The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · May 2016
Risk of Frailty in Elderly With COPD: A Population-Based Study.
Despite frailty being an important geriatric syndrome, its prevalence and associated mortality risk in older patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are unknown. ⋯ This population-based cohort study in elderly demonstrates that COPD is associated with frailty even after adjusting for shared risk factors. Our findings suggest that frailty-in addition to COPD severity and comorbidities-identifies those COPD participants at high risk of mortality.
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Apr 2016
Multicenter StudyFrailty Index and Incident Mortality, Hospitalization, and Institutionalization in Alzheimer's Disease: Data From the ICTUS Study.
The identification of an objective evaluation of frailty capable of predicting adverse outcomes in Alzheimer's disease is increasingly discussed. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the Frailty Index (FI) predicts hospitalization, institutionalization, and mortality in Alzheimer's disease patients. ⋯ The FI is a robust predictor of adverse outcomes even after the stage of the underlying dementia is considered. Future work should evaluate the clinical implementation of the FI in the assessment of demented individuals in order to improve the personalization of care.
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Mar 2016
Pain and Cognitive Function Among Older Adults Living in the Community.
Pain related to many age-related chronic conditions is a burdensome problem in elderly adults and may also interfere with cognitive functioning. The purpose of this study was to examine the cross-sectional relationship between measures of pain severity and pain interference and cognitive performance in community-living older adults. ⋯ Our findings point to the need for further research to understand how chronic pain may contribute to decline in cognitive function and to determine strategies that may help in preventing or managing these potential consequences of pain on cognitive function in older adults.
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Jan 2016
Intranasal Insulin Improves Age-Related Cognitive Deficits and Reverses Electrophysiological Correlates of Brain Aging.
Peripheral insulin resistance is a key component of metabolic syndrome associated with obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. While the impact of insulin resistance is well recognized in the periphery, it is also becoming apparent in the brain. Recent studies suggest that insulin resistance may be a factor in brain aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD) whereby intranasal insulin therapy, which delivers insulin to the brain, improves cognition and memory in AD patients. ⋯ We also explored insulin effects on the Ca(2+)-dependent hippocampal afterhyperpolarization (AHP), a well-characterized neurophysiological marker of aging which is increased in the aged, memory impaired animal. Low-dose intranasal insulin improved memory recall in aged animals such that their performance was similar to that seen in younger animals. Further, because ex vivo insulin also reduced the AHP, our results suggest that the AHP may be a novel cellular target of insulin in the brain, and improved cognitive performance following intranasal insulin therapy may be the result of insulin actions on the AHP.
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Dec 2015
Mortality in Relation to Frailty in Patients Admitted to a Specialized Geriatric Intensive Care Unit.
In older adults admitted to intensive care units (ICUs), frailty influences prognosis. We examined the relationship between the frailty index (FI) based on deficit accumulation and early and late survival. ⋯ ICU survival was strongly associated with the level of frailty at admission. An FI based on health deficit accumulation may help improve critical care outcome prediction in older adults.