August 2012 Briefing - Geriatrics

Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Geriatrics for August 2012. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.

Factors Affecting Life Expectancy for Older Adults Studied

FRIDAY, Aug. 31 (HealthDay News) -- Even for adults aged 75 years and older, keeping up a healthy lifestyle, including physical activity and not smoking, is associated with increased life expectancy, according to a study published online Aug. 30 in BMJ.

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Lower Prostate Cancer-Specific Death With Anticoagulant Use

THURSDAY, Aug. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Anticoagulant (AC) therapy, particularly aspirin, is associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM) among men treated with radical prostatectomy (RP) or radiotherapy (RT), according to a study published online Aug. 27 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

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Cognitive Decline Worse for Women vs. Men in Alzheimer's

THURSDAY, Aug. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Women with Alzheimer's disease consistently experience greater cognitive deterioration than men, according to results from a meta-analysis published Aug. 23 in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology.

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Only Female Gender Ups Stoke Risk in A-Fib Patients ≥75 Years

THURSDAY, Aug. 30 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), female gender increases the risk of stroke only in patients aged 75 years or older, according to a study presented at the annual European Society of Cardiology Congress, held from Aug. 25 to 29 in Munich.

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Eating Chocolate May Lower Stroke Risk for Men

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 29 (HealthDay News) -- In men, moderate chocolate consumption on a regular basis may lower the risk of any type of stroke by about 17 to 19 percent, according to research published online Aug. 29 in Neurology.

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High Midlife Fitness Levels Linked to Healthier Old Age

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 29 (HealthDay News) -- High midlife fitness levels are significantly associated with a lower risk of developing chronic conditions later in life, according to a study published online Aug. 27 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

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Pharmacist-Led Intervention Benefits Knee Osteoarthritis

TUESDAY, Aug. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Community-based pharmacists can initiate a coordinated care strategy to better identify knee osteoarthritis (OA) and improve function, pain, and quality of life, according to a study published online Aug. 28 in Arthritis Care & Research.

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Kyphoplasty Superior to Vertebroplasty for Vertebral Fx

MONDAY, Aug. 27 (HealthDay News) -- For people with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures, kyphoplasty (KP) is superior to vertebroplasty (VP) for correcting kyphosis, restoring vertebral height, and preventing leakage of bone cement, according to research published in the August issue of the Journal of Spinal Disorders & Techniques.

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Prasugrel, Clopidogrel Similar for Acute Coronary Syndromes

MONDAY, Aug. 27 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with unstable angina or myocardial infarction without ST-segment elevation who do not undergo revascularization, intensified platelet inhibition with prasugrel does not reduce the frequency of the primary end point (death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, or stroke) and has similar risks of bleeding as clopidogrel, according to a study published online Aug. 26 in the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with presentation at the annual European Society of Cardiology Congress, held from Aug. 25 to 29 in Munich.

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In Type 2 DM, Proteinuria With SBP <130 Ups CVD Mortality

FRIDAY, Aug. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with type 2 diabetes, proteinuria, and systolic blood pressure (BP) <130 mm Hg are at an increased risk of total and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, suggesting that proteinuria should be taken into account when establishing target systolic BP levels for prevention of fatal CVD events, according to research published online Aug. 14 in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

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Dual Action Antibody Reverses Menopausal Bone Loss

THURSDAY, Aug. 23 (HealthDay News) -- An antibody can reverse bone loss in menopausal mice by both blocking bone breakdown and stimulating bone formation, according to an experimental study published online Aug. 20 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Modifiable Risk Factors Key in Social Inequality of Diabetes

THURSDAY, Aug. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Modifiable risk factors, particularly health behaviors and body mass index (BMI), measured repeatedly over time, account for about half of the socioeconomic differential observed in type 2 diabetes, according to a study published online Aug. 21 in BMJ.

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Psychological Consequences Up for Spouses of MI Victims

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Spouses of individuals who have a sudden heart attack are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and suicide, even if the individual survives, than spouses of those who experience other illnesses, according to a study published online Aug. 21 in the European Heart Journal.

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Mindfulness Stress Reduction Reduces Loneliness in Elderly

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 22 (HealthDay News) -- An eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program reduces loneliness compared with a wait-list control, and also reduces pro-inflammatory gene expression in older adults, according to a study published online July 20 in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

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Drug-Eluting Stents Lead to Fewer Adverse Cardiac Events

TUESDAY, Aug. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Among ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients, the use of biolimus-eluting stents with biodegradable polymer results in a lower rate of major adverse cardiac events, compared with patients with bare-metal stents, at one year following primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), according to a study published in the Aug. 22/29 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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Novel Risk Markers Improve Prediction of Heart Disease

