Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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 29,165 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The purpose of this study was to identify diseases frequently found in elderly populations in rural areas as well as to discuss the role of geriatric physicians in medical care for elderly patients. The study was conducted using ICHPPC-2-Defined (Japan version) which had been compiled by WONCA for the classification of diseases. The acute health problems treated by the clinic consisted of 183 types (2070 items) in 1916 patients seen during 19 months compared to 66 types of chronic problems consisting of 505 items in 179 patients. The most frequent acute complaints and health problems were acute infections of the upper respiratory tract, followed by diseases of the stomach and duodenum, then osteoarthritis and allied conditions. The most common chronic health problems were uncomplicated hypertension, osteoarthritis and allied conditions, osteoporosis, lipid metabolism disorders, complicated hypertension, cataract, and various other illnesses extending over all specialties of medicine. Geriatric physicians are required to have broad and multidisciplinary knowledge and skill to provide comprehensive and continual medical care for elderly patients in rural areas.
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PMID:[Health problems of elderly patients in a rural area]. 815 70

The prevalence of visual impairment among elderly patients admitted to hospital is unknown. This group of patients may be particularly at risk from poor vision which could jeopardise their independence. A prospective study of visual imapairment and its aetiology in acute geriatric admissions assessed after the acute illness had settled was performed. Subjects were all patients aged 65 years or over, excluding those chronically confused, admitted to the Department of Geriatric Medicine at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital with an acute medical illness. After the acute illness had settled visual impairment, as defined by the American criteria (best acuity 6/18), was assessed on the ward with a Snellen chart read at 6 m using binocular vision and current glasses. Those patients identified with impaired vision on initial screening were formally assessed in the ophthalmology department to identify the cause. 200 patients were examined. 101 patients (50.5%) had impaired vision. In these patients, correctable refractive errors were present in 40%, cataract in 37% and senile macular degeneration in 14%. Of the 101 patients with impaired vision 79% had a reversible cause. Comparing these results with a recent study in the community showed a much higher incidence for patients admitted to hospital. There was a particularly high prevalence in those elderly patients who were admitted with falls (76%, p = 0.0003). In conclusion, elderly patients, especially those presenting with falls, admitted to hospital have a high prevalence of visual impairment. Visual impairment may be compounding or causing falls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Prevalence of low vision in elderly patients admitted to an acute geriatric unit in Liverpool: elderly people who fall are more likely to have low vision. 864 3

Using a mobile health unit, we conducted a survey to determine the prevalence of social and medical problems among an elderly population in rural Thailand. 3302 persons aged 60 years and older from 54 villages in Mae Sot District, Tak Province, northern Thailand, were interviewed and examined between November 1993 and April 1994. About 4% of those surveyed lived alone and most of them preferred to remain with their relatives and neighbours in the community. The proportion of current tobacco smokers was slightly higher in men (55.5%) than in women (51.4%). Men also had a higher proportion of current alcohol drinkers (20.3%) than women (5.3%). About 80% of the elderly reported having used medication within one month before the interview. Falls were the most common cause of reported injury, followed by cutting/piercing. The proportion of the elderly who had difficulty with activities of daily living was higher for women than men and increased with age. Meal preparation was the most common activity needing help. About 58% of hypertensive persons and 75% of those with diabetes were first detected during the survey. Some persons with treatable disorders such as senile cataract and dyslipidaemia were also detected by the screening programme. Geriatric screening assessment using mobile units may be helpful in uncovering treatable conditions among the elderly in rural areas.
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PMID:Screening assessment of the elderly in rural Thailand by a mobile unit. 875 55

