Objectives: To summarize the delirium treatment trial literature, identify the unique challenges in delirium treatment trials, and formulate recommendations to address each in older adults.
Design: A 39-member interprofessional and international expert working group of clinicians (physicians, nurses, and pharmacists) and nonclinicians (biostatisticians, epidemiologists, and trial methodologists) was convened. Four expert panels were assembled to explore key subtopics (pharmacological/nonpharmacologic treatment, methodological challenges, and novel research designs).
Objectives: To summarize the delirium treatment trial literature, identify the unique challenges in delirium treatment trials, and formulate recommendations to address each in older adults.
Design: A 39-member interprofessional and international expert working group of clinicians (physicians, nurses, and pharmacists) and nonclinicians (biostatisticians, epidemiologists, and trial methodologists) was convened. Four expert panels were assembled to explore key subtopics (pharmacological/nonpharmacologic treatment, methodological challenges, and novel research designs).
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci
December 2024
Background: Climate change is expected to disrupt weather patterns across the world, exposing older adults to more intense and frequent periods of hot weather. Meanwhile, lab-based studies have established a causal relationship between ambient temperature and cognitive abilities, suggesting the expected rise in temperature may influence older adults' cognitive functioning. Nevertheless, it is not clear whether, and to what extent, the temperature variations in older adults' own homes - which unlike lab settings is under their control - influence their cognitive functioning.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci
December 2024
Background: Although the pathogenesis of delirium is poorly understood, increasing evidence supports a role for inflammation. Previously, individual inflammatory biomarkers have been associated with delirium. Aggregating biomarkers into an index may provide more information than individual biomarkers in predicting certain health outcomes (eg, mortality); however, inflammatory indices have not yet been examined in delirium.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Sociodemographic, lifestyle, and medical variables influence total testosterone (T) and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) concentrations. The relationship between these factors and "free" T remains unclear. We examined 21 sociodemographic, lifestyle, and medical predictors influencing calculated free T (cFT) in community-dwelling men across ages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Events such as global pandemics can force rapid adoption of new modes of assessment. We describe the evaluation of a modified neuropsychological assessment for web and telephone administration.
Methods: Telephone and video conferencing-based neuropsychological assessment procedures were developed and implemented within an ongoing observational study, the Successful Aging following Elective Surgery II (SAGES) study (N = 420 persons).
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci
December 2024
Introduced in 2010, the subdiscipline of gerontologic biostatistics was conceptualized to address the specific challenges of analyzing data from clinical research studies involving older adults. Since then, the evolving technological landscape has led to a proliferation of advancements in biostatistics and other data sciences that have significantly influenced the practice of gerontologic research, including studies beyond the clinic. Data science is the field at the intersection of statistics and computer science, and although the term "data science" was not widely used in 2010, the field has quickly made palpable effects on gerontologic research.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Postoperative delirium is the most common complication following surgery among older adults, and has been consistently associated with increased mortality and morbidity, cognitive decline, and loss of independence, as well as markedly increased health-care costs. Electroencephalography (EEG) spectral slowing has frequently been observed during episodes of delirium, whereas intraoperative frontal alpha power is associated with postoperative delirium. We sought to identify preoperative predictors that could identify individuals at high risk for postoperative delirium, which could guide clinical decision-making and enable targeted interventions to potentially decrease delirium incidence and postoperative delirium-related complications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe motoric cognitive risk syndrome (MCR) is a syndrome characterized by subjective memory complaints and slow walking speeds that can identify older adults at increased risk for developing Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia (ADRD). To date, the feasibility of community-based physical activity (PA) programs for improving outcomes in MCR have yet to be examined. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a translational randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing 24-weeks of PA to a healthy aging education (HE) control intervention delivered within the infrastructure of an urban senior center in Greater Boston (clincaltrials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of the transition of an outpatient center-based rehabilitation program for middle and older aged Veterans with mobility limitations to a tele-health platform.
Design: Non-randomized non-controlled pilot study including 10 treatment sessions over 8 weeks and assessments at baseline, 8, 16, and 24 weeks.
