Using a cognitive plasticity measure to detect mild cognitive impairment.

This study compared performance in two groups of older adults, one healthy and another with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), in order to determine whether or not they exhibit plasticity and to analyze whether or not plastic and non-plastic participants differed after a delay. To measure cognitive plasticity, the Spain-Complutense Verbal Learning Test (TAVEC) was applied to a total of 113 participants over 65 who were divided into two groups: MCI (N = 51) and control (N = 62). It was concluded that healthy participants performed better, but impaired participants also demonstrated some capacity for learning and plasticity, and it was shown that these improvements were maintained after a delay.

Effects of a reminiscence program among institutionalized elderly adults.

Background: Institutionalization during old age requires tremendous adaptability. Among the main consequences of the difficulty of adapting to the institutional context are prevalent depressive symptoms and low well-being. Reminiscence therapy has proven to be among the most effective at minimizing these outcomes.

[Child and adolescent development: common mental disorders according to age and gender].

Despite the increase in the incidence and prevalence rates of children and adolescents' mental disorders, there are few works performed with large and representative samples of children and adolescents with psychopathological symptoms. The present work analyses 588 participants referred by first care pediatricians to a specialized unit for children and adolescents' mental health. As a result of the study, a statistically significant relation was found between age and diagnosis: a larger incidence of behavioral disorders, communication disorders, elimination disorders, pervasive developmental disorders, impulse-control disorders from 0 to 5 years; behavioral disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were more common from 6 to 11 years, behavioral and anxiety disorders were more likely at 12 to 15 years; and, lastly, behavioral disorders were more prevalent from 16 to 18 years.

[Electrical stimulation in the treatment of the spastic hemiplegic hand after stroke: a randomized study].

Background And Objective: It has been claimed that neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) may enhance hand motor recovery after a stroke. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of an electrostimulation protocol on range of motion and strength of the hand in a group of elderly patients with spastic hemiplegia after a stroke.

Patients And Method: 20 elderly patients 60 years old and over with hand impairment due to stroke were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (conventional rehabilitation and NMES) or control group (conventional rehabilitation).

Comparison between Spanish young and elderly people evaluated using Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test.

The first objective of this work was to compare scores obtained in the daily memory function between young and elderly people, and to check whether there are differences between the groups for each of the profile scores obtained in the memory test. A second aim of this paper is to study the relationship between everyday memory and age, while controlling for gender and educational level. The total and profile scores obtained in the Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test were compared in a sample of 60 young and 120 elderly people from Valencia (Spain).

[Benefits of physical activity in nursing home residents].

Objective: To assess the effects of physical exercise on physical, functional and psychological dimensions in nursing home residents.

Material And Method: A quasi-experimental design was used to test for treatment effects in a sample of elderly residents in two nursing homes. The treatment consisted of 8 weeks (two 60-minute sessions per week) of light physical exercise.

[Comparison of psychological well-being among Dominican and Spanish elders].

Introduction: Well-being and its association with distinct factors have played a central role in the arena of psychogerontology research. Given the importance of this topic, the present study examined several factors that could influence well-being among the elderly of two countries.

Material And Methods: This cross-cultural study was based on a survey of two samples of elderly people, one from the Dominican Republic (N=1,296) and another from Spain (N=476), sampled, respectively, by stratification and quota sampling.

[An analysis of well-being and age in the elderly].

Introduction: well-being is a key construct for understanding quality of life. The aim of the present study was to analyze how well-being changes in old age and to determine if there are any modifications in this variable during this period.

Material And Methods: the LIS and EBR scales were applied to a sample of 169 persons aged more than 64 years.

[Factorial confirmatory models of Ryff's scales in a sample of elderly people].

Several recent works have analysed the factorial structure of well-being measures. The aim of our study is to analyse the factorial structure of a widely used well-being scale, Ryff's Scales of Psychological Well-being, but in a specific subpopulation of the Spanish population, the elderly. For this particular subpopulation, the construct of well-being has been employed in most theoretical models that explain quality of life, and its role is therefore pivotal.

[Analyses of the social networks for the elderly through the Manheim interview].

Objective: To analyse who are the people giving psychological and instrumental support to the elderly, as well as potential differences among these caregivers according to age and/or sex of the elderly.

Material And Methods: Manheim interview for social support was used to gather the opinions of 101 elder people (>65 years) living in Valencia (Spain), from January to May, 2006.

Results: Statistically significant differences were found on both psychological and instrumental support depending on age and sex of the interviewed elderly.