Combined Vitamin D, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, and a Simple Home Exercise Program May Reduce Cancer Risk Among Active Adults Aged 70 and Older: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

The aim of this study was to test the individual and combined benefit of vitamin D, omega-3, and a simple home strength exercise program on the risk of any invasive cancer. The DO-HEALTH trial is a three-year, multicenter, 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design double-blind, randomized-controlled trial to test the individual and combined benefit of three public health interventions. The trial was conducted between December 2012 and December 2017 in five European countries.

Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation, Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation, or a Strength-Training Exercise Program on Clinical Outcomes in Older Adults: The DO-HEALTH Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: The benefits of vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, and exercise in disease prevention remain unclear.

Objective: To test whether vitamin D, omega-3s, and a strength-training exercise program, alone or in combination, improved 6 health outcomes among older adults.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Double-blind, placebo-controlled, 2 × 2 × 2 factorial randomized clinical trial among 2157 adults aged 70 years or older who had no major health events in the 5 years prior to enrollment and had sufficient mobility and good cognitive status.

Effect of 800 IU Versus 2000 IU Vitamin D3 With or Without a Simple Home Exercise Program on Functional Recovery After Hip Fracture: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objectives: To evaluate 2 simple strategies, vitamin D and a home exercise program, in functional recovery during the first year after hip fracture.

Design: Secondary analysis of a factorial clinical trial. Patients were randomly allocated to 800 IU (standard of care) or 2000 IU vitamin D and a daily instruction of a simple home exercise program (SHEP) or standard physiotherapy alone during acute care.

Recovery after unilateral knee replacement due to severe osteoarthritis and progression in the contralateral knee: a randomised clinical trial comparing daily 2000 IU versus 800 IU vitamin D.

Objective: To test whether daily high-dose vitamin D improves recovery after unilateral total knee replacement.

Methods: Data come from a 24-month randomised, double-blind clinical trial. Adults aged 60 and older undergoing unilateral joint replacement due to severe knee osteoarthritis were 6-8 weeks after surgery randomly assigned to receive daily high-dose (2000 IU) or standard-dose (800 IU) vitamin D.

Statin Use and 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Blood Level Response to Vitamin D Treatment of Older Adults.

Objectives: To determine whether statin use alters response of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level to vitamin D treatment.

Design: Pooled analysis.

Setting: Three double-blind randomized controlled trials that tested different doses of vitamin D.

Monthly High-Dose Vitamin D Treatment for the Prevention of Functional Decline: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with poor physical performance.

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of high-dose vitamin D in lowering the risk of functional decline.

Design, Setting, And Participants: One-year, double-blind, randomized clinical trial conducted in Zurich, Switzerland.

Comparative performance of current definitions of sarcopenia against the prospective incidence of falls among community-dwelling seniors age 65 and older.

Unlabelled: In this study, we compare the extent to which seven available definitions of sarcopenia and two related definitions predict the rate of falling. Our results suggest that the definitions of Baumgartner and Cruz-Jentoft best predict the rate of falls among sarcopenic versus non-sarcopenic community-dwelling seniors.

Introduction: The purpose of the study is to compare the extent to which seven available definitions of sarcopenia and two related definitions predict the prospective rate of falling.

Calcifediol versus vitamin D3 effects on gait speed and trunk sway in young postmenopausal women: a double-blind randomized controlled trial.

Unlabelled: In this double-blind RCT, 4-month treatment with calcifediol compared with vitamin D3 improved gait speed by 18% among young postmenopausal women. Consistently, change in 25(OH)D blood levels over time were significantly correlated with improvement in gait speed in these women. No effect could be demonstrated for trunk sway.

Pharmacokinetics of oral vitamin D(3) and calcifediol.

Aim: Long-term pharmacokinetics after supplementation with vitamin D3 or calcifediol (the 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 metabolite) is not well studied. Additionally, it is unclear whether bolus doses of vitamin D3 or calcifediol lead to 25(OH)D3 plasma concentrations considered desirable for fracture prevention (30 ng/mL). We therefore investigated plasma pharmacokinetics of 25(OH)D3 during different vitamin D3 and calcifediol supplementation regimens.

Before and after hip fracture, vitamin D deficiency may not be treated sufficiently.

Unlabelled: Our findings show that only about 20% of seniors receive vitamin D supplementation prior to their index hip fracture or after the event. We further confirm the high prevalence of severe vitamin D deficiency in this population and show that those who receive supplementation have significantly higher 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) status.

Introduction: The aim of this study is to assess current practice in pre- and post-hip fracture care practice with respect to vitamin D supplementation.

Mild to moderate cognitive impairment is a major risk factor for mortality and nursing home admission in the first year after hip fracture.

Background: It is not well established if and to what extent mild to moderate cognitive impairment predicts mortality and risk of nursing home admission after hip fracture.

Objective: To investigate prospectively whether and to what extent mild to moderate cognitive impairment, contributes to mortality and admission to nursing home in the first year after acute hip fracture.

Methods: We enrolled 173 patients with acute hip fracture age 65 and older who reached a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of at least 15 during acute care after hip fracture repair.

Milk intake and risk of hip fracture in men and women: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.

Milk contains calcium, phosphorus, and protein and is fortified with vitamin D in the United States. All these ingredients may improve bone health. However, the potential benefit of milk on hip fracture prevention is not well established.

Fall prevention with supplemental and active forms of vitamin D: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

Objective: To test the efficacy of supplemental vitamin D and active forms of vitamin D with or without calcium in preventing falls among older individuals.

