J Gussekloo

..Very few older people with severe hearing loss use hearing aids to reduce the negative consequences of reduced hearing in daily functioning...

..Because studies on the association of sensory impairment (both hearing and visual impairment) and cognitive functioning in elderly persons yielded conflicting results, the authors explored this association within the Leiden 85+ Study...

..Despite the equivocal outcomes of randomized controlled trials, general clinical opinion favors screening and treatment of elderly individuals with subclinical thyroid disorders...

..Therefore, future therapeutic research will have to demonstrate to what extent influencing the cardiovascular risk factors can lead to the prevention of cognitive decline in the very elderly...

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..CONCLUSION: The combination of cardiovascular disease and a pro-inflammatory cytokine response may be associated with cognitive impairment and dementia...

..To investigate the discrepancies between outcomes for competence (can do) and actual performance (do do) in activities of daily living (ADLs)...

..This could explain sex differences in cognitive function in the oldest old. Whether limited formal education explains differences in cognitive function between elderly women and men was explored...

..Successful aging is a worldwide aim, but it is less clear which indicators characterize elderly persons as successfully aged. We explored the meaning of successful aging from 2 perspectives...

..Atherosclerosis may be linked to cognitive decline and depression in old age...

..Since treatments for atherosclerosis appear to be particularly effective in elderly people, we consider our finding of utmost clinical importance in possibly preventing cognitive impairment and late-onset dementia...

..This means that the prevention of atherosclerosis might prevent cognitive impairment and hence late-onset depression in old age...

..Especially in old age, apathy might be a specific neuropsychiatric syndrome separate from depression. There are indications that apathy in elderly subjects is related to vascular disease...

..CONCLUSIONS: Our data support the hypothesis that subjects with low IL-10 production levels have an increased risk of stroke...

..Because current guidelines on anaemia are based on the classic notions of the aetiology of anaemia, they may need to be revised for the highest age groups...

..To target preventive strategies in old age, which of the very elderly are predisposed to developing lower respiratory tract infections was investigated...

..Homozygous carriers of this mutation are characterised by a lifelong exposure to moderately raised plasma concentrations of homocysteine...

..01). C-reactive protein is a strong but nonspecific risk factor of fatal stroke in old persons. The data do not support the idea that C-reactive protein has direct vascular effects that underlie fatal cerebrovascular disease...

..In conclusion, we showed that given a moderately high direct response the additional effort was effective in increasing the response rate, but was also selective and was not necessary to prevent selection bias...

..The association of high serum concentrations of homocysteine and low folic acid with cognitive impairment in old age is likely to be a consequence of disease and not a contributory cause...

..68, s.d. 0.21), indicating diastolic dysfunction. In conclusion, among the oldest old, low systolic blood pressure correlates with low cardiac output. Systolic ventricular function is not impaired...

..However, recent studies indicate that penetrance of the C282Y mutation is low. We explored the association between the C282Y mutation, iron metabolism, and morbidity and mortality in participants of the Leiden 85-plus...

..A high innate IL-1ra to IL-1beta production capacity reflects a better ability to neutralize inflammation and may therefore protect against depressive symptoms...

..Especially in the oldest old, clinicians should focus not merely on common chronic diseases but particularly on general impairments as targets for diagnostic analysis and treatment to decrease walking disability...

..Warts are very common in primary schoolchildren. However, knowledge on wart epidemiology and causes of wart transmission is scarce...

..However, evidence for the effectiveness of any preventive intervention is lacking. Regarding primary prevention, it is also unknown which elderly are actually at risk of developing new cardiovascular disease...

..We investigated whether innate differences in cytokine response were associated with the absence of osteoarthritis (OA) in old age...

..The prevalence and severity of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in primary care patients with diabetes or hypertension is unknown...

..We investigated the prognostic value of elevated erythropoietin levels on mortality among very elderly people in the general population...

..To evaluate whether routinely performed ECGs in older people from the general population have added value for cardiovascular risk management beyond the information that is already available from their medical records...

..To explore the prognostic value of signs of prior myocardial infarction (MI) and atrial fibrillation (AF) on routine electrocardiograms (ECGs) at the age of 85 with respect to mortality and changes in functional status...

..However, the effects of vitamin B(12) and folate deficiency on the development of anemia in old age have not yet been established...

..Cryotherapy is widely used for the treatment of cutaneous warts in primary care. However, evidence favours salicylic acid application. We compared the effectiveness of these treatments as well as a wait-and-see approach...

..To examine the prevalence of concurrent depression and anxiety and its relationship with functional status, quality of life and mortality in individuals at age 90...

..GPs apply several treatments for patients with cutaneous warts. Available evidence recommends salicylic acid application...

..To examine yield and costs of two screening methods for depressive symptoms in subjects ≥75 years in general practice...

..Nested within the Leiden 85-plus study, a population based follow-up study of the oldest old, a sample of 81 nonagenarians was recruited...

..Muscle strength measurements could be useful as part of a clinical evaluation of oldest old patients to determine who are most at risk of accelerated decline in the near future...

