Group fitness activities for the elderly: an innovative approach to reduce falls and injuries.

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the opportunity to adopt, for the elderly, already validated function ability tests to better understand how to prevent falls and injuries and to better plan group fitness activities like ballroom dance classes (e.g., Valzer, Polka, Mazurka).

Association of total serum cholesterol with functional outcome following home care rehabilitation in Italian patients with stroke.

Background: Stroke is a disabling disease. In elderly populations, stroke is the third leading cause of death and the primary cause of reduction in or loss of functional ability and personal autonomy. Possible associations between levels of total serum cholesterol (TC) and both incidence of stroke and functional outcomes after rehabilitation are still under study.

Colonization of pressure ulcers by multidrug-resistant microorganisms in patients receiving home care.

Colonization and/or infection with multidrug-resistant microorganisms (MDRO) of pressure ulcers in patients receiving care at home have seldom been investigated. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of MDRO colonization in pressure ulcers of patients receiving home care in Palermo, Italy. Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacilli (MDRGN) were isolated, identified, and characterized from pressure ulcers and selected home environment surfaces.

Depression and recovery of daily life autonomy in patients with stroke receiving home rehabilitative treatment.

Background: The object of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of post stroke depression and its possible role as a predictive negative factor in patients receiving home rehabilitation treatment.

Methods: We analyzed 103 patients with stroke by correlating comorbidities, clinical and blood test parameters and characteristics of the lesion with depression class identified according to the Hamilton scale and the outcome of the rehabilitation program.

Results: A significant association between hypertension and post-stroke severe depression emerged in the female patients.