Pulmonary function in patients surviving to COVID-19 pneumonia.

Purpose: The aim of our study was to assess respiratory function at the time of clinical recovery and 6 weeks after discharge in patients surviving to COVID-19 pneumonia.

Methods: Our case series consisted of 13 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.

Results: At the time of clinical recovery, FEV1 (2.

Association between Cognitive Status and Physical Activity: Study Profile on Baseline Survey of the My Mind Project.

Background: The incidence of people with dementia is expected to increase significantly in the coming years, but it seems that there is a relationship between an active lifestyle and cognitive decline. The present study aimed to compare the characteristics and engagement in the physical activity (PA) of three groups of Italian elderly with different cognitive statuses at baseline phase.

Methods: Data were examined using the results from the "My Mind Project" on 305 community-dwelling Italians.

Factors associated with participation frequency and satisfaction among people applying for a housing adaptation grant.

Background: People applying for a housing adaptation (HA) grant are at great risk of participation restrictions due to declining capacity and environmental barriers.

Aim: To investigate the association of person-, environment-, and activity-related factors with participation frequency and satisfaction among people applying for a housing adaptation grant.

Material And Methods: Baseline cross-sectional data were collected during home visits (n = 128).

Metabolism and successful aging: Polymorphic variation of syndecan-4 (SDC4) gene associate with longevity and lipid profile in healthy elderly Italian subjects.

Evidences from model systems and humans have suggested that genetic alterations in cell-ECM interactions and matrix-mediated cellular signaling cascades impact different aspects of metabolism and thereby life span. In this frame, a genetic variant (rs1981429) in the SDC4 gene encoding for syndecan-4, a central mediator of cell adhesion, has been associated with body composition in children and coronary artery disease in middle-age subjects. In order to test the hypothesis that syndecans might affect life span by affecting metabolic endophenotypes, 11 SNPs within the SDC4 gene were tested for association with longevity in a cohort of 64-107 aged individuals.

Impact of telemonitoring at home on the management of elderly patients with congestive heart failure.

We studied the effects of home telemonitoring in elderly patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) on mortality and rate of hospitalization, compliance with treatment, quality of life and costs of CHF management, by comparison with a group receiving usual care. Fifty-seven elderly CHF patients were randomized to standard care or to home telemonitoring-based care and followed for 12 months. In the subjects who were monitored, weekly reports on their clinical status were obtained and their management was modified accordingly.

Prevention of cardiovascular events in early menopause: a possible role for hormone replacement therapy.

Heart disease is a major cause of illness and death in women. It is well known that there is an increase in cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular risk factors after the menopause, but it is still unclear whether the change in risk factors after the menopause is only related to the aging process or is principally due to estrogen deprivation. Observational studies suggest a protective role for estrogens, whereas recent randomized controlled trials report a negative effect of oral estrogens on primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular events.

Social and behavioural science perspectives on out-of-home mobility in later life: findings from the European project MOBILATE.

Out-of-home mobility is a crucial prerequisite for autonomy and well-being. The European research project entitled Enhancing Mobility in Later Life: Personal Coping, Environmental Resources, and Technical Support (MOBILATE), funded within the European Commission's Fifth Framework Programme, focused on older adults' day-to-day mobility and the complex interplay between their personal resources and resources of their physical and social environments. A survey conducted in 2000 in urban and rural areas of five European countries (Finland, The Netherlands, Germany, Hungary and Italy) with various geographical, structural, and cultural conditions enabled us to compare patterns of older men's and women's actual mobility in different regional settings.

Metallothioneins (I+II) and thyroid-thymus axis efficiency in old mice: role of corticosterone and zinc supply.

Thymic atrophy or thymus absence causes depressed thyroid-thymus axis (TTA) efficiency in old, young propyl-thiouracil (PTU) (experimental hypothyroidism) and in young-adult thymectomised (Tx) mice, respectively. Altered zinc turnover may be also involved in depressed TTA efficiency. Zinc turnover is under the control of zinc-bound metallothioneins (Zn-MTs) synthesis.