..However, the oldest old population (i.e., over 85 years) is underrepresented in such studies. Our objective was to assess the association between muscular strength and mortality in the oldest old population...

..Although the greatest relative increase (2.2 times greater) took place in patients aged > or =80 years, these patients consistently had most room for improvement...

..To gain insight into the disciplinary verdicts on screening and preventive diagnostics and their contribution to the professional standard...

..The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the association between subnormal vitamin B12 concentrations and anaemia in older people...

..There is limited insight into the attributable effect of anemia and comorbidity on functional status and mortality in old age...

..To assess the home-situation of the oldest old regarding the ownership, use, and need for intervention of assistive devices and community-based services...

..To investigate the performance of classic risk factors, and of some new biomarkers, in predicting cardiovascular mortality in very old people from the general population with no history of cardiovascular disease...

..The behaviour of caregivers and patients in this control group should be influenced by the actions of researchers as little as possible. Guidelines for describing the composition and management of a usual care control group are lacking...

..08]; P < 0.001). In the oldest individual, high BP is not associated with renal function. In contrast, low DBP is associated with an accelerated decline of renal function. The clinical implications of these findings have to be studied...

..The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between home hazards and the incidence of falls in the oldest old population...

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..Together, our data indicate that KIR-expressing CD4 T cells are predominantly HLA class II-restricted effector memory Th1 cells, and that a significant, previously unrecognized fraction of effector memory Th1 cells expresses KIR...

..We conclude that a malfunctioning innate immune response predicts frailty in old age and is under specific (immuno-) genetic control...

..Depression in old age is associated with an increased mortality risk of cardiovascular disease but the mortality risk from non-cardiovascular causes is disputed...

..77; 95% CI: 0.68-0.88), while a positive association with IL-10 was found (RR = 1.22; 95% CI: 1.05-1.41). We suggest that cardiovascular mortality is a late consequence of evolutionary programming for a pro-inflammatory response...

..The 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) is a widely used screening instrument for depressive symptoms in the elderly, but its ability to detect alterations in depressive symptoms over time has not been established...

..This might influence the sensitivity and specificity of the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). Few studies, however, have included subjects older than 85 years to evaluate the GDS-15 as a screening instrument for depression...

..At least part of the association between high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and cognitive function is independent of atherosclerotic disease...

..Furthermore, they emphasize that variation at the APOE locus has a higher impact on the risk of dementia than on the risk of cardiovascular disease in old age...

..The influence of seasonal changes on mood and behaviour is called seasonality. The prevalence of seasonality in elderly subjects is unknown...

..To prospectively compare indicators of structural brain damage and total cerebral blood flow in patients with late-onset dementia, subjects of the same age with optimal cognitive function, and young subjects...

..CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that ADL-disability is more prevalent in elderly with low income. Neither prevalence of chronic diseases nor the association with disability could explain this...

..To study the impact of a history of hypertension and current blood pressure on mortality in the oldest old...

..To investigate markers of autonomic tone on a standard electrocardiogram in relation to mortality in old age...

..Within a population-based prospective follow up study of elderly people aged 85 years we show that a high innate production capacity of TNF-alpha precedes a steeper decline in muscle strength over time...

..In this study, history of falls and performance on an easy-to-administer single walking task identified old persons at higher risk for falling who could benefit from fall preventive strategies...

..Despite its negative consequences, little is known about the natural history of depression in the oldest old...

..These findings showed that low IL-10 production capacity (i.e., a pro-inflammatory response) is associated with the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes...

..The authors studied the relationship between the presence of depressive symptoms and all-cause mortality in old age, especially the potential distorting effect of perceived loneliness...

..Alternative approaches are conveyed: the use of age-dependent thresholds for different risk categories, the use of relative risk charts, and the search for better risk markers in (very) old age...

..We studied the association of gait speed and survival in a cohort of oldest old people and the association of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living by questionnaire and survival as an alternative prognostic marker of survival...

..Some studies have shown that short-term use of proton pump inhibitors decreases the absorption of vitamin B12, but the results of studies into long-term proton pump inhibitor use and vitamin B12 deficiency are inconsistent...

..05). CONCLUSION: Caregivers should be aware of the development of depressive symptoms when cognitive impairment is present. However, the presence of depression only does not increase the risk of cognitive decline...

..The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationships between low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels and mortality from specific causes among people in the oldest age categories...

..Because attendance rates and reasons for non-attendance in an unselected diabetes population are unknown, this study examines incentives and barriers to attend DR-screening...

..The aim of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of the Continuous Summary Physical Performance Score (CSPPS) and its relationship to the Quartile Summary Physical Performance Score (QSPPS)...

..We conclude that blood monocyte telomere length is not a predictive indicator for age-related morbidity and mortality at ages over 85 years, possibly because of a high degree of telomere length instability in this group...

..Data on the association between subclinical thyroid dysfunction and coronary heart disease (CHD) and mortality are conflicting...

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