Current Aging Science - Volume 7, Issue 2, 2014

A link between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and an excess presence of oxidant free radicals in the brain has frequently been reported. It is generally assumed that such oxidative stress and related cellular damage is caused by inflammatory changes in the brain and is consequent to amyloid deposition. This review makes the argument that elevated oxidative stress in AD is an early causal event in the initiation and advanceme Read More

Aging is thought to occur through the accumulation of molecular and cellular damage. A key regulator of the cell’s stress response is p53. In mice, the activity of p53 associates with lifespan. We were therefore interested whether SNPs in members of the p53-pathway are associated with longevity in humans. We genotyped the following SNPs: p53 – rs1042522 (Arg72Pro), MDM2 – rs2279744 (SNP309), MDM4 – rs4245739 ( Read More

Background: Even with numerous studies the cause of Parkinson’s disease (PD) remains elusive. It has been hypothesized that interactions between genetic and environmental factors may play an important role in the pathogenesis of PD. Objectives: To examine the gene-gene and gene-environment interaction on PD risk with respect to gene polymorphism of cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) and glutathione S-transferase Read More

It is well known that the salivary flow is reduced by aging but ionic composition changes associated to aging have been less evaluated. To measure salivary and plasmatic [Na+], [K+] and [Cl-] and to correlate with age in healthy, non-medicated subjects of any gender, 165 healthy participating subjects (over 15 years old) were asked to give sample of 5mL mix basal saliva in a plastic vial without any stimulation technique, additio Read More

Investigations on how exercise and physical activity affect dual-task (DT) performance in the elderly are growing rapidly due to the fact that DT activities are commonplace with activities of daily living. Preliminary evidence has shown the benefit in exercise on DT balance, though it is unclear to what extent the effect exercise has on DT performance in elderly subjects with disease conditions, including subjects with a high risk o Read More

Background: Intramuscular adipose tissue (IMAT) of the lower extremity is a strong negative predictor of mobility function. Variability in temporal gait factors is another important predictor of mobility function. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between IMAT in the hip and thigh muscles, balance, and temporal gait variability in older adults. Methods: Forty-eight healthy community dwelling older adults ( Read More

Background: Older people are frequent users of hospital care and are at high risk of adverse outcomes such as unplanned hospital readmission after discharge. Various transitional care programmes targeting post-discharge outcomes have been studied, utilising telephone follow-up (TFU) both as a sole intervention and as part of multi-component interventions. Literature review findings: The effects of TFU of older people a Read More