[Domestic Violence in Old Age: Prevention and Intervention].

Domestic Violence in Old Age: Prevention and Intervention Abuse of the eldery occurs frequently. It is experienced most often as psychological abuse (20 %), less often as financial exploitation (4 %) or physical abuse (3 %). The most important risk factor for the elderly is dependence on regular help, especially because of dementia.

The last phase of life with dementia in Swiss nursing homes: the study protocol of the longitudinal and prospective ZULIDAD study.

Background: The proportion of older people with advanced dementia who will die in nursing homes is constantly growing. However, little is known about the dying phase, the type of symptoms, the management of symptoms and the quality of life and dying in people with advanced dementia. The ZULIDAD (Zurich Life and Death with Advanced Dementia) study aims at extending the current scientific knowledge by providing first data from Switzerland.

Types of abuse and risk factors associated with elder abuse.

Principles: Detecting elder abuse is challenging because it is a taboo, and many cases remain unreported. This study aimed to identify types of elder abuse and to investigate its associated risk factors.

Methods: Retrospective analyses of 903 dossiers created at an Independent Complaints Authority for Old Age in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland, from January 1, 2008 to October 31, 2012.

The impact of attachment on dementia-related problem behavior and spousal caregivers' well-being.

This study investigated the impact of attachment style on the course of dementia-related problem behavior and caregivers' well-being over 2 years. A total of 116 married couples with one spouse suffering from dementia participated. Care recipients' and caregivers' attachment styles were assessed at the beginning of the study.

[Results of the Qualitative Evaluation of all-fit--a group education and training program for elderly people with chronic illness].

Chronic illness in elderly people is often associated with activity limitations, impairment, and mood changes. There is strong evidence that chronic disease self-management programs enhance health behaviour and stabilize or improve health status. A new program in Zurich, called all-fit, is a community-based program consisting of eight educational group sessions and physical training, held over two months.

Who participates in psychosocial interventions for caregivers of patients with dementia?

Objective: The purpose of the present study is to evaluate if the participants in psychosocial interventions for dementia caregivers are representative of the whole population of dementia patients or if some socioeconomic groups are over- or underrepresented.

Design: The demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the 128 participants of a randomized controlled study on the effects of caregiver education were compared with those of all the elderly residents of the City of Zurich (n = 64,856, elderly group), of all demented patients entering a City of Zurich nursing home in a 6-month period (n = 218, NH entry group) and of all demented inhabitants evaluated during a 20-month follow-up at a community memory clinic (n = 187, memory group).

Methods: Data on income and wealth were derived from official tax records.

Caring for relatives with dementia: willingness-to-pay for a reduction in caregiver's burden.

Informal care constitutes a large percentage of total care for patients with dementia. Providing care for cognitively impaired individuals is stressful and demanding. This study applies the contingent valuation method to estimate the willingness-to-pay of informal caregivers for a reduction of their burden.

Molecular study of the hydroxymethylbilane synthase gene (HMBS) among Polish patients with acute intermittent porphyria.

Acute intermittent porphyria (AIP), an autosomal dominant disorder of heme biosynthesis, is due to mutations in hydroxymethylbilane synthase (HMBS; or porphobilinogen deaminase, PBGD) gene. In this study, we analyzed 20 Polish patients affected by AIP and we were able to characterize seven novel mutations. A nonsense mutation (Y46X), two frameshift mutations (315delT and 552delT) and a 131bp deletion (nucleotides 992-1123) give rise to truncated proteins.