisals of communication behaviors and strategies, and their relationships to caregiver burden. Study objectives were to investigate: 1) the relationship between frequency of dementia-related communication behaviors and caregivers' appraisals of frustration; 2) the relationship between caregivers' use of communication strategies and appraisals of helpfulness; 3) the structural relationships between communication behavior appraisal, communication strategy appraisal, problem behaviors, and caregiver burden; and 4) caregiver education level as a moderating variable of the final structural model. Methods: A written, mailed questionnaire was developed to capture dementia family caregivers' …