TUESDAY, Aug. 21 (HealthDay News) -- The addition of certain novel risk markers can improve risk prediction for incident coronary heart disease (CHD) or cardiovascular disease (CVD) above that of the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) in intermediate-risk individuals; while the addition of the carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) offers limited improvement in risk prediction for first-time myocardial infarction or stroke, above that of the FRS, according to two studies published in the Aug. 22/29 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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No Benefit Seen for Adjuvant Oxaliplatin in Stage II Colon CA

TUESDAY, Aug. 21 (HealthDay News) -- For elderly patients with colon cancer or those with stage II disease, the addition of oxaliplatin to fluorouracil with leucovorin (FL) does not seem to offer any survival benefit, according to a study published online Aug. 20 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

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Brain Damage Linked to Believing Misleading Ads

MONDAY, Aug. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Damage to a particular region of the brain makes individuals more likely to believe a misleading advertisement, which could explain why some elderly fall for fraud schemes, according to a study published online July 9 in Frontiers in Decision Neuroscience.

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2012 Indicators of Well-Being for Older Americans Issued

MONDAY, Aug. 20 (HealthDay News) -- The estimates of selected indicators for well-being for older Americans for 2012 have been released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.

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Study Shows 'SuperAgers' Have Thicker Cortex, No Atrophy

MONDAY, Aug. 20 (HealthDay News) -- 'SuperAgers,' individuals over the age of 80 with episodic memory performance as good as normative values for 50- to 65-year-olds, do exist, and they have a thicker cerebral cortex, with no atrophy, according to a study published online Aug. 16 in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.

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Study Links Eating Egg Yolks With Carotid Plaque Area

FRIDAY, Aug. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Eating three or more egg yolks, which are high in cholesterol, per week may increase the rate of carotid plaque area build-up, according to a study published online Aug. 10 in Atherosclerosis.

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Olive Oil Consumption Linked to Increased Serum Osteocalcin

THURSDAY, Aug. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Consumption of olive oil in addition to a Mediterranean diet correlates with increased osteocalcin levels and improvements in bone formation markers in elderly men at high cardiovascular risk, according to a study published online Aug. 1 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

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Brain's 'Glymphatic' System Clears Interstitial Solutes

THURSDAY, Aug. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Similar to the lymphatic system, the brain also contains a newly discovered system to drain waste, dubbed the "glymphatic" system, which may clear proteins implicated in neurodegenerative diseases, according to a study published in the Aug. 15 issue of Science Translational Medicine.

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Familial Dementia Risk Linked to C-Reactive Protein Levels

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 15 (HealthDay News) -- The relatives of cognitively intact elderly men with high levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), have a reduced risk of dementia, according to a study published online Aug. 15 in Neurology.

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ABO Blood Group Correlated With Coronary Heart Disease

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 15 (HealthDay News) -- There is a significantly elevated risk of incident coronary heart disease (CHD) among individuals with blood group A, B, or AB compared with those with blood group O, according to a study published online Aug. 14 in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.

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Hospital Deaths From Head Trauma Higher on Weekends

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Older adults admitted for substantial head trauma during a weekend have a significantly increased mortality risk compared to those admitted on a weekday, according to a study published online July 9 in the Journal of Surgical Research.

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Atypical Functional Brain Activation Seen in Leukoaraiosis

TUESDAY, Aug. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Leukoaraiosis correlates with atypical functional activation during semantic decision tasks, according to a study published online Aug. 13 in Radiology.

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Poor Follow-Up of Hospital Tests Often Due to Late Orders

TUESDAY, Aug. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Poor follow-up of test results at or after discharge from the hospital is often due to tests requested on the day of discharge, according to a letter to the editor published online Aug. 13 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

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Cocoa Flavanols May Improve Cognitive Function in Elderly

TUESDAY, Aug. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Regular consumption of cocoa flavanols may be associated with improved cognitive functioning in elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment, according to a study published online Aug. 13 in Hypertension.

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Risk of Liver Injury Up With Certain Fluoroquinolones

MONDAY, Aug. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Moxifloxacin and levofloxacin use correlates with an increased risk of acute liver injury in older patients without a history of liver disease, according to a study published online Aug. 13 in CMAJ, the journal of the Canadian Medical Association.

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Radiation Prevents Mastectomy Post-Conservative Op in Elderly

MONDAY, Aug. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Following conservative surgery (CS), receipt of radiation therapy (RT) is associated with a decreased likelihood of subsequent mastectomy for most women aged 70 to 79 years with early breast cancer, according to a study published online Aug. 13 in Cancer.

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Aspirin Use Again Linked to Slightly Lower Cancer Mortality

MONDAY, Aug. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Daily aspirin use is associated with lower overall cancer mortality, but the association may be smaller than previously reported, according to a study published online Aug. 10 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

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Phone Intervention Cost-Effective for Glycemic Control

FRIDAY, Aug. 10 (HealthDay News) -- The incremental per capita costs of a telephone-based intervention that moderately improves glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes are modest, according to a study published online July 30 in Diabetes Care.