Setting: VA Boston Healthcare System ambulatory care between August 2020 and March 2021.
Objective: To assess the association between depression symptoms and physical functioning and participation in daily life over 2 years in older adults at risk of mobility decline.
Design: A secondary analysis of 2-year observational data from the Boston Rehabilitative Impairment Study of the Elderly.
Setting: Nine primary care clinics within a single health care system.
Background: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in prostate cancer (PCa) has been associated with development of insulin resistance. However, the predominant site of insulin resistance remains unclear.
Methods: The ADT & Metabolism Study was a single-center, 24-week, prospective observational study that enrolled ADT-naive men without diabetes who were starting ADT for at least 24 weeks (ADT group, n = 42).
In older patients, delirium after surgery is associated with long-term cognitive decline (LTCD). The neural substrates of this association are unclear. Neurodegenerative changes associated with dementia are possible contributors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Whether circulating sex hormones modulate mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in aging men is controversial.
Purpose: To clarify associations of sex hormones with these outcomes.
Data Sources: Systematic literature review to July 2019, with bridge searches to March 2024.
Technology provides new opportunities to understand and optimize the relationship between the home indoor environmental quality and health outcomes in older adults. We aimed to establish proof-of-concept and feasibility of remote, real-time, high-frequency, and simultaneous monitoring of select environmental variables and outcomes related to health and wellbeing in older adults. Thirty-four participants (27 were female) with an average age (SD) of 81 years (±7.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: The effect of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in men with hypogonadism on the risk of progression from prediabetes to diabetes or of inducing glycemic remission in those with diabetes is unknown.
Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of TRT in preventing progression from prediabetes to diabetes in men with hypogonadism who had prediabetes and in inducing glycemic remission in those with diabetes.
Design, Setting, And Participants: This nested substudy, an intention-to-treat analysis, within a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial (Testosterone Replacement Therapy for Assessment of Long-Term Vascular Events and Efficacy Response in Hypogonadal Men [TRAVERSE]) was conducted at 316 trial sites in the US.
Context: The effect of testosterone on depressive symptoms in men with hypogonadism remains incompletely understood.
Objective: We assessed the effects of testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT) in improving depressive symptoms in hypogonadal men with and without depressive symptoms enrolled in the TRAVERSE cardiovascular safety trial.
Methods: A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study was conducted at 316 trial sites.
Importance: The effect of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) on the risk of prostate cancer and other adverse prostate events is unknown.
Objective: To compare the effect of TRT vs placebo on the incidences of high-grade prostate cancers (Gleason score ≥4 + 3), any prostate cancer, acute urinary retention, invasive prostate procedures, and pharmacologic treatment for lower urinary tract symptoms in men with hypogonadism.
Design, Setting, And Participants: This placebo-controlled, double-blind randomized clinical trial enrolled 5246 men (aged 45-80 years) from 316 US trial sites who had 2 testosterone concentrations less than 300 ng/dL, hypogonadal symptoms, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) or increased CVD risk.
Background: Recent studies have reported an association between presurgical frailty and postoperative delirium. However, it remains unclear whether the frailty-delirium relationship differs by measurement tool (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To examine factors influencing loneliness and the effect of loneliness on physical and emotional health, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design: Prospective, observational cohort.
Setting: Community-dwelling participants.
Importance: Testosterone deficiency causes mild anemia. Whether testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) can correct anemia or prevent the development of anemia in men with hypogonadism remains incompletely understood.
Objective: To assess the efficacy of TRT in correcting anemia in men with hypogonadism and anemia, and reducing the risk of developing anemia in those without anemia.
Background: The Successful Aging after Elective Surgery (SAGES) II Study was designed to examine the relationship between delirium and Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD), by capturing novel fluid biomarkers, neuroimaging markers, and neurophysiological measurements. The goal of this paper is to provide the first complete description of the enrolled cohort, which details the baseline characteristics and data completion. We also describe the study modifications necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and lay the foundation for future work using this cohort.
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