Letter and Category Fluency: Normative Data for Lebanese Older Adults.

Background: Verbal fluency tasks are frequently used for neuropsychological assessment in clinical practice and research. It consists of two tasks namely category and letter fluency tests.

Objective: To determine normative values in category (animals, vegetables, fruits) and letter fluency [Mim () "M", Alif () "A", Baa () "B"] tasks in Arabic language in 60 s.

An adapted Arabic version of the Test of Nine Images for the illiterate Lebanese population: Validation and preliminary normative data.

Objectives: In the absence of a simple validated instrument to screen for cognitive impairment among illiterate Lebanese older adults, the aims of this study were to validate an Arabic version of the Test of Nine Images (A-TNI93) adapted by the Working Group on Dementia at Saint Joseph University: Groupe de Travail sur les Démences de l'Univesité Saint Joseph (GTD-USJ) for illiterate older Lebanese and to establish normative data.

Method: A national population-based sample of 332 community-dwelling illiterate Lebanese aged 55 years and older was administered the A-TNI93 (GTD-USJ) scoring free and overall recall. The sample is part of a larger national sample (1342 participants) used to validate an Arabic version of the Mini-Mental State Examination already reported.

Nicotine Use Disorder in Older Adults.

Nicotine is one of the most abused substances worldwide. Just as in adolescence and adulthood, tobacco use is also problematic in the elderly. Older people are more vulnerable to smoking consequences because of the additive effects of smoke.

An Arabic Version of the Mini-Mental State Examination for the Lebanese Population: Reliability, Validity, and Normative Data.

Background: The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) has not been validated in the Lebanese population and no normative data exist at the national level.

Objective: To evaluate the reliability and validity of an Arabic version of MMSE developed by the "Groupe de Travail sur les Démences de l'Université Saint Joseph" (A-MMSE(GTD-USJ)) and to provide normative data by gender, age, and education in adults over 55.

Methods: Study design: national cross-sectional survey.

WHAT IS THE HEALTH STATUS OF INSTITUTIONALIZED ELDERLY IN LEBANON? A Preliminary Cross-Sectional National Survey.

Background: Medical conditions and depen- dency levels of the elderly in the Lebanese long-term care institutions have not been described. This may undermine care commissioning and development to institutionalized elderly. Data to inform policy and practice are needed.

Real-world evaluation of compliance and preference in Alzheimer's disease treatment.

Purpose: Rivastigmine transdermal patch has shown higher caregiver satisfaction and greater preference than oral formulation in patients with Alzheimer's disease. However, there is limited literature available related to caregiver preference or treatment compliance in real-world clinical settings. To date, no such data are available from Asia and the Middle East, which account for a sizeable proportion of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Validation of the 10/66 Dementia Research Group diagnostic assessment for dementia in Arabic: a study in Lebanon.

Objectives: In the North Africa and Middle East region, the illiteracy rates among older people are high, posing a great challenge to cognitive assessment. Validated diagnostic instruments for dementia in Arabic are lacking, hampering the development of dementia research in the region. The study aimed at validating the Arabic version of the 10/66 Dementia Research Group (DRG) diagnostic assessment for dementia to determine whether it is suitable for case ascertainment in epidemiological research.

Late-onset hypogonadism.

Late-onset hypogonadism is a clinical and biological syndrome associated with advancing age and characterized by typical symptoms and a deficiency in serum testosterone levels. It is a common condition but often underdiagnosed and undertreated. The main symptoms of hypogonadism are reduced libido/erectile dysfunction, reduced muscle mass and strength, increased adiposity, osteoporosis/low bone mass, depressed mood, and fatigue.

An ACE unit with a delirium room may improve function and equalize length of stay among older delirious medical inpatients.

Background: Patients with delirium, compared with those without, are at increased risk for loss of function, longer hospital stays, and increased mortality. We studied the effect that an Acute Care of the Elderly Unit, which includes a delirium room, has on patients with delirium.

Methods: Retrospective observational study.

Memantine ER, a once-daily formulation for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Importance Of The Field: Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative brain disease. As the disease progresses, patients and caregivers face increasing problems with medication adherence. Given its relentlessly progressive nature, newer and more effective therapies for Alzheimer's disease are needed.

Late-life onset hypogonadism: a review.

Increased longevity and population aging will increase the number of men with late-onset hypogonadism, a common condition that is often under diagnosed and under treated. The indication of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) treatment requires the presence of low testosterone level and symptoms and signs of hypogonadism. Although there is a lack of large-scale, long-term studies assessing the benefits and risks of TRT in men with hypogonadism, reports indicate that TRT may produce a wide range of benefits that include improvement in libido and sexual function, bone density, muscle mass, body composition, mood, erythropoiesis, cognition, quality of life, and cardiovascular disease.

Endocrine aspects of healthy brain aging.

There is a long history of hormones altering behavior and endocrinopathies playing a role in psychiatric disease. This article highlights the hormonal changes that occur with aging and the effects of these hormonal changes on the brain, concentrating not on the well-known psychiatric manifestations of endocrine diseases, but on the more subtle effects of hormones and metabolic alteration seen in many older persons. The article focuses predominately on the role of hormones in cognition, as dementia and mild cognitive impairment are major problems in the older individual.

The benefits and risks of testosterone replacement therapy: a review.

Increased longevity and population aging will increase the number of men with late onset hypogonadism. It is a common condition, but often underdiagnosed and undertreated. The indication of testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT) treatment requires the presence of low testosterone level, and symptoms and signs of hypogonadism.

Novel regimens and delivery systems in the pharmacological treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

The mainstay of current management of patients with Alzheimer's disease involves drugs that provide symptomatic therapy. Research approaches for future therapy of Alzheimer's disease are focusing on disease modifying and/or preventive approaches. Two classes of medications have been approved by the US FDA for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease: the cholinesterase inhibitors (tacrine, donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine), mostly for mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease, and the noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist memantine for the moderate to severe stages of Alzheimer's disease.