Experiences of community-dwelling older people with dementia participating in a person-centred multidimensional interdisciplinary rehabilitation program.

Background: There is great need for development of feasible rehabilitation for older people with dementia. Increased understanding of this population's experiences of rehabilitation participation is therefore important. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of community-dwelling older people with dementia participating in a person-centred multidimensional interdisciplinary rehabilitation program.

Effects of geriatric interdisciplinary home rehabilitation on complications and readmissions after hip fracture: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective:: This pre-planned secondary analysis of geriatric interdisciplinary home rehabilitation, which was initially found to shorten the postoperative length of stay in hospital for older individuals following hip fracture, investigated whether such rehabilitation reduced the numbers of complications, readmissions, and total days spent in hospital after discharge during a 12-month follow-up period compared with conventional geriatric care and rehabilitation.

Design:: Randomized controlled trial.

Setting:: Geriatric department, participants' residential care facilities, and ordinary housing.

Co-morbidities, complications and causes of death among people with femoral neck fracture - a three-year follow-up study.

Background: The poor outcome after a hip fracture is not fully understood. The aim of the study was to describe the prevalence of co-morbidities, complications and causes of death and to investigate factors that are able to predict mortality in old people with femoral neck fracture.

Methods: Data was obtained from a randomized, controlled trial with a 3-year follow-up at Umeå University Hospital, Sweden, which included 199 consecutive patients with femoral neck fracture, aged ≥70 years.

The ICF core sets for hearing loss project: International expert survey on functioning and disability of adults with hearing loss using the international classification of functioning, disability, and health (ICF).

Objective: To identify relevant aspects of functioning, disability, and contextual factors for adults with hearing loss (HL) from hearing health professional perspective summarized using the ICF classification as reference tool.

Design: Internet-based cross-sectional survey using open-ended questions. Responses were analysed using a simplified content analysis approach to link concept to ICF categories according to linking rules.

A voltage dependent non-inactivating Na+ channel activated during apoptosis in Xenopus oocytes.

Ion channels in the plasma membrane are important for the apoptotic process. Different types of voltage-gated ion channels are up-regulated early in the apoptotic process and block of these channels prevents or delays apoptosis. In the present investigation we examined whether ion channels are up-regulated in oocytes from the frog Xenopus laevis during apoptosis.

Isozyme profile and tissue-origin of alkaline phosphatases in mouse serum.

Mouse serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is frequently measured and interpreted in mammalian bone research. However, little is known about the circulating ALPs in mice and their relation to human ALP isozymes and isoforms. Mouse ALP was extracted from liver, kidney, intestine, and bone from vertebra, femur and calvaria tissues.

Active commuting reduces the risk of wrist fractures in middle-aged women-the UFO study.

Summary: Middle-aged women with active commuting had significantly lower risk for wrist fracture than women commuting by car/bus.

Introduction: Our purpose was to investigate whether a physically active lifestyle in middle-aged women was associated with a reduced risk of later sustaining a low-trauma wrist fracture.

Methods: The Umeå Fracture and Osteoporosis (UFO) study is a population-based nested case-control study investigating associations between lifestyle and fragility fractures.

Intracellular K+ concentration decrease is not obligatory for apoptosis.

K(+) efflux is observed as an early event in the apoptotic process in various cell types. Loss of intracellular K(+) and subsequent reduction in ionic strength are suggested to release the inhibition of proapoptotic caspases. In this work, a new K(+)-specific microelectrode was used to study possible alterations in intracellular K(+) in Xenopus laevis oocytes during chemically induced apoptosis.

Functionalized ZnO nanorod-based selective magnesium ion sensor for intracellular measurements.

ZnO nanorods were grown on a silver-coated tip of a borosilicate glass capillary (0.7 μm in tip diameter) and used as selective potentiometric sensor of intracellular free Mg(2+). To functionalize the ZnO nanorods for selectivity of Mg(2+), a polymeric membrane with Mg(2+)-selective ionophores were coated on the surface of the ZnO nanorods.