Data Sources: We searched Medline, the Cochrane central register of controlled trials, BIOSIS, and Embase up to August 2008 for relevant articles. Further studies were identified by consulting clinical experts, bibliographies, and abstracts.

Importance of vitamin D and calcium at older age.

We review the potential of vitamin D for the prevention of falls and fractures. Evidence from randomized-controlled trials will be reviewed for both endpoints, as well as epidemiologic data that correlates higher 25-hydroxyvitamin D status with better bone and muscle health. This review summarizes the compelling dual benefit of vitamin D on bone and muscle health, a concept that is unique and important for optimal fracture prevention at higher age.

Neuronal protection by bioactive nutrients.

Nutrition is a central factor in today's observed aging of the population. However, the good prospect of longevity is overshadowed by the high prevalence of mental decline in old age. The most prevalent form of neurodegeneration is Alzheimer's disease(AD) reaching a prevalence of over 30 % above age 80.

Prevention of nonvertebral fractures with oral vitamin D and dose dependency: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Antifracture efficacy with supplemental vitamin D has been questioned by recent trials.

Methods: We performed a meta-analysis on the efficacy of oral supplemental vitamin D in preventing nonvertebral and hip fractures among older individuals (> or =65 years). We included 12 double-blind randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for nonvertebral fractures (n = 42 279) and 8 RCTs for hip fractures (n = 40 886) comparing oral vitamin D, with or without calcium, with calcium or placebo.

Cardiovascular risk screening in school children predicts risk in parents.

Background: Since children have frequent contact with the health care system, while their young parents very often do not, screening children routinely might represent an important opportunity to target the young parents. We examined whether cardiovascular risk factors in children predicted the risk of their parents.

Methods: Five silent (hypertension, high triglycerides, high LDL-, high non-HDL-, and low HDL-cholesterol) and two clinical apparent (general and central adiposity) risk factors were compared in 2720 child-parent pairs from a well-defined sample of German elementary school children and parents.

The validity of clinical diagnoses of dementia in a group of consecutively autopsied memory clinic patients.

Background: Epidemiological studies show that up to 10% of individuals aged 65 years and older suffer from dementia, most commonly from dementia of the Alzheimer Type (DAT) (1). Clinicopathological studies are critical to our understanding of this disease and improving the accuracy of clinical diagnoses.

Objectives: Our objectives were to examine the validity of clinical diagnoses of DAT, to determine the prevalence of different forms of dementia in this sample, and to investigate the relationship between age at death and polymorbidity.

Severe vitamin D deficiency in Swiss hip fracture patients.

Background: Most clinical guidelines for the prevention of hip fractures recommend 800 IU vitamin D per day. This dose shifted serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels (25(OH)D) in previous studies to between 60 and 100 nmol/l.

Aim: To measure 25(OH)D levels and prevalence of vitamin D supplementation in individuals age 65+ with acute hip fracture.

Calcium intake and hip fracture risk in men and women: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trials.

Background: The role of total calcium intake in the prevention of hip fracture risk has not been well established.

Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the relation of calcium intake to the risk of hip fracture on the basis of meta-analyses of cohort studies and clinical trials.

Results: In women (7 prospective cohort studies, 170,991 women, 2,954 hip fractures), there was no association between total calcium intake and hip fracture risk [pooled risk ratio (RR) per 300 mg total Ca/d = 1.

Micronutrients and Alzheimer's disease.

The current high life expectancy is overshadowed by neurodegenerative illnesses that lead to dementia and dependence. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common of these conditions, and is considered to be a proteinopathy, with amyloid-beta42 as a key factor, leading via a cascade of events to neurodegeneration. Major factors involved are oxidative stress, perturbed Ca homeostasis and impaired energy metabolism.

Better functional mobility in community-dwelling elderly is related to D-hormone serum levels and to daily calcium intake.

The influence of calcitropic hormones on functional mobility has been studied in vitamin D (calcidiol) deficient elderly or elderly with a history of falls, however, data in community-dwelling independent vitamin D replete elderly are missing. We therefore assessed in an observational survey the association of calcidiol (25(OH)D3) and calcitriol (D-hormone / 1,25(OH)2D3) status as well as of daily calcium intake on functional mobility in older subjects We evaluated 192 women and 188 men, aged superior 70 years and living independently. Average Timed-up and go test (TUG-test) in seconds was taken as measure of functional mobility.

No association of a non-synonymous PLAU polymorphism with Alzheimer's disease and disease-related traits.

A 30 cM broad genomic region on the long arm of chromosome 10 at 80 cM shows significant and consistent linkage with AD and with plasma concentration of the beta-amyloid peptide 1-42 (Abeta42). The PLAU gene, which is involved in the production and degradation of Abeta42, maps to that region and is therefore a strong positional candidate for association with sporadic AD. We analyzed the non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs2227564 in two independent case-control series from Switzerland and Greece and investigated the influence of this SNP on cognition in elderly individuals.

Evaluation of the European Academy for Medicine of Ageing "Teaching the Teachers" program (EAMA course II 1997- 1998).

The European Academy for Medicine of Ageing, founded by professors in geriatric medicine, provides a geriatric education program for European postgraduate physicians in geriatric medicine who are future academics in geriatric medicine in their countries. The course is organized for 30 participants involved in four one week residential sessions over two years. The program of each session involves 20 teachers, and includes state of the art lectures, student's lectures and working-group discussions.