by Vincenza Frisardi  , Sara Faroni  , Angela Bellani  , Felice Biagi  , Emanuela Galante  , Alida Balzanelli  , Erika Talassi  , Lorella Frittoli  , Giancarla Capiluppi  , Claudia D'angelis  , Antonella Taragnani  , Donatella Terzi  , Elena Podavini  , Graziana Gazzoni  , Graziana Simoncelli  , Carmine Matarazzo  , Mirko Avesani  , Antonio Ventura  , Consuelo Basili  , Maurizio Galavotti  , Carlo Maria Stucchi  , Maria Cristina Cilia  and Alfonso ciccone

Received: 31 October 2018;  Published: 27 February 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1901036

The WHO global action plan on the public health response to dementia 2017-2025 stressed the need to have a comprehensive approach with deep interconnections and cross-cutting elements through several action areas. As the elderly population grows worldwide, the number of patients with dementia increases rapidly because age is an important risk factor for developing late-onset dementia. Currently, dementia syndrome represents a true emergency. Once a diagnosis of dementia was made, informal caregivers, patients and t [...]

by Steven R. Brenner

Received: 29 August 2018;  Published: 26 February 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1901035

Alzheimer Disease may result from excessive stimulation of the innate immune system from development of underlying opportunistic infections and impaired age related self-recognition as non-self, due to immunodeficiency and immunosenescence, resulting in excessive inflammation and runaway Beta-amyloid production (a component of the innate immune system) causing cytosolic calcium overload. Excessive cytosolic calcium may cause over activation of calcineurin and inactivation of cis-trans prolyl isomerase (Pin1), with [...]

by Michael Fossel

Received: 31 December 2018;  Published: 15 February 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1901034

The consensus that cell senescence plays a role in age-related disease has prompted a number of potential clinical interventions, including attempts to reset cell senescence and attempts to remove senescent cells from aging tissues. The latter approach, senolytic therapy, has attracted considerable attention, but both theoretical considerations and published data suggest that the clinical benefits will be transient and that senolytic therapies will likely accelerate long-term degenerative disease. We review the ove [...]

by Marco Barale  , Ruth Rossetto Giaccherino  , Ezio Ghigo  and Massimo Procopio

Received: 31 October 2018;  Published: 14 February 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1901033

Background: It is well known that hypovitaminosis D has been associated with various cardio-metabolic disorders, though the pathogenetic link, if any, still remains unclear. Our aim was to evaluate in elderly uncontrolled non-insulin-treated type 2 diabetic patients with hypovitaminosis D, whether six-months vitamin D supplementation was able to improve glycemic control, lipid profile and blood pressure levels. Methods: In an open-label pilot study, thirty type 2 diabetic patients (age 71.5 ± 3.2 years, BMI [...]

by Rachel Mills  , Louisa Jackman  , Mithila Mahesh  and Ian James

Received: 12 December 2018;  Published: 11 February 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1901032

Background: Research suggests that the use of lies and deception is prevalent within dementia care settings, despite ongoing debates raised about the ethics of this approach. There has been increasing exploration of when and why deceptive practices should be used, but the lack of clarity as to what constitutes a lie has caused difficulty in ensuring that lies are used ethically. The aim of this study was to widen our understanding of the key dimensions that underpin the use of lies, and further to use this informat [...]

by Michael Fossel

Received: 29 January 2019;  Published: 30 January 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1901031

Telomere Editorial-Perspectives on Telomeres and Aging

by Anya Ahmed  , Paula Ormandy  and Maaike L. Seekles

Received: 15 November 2018;  Published: 24 January 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1901030

Background: Promoting a good quality of life for the oldest members of society has become a top priority as evidenced in UK policy. The ‘household’ model is a departure from traditional approaches to care provision since it offers person-centred support - combing health and social care - to older people in specially-designed, small, homelike environments. Having gained increasing popularity in care homes across developed countries, the impact of this model of service delivery on residents’ quality of life and its c [...]

by Elizabeth Orsega-Smith  , Stephen Goodwin  , Melissa Ziegler  , Katie Greenawalt  , Jennie Turner  and Erica Rathie

Received: 31 October 2018;  Published: 10 January 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1901029

Background: Research has shown that positive psychology interventions can enhance subjective well-being and reduce depression. However, the efficacy of these programs with older adult populations has been minimally studied. The present study studied the short and long term impact of an intervention enhancing happiness and overall mental well-being in older adults. Methods: The Art of Happiness is an 8-week program conducted at 2 senior centers in the state of Delaware. Each 90-minute class examined a different topi [...]

by Filomena Papa  , Bartolomeo Sapio  and Enrico Nicolò

Received: 31 October 2018;  Published: 04 January 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1901028

Background: Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have the potential to promote healthy aging and increase the quality of life of older adults. However, several barriers like access, performance, psychological, and privacy issues still exist against fully deploying ICT solutions for older adults. To determine useful methods to overcome such barriers, this work investigated the possible factors that prevent elders from directly accepting ICT services based on three field studies. Methods: The Unified The [...]

by Feliciano Villar  , Montserrat Celdrán  , Rodrigo Serrat  and Valentina Cannella

Received: 07 November 2018;  Published: 26 December 2018;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1804027

Active aging is a concept used to describe and promote lifestyles that contribute to a healthy aging process. However, these lifestyles vary widely, and the concept of active aging encompasses many activities. This paper considers two axes to classify the range of activities that can contribute to active aging: the resources needed to carry out such activities (low and high-resource needs) and the main orientation of the activities (self-oriented vs. activity with others). To illustrate this classification, three t [...]