2018 Article Archive

November/December 2018

November/December 2018

• The Ketogenic Diet and Alzheimer's Disease
  Initially used to treat epilepsy, the ketogenic diet has been studied for its potential to influence the metabolic changes underlying Alzheimer's disease.
• Oral Health and Aspiration Pneumonia
  Oral care is a key intervention for reducing the risk of infection, adverse health outcomes, and fatality associated with aspiration pneumonia.
• Memory Loss and Medication
  Recent studies have found that some anticholinergic drugs boost the risk of dementia. On the good side, awareness can make such drug use a modifiable risk and possibly help reduce the incidence of dementia.
• Touch Your Toes! A Brief Measure of Executive Function in Older Adults
  A new method for measuring executive function overcomes prior limitations and adds generalizability to real-world scenarios.

Departments

From the Editor
Let Food Be Your Medicine

Clinical News
Diagnosing Elusive Arrhythmias

Medication Monitor
Hypnotic Risks in Older Adults

Innovations in Geriatrics
Treating Persistent Grief With Accelerated Resolution Therapy

Long Term Care
The Role of Social Workers in End-of-Life Care

Datebook

Vintage Voices
No One Has to Live With Gout

September/October 2018

September/October 2018

• When It's More Than Just a Cough
  With symptoms that overlap those of other lung diseases, nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease can be overlooked or misdiagnosed. Older adults are at particular risk.

• Malnutrition in the Older Adult
  Clinicians and caregivers in states all over the country can implement recommendations developed by a Malnutrition Prevention Commission for reducing the incidence of malnutrition among older Ohioans.

• Psychopharmacology for Geriatricians: Antidepressants and Antianxiety Medications
  Because primary care physicians prescribe more antidepressants and sedative-hypnotic medications than do psychiatrists, they need to know the unique reactions and needs of older adults.

• Crack the Migraine Mystery: It's Not Just a Headache
  More than headaches, migraines are complex conditions that present diagnostic and treatment challenges, particularly in elderly patients.

Departments

From the Editor
Taming Lung Disease

Clinical News
Nurse Practitioners Bring Back the House Call

Medication Monitor
Challenges of Discontinuing Antidepressants

Research Review
Sedentary Habits Linked to Memory Loss

Alzheimer's Update
'Beeting' Alzheimer's Disease

Datebook

Vintage Voices
A Meeting of Minds

July/August 2018

July/August 2018

• Fighting Racial Health Disparities in Alzheimer's Disease
  The notorious Tuskegee Syphilis Study, begun in 1932, has left a stain on medical research that remains to this day, dissuading minorities from participating in clinical research and thus hindering medical advances and health care in their communities. The consequences have been wide ranging and point to the need for strategies to eliminate health disparities.
• The Role of Polypharmacy in Swallowing — Its Implications for Clinicians
  Medications increase the risk of dysphagia, a risk that's multiplied and amplified in geriatric patients who take several medications. Clinicians must be vigilant about assessing medication use in older adults.
• Prediabetes on the Rise
  Along with rising rates of prediabetes are growing risks for renal and cardiovascular diseases. Research indicates that early intervention with intensive lifestyle modification can both slow the progression to type 2 diabetes and prevent or reduce comorbidities.
• Knee Osteoarthritis in Older Adults
  This painful condition is associated with high medical costs, lost productivity, and reduced income for sufferers. A new nonsurgical, regenerative solution recruits the body's own stem cells to enhance healing and reduce pain.

Departments

From the Editor
A Legacy of Shame

Innovations
Analytics in Palliative Care

Alzheimer's Update
Moving Toward Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease

Clinical News
Improving Warfarin Adherence in Elders

Focus on Fitness
Tips to Prevent Osteoporosis

Medication Monitor
Medications That Increase Fall Risk

Datebook

Vintage Voices
Neuroplasticity and Dysphagia

May/June 2018

May/JUNE 2018

• Frailty Syndrome: Identify and Implement an Exercise Regimen
  Providers can proactively identify frailty and develop a resistance exercise program to improve muscle strength and mass, which are reduced in aging and further decreased by frailty.

