Multiple symmetric lipomatosis: a rare disease and its possible links to brown adipose tissue.

Aim: Aim of this study is an updated review of our case series (72 patients) as well as available literature on the Multiple Symmetric Lipomatosis (MSL), a rare disease primarily involving adipose tissue, characterized by the presence of not encapsulated fat masses, symmetrically disposed at characteristic body sites (neck, trunk, proximal parts of upper and lower limbs).

Data Synthesis: The disease is more frequent in males, associated to an elevated chronic alcohol consumption, mainly in form of red wine. Familiarity has been reported and MSL is considered an autosomic dominant inherited disease.

Senile anorexia in different geriatric settings in Italy.

Objectives: Anorexia is the most frequent modification of eating habits in old age, which may lead to malnutrition and consequent morbidity and mortality in older adults. We aimed to estimate the prevalence and factors associated to anorexia in a sample of Italian older persons living in different settings. Our secondary aim was to evaluate the impact of senile anorexia on nutritional status and on eating habits, as well as on functional status.

Ten-year trends in vitamin intake in free-living healthy elderly people: the risk of subclinical malnutrition.

Objective: To explore the trends of vitamin intake over a 10-year follow-up in a group of successfully aging elderly people.

Design: Longitudinal study.

Setting: City of Padua, Italy.

Pregnancy outcome in morbidly obese women before and after laparoscopic gastric banding.

Background: Increasing numbers of pregnancies are seen in obese women treated surgically with laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB). We compared their maternal and fetal outcomes with obese women without LAGB and normal-weight controls.

Methods: Sixty-nine obese women with LAGB (83 pregnancies) were compared with 120 obese women without LAGB and 858 controls.

Predictors of low bone mineral density in elderly males with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: the role of body mass index.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between nutritional indices (Body mass index (BMI), serum albumin), sarcopenia, bone mineral density (BMD) and the severity of their pulmonary obstruction in elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods: The method involved was a prospective transversal study; 82 males >65 years old, 41 stable patients with COPD and 41 healthy elderly individuals (controls). All subjects underwent spirometry, biochemical analyses and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Prevalence of aging-associated cognitive decline in an Italian elderly population: results from cross-sectional phase of Italian PRoject on Epidemiology of Alzheimer's disease (IPREA).

Background And Aims: The prevalence of the preclinical phase of dementia varies greatly, according to the diagnostic criteria and assessment procedures applied. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of cognitive impairment according to the Aging-Associated Cognitive Decline (AACD) diagnostic criteria in an Italian elderly population.

Methods: In a multicenter community-based prospective study, 4785 Italian subjects aged 65-84 years, randomly selected from the registries of 12 Italian municipalities, were assessed by personal and informant interviews, physical and neurological examinations and an extensive neuropsychological battery.

Ten-year trends in dietary intake, health status and mortality rates in free-living elderly people.

Objective: To explore the trends of food preferences and nutrient intake over a 10-year follow-up in a group of successfully aging elderly.

Design: Longitudinal study.

Setting: City of Padua, Italy.

Does religiosity protect against cognitive and behavioral decline in Alzheimer's dementia?

Background: several studies have shown that religiosity has beneficial effects on health, mortality and pathological conditions; little is known about religiosity in Alzheimer's disease and the progression of its cognitive, behavioral and functional symptoms. Our aim was to identify any relationship between religiosity and the progression of cognitive impairment and behavioral disorders in mild-moderate Alzheimer's disease, and any relationship between the patient's religiosity and the stress in caregivers.

Materials And Methods: 64 patients with Alzheimer's disease were analyzed at baseline and 12 months later using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Behavioral Religiosity Scale (BRS) and the Francis Short Scale (FSS).

Alcohol consumption and metabolic syndrome in the elderly: results from the Italian longitudinal study on aging.

Background/objectives: Although there is plenty of evidence of the association between metabolic syndrome (MS) and cardiovascular disease, the relationship between alcohol consumption and MS is still questioned. The few publications with respect to the elderly seem to indicate that alcohol consumption is unassociated with MS. The aim of this study was to assess the association between alcohol consumption and the prevalence and incidence of MS, as well as its components in a large sample of Italian elderly people.

Obesity treatment in elderly outpatients: predictors of efficacy and drop-out.

Objective: Obesity is increasing in the elderly and it is associated with an increased risk of medical complications, decline in physical function and disability. Very few studies specifically evaluated the outcome of obesity treatment in the aging patients. Aim of this work is therefore the evaluation of the efficacy of medical therapy in a group of obese patients >or=65 years old.

Weight loss and changes in use of antidiabetic medication in obese type 2 diabetics after laparoscopic gastric banding.

Background: Interest in bariatric surgery is growing as an effective method for long-term metabolic control in morbidly obese patients with type 2 diabetes. We analyzed the weight loss and changes in use of diabetic medication in obese patients with type 2 diabetes treated with laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB).