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Multifactorial Mechanisms Underlie Leg Weakness in Hip OA

THURSDAY, Aug. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Multiple factors contribute to leg weakness in people with hip osteoarthritis (OA), with muscle atrophy being the strongest contributor, according to the results of a systematic review published online July 25 in Arthritis Care & Research.

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CDC: Increase in Prevalence of Walking in the United States

THURSDAY, Aug. 9 (HealthDay News) -- The prevalence of walking (defined as walking for leisure or transportation in at least one bout of 10 minutes or more in the last week) increased in the United States from 2005 to 2010, with an increased likelihood of meeting the aerobic physical activity guideline noted for walkers, according to a study published in the Aug. 7 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity & Mortality Weekly.

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R-CHOP Benefits Older Mantle-Cell Lymphoma Patients

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 8 (HealthDay News) -- In older patients with mantle-cell lymphoma, a rituximab-based chemotherapy regimen (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone [R-CHOP]) followed by maintenance therapy with rituximab improves survival, according to a study published in the Aug. 9 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Lifestyle-Integrated Approach Reduces Falls Among Elderly

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 8 (HealthDay News) -- For older adults at risk of falls, the integration of balance and strength training into routine daily activities correlates with a reduced rate of falls, according to a study published online Aug. 7 in BMJ.

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Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone Ups Cognition in Elderly

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) improves cognition in healthy older adults and those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), according to a study published online Aug. 6 in the Archives of Neurology.

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Photosensitizing Antihypertensive Meds Up Risk of Lip Cancer

TUESDAY, Aug. 7 (HealthDay News) -- For non-Hispanic whites, long-term treatment with photosensitizing antihypertensive agents correlates with an increased likelihood of lip cancer, according to a study published online Aug. 6 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

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Infection Risk Up for Seniors With Rheumatoid Arthritis

TUESDAY, Aug. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Elderly adults with rheumatoid arthritis have a considerable risk of serious infection, with antirheumatic drug use increasing the risk, according to a study published online July 25 in Arthritis Care & Research.

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Larger Waist Linked to Worse Voiding Function in Men

FRIDAY, Aug. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Central obesity, as measured by waist circumference (WC), is associated with worse voiding, and men with a higher WC may be at increased risk of male pelvic dysfunction, according to a study published in the August issue of BJU International.

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Study Links Mitochondria to Reduced Male Lifespan

FRIDAY, Aug. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Mutations in mitochondria are associated with reduced lifespan in male Drosophila melanogaster only, a consequence of the strictly maternal transmission of mitochondria, according to a study published online Aug. 2 in Current Biology.

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Alzheimer's Cognitive Decline Slows in Advanced Age

FRIDAY, Aug. 3 (HealthDay News) -- The rates of cognitive decline and atrophy characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD) decrease with advancing age, while cognitively healthy individuals show increased rates, according to a study published online Aug. 2 in PLoS One.

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Clinicians Can Unintentionally Prompt Nocebo Effect

THURSDAY, Aug. 2 (HealthDay News) -- The nocebo effect, or induction of a symptom perceived as negative by sham treatment and/or the suggestion of negative expectation, may arise from suggestions by doctors and nurses, according to a study published in Deutsches Ärzteblatt International.

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Exercise, Drugs Compared for Depression Tx in CHD Patients

THURSDAY, Aug. 2 (HealthDay News) -- In patients with coronary heart disease, aerobic exercise and the antidepressant sertraline are both associated with reduced depressive symptoms when compared to placebo, and they both tend to improve heart rate variability, according to a study published online Aug. 1 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

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High-Cost Imaging of Advanced Cancer Patients Increasing

THURSDAY, Aug. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Use of imaging in stage IV cancer patients increased from 1995 to 2006, according to a study published online July 31 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

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Multiple Factors Motivate No Reperfusion in STEMI

THURSDAY, Aug. 2 (HealthDay News) -- For patients presenting with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the decision for no reperfusion is usually multifactorial, with the most common factor being advanced age, according to a study published in the Aug. 15 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.

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Low Vitamin D, Frailty Impact Mortality Risk in Elderly

THURSDAY, Aug. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Adults over the age of 60 years with low vitamin D levels are more likely to be frail, and the combined effect of low vitamin D levels and frailty significantly increases the risk of mortality, according to a study published online June 13 in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

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Men With Prostate Cancer Increasingly Don't Die From It

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Men diagnosed with prostate cancer are more likely to die from other conditions, including heart disease, than from prostate cancer, according to a study published online July 25 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

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Caffeine Has Positive Effect on Motor Symptoms in Parkinson's

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Caffeine has a limited effect on excessive daytime somnolence in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), but is associated with an improvement in objective motor measures, according to a study published online Aug. 1 in Neurology.

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