• Mediterranean Diet Improves Cognition, Memory, and Brain Volume
  Research indicates that a healthful eating pattern, such as that of the Mediterranean diet, offers a protective effect on brain health and is correlated with a decreased rate of cognitive decline and a lower risk of cognitive impairment.

• Providers Can Guide Patients' Use of Products Promoted on TV
  Providers can offer guidance to patients confused by television and online advertising for supplements that promise impressive inflated results when no evidence exists of their legitimacy.

• Brain Health and Dementia: Challenge or Opportunity?
  Recent research findings present recommendations for lifestyle modifications aimed at dementia prevention. Providers can play a key role in promoting these protective modifications.

Departments

From the Editor
An Ending; a Beginning

Medication Monitor
Poststroke Care Warrants Specialized Attention

Innovations in Geriatrics
Wearables Gain Traction in Elder Population

Research Review
Improving Elders' Driving Safety

Datebook

Education Guide

Vintage Voices
Caring for Serious Illness in the Community

March/April 2018

March/April 2018

• Enhancing Innovative Cognitive and Brain Networks
  The evidence-based Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Training, or SMART, cognitive training program for healthy older adults focuses on specific cognitive functions, including strategic attention, integrated reasoning, and innovation.
• Dementia Doesn't Invalidate Exercise Needs
  Aerobic exercise for patients with dementia produces benefits including a reduction in fracture risk, reduction in mortality risk, and mitigation of depression and anxiety.
• A Perfect Storm: Aging, Drugs, and Chronic Pain
  Chronic pain requires specialized scrutiny without which older adults' quality of life is affected, often resulting in depression, isolation, or substance abuse.

• How Physicians Can Help Prevent Elder Suicide
  Patients' severe functional limitations, disability, increasing dependence on others, and the fear of becoming a burden are significant risk factors for elder suicide. Physicians must make efforts to ascertain their older patients' mental status and potential suicide ideation.

Departments

From the Editor
Addressing Brain Health Proactively

Medication Monitor
Medication-Related Sensory Impairments

Innovations in Geriatrics
Treating Spasticity Following Stroke

Clinical News
Elders' Loneliness Constitutes a Health Problem

Long Term Care
Narrative Medicine With Older Adults

Spring Showcase

Datebook

Vintage Voices
Exercise Is Medicine

January/February 2018

January/February 2018

• Hepatic Disease: The ABCs of NAFLD and NASH
  Age-related changes in the liver combined with significant increases in chronic conditions such as obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes increase older adults' risk of diseases of the liver.
• New National Standards Improve Diabetes Self-Management
  Updated guidelines published by the American Diabetes Association provide a blueprint for successful diabetes management through enhanced education and support services.
• Parkinson's Disease Patients' Singing Improves Voice and Swallow Impairment
  Music therapy-based singing intervention demonstrates a broad impact on improving voice, respiratory control, and swallow while improving quality of life for persons with Parkinson's disease.
• Oral Health: Essential Element of Healthful Aging
  Members of geriatrics care teams must refocus efforts aimed at maintaining healthy mouths in older adults, not only for their physical health and self-image but also for the downstream cost savings associated with diseases related to poor oral health.

Departments

From the Editor
The Many Tentacles of Obesity

Medication Monitor
Biosimilars Can Reduce Drug Costs

Clinical News
Patient Data Safety for Dementia Patients Using Apps

Long Term Care
Palliative Care for Serious Illnesses

Nutrition
Osteoporosis Patients With Comorbidities: All Foods Can Fit

Alzheimer's Update
A Viruslike Protein Is Important for Cognition and Memory

Datebook

Vintage Voices
Palliative Care at Home: Better Care, Fewer Burdens