by Janusz Włodarczyk  and Alicja Włodarczyk

Received: 26 October 2020;  Published: 07 June 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2102171

Esophageal cancer is a disease with difficult clinical management, and palliative therapy is the only predominant treatment. This retrospective study analyses the results of clinical management of elderly patients (>75 years of age) who were treated with esophageal stenting for malignant dysphagia due to primary esophageal cancer, including squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), as well as secondary esophageal malignant strictures due to non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients with [...]

by Ethan Fitzgerald  , Dorian Mateusz Kusyk  and Nestor D Tomycz

Received: 02 December 2020;  Published: 30 April 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2102170

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia worldwide, and represents a significant cause of cognitive decline, disability, and mortality. Ongoing clinical trials continue to investigate β-amyloid targeted therapy with unclear benefit, and we are currently limited to symptomatic treatment. Therefore, there is a salient need for the development of novel, potentially disease-modifying therapeutic strategies such as deep brain stimulation. This manuscript reviews Deep Brain Stimulation in Alzheimer’s Dis [...]

by Scott A. Trudeau  and Megan E. Gately

Received: 08 February 2021;  Published: 30 April 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2102169

The Reading Buddies Program was developed as a service-learning component of an Occupational Therapy Practice with Older Adults course as a collaboration between Tufts University and the VA Bedford Health Care System. The purpose of this service-learning program was to challenge graduate students’ implicit biases and improve communication skills when working with older adults with significant cognitive impairments. Through this collaboration, occupational therapy students provided individualized, activity-based car [...]

by Gunasekaran Singaravelu  , Calvin B Harley  , Joseph M Raffaele  , Pratheesh Sudhakaran Sudhakaran  and Anitha Suram

Received: 27 January 2021;  Published: 29 April 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2102168

TA-65 is a small molecule telomerase activator extracted from Astragalus species. A previous observational study suggested that TA-65 decreased the number of immunosenescent cells in healthy subjects. Here we examined the impact of TA-65 in a much larger randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study. This study aims to evaluate the effects of TA-65 on senescent CD8+CD28- T cells in healthy subjects. This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, and multi-arm parallel trial in 500 healthy subject [...]

by Zena Aldridge  and Karen Harrison Dening

Received: 15 February 2021;  Published: 21 April 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2102167

The United Kingdom’s (UK) older population is higher than the global average. Over the next 20 years, England will see an increase in the number of older people who have higher levels of dependency, dementia, and comorbidity many of whom may require 24-hour care. Currently It is estimated that 70% of residents in nursing and residential care homes either have dementia on admission or develop it whilst residing in the care home. The provision of high-quality care for this population is a challenge with a lack of con [...]

by Danielle Brates  , Michelle S. Troche  and Sonja M. Molfenter

Received: 29 October 2020;  Published: 15 April 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2102166

Fatigue is a term commonly used to describe patient performance and/or subjective experience in the evaluation and management of swallowing disorders (known as dysphagia). There is an association between fatigue and aging, as well as fatigue and many dysphagia-causing diseases/disorders. Therefore, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are justifiably aware of and concerned about the potential impact of fatigue on swallowing performance and mealtime behavior. However, there is minimal agreement on and understanding o [...]

by Sophia Demeneopoulou  , Marianna Mantzorou  , Petra Mandysova  , Nikoletta Margari  , Eleni Dokoutsidou  , Aggeliki Tsiligianni  , Chrysoula Tsiou  and Theodoula Adamakidou

Received: 09 October 2020;  Published: 02 April 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2102165

Dysphagia may become a threatening condition if not diagnosed and treated at an early stage. Healthcare professionals require simple, rapid, and reliable tools for the immediate evaluation of dysphagia in their daily clinical practice. The aim of the present study was the translation and validation of the “Brief Bedside Dysphagia Screening Test-Revised (BBDST-R)” tool in the Greek language in a sample of patients with neurological disorders. The present study was designed as a cross-sectional study cond [...]

by Samuel Brennan  , Matthew Keon  , Zheng Su  , Bing Liu  , Xiao Min Song  , Thiri Zaw  , Matthew McKay  , Donna Pascovici  and Nitin K. Saksena

Received: 21 August 2020;  Published: 29 March 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2101164

There are no curative strategies for ALS, and as a result the alternative therapies are gaining ground, in particular the stem cell-based therapies which hold a promising future. Here we describe an ALS patient, who by choice, received allogeneic human cord-blood derived multipotent stem cells (MSC) intravenously and intrathecally. This is the first snapshot of pre-and post-stem cell transplantation in an ALS patient through transcriptomic, epigenomic, and proteomic follow-up elucidating the effect of stem cells in [...]

by Martine S. Bosma  , Monique A.A. Caljouw  , Jacqueline K. Benfield  , Laura Edwards  , Tanja C.W. Nijboer  and Wilco P. Achterberg

Received: 07 December 2020;  Published: 19 March 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2101163

Visuospatial neglect (VSN) adversely impacts both the length of rehabilitation and activities of daily living (ADL) of patients after stroke and can reduce their participation in community activities. Therefore, it is important to assess VSN after stroke in neurorehabilitation facilities. The process of assessing VSN comprehensively in current geriatric rehabilitation remains unclear. This study examined the process of VSN in post-stroke assessment emphasizing the details of the (systematic) routines and structure [...]

by Joan Weiss  , Nina Tumosa  , Robert Espinoza  , Elizabeth Bragg  , Jennifer Craft Morgan  , Jason D. Flatt  , Eleanor S. McConnell  and Grace Whiting

Received: 12 November 2020;  Published: 16 March 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2101162

This policy paper presents workforce development recommendations for research, clinical care and public stakeholders as they plan future research activities to strengthen the workforce to support the healthcare and social needs of persons living with dementia and their families and caregivers. To create these recommendations, the 2020 National Research Summit on Care, Services and Supports for Persons with Dementia and Their Caregivers (2020 Summit) convened a Workforce Development Stakeholder Workgroup. The Stakeh [...]