Characterizing the Heterogeneity of Aging: A Vision for a Staging System for Aging.

Older adulthood encompasses several decades of change and heterogeneity. Primary care providers need a geriatric comprehensive vision for defining older adult subpopulations. Using PubMed and Google searches, we reviewed the literature on epidemiology of age-related physiological changes, age-related diseases and geriatric syndromes, functional state, and emotional and social changes.

Neural reactivity parameters of awareness predetermine one-year survival in patients with disorders of consciousness.

: The current investigation evaluated the sensitivity of neural-reactivity markers of awareness versus standard clinical assessments in predicting 1-year survival in nonresponsive-awake patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC). Pre-attentive auditory mismatch-negativity (MMN) event-related potentials (ERP's), globally induced electroencephalography (EEG) spectral power following verbal command, and clinical parameters were assessed. The study included 10 patients with DOC with mixed etiology and 10 healthy controls (HC) at baseline.

Impact of Experience Corps® Participation on Children's Academic Achievement and School Behavior.

This article reports on the impact of the Experience Corps® (EC) Baltimore program, an intergenerational, school-based program aimed at improving academic achievement and reducing disruptive school behavior in urban, elementary school students in Kindergarten through third grade (K-3). Teams of adult volunteers aged 60 and older were placed in public schools, serving 15 h or more per week, to perform meaningful and important roles to improve the educational outcomes of children and the health and well-being of volunteers. Findings indicate no significant impact of the EC program on standardized reading or mathematical achievement test scores among children in grades 1-3 exposed to the program.

An overview of co-morbidities and the development of pressure ulcers among older adults.

Background: The prevalence of pressure ulcers particularly in the frail older adult population continues to be high and very costly especially in those suffering from chronic diseases and has brought a higher awareness to comprehensive, preventive and therapeutic measures for treatment of pressure ulcers. Internal risk factors highlighted by comorbidities play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of pressure ulcers.

Main Body: Focusing on the impact of common chronic diseases (comorbidities) in aging on pressure ulcers (e.

Rash induced by enteral vancomycin therapy in an older patient in a long-term care ventilator unit: case report and review of the literature.

Background: Oral vancomycin is a first-line treatment for severe colitis. Oral vancomycin is perceived to lack systemic absorption or systemic adverse effects; however, a few cases of hypersensitivity to oral vancomycin have been reported, all in hospitalized patients.

Case Presentation: In the present case, a 66-year-old woman with end-stage neurodegenerative disease residing in a long-term care facility developed a maculopapular rash following treatment with enteral vancomycin for recurrent colitis.

Age-Related Diseases and Clinical and Public Health Implications for the 85 Years Old and Over Population.

By 2050, the American 85 years old and over population will triple. Clinicians and the public health community need to develop a culture of sensitivity to the needs of this population and its subgroups. Sensory changes, cognitive changes, and weakness may be subtle or may be severe in the heterogeneous population of people over age 85.

Impact of Experience Corps(®) participation on school climate.

We examined the impact of the Experience Corps(®) (EC) program on school climate within Baltimore City public elementary schools. In this program, teams of older adult volunteers were placed in high intensity (>15 h per week), meaningful roles in public elementary schools, to improve the educational outcomes of children as well as the health and well-being of volunteers. During the first year of EC participation, school climate was perceived more favorably among staff and students in EC schools as compared to those in comparison schools.

The short-term and long-term impact of a brief aging research training program for medical students.

Summer training in aging research for medical students is a strategy for improving the pipeline of medical students into research careers in aging and clinical care of older adults. Johns Hopkins University has been offering medical students a summer experience of mentored research, research training, and clinical shadowing since 1994. Long-term outcomes of this program have not been described.

Exploring three perspectives on feasibility of a patient portal for older adults.

Introduction: It is not clear whether older adults with chronic disease and their caregivers are likely to use patient portals.

Methods: Older adults with a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or congestive heart failure were evaluated as well as their caregivers. We explored whether these patients and/or their caregivers were able to use common portal elements.

A tool to strengthen the older patient-companion partnership in primary care: results from a pilot study.

Objectives: To determine the acceptability of a pre-consultation checklist for older adults who attend medical visits with an unpaid companion and to evaluate its effects on visit communication.

Design: Randomized controlled pilot study.

Setting: Academic geriatrics ambulatory clinic.

Experience Corps: a dual trial to promote the health of older adults and children's academic success.

Background: As the population ages, older adults are seeking meaningful, and impactful, post-retirement roles. As a society, improving the health of people throughout longer lives is a major public health goal. This paper presents the design and rationale for an effectiveness trial of Experience Corps™, an intervention created to address both these needs.

Development and validation of a falls-grading scale.

Background And Purpose: The recording of fall events is usually subjective and imprecise, which limits clinical practice and falls-related research. We sought to develop and validate a scale to grade near-fall and fall events on the basis of their severity represented by the use of health care resources, with the goal of standardizing fall reporting in the clinical and research settings.

Methods: Qualitative instrument development was based on a literature review and semistructured interviews to assess face and content validity.

Potential for intensive volunteering to promote the health of older adults in fair health.

Volunteer service opportunities for older adults may soon be expanded. Although volunteering is thought to provide health benefits for healthier older adults, it is not known whether older adults in less than very good health are suitable candidates for high-intensity volunteering and can derive health benefits. This manuscript presents a prospective analysis of 174 older adult volunteers serving in Experience Corps Baltimore, a high-intensity senior volunteer program in Baltimore, Maryland.

Informed consent for research participation in frail older persons.

Informed consent has been the most scrutinized and controversial aspect of clinical research ethics. Institutional review boards (IRBs), government regulatory agencies, and the threat of litigation have all contributed to increasingly detailed consent documents that hope to ensure that subjects are not misled or coerced. Unfortunately, the growing regulatory burden on researchers has not succeeded in protecting subjects, but has rather made the consent process less effective and has discouraged research on vulnerable populations.