Growth and Structure of ZnO Nanorods on a Sub-Micrometer Glass Pipette and Their Application as Intracellular Potentiometric Selective Ion Sensors.

This paper presents the growth and structure of ZnO nanorods on a sub-micrometer glass pipette and their application as an intracellular selective ion sensor. Highly oriented, vertical and aligned ZnO nanorods were grown on the tip of a borosilicate glass capillary (0.7 µm in diameter) by the low temperature aqueous chemical growth (ACG) technique.

Physical activity in middle-aged women and hip fracture risk: the UFO study.

Unlabelled: In a population-based case-control study, we demonstrate that middle-aged women who were active with walking or in different physical spare time activities were at lower risk of later sustaining a hip fracture compared to more sedentary women.

Introduction: In middle-aged women participating in the Umeå Fracture and Osteoporosis (UFO) study, we investigated whether physical activity is associated with a subsequent decreased risk of sustaining a hip fracture.

Methods: The UFO study is a nested case-control study investigating associations between bone markers, lifestyle, and osteoporotic fractures.

Functionalised ZnO-nanorod-based selective electrochemical sensor for intracellular glucose.

In this article, we report a functionalised ZnO-nanorod-based selective electrochemical sensor for intracellular glucose. To adjust the sensor for intracellular glucose measurements, we grew hexagonal ZnO nanorods on the tip of a silver-covered borosilicate glass capillary (0.7 microm diameter) and coated them with the enzyme glucose oxidase.

The beneficial effects of exercise on BMD are lost after cessation: a 5-year follow-up in older post-menopausal women.

This study investigates whether the positive effects on bone mineral density (BMD, g/cm(2)) and neuromuscular function following a combined weight-bearing program are sustained in older women, a longer period after cessation of training. Thirty-four women (18 exercisers and 16 controls) aged 73-88 years, who completed a 12-month randomized-controlled trial, were invited to a 5-year follow-up assessment of BMD and neuromuscular function. Both groups sustained significant losses in BMD of the femoral neck, trochanter, and Ward's triangle during the follow-up period.

Increase in neurogenesis and behavioural benefit after chronic fluoxetine treatment in Wistar rats.

Objective: Disturbances in hippocampal neurogenesis may be involved in the pathophysiology of depression and it has been argued that an increase in the generation of new nerve cells in the hippocampus is involved in the mechanism of action of antidepressants.

Materials And Methods: Adult Wistar rats were treated with fluoxetine (10 mg/kg) 1 h, daily for 5 (subchronic) or 28 days (chronic) before the Novelty Suppressed Feeding test was performed. Cell proliferation and neurogenesis were analysed using the markers 5-bromo-deoxy-2'-uridine, Ki-67, and doublecortin.

Postoperative delirium in old patients with femoral neck fracture: a randomized intervention study.

Background And Aims: Delirium is a common postoperative complication in elderly patients which has a serious impact on outcome in terms of morbidity and costs. We examined whether a postoperative multi-factorial intervention program can reduce delirium and improve outcome in patients with femoral neck fractures.

Methods: One hundred and ninety-nine patients, aged 70 years and over (mean age+/-SD, 82+/-6, 74% women), were randomly assigned to postoperative care in a specialized geriatric ward or a conventional orthopedic ward.

A multidisciplinary, multifactorial intervention program reduces postoperative falls and injuries after femoral neck fracture.

Introduction: This study evaluates whether a postoperative multidisciplinary, intervention program, including systematic assessment and treatment of fall risk factors, active prevention, detection, and treatment of postoperative complications, could reduce inpatient falls and fall-related injuries after a femoral neck fracture.

Methods: A randomized, controlled trial at the orthopedic and geriatric departments at Umeå University Hospital, Sweden, included 199 patients with femoral neck fracture, aged >or=70 years.

Results: Twelve patients fell 18 times in the intervention group compared with 26 patients suffering 60 falls in the control group.

Induction of dopaminergic neurons from growth factor expanded neural stem/progenitor cell cultures derived from human first trimester forebrain.

