Prospective study of progression of kidney dysfunction in community-dwelling older adults.

Aim: Few prospective studies have assessed renal dysfunction in older persons. We sought to define kidney dysfunction among a community-based cohort of elderly subjects and to determine the factors for its progression.

Methods: The Epidemiologia do Idoso (EPIDOSO) Study is a prospective study of individuals > or =65 years old (mean 72.

Prognosis of ARF in hospitalized elderly patients.

Background: Differentiation between hospital-acquired acute renal failure (ARF) and community-acquired ARF may have epidemiological implications that lead to different prognoses in hospitalized patients. Such a comparison has not yet been made among elderly individuals.

Methods: We performed a 3-year prospective study in a tertiary referral hospital of 325 patients aged 60 years or older who presented with ARF.

Development of geriatrics-oriented faculty in general internal medicine.

The need for adequate geriatrics training for the physician workforce has been recognized for decades. However, there are not enough academic geriatricians to provide for the educational needs of trainees, and this situation is not expected to change in the future. General internists are often responsible for teaching medical students and internal medicine residents to care for elderly patients in inpatient and ambulatory settings.

Dementia: when is it not Alzheimer disease?

The advent of symptomatic therapies for Alzheimer disease has placed increasing emphasis on early diagnosis of the dementia syndrome and its various types. This article reviews the definition and epidemiology of the condition that affects up to 50% of all Americans over the age of 80. Also discussed are the main causes of dementia, focusing on those that are not Alzheimer disease and a diagnostic approach that is based on guidelines recently published by the American Academy of Neurology.