An Analysis of Geriatric Medicine in Malaysia-Riding the Wave of Political Change.

Malaysia became the centre of international attention when it democratically removed a semi-authoritarian government of 62 years during its 14th general election this year. This electoral success has provided geriatric medicine in Malaysia with a high-impact ageing icon by installing the oldest prime minister in the world. A wave of optimism for the expansion of geriatric services in Malaysia, which met with numerous challenges in the last two decades, has emerged as a result of this political change.

The Asia-Pacific Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Frailty.

Objective: To develop Clinical Practice Guidelines for the screening, assessment and management of the geriatric condition of frailty.

Methods: An adapted Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach was used to develop the guidelines. This process involved detailed evaluation of the current scientific evidence paired with expert panel interpretation.

Metabolomic-guided discovery of Alzheimer's disease biomarkers from body fluid.

The rapid increase in the older population has made age-related diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD) a global concern. Given that there is still no cure for this neurodegenerative disease, the drastic growth in the number of susceptible individuals represents a major emerging threat to public health. The poor understanding of the mechanisms underlying AD is deemed the greatest stumbling block against progress in definitive diagnosis and management of this disease.

Normative data for hand grip strength and key pinch strength, stratified by age and gender for a multiethnic Asian population.

Introduction: Hand strength is a good indicator of physical fitness and frailty among the elderly. However, there are no published hand strength references for Malaysians aged > 65 years. This study aimed to establish normative data for hand grip strength (HGS) and key pinch strength (KPS) for Malaysians aged ≥ 60 years, and explore the relationship between hand strength and physical ability.

Peripheral cytokines, C-X-C motif ligand10 and interleukin-13, are associated with Malaysian Alzheimer's disease.

Aim: Cytokines released from chronically-activated microglia could result in neuroinflammation. An accurate profile of the relationship between cytokines and Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis, as well as the patterns of these inflammatory mediators in AD patients could lead to the identification of peripheral markers for the disease. The present study was undertaken to identify pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines associated with AD in the Malaysian population.

Ten-year mortality in older patients attending the emergency department after a fall.

Aim: To determine the dependency scores, long-term mortality and factors associated with mortality in older people presenting to the emergency department (ED) with a fall.

Methods: Information on sociodemographics, dependency using the Barthel index and fall characteristics were collected from consecutive patients attending the ED over a 6-month period. Barthel score was reassessed at 12 months.

Colonoscopy in elderly Asians: a prospective evaluation in routine clinical practice.

Objective: Colonoscopy is believed to be more complicated in elderly patients in Western countries. It is uncertain if the situation holds true among Asians. This study is to determine differences in colonoscopy performance and sedation complications between patients aged<65 years and those>or=65 years of age in an Asian population.