Research conducted for many years, on smoking harm has revealed a connection between using nicotine and numerous disorders affecting human beings. Nowadays 33% of Poles smoke, 11-25% of the elderly smoke. There are plentiful anti-smoking campaigns aimed at the young and those in their reproductive years. Such campaigns addressed to the elderly are a seldom occurrence. The aim of this work was to analyze the actual functioning and health of smokers aged 65 and more living in various surroundings. The research involved a group of 300 individuals aged more than 65: older people home residents--100 individuals, veteran home residents--100 individuals and the University of the Third Age students--100 individuals. The tool utilized in the course of the research was a questionnaire concerning smoking, diseases affecting the subjects, medication taken and personal information. Assessment of a functional state, physical activity, mental state and health was carried out with the help of General Geriatric Assessment questionnaires. In the researched group, the frequency of smoking was 11.3%, 18.1% among men, 9.2% among women. The average age of the smokers was 70.6 +/- 5.6, the average age of the non-smokers was 75.5 +/- 7.0 .The average number of cigarettes smoked was 11.3 +/- 7.3 a day. The older the subjects of the research, the smaller percentage of the smokers among them as well as the fewer cigarettes smoked. The smokers indicated a substantially higher MMSE result, Tinetti, lower BMI, lower percentage of fat, lower frequency of being affected by cataract or urinary incontinence and a larger number of lung conditions. In the researched groups both in the older people home and veteran home residents, the smokers are younger, better educated, more fit, better nourished, possessing a larger mental capacity and hand strength as compared to the other members of a given community. Among the University of the Third Age students no significant differences between the smokers and non-smokers were observed. The smallest percentage of the smokers is among the University of the Third Age students (9%), the largest among the older people home residents (14%). The most cigarettes are smoked by the University of the Third Age students, the fewest by the older people home and the veteran home residents. Women smokers constitute majority among the University of the Third Age students whereas there are more men smokers among the older people home and the veteran home residents. There is a distinct need of organizing anti-smoking campaigns aimed at the elderly taking into account the area of their functioning.
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PMID:[Functional and health conditions of elderly smokers]. 2030 87

Carotenoids, especially lutein and beta-carotene, offer benefits to human health in general and to eye health in particular. However, more data on the contribution of plant foods to carotenoid intake is of importance for developing strategies for promoting eye health in regions where cataract is highly prevalent such as in South India. The most frequently consumed 5 uncultivated and 5 commercially grown South Andhra Pradesh leafy vegetables were selected based on interviews with 100 local women. The lutein and beta-carotene contents of fresh and cooked samples were determined using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography. Lutein values ranged from 53 to 143 microg/g and 58 to 175 microg/g in fresh and cooked samples, respectively. beta-carotene contents were found to range from 45 to 119 microg/g in fresh samples and from 40 to 159 microg/g in cooked samples. No significant difference was observed between the carotenoid contents of wild and commercially grown species. According to their reported frequency of consumption, the 10 species considered in this study contribute 40% of the daily recommended intake of beta-carotene. This is the first report of lutein content in fresh samples of Celosia argentea L., Rumex vesicarius L., Digera muricata (L.) Mart., and Amaranthus cruentus L. as well as in cooked samples of all species included in this study.
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PMID:Contribution of selected wild and cultivated leafy vegetables from South India to lutein and beta-carotene intake. 2080 87

Geriatric eye diseases (age-related macular regeneration, pseudoexfoliation syndrome, pseudoexfoliative glaucoma, senile cataract) are one of the most important problems of modern ophthalmology. Meanwhile, the treatment of these diseases continues to be primarily empirically based for lack of not only valid data on their etiology, but even consensus of opinion on their pathogenesis. This review gives the current views on the commonness of the etiopathogenetic and morphological manifestations of Alzheimer's disease and age-related eye diseases in the aspect of amyloid genesis. This approach is a promising attempt to specify the mechanisms responsible for the occurrence and development of neurodegenerative diseases, their markers, and new perspectives in their treatment.
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PMID:[Alzheimer's disease and geriatric eye diseases in the aspect of amyloid genesis]. 2400 64

Geriatrics is a medical practice that addresses the complex needs of older patients and emphasizes maintaining functional independence even in the presence of chronic disease. Treatment of geriatric patients requires a different strategy and is very complex. Geriatric medicines aim to promote health by preventing and treating diseases and disabilities in older adults. Development of effective dietary interventions for promoting healthy aging is an active but challenging area of research because aging is associated with an increased risk of chronic disease, disability, and death. Aging populations are a global phenomenon. The most widespread conditions affecting older people are hypertension, congestive heart failure, dementia, osteoporosis, breathing problems, cataract, and diabetes to name a few. Decreased immunity is also partially responsible for the increased morbidity and mortality resulting from infectious agents in the elderly. Nutritional status is one of the chief variables that explains differences in both the incidence and pathology of infection. Elderly people are at increased risk for micronutrient deficiencies due to a variety of factors including social, physical, economic, and emotional obstacles to eating. Thus there is an urgent need to shift priorities to increase our attention on ways to prevent chronic illnesses associated with aging. Individually, people must put increased efforts into establishing healthy lifestyle practices, including consuming a more healthful diet. The present review thus focuses on the phytochemicals of nutraceutical importance for the geriatric population.
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PMID:Nutraceuticals for geriatrics. 2615 Oct 3

