by Philipp R. Amiet  and Giuseppe Cocco

Received: 16 January 2021;  Published: 28 July 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2103178

Atrial fibrillation is very common in most old patients who need an adapted therapy due to their comorbidities. Before initiating an antiarrhythmic therapy, possible adverse effects, especially iatrogenic proarrhythmia, and extracardiac side-effects, must be considered. In geriatric patients with atrial fibrillation, heart rate control is the most frequent therapy. Oral anticoagulation plays a vital role in the therapy, but anticoagulation in old patients, who had a bleeding or stroke event, is challenging. Availab [...]

by Morisaki Naoko

Received: 23 October 2020;  Published: 28 July 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2103177

Objective: The present study aimed to elucidate the relationship between oral exercise and oral function among older adults requiring care in the nursing facilities of Japan. Methodology: The subjects were adults aged 65 years or above, requiring care and admitted to the nursing facilities for older adults in Japan. The subjects performed the assigned oral exercises, which included the exercises focused on the neck, shoulder, upper limbs, tongue, lips, cheek movement, vocalization, and deep breathing, in groups und [...]

by XinRan Quan  and Marica Bakovic

Received: 21 December 2020;  Published: 21 July 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2103176

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are a diverse group of neuropathological diseases that are currently incurable due to the irreversible neuronal loss. At the present rate of the world population growth, it is projected that the number of ND cases will double by the year of 2050. With treatments only available for symptom management and relief, disease prevention may yield significant benefits. Recently, there had been association drawn between the disruption of phospholipid (PL) homeostasis and the progression of N [...]

by Melissa M Howard  , Justin Phillips  , Stefan Henley  , Sarah E. Green  and Emily R. Rosario

Received: 01 November 2020;  Published: 07 July 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2103175

Anterior cervical osteophytes are common in the geriatric population. Dysphagia can occur in individuals suffering from these spinal abnormalities. Surgical intervention is an uncommon course of treatment for these patients, but is often utilized as a last resort with the hope of swallow recovery. The purpose of this article is to highlight a unique case study documenting the required treatment course for dysphagia associated with osteophytes and subsequent osteophytectomy. We review current literature of both cons [...]

by Asaad G Ishak  , Sundar V Cherukuri  , GianCarlo Diaz  and Richard McCallum

Received: 25 January 2021;  Published: 02 July 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2103174

Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, is a common condition, especially among the elderly population and can become debilitating. As we age, there are subtle changes in esophageal motility, but by no means is dysphagia ever considered to be a normal result of aging. Dysphagia usually presents with a variety of accompanying symptoms ranging from regurgitation during meals, mild discomfort, to severe chest pain. It can be challenging to localize the dysphagia from the history. The underlying etiology may become eviden [...]

by Jacqueline Lamond  and Charles L. Shapiro

Received: 07 December 2020;  Published: 05 July 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2103173

Breast cancer and osteoporosis are both diseases of aging. The "one in eight" lifetime risks of breast cancer occur primarily in the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth decades of life. One-third of postmenopausal women will experience an osteoporotic fracture. It is the coalescence of osteoporosis, breast cancer, and breast cancer treatments that, in some cases, increases the risks of osteoporotic fracture. That makes it imperative to assess risk factors, screen, and prevent or treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal w [...]

by Melodee Harris  , Priya Mendiratta  , Gohar Azhar  , Ruofei Du  and Jing Jin

Received: 24 November 2020;  Published: 15 June 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2102172

Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) occur in almost all persons living with dementia. Antipsychotic medications are often prescribed inappropriately for persons living with dementia who experience NPS. Adverse side effects of antipsychotic medications include falls, sedation, cognitive dysfunction, prolonged QTc interval, extrapyramidal side effects, cerebrovascular events, metabolic changes, infection, and mortality. The purpose of this descriptive quality improvement project was to test the feasibility and preliminar [...]

by Janusz Włodarczyk  and Alicja Włodarczyk

Received: 26 October 2020;  Published: 07 June 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2102171

Esophageal cancer is a disease with difficult clinical management, and palliative therapy is the only predominant treatment. This retrospective study analyses the results of clinical management of elderly patients (>75 years of age) who were treated with esophageal stenting for malignant dysphagia due to primary esophageal cancer, including squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), as well as secondary esophageal malignant strictures due to non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients with eso [...]

by Ethan Fitzgerald  , Dorian Kusyk  and Nestor D Tomycz

Received: 02 December 2020;  Published: 30 April 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2102170

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia worldwide, and represents a significant cause of cognitive decline, disability, and mortality. Ongoing clinical trials continue to investigate β-amyloid targeted therapy with unclear benefit, and we are currently limited to symptomatic treatment. Therefore, there is a salient need for the development of novel, potentially disease-modifying therapeutic strategies such as deep brain stimulation. This manuscript reviews Deep Brain Stimulation in Alzheimer’s Dis [...]

by Scott A. Trudeau  and Megan E. Gately

Received: 08 February 2021;  Published: 30 April 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2102169

The Reading Buddies Program was developed as a service-learning component of an Occupational Therapy Practice with Older Adults course as a collaboration between Tufts University and the VA Bedford Health Care System. The purpose of this service-learning program was to challenge graduate students’ implicit biases and improve communication skills when working with older adults with significant cognitive impairments. Through this collaboration, occupational therapy students provided individualized, activity-based car [...]