Vaccines in Long-Term Care Settings: A Narrative Review.

Background: Older people living in long-term care facilities represent a particularly vulnerable segment of the population, who disproportionately bear the burden of infectious diseases, as recently highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Summary: Older long-term care residents typically cumulate several risk factors for infection and experience serious life-threatening outcomes once infected. These common infections are often compounded by the collective living environment, where it is more difficult to contain the spread of infection.

Gamified Physical Rehabilitation for Older Adults With Musculoskeletal Issues: Pilot Noninferiority Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: Resource-rich countries are facing the challenge of aging societies, a high risk of dependence, and a high cost of care. Researchers attempted to address these issues by using cost-efficient, innovative technology to promote healthy aging and regain functionality. After an injury, efficient rehabilitation is crucial to promote returning home and prevent institutionalization.

Life Course Education, Health, and Ageing Well: A Short Inter-Academic Report.

After the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the severity of the disease in certain countries was attributed to a lack of basic education of the inhabitants, the authors of this paper initiated a literature review of educational trajectories, health, and ageing well. The findings strongly demonstrate that alongside genetics, the affective and educational family environment, as well as the general environment, greatly interact starting from the very first days of life. Thus, epigenetics plays a major role in the determination of health and disease [DOHAD] in the first 1,000 days of life as well as in the characterization of gender.

Functional Aging: Integrating Functionality to a Multidimensional Assessment of Healthy Aging.

Worldwide, the number of old adults will peak in the coming decades. Relying solely on the chronological age to make treatment decisions and shape general or specific societal and medical considerations may reinforce ageism and lead to flawed reasoning. Defining physiological age using biological markers is not yet reliable, and an approach based on comorbidities without considering their impact on quality of life is inadequate.

[Ortho-geriatric rehabilitation: challenges and impact].

The risk of developing functional dependence rises with age. Following an acute event, a rehabilitation stay is often needed to restore functional capacities and consider home discharge. The geriatric rehabilitation process usually involves standardized multidisciplinary management, setting and frequent reviewing of the goals, and a discharge plan.

The Implications of Vaccines in Older Populations.

Mean longevity is increasing worldwide, with major consequences for public health worldwide, as the global population of adults aged over 65 years now exceeds the number of children under 5 for the first time in history. The ageing process over the life course is extremely heterogeneous, and it will be important to promote and enhance healthy ageing worldwide. Vaccination is a key player in the healthy ageing process, both at the individual and the community level.

[Age related dehydroepiandrosterone decrease: clinical significance and therapeutic interest].

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfate ester (DHEAS) are the most abundant steroids in humans, but their levels fall with age. This decrease has been associated with several age related diseases such as falls, osteoporosis, depression, atherosclerosis and sexual disorders. Moreover, studies have shown positive effects of DHEA administration on several of these disorders, with a satisfying safety profile.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation in nonagenarians: effective and safe.

Background: The number of nonagenarians is rising dramatically. These patients often develop severe aortic stenosis for which transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is an attractive option. The aim of this study was to analyze the outcome of TAVI performed in a cohort of nonagenarian patients.

[Dementia prevention: potential treatments and how to target high risk patients].

The burden related to the ever-increasing dementia prevalence in older individuals, imposes the implementation of prevention strategies. It is now known that brain lesions related to Alzheimer's disease precede the onset of the first symptoms. Consequently, prevention strategies should be implemented early, before clinically overt dementia.

A review of age-related dehydroepiandrosterone decline and its association with well-known geriatric syndromes: is treatment beneficial?

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfate ester are the most abundant steroids in humans. DHEA levels fall with age in men and women, reaching values sometimes as low as 10%-20% of those encountered in young individuals. This age-related decrease suggests an "adrenopause" phenomenon.

Effects of widely used drugs on micronutrients: a story rarely told.

Vitamins and trace elements are essential to the body, however, deficiencies are frequently observed in the general population. Diet is mostly responsible for these deficiencies but drugs also may play a significant role by influencing their metabolism. These effects are rarely assessed in clinical practice, in part because of limited data available in the literature.

A view of geriatrics through hormones. What is the relation between andropause and well-known geriatric syndromes?

Age related male hypogonadism, or "andropause", is increasingly recognized as of frequent occurrence in older patients. Diagnosis requires both the presence of clinical symptoms and low testosterone levels. However, diagnosing andropause in this age group may be challenging since symptoms are frequently non specific and testosterone levels are influenced by a multitude of parameters such as lifestyle factors and chronic diseases.

The prognostic significance of malnutrition as assessed by the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) in older hospitalized patients with a heavy disease burden.

Background & Aims: Malnutrition is common in older persons. However, it is unclear whether malnutrition diagnosed with the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) predicts mortality in older hospitalized patients.

Methods: We prospectively studied the impact of the MNA-short form (MNA-SF) and co-morbidities on long-term mortality in 444 patients (mean age 85.

[Anemia in the elderly: a frequent condition that should not be overlooked].

Anemia is a frequent disease in elderly persons, but is often undertreated and misunderstood as a physiologic consequence of aging. Nevertheless, its association with some negative clinical impacts is well known and widely documented in the literature.