Perception of visual stimuli improves with training, but improvements are specific for trained stimuli rendering the development of generic training programs challenging. It remains unknown to which extent training of low-level visual features transfers to high-level visual perception, and whether this is accompanied by neuroplastic changes. The current event-related potential (ERP) study showed that training-induced increased sensitivity to a low-level feature, namely low spatial frequency (LSF), alters neural processing of this feature in high-level visual stimuli. Specifically, neural activity related to face processing (N170), was decreased for low (trained) but not high (untrained) SF content in faces following LSF training. These novel results suggest that: (1) SF discrimination learning transfers from simple stimuli to complex objects; and that (2) training the use of specific SF information affects neural processing of facial information. These findings may open up a new avenue to improve face recognition skills in individuals with atypical SF processing, such as in cataract or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
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PMID:Spatial Frequency Training Modulates Neural Face Processing: Learning Transfers from Low- to High-Level Visual Features. 2814 75

Myopia is an increasingly common condition that is associated with significant costs to individuals and society. Moreover, myopia is associated with increased risk of glaucoma, retinal detachment and myopic maculopathy, which in turn can lead to blindness. It is now well established that spending more time outdoors during childhood lowers the risk of developing myopia and may delay progression of myopia. There has been great interest in further exploring this relationship and exploiting it as a public health intervention aimed at preventing myopia in children. However, spending more time outdoors can have detrimental effects, such as increased risk of melanoma, cataract and pterygium. Understanding how spending more time outdoors prevents myopia could advance development of more targeted interventions for myopia. We reviewed the evidence for and against eight facets of spending time outdoors that may protect against myopia: brighter light, reduced peripheral defocus, higher vitamin D levels, differing chromatic spectrum of light, higher physical activity, entrained circadian rhythms, less near work and greater high spatial frequency (SF) energies. There is solid evidence that exposure to brighter light can reduce risk of myopia. Peripheral defocus is able to regulate eye growth but whether spending time outdoors substantially changes peripheral defocus patterns and how this could affect myopia risk is unclear. Spectrum of light, circadian rhythms and SF characteristics are plausible factors, but there is a lack of solid evidence from human studies. Vitamin D, physical activity and near work appear unlikely to mediate the relationship between time spent outdoors and myopia.
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PMID:How does spending time outdoors protect against myopia? A review. 3172 76

The COVID-19 pandemic, being the greatest challenge to our healthcare system for over a century, has its greatest impact on older patients. This subgroup has higher morbidity and mortality than younger age groups. Superimposed on this, the major preventative intervention resulting in social isolation has negative consequences. Prof. Bernard Isaacs described the "Geriatric Giant Symptoms" in 1965 and encouraged the development of interventions for immobility, instability, incontinence and impaired intellect/memory with careful management of these symptoms resulting in better outcomes for older patients including reduced admissions to Nursing Homes and mortality. The author's explore the impact of the current pandemic and, most particularly its aftermath on the provision of such interventions. In the context of a major economic crisis, resources for highly effective interventions such as joint replacement surgery, urological interventions, cataract surgery will be all be limited after this crisis. Moreover delayed access to day patient services with suboptimal access to assessments for conditions such as cognitive decline and falls as well as social care will likewise militate against addressing the "Geriatric Giant Symptoms". Thus the "Founding Fathers" of Geriatric Medicine including Prof Isaacs would be justifiably concerned regarding our ability to deliver interventions to address the "Geriatric Giant Symptoms". Current leaders in geriatric medicine, healthcare workers, funders and providers as well as advocacy groups must redouble their efforts to ensure gains made in management of older patients over 2 generations are not lost in the aftermath of this pandemic.
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PMID:Back to Basics: Giant Challenges to Addressing Isaac's "Geriatric Giants" Post COVID-19 Crisis. 3274 65


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