Archives of gerontology and geriatrics
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Arch Gerontol Geriatr · Mar 2003
Comparative StudyPredictors of nursing home admission for older adults hospitalized with heart failure.
The objective of this retrospective chart review study was to determine the prevalence and predictors of nursing home admission of older hospitalized heart failure patients. Subjects were Medicare beneficiaries discharged with a principal diagnosis of heart failure in 1994 in the state of Alabama, United States. The outcome variable was admission to a nursing home after hospital discharge. ⋯ In conclusion, nursing home admission rate for this cohort of older hospitalized heart failure patients was low. Age, length of hospital stay, and diabetes were associated with new nursing home admissions. Further studies are needed to identify modifiable risk factors for nursing home admissions and to develop appropriate interventions.
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Arch Gerontol Geriatr · Mar 2003
Comparative StudyAge-related changes in sensory and secretomotor nerve endings in the larynx of F344/N rat.
The aim of the present study was to define the age-related changes in sensory and secretomotor nerve endings in the larynx of F344/N rats. For this purpose, laryngeal tissue sections obtained from 12-, 24- and 35-month-old F344/N rats were compared with respect to the density, distribution and morphology of various types of sensory and secretomotor nerve endings immunoreactive for protein gene product 9.5 (PGP 9.5), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and substance P (SP). Two distinct forms of PGP 9.5-immunoreactive motor end-plates were noted; the large sized motor end-plates localized in thyroarytenoid and cricoarytenoid muscles were degenerated in aged rats, while the small sized motor end-plates, localized predominantly in vocal muscles, did not show any age-related changes. ⋯ CGRP- and SP-immunostained taste bud-nerve endings were noted in 12- and 24-month-old rats, but only rarely in 35-month-old rats. The laryngeal epithelium contained PGP 9.5-, CGRP- and SP-immunoreactive thin free nerve endings with many varicosities; their number and distribution were similar between 12- and 24-month-old rats, while only a few endings were observed in 35-month-old rats. Our results indicated that ageing is associated with the reduction of laryngeal sensory and secretomotor nerve endings.