Gerontology
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Biomedical signal monitoring systems have rapidly advanced in recent years, propelled by significant advances in electronic and information technologies. Brain-computer interface (BCI) is one of the important research branches and has become a hot topic in the study of neural engineering, rehabilitation, and brain science. Traditionally, most BCI systems use bulky, wired laboratory-oriented sensing equipments to measure brain activity under well-controlled conditions within a confined space. ⋯ Furthermore, owing to large data volumes, signal processing of BCI systems is often performed off-line using high-end personal computers, hindering the applications of BCI in real-world environments. To be practical for routine use by unconstrained, freely-moving users, BCI systems must be noninvasive, nonintrusive, lightweight and capable of online signal processing. This work reviews recent online BCI systems, focusing especially on wearable, wireless and real-time systems.
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Mummies are human remains with preservation of non-bony tissue. Mummification by natural influences results in so-called natural mummies, while mummification induced by active (human) intervention results in so-called artificial mummies, although many cultures practiced burial rites which to some degree involved both natural and artificial mummification. Since they are so uniquely well-preserved, mummies may give many insights into mortuary practices and burial rites. ⋯ Indeed, the development of commercially available CT scanners in the 1970s meant that for the first time the 3D internal structure of mummies and bog bodies could be studied non-destructively. This article describes the history of mummy radiography and CT scanning, and some of the problems and opportunities involved in applying these techniques, derived for clinical use, on naturally and artificially preserved ancient human bodies. Unless severely degraded, bone is quite readily visualized, but accurate imaging of preserved soft tissues, and pathological lesions therein, may require considerable post-image capture processing of CT data.
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Community-acquired pneumonia is a common disease of the elderly and involves a high mortality risk. Demographic developments are creating new challenges for acute medical treatment strategies in geriatric patients with their underlying multimorbidity. In addition to the diagnostic parameters recorded on hospital admission, such as white cell count and C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, more than the risk scores CRB- and CURB-65 evaluated to date, appears to be a promising parameter for assessing the severity of pneumonia in elderly patients to allow early detection of severe courses and initiation of suitable treatment. The decisive factor is the dynamic course of the procalcitonin values over 3 consecutive days, as demonstrated in this case series.
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Multicenter Study
Caregiver fear of falling and functional ability among seniors residing in long-term care facilities.
Consistent with fear-avoidance models of falling and pain, past research has demonstrated that, among adults living in the community, excessive fear of falling and fear of pain result in activity restriction and predict functional outcomes including falls (possibly because self-imposed activity restriction, due to fear of pain or falling, can lead to muscular decline and deconditioning). Among seniors with dementia, who rely on others for their care, decisions concerning activity restrictions are made by caregivers. As such, caregivers' fear about the possibility of care recipient falls and pain is important to examine. ⋯ This is the first study to apply a modified fear-avoidance model of falls and pain to seniors with dementia who reside in LTC facilities. Our results demonstrate the importance of considering caregiver fears concerning falls and pain, when developing programs designed to optimize the use of physical restrictions (to prevent falls and minimize functional decline) in LTC facilities.
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Both age and dementia have been shown to have an effect on nociception and pain processing. The question arises whether mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which is thought to be a transitional stage between normal ageing and dementia, is also associated with alterations in pain processing. ⋯ The pain response system appeared to be quite unaltered in MCI patients compared to cognitively unimpaired individuals of the same age. Only the sympathetic responsiveness qualified as an indicator of early aging effects as well as of pathophysiology associated with MCI, which both seemed to affect the pain system independently from each other.