BACKGROUND To investigate the long-term effects of cholinesterase inhibitor (ChEI) therapy and the influence of sociodemographic and clinical factors on the use of community-based home help services (HHS) by patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS This 3-year, prospective, multicenter study included 880 AD patients treated with donepezil, rivastigmine, or galantamine in a routine clin...

OBJECTIVES A better understanding of the essential components of frailty is important for future developments of management strategies. We aimed to assess the incremental validity of a Comprehensive Model of Frailty (CMF) over Frailty Index (FI) in predicting self-rated health and functional dependency amongst near-centenarians and centenarians. DESIGN Cross-sectional, community-based study. ...

BACKGROUND The health benefits of bicycling in older adults with mobility limitation (ML) are unclear. We investigated ML and functional capacity of older cyclists by evaluating their instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), intellectual activity, and social function. METHODS On the basis of interviews, 614 community-dwelling older adults (after excluding 63 participants who never cycl...

Background: the functional status is one of the most important health measurements in the elderly. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of self-reported physical and mental conditions among Finnish Second World War veterans during 1992–2004. We also aimed to study the ability of these conditions in 1992 to predict the functional status impairment in 2004 and to determine whether the w...

The purpose of this study was to assess the predictors of functional outcome after right hemisphere stroke at 6-month follow up in patients with or without thrombolytic treatment. Thrombolysis did not predict functional outcome in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Lower acute phase basic activities of daily living (ADL) measured by the Barthel Index was a statistically significant...

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY To examine the longitudinal associations between 3 dimensions of religious involvement-religious attendance, use of religious media, and private religious activities-and 3 domains of functional status-limitations in basic activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and mobility in older adults. DESIGN AND METHODS Using the data from a...

OBJECTIVES This article compares patterns of association between cognitive functioning and a number of sociodemographic and health correlates among older persons in Taiwan and the United States. METHODS The study uses data from the 1993 Survey of Health and Living Status of the Elderly in Taiwan and the 1993 Study of Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old in the United States. Separat...

BACKGROUND Hospitalization for acute illness is associated with higher rates of mortality and morbidity, as well as functional decline, for older patients. We have previously shown that treatment in Hospital in the Home (HITH) results in less confusion and fewer bowel and bladder problems for these patients. However, it is not clear what impact HITH has on physical and cognitive function. MET...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Results from German and Greek non-interventional studies were compared to investigate possible differences concerning efficacy, tolerability and compliance between both countries. METHODS In two open-label, multicentre, non-interventional studies, 4,305 patients with mild to severe Alzheimer's disease (AD) were treated with daily doses of 20 mg memantine for 6 months. Efficacy...

BACKGROUND the existence of a relationship among inflammation, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and physical function has been suggested. OBJECTIVE the aim of the study is to investigate the possible interaction of HDL-C on inflammation and physical function. DESIGN cross-sectional study. SETTING town of Tuscania (Italy). SUBJECTS all the 329 community-dwelling older persons...