Methods: From 1993 to 2005, 1791 morbid obese patients underwent LAGB at our institution.

Serial position effect in a free recall task: differences between probable dementia of Alzheimer type (PDAT), vascular (VaD) and mixed etiology dementia (MED).

Here we report an investigation on the serial position effect (SPE) in elderly patients with early dementia due to different etiologies. The Rey's 15 words test has been used to evaluate whether different types of dementia show different patterns of immediate and delayed recall and of learning process. Ninety-four patients were recruited from the Geriatric Clinic of Padua.

Masked and white-coat hypertension in two cohorts of elderly subjects, ambulatory and hospitalized patients.

Blood pressure (BP) measurement in clinical assessment by means of a mercury sphygmomanometer (MS) has numerous drawbacks. It has been proposed that non-invasive, 24-hr ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (NIABPM) should provide more appropriate BP values for both the diagnosis of hypertension and for its subsequent monitoring during treatment. The aim of the present study was to investigate, in 100 ambulatory and 250 hospitalized elderly subjects, the prevalence of white coat hypertension (WCH) and masked hypertension (MH) in a cohort of older subjects, by using both clinical readings (MS) and NIABPM.

Resting VO2, maximal VO2 and metabolic equivalents in free-living healthy elderly women.

Background & Aims: Maximal VO2 (VO2max) and metabolic equivalents (METs) decline with aging due to body composition and cardiovascular modifications. However, a detailed evaluation of these variables for this population has not been done. The aim of this study was to evaluate VO2max and METs in healthy elderly women, and to establish whether the calculated resting VO2 (3.

Alcohol consumption and cardiovascular risk factors in older lifelong wine drinkers: the Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

Background And Aims: A protective effect of moderate alcohol consumption on the cardiovascular system has consistently been reported, but limited evidence has been produced on the association of alcohol with metabolic factors in the elderly. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between different levels of current alcohol consumption and cardiovascular risk factors in a representative sample of elderly Italian men, mainly wine drinkers.

Methods And Results: This is a cross-sectional multi-centre study on a population-based sample of Italian men aged 65-84 years, drawn from the Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging (ILSA) cohort.

Upper limb bone mineral density and body composition measured by peripheral quantitative computed tomography in right-handed adults: the role of the dominance effect.

Background: To investigate the impact on bone and muscle of pathological conditions involving only one of the upper limbs, it is important to know the physiological differences due to the dominance effect.

Aim: To evaluate any physiological differences between dominant and non-dominant upper limbs in terms of bone mineral density (BMD), muscle mass, and muscle density at different levels.

Subjects And Methods: The study considered 60 right-handed healthy adults, 30 men and 30 women.

The effects of weight changes after middle age on the rate of disability in an elderly population sample.

Objectives: To analyze the association between weight loss and weight gain after middle age and the prevalence of late disability.

Design: Secondary analysis of baseline data from a longitudinal population study.

Setting: Progetto Veneto Anziani Study.

Upper airway size is related to obesity and body fat distribution in women.

The aim of this study is to analyze the relationships between obesity, fat distribution and pharyngeal transversal area in women. Cross-sectional areas of the pharynx at the oro-pharyngeal junction and at the glottis and mean pharyngeal area were measured by acoustic pharyngometry in 145 women (age 42.9 +/- 15.

Reliability of body temperature measurements in hospitalised older patients.

Aims And Objectives: To compare different body temperature assessment methods in older people and to assess the role of cognitive and functional characteristics in temperature recordings.

Background: Axillary gallium-in-glass thermometers are commonly used. Their accuracy depends on the proper placement of the device and their permanence in place for eight minutes.

Fat-free mass and fat mass reference values by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) in a 20-80 year-old Italian population.

Background & Aims: To establish reference values for fat-free mass (FFM), the FFM index (FFMI), fat mass (FM) and the FM index (FMI) in an Italian adult population, developing percentile distribution curves for age brackets between 20 and 80 years.

Methods: A multicenter, retrospective study was conducted on a sample of 1866 healthy Italian adults, 1435 females and 431 males. FFM and FM were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Differences in dietary patterns between older and younger obese and overweight outpatients.

Background: Transitions from Mediterranean to Western eating habits has been observed, particularly in young people. Thus little information is available on food patterns consumption in overweight/obese Italian elderly.

Objectives: To describe dietary patterns in a sample of obese/overweight adults, providing differences between older and younger outpatients.

Lower extremity motor performance and body mass index in elderly people: the Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

Objectives: To test the association between body mass index (BMI) and lower extremity motor performance in elderly people.

Design: Multicenter, cross-sectional, observational study.

Setting: A sample of individuals aged 65 and older recruited for the baseline survey of the Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging.