2017 Article Archive

November/December 2017

November/December 2017

• Home-Based Primary Care Transforms Health Care for Aging Medically Complex Patients
  Expanding the availability of home-based primary care services to some of the neediest elderly homebound patients increases quality of care while significantly reducing costs. A nationwide network has launched a program designed to educate providers interested in home-based primary care.

• Managing the Behavioral Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease
  Factors such as pain, medication interactions, and changes in circumstances can prompt undesirable behaviors in Alzheimer's disease patients. It's important to determine the source of the problem in order to identify an appropriate intervention.

• Addictions and Neurocognitive Disorders: What Counsel Can Primary Care Providers Offer?
  Addictive behaviors in older adults with neurocognitive disorders require specialized interventions as well as education for family members and caregivers.

Departments

From the Editor
Meeting a Critical Care Need

Medication Monitor
Transdisciplinary Professionalism Improves Medication Management: An Urgent Call for Heightened Awareness

Nutrition
Diet and Alzheimer's Disease

Research Review
Brain Activity Affects Fall Risk

Clinical News
Hydrogel Spacer Reduces Prostate Cancer Treatment Side Effect Risk

Alzheimer's Update
Breaking Down Barriers to Early Alzheimer's Disease Diagnosis

Innovations in Geriatrics
Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer: Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Datebook

Vintage Voices
Medicare's Chronic Care Management Services Help Meet Care Needs

September/October 2017

September/October 2017

• Vertebral Augmentation for Osteoporotic Patients
  For patients with osteoporosis who suffer from vertebral compression fractures, vertebral augmentation is an important option. Kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty can restore vertebral height and stabilize the fracture.
• Anorexia of Aging
  Older adults may not mention significant weight loss to physicians. Providers must become adept at identifying anorexic behaviors, symptoms, and treatment.
• Opioid Use in Older Adults: Care or Crisis?
  Effective evaluation and management of chronic pain in the vulnerable older adult population requires person-centered care. Comfort and quality of life are of paramount importance.
• Nutrition-Focused Physical Exam: The Micronutrient Deficiency Detective
  Identifying and treating older adults' nutrient deficiencies is essential to ensuring optimal quality of life.

Departments

From the Editor
Informed Decisions Improve Treatment Selection

Medication Monitor
Medical Cannabis: Continuing Controversy

Clinical News
Unmasking Overactive Bladder

Research Review
Death Certificate Accuracy: Why It Matters and How to Achieve It

Datebook

Alzheimer's Update
Predicting Dementia via Gait Slowing While Talking

Vintage Voices
Depression in Nursing Homes

July/August 2017

July/August 2017

• Top 5 Alternative Diabetes Therapies: Are Patients Undermining Their Treatment?
  Patients with diabetes often turn to unregulated and little studied supplements, foods, and alternative treatments. Such choices may carry the risk of real harm.

• SLPs Enhance Care for Dementia Patients
  Speech-language pathologists' skills enable adept assessment of dementia patients' communication abilities and specific deficits, facilitating development of care plans to optimize quality of life.

• Study Reinforces Walking's Heart Health Benefit
  A community walking program utilizing pedometers with tracking capabilities successfully improved cardiovascular risk factors in a group of older rural women.

Departments

From the Editor
Physician Scrutiny Benefits Patients

Clinical News
BE-FAST Improves Stroke Detection

Nutrition
Calorie Reduction's Influence on Healthy Aging

Medication Monitor
Deprescribing Improves Quality of Life

Long Term Care
Parkinson's Disease Psychosis in Long Term Care

Research Review
The Powerful Impact of Meals on Wheels

News Briefs

Datebook

Vintage Voices
Facilitating Dementia Detection in Rural Areas

May/June 2017

May/June 2017

• Boomers on a Bender
  Clinicians must recognize older adults' particular vulnerabilities to alcohol abuse. Studies show a dramatic increase in harmful alcohol consumption within this demographic.

• Bugs and Bones: Connecting Gut Bacteria and Bone Health
  Experiments in mice have found that gut microbiota regulate bone mass. Modification of these microbiota with probiotic supplementation showed a beneficial effect on general bone health under nondiseased conditions and reduced bone loss in estrogen-deficient mice.

• Differentiating Dementias: Focus on Accurate Dementia Diagnosis
  Failure to identify a patient's specific type of dementia can result not only in inappropriate treatment but also in needless excessive health care costs.

• Lifespan Planning Promotes Successful Aging in Place
  Providers should encourage elder patients to develop action plans to address unforeseen eventualities such as falls and hospitalizations that threaten independence. Communicating these plans can enhance patients' opportunities to remain in their homes and connect with community-based resources.

Departments

From the Editor
Boomers: A Unique Cohort

Medication Monitor
Vaccines and Autoimmune Disease

Alzheimer's Update
Tablet Devices Can Calm Agitation in Dementia

Long Term Care
Telehealth: An Untapped Opportunity for Nursing Facilities

Clinical News
Anticoagulation Therapy After a Major Bleeding Event

Vintage Voices
Care Planning Services for Cognitively Impaired Individuals

March/April 2017

March/April 2017

• Detecting Delirium
  Although delirium has been linked to persistent functional decline, increased length of stay with associated costs, a greater likelihood of nursing home placement, and higher mortality rates, it often goes unrecognized.

• Innovative Methods to Preserve Autonomy in Patients With Cognitive Decline
  Age-related cognitive disorders can lead to the loss of a patient's rights; however, providers must advocate to preserve dementia patients' autonomy, when possible.

• Differentiating Dementias: Alzheimer's Disease and Its Management
  The incidence of dementia, which occurs in several forms, continues to increase as the elder population expands. Properly identifying the type of dementia and promptly initiating appropriate treatment are essential to proper management.

• Insomnia in Older Adults
  Providers must recognize that sleep difficulties resulting in daytime functional concerns require identification and appropriate interventions.

Departments

From the Editor
Toward Defeating Delirium

Medication Monitor
Antianxiety Medications

Clinical News
Identifying Lewy Body Dementia

Research Review
GCH1 Gene Mutation Linked to Early Onset of Parkinson's Disease in Caucasians

Datebook

Vintage Voices
Self-Care: An Ethical Imperative in Geriatric Medicine

January/February 2017

January/February 2017

• System-Level Strategies for a Value-Based Medicare Annual Wellness Visit
  The Affordable Care Act includes provisions to pay for an annual wellness visit, but studies show a disappointing number of patients take advantage of this opportunity.

• Mobile Stroke Unit Brings CT Imaging to the Streets of Memphis
  The state-of-the-art mobile stroke unit significantly reduces the time from diagnosis to treatment, improving the odds of preserving functionality.

• The Far-Reaching Consequences of Untreated Hearing Loss
  Hearing loss in older adults negatively affects social, physical, and cognitive aspects of daily routines. Though hearing impairment can often be easily corrected, relatively few take advantage of available solutions.

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Treatment of Late-Life Depression
  Cognitive behavioral therapy emphasizes a focus on thinking patterns and behavioral patterns rather than on emotions. Another key element, behavioral activation, involves taking a systematic approach to identifying specific activities, situations, and people associated with positive mood and routinely scheduling them.

Departments

From the Editor
Optimizing the Annual Wellness Visit

Alzheimer's Update
Singing With People With Dementia

Medication Monitor
Telepharmacy's Clinical Benefits

News Briefs

Innovations in Geriatrics
Harnessing the Immune System to Treat C diff Infection

Nutrition
Sarcopenic Obesity — An Ominous Duo

Datebook

Vintage Voices
Elevating Caregivers' Relevance