Health needs of older people and age-inclusive health care in humanitarian emergencies in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review.

Health needs of older people in humanitarian settings are poorly documented, negatively affecting the appropriateness of health services they receive. This Review identified the major health needs of older people across humanitarian contexts, including non-communicable diseases and mental health conditions (eg, psychological distress and depression). Barriers to health care of older people included inaccessibility of health-care services; shortage of appropriate health care; insufficient availability of medications and medical equipment; poor geriatric expertise of health-care staff, health policy makers, and health authorities; and age discrimination by health-care personnel.

Loss of Pigment Epithelium Derived Factor Sensitizes C57BL/6J Mice to Light-Induced Retinal Damage.

Purpose: Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) is a neurotrophic glycoprotein secreted by the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) that supports retinal photoreceptor health. Deficits in PEDF are associated with increased inflammation and retinal degeneration in aging and diabetic retinopathy. We hypothesized that light-induced stress in C57BL/6J mice deficient in PEDF would lead to increased retinal neuronal and RPE defects, impaired expression of neurotrophic factor Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), and overactivation of Galectin-3-mediated inflammatory signaling.

High resolution imaging and interpretation of three-dimensional RPE sheet structure.

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a monolayer of pigmented cells which plays an essential role in visual function via its interaction with the adjacent neural retina. Typically hexagonal in shape and arranged in a mosaic-like pattern, RPE cells maintain a relatively uniform size and arrangement in healthy eyes. Under stress or disease conditions such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and other heritable vision disorders, individual RPE cell dysmorphia has been observed.

Oral supplementation with Nicotinamide Riboside treatment protects RGCs in DBA/2J mouse model.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to test whether oral administration of nicotinamide riboside (NR), the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) precursors, protect retina ganglion cells (RGCs) from neurodegeneration in DBA/2J (D2) mice, which is a widely used mouse model of age-related inherited glaucoma.

Method: Oral NR or NAM administration (NR low dose: 1150mg/kg; NR high dose: 4200mg/kg; NAM low dose group: 500mg/kg; NAM high dose: 2000mg/kg of body weight per day) essentially started when D2 mice were 4 or 9 months old and continued up to 12 months old. Control cohort identically received food/water without NAM or NR.