Multipotent stem/progenitor cells derived from human first trimester forebrain can be expanded as free-floating aggregates, so called neurospheres. These cells can differentiate into neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. In vitro differentiation protocols normally yield gamma-aminobutyric acid-immunoreactive neurons, whereas only few tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expressing neurons are found.

A 1-year combined weight-bearing training program is beneficial for bone mineral density and neuromuscular function in older women.

Forty-eight community living women 66-87 years old volunteered to participate in a 12-month prospective, randomized, controlled, trial. The aim was to determine if a combined weight-bearing training program twice a week would be beneficial to bone mineral density and neuromuscular function. The participants were pairwise age-matched and randomly assigned to either an exercise group (n=24) or a control group (n=24).

KW-6002 protects from MPTP induced dopaminergic toxicity in the mouse.

The risk of Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with a lower intake of caffeine, a non-selective adenosine A2A antagonist. In agreement, genetic or pharmacological inactivation of adenosine A2A receptors in animal models of PD has demonstrated both symptomatic and neuroprotective effects. These findings and the lack of disease modifying therapies have led to intense research on adenosine A2A antagonists as a novel treatment for PD.

Migratory capacity of the cell line RN33B and the host glial cell response after subretinal transplantation to normal adult rats.

As previously reported, the brain-derived precursor cell line RN33B has a great capacity to migrate when transplanted to adult brain or retina. This cell line is immortalized with the SV40 large T-antigen and carries the reporter gene LacZ and the green fluorescent protein GFP. In the present study, the precursor cells were transplanted to the subretinal space of adult rats and investigated early after grafting.

Survival and long distance migration of brain-derived precursor cells transplanted to adult rat retina.

Neural precursor cells transplanted to adult retina can integrate into the host. This is especially true when the neural precursor rat cell line RN33B is used. This cell line carries the reporter genes LacZ and green fluorescent protein (GFP).

A transplantation study of expanded human embryonic forebrain precursors: evidence for selection of a specific progenitor population.

Neural stem and progenitor cells can be expanded under growth factor stimulation in vitro. It is likely that different mitogens and different culturing techniques selectively expand specific subclasses of cells, but this selection has not been well studied. We have expanded human cells isolated from the lateral ganglionic eminence (LGE) of a 10-week-old embryo in the presence of serum and epidermal growth factor.

Grafted neural stem cells develop into functional pyramidal neurons and integrate into host cortical circuitry.

In vitro expanded neural stemprogenitor cells can undergo region-specific differentiation after transplantation to the developing or adult brain, and display morphologies and markers characteristic of mature neurons. Here we have used patch-clamp techniques to explore whether grafted stem cells also can develop physiological properties of mature neurons and become functionally integrated within host neural circuitry. The immortalized neural progenitor cell line, RN33B, prelabeled with GFP by using a lentiviral vector, was transplanted into the cortex or hippocampus of neonatal rats.

Subretinal transplantation of brain-derived precursor cells to young RCS rats promotes photoreceptor cell survival.

The potential use of in vitro-expanded precursor cells or cell lines in brain repair includes transplantation of such cells for cell replacement purposes and the activation of host cells to provide 'self-repair'. Recently, it has been reported that the immortalized brain-derived cell line RN33B (derived from the embryonic rat medullary raphe) survive, integrate and differentiate after subretinal grafting to normal adult rats. Here, it is demonstrated that grafts of these cells survive for at least 6 weeks after implantation into postnatal days 21 and 35 retinas of normal and Royal College of Surgeons rats, a model of retinal degeneration.

Differentiation of the RN33B cell line into forebrain projection neurons after transplantation into the neonatal rat brain.

The rat neural cell line RN33B has a remarkable ability to undergo region-specific neuronal differentiation after transplantation into the CNS. To further study its neurogenic properties in vivo, we used a recombinant lentiviral vector to genetically label the cells with the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) gene before implantation into the striatum/cortex, hippocampus, or mesencephalon of newborn rats. Three weeks after implantation, about 1-2% of the GFP-expressing cells had developed morphologies typical of neurons, astrocytes, or oligodendrocytes, the rest remained as either immature or undifferentiated nestin-positive cells.