[Prevention of urinary tract infection in the elderly : what's new in long-term care facilities?].

Urinary tract infections are common in the elderly. They are a frequent reason for antibiotic prescription in nursing homes and hospitals. Doctors are confronted daily to the challenge that it is to diagnose urinary tract infections in older patients.

Prevalence of vertebral fracture in oldest old nursing home residents.

Unlabelled: We evaluated vertebral fracture prevalence using DXA-based vertebral fracture assessment and its influence on the Fracture Risk Assessment (FRAX) tool-determined 10-year fracture probability in a cohort of oldest old nursing home residents. More than one third of the subjects had prevalent vertebral fracture and 50% osteoporosis. Probably in relation with the prevailing influence of age and medical history of fracture, adding these information into FRAX did not markedly modify fracture probability.

[Review in geriatric medicine].

In 2010, a study emphasizes the difficulty to predict disability trajectories in the last year of life. A meta analysis shows the effectiveness of post-acute geriatric rehabilitation in reducing functional decline after hospitalisation. Several studies evaluated pneumococcal and herpes zoster vaccines' efficacy.

Zinc increases the effects of essential amino acids-whey protein supplements in frail elderly.

Unlabelled: Protein undernutrition is frequent in the elderly. It contributes to the development of osteoporosis, possibly via lower IGF-I. Dietary zinc can influence IGF-I production.