Changes in renal autacoids in aged human hypertensives.

The aging process determines several modifications of the kidney, that, however, do not provoke any dysfunction in normal conditions. But in the elderly--in the presence of stressful situations and particularly when adrenergic activation is present--the kidney is more vulnerable than in the young, and renal failure may arise. Variations typical of the aging kidney are accelerated when hypertension overlaps the physiological renal process, because both senescence and hypertension weight on the same structures, i.

Changes in renal autacoids and hemodynamics associated with aging and isolated systolic hypertension.

The aging kidney is characterized by a decrease in renal blood flow and glomerular filtration rate mainly due to glomerulosclerosis. Nevertheless, even in the presence of these changes, the kidney maintains its functionality until advanced age. However, there is a tendency towards greater renal vasoconstriction in the elderly as compared with young individuals.

Impaired renal adaptation to stress in the elderly with isolated systolic hypertension.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the renal response in the elderly with isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) when an adrenergic activation, as induced by mental stress, is applied. Renal hemodynamics and kidney neurohumoral response to mental stress were studied in 8 elderly patients with ISH (aged 63 to 82 years) along with 8 elderly normotensive subjects. The study encompassed four 30-minute experimental periods (baseline, mental stress, and recovery I and II).

Insight in dementia: when does it occur? Evidence for a nonlinear relationship between insight and cognitive status.

Lack of insight or impaired awareness of deficits in patients with dementia is a relatively neglected area of study. The aim of this study was to evaluate insight in a group of demented patients with two assessment scales and to assess their relationship with the cognitive level of disease severity. Sixty-nine consecutive patients affected by Alzheimer's disease (n = 37) and vascular dementia (n = 32) with a wide range of cognitive impairment (MMSE = 17.