The effect of sensory-cognitive training on perception, attention and memory in elderly people

Nowadays, the objects of forensic handwriting analysis are often become short handwritten records of elderly people and senile. The study of such records is one of the most difficult when conducting handwriting examination. This is due to the nature of this object, which is often subjected to changes due to insufficient written practice, influence of age-related changes in the body or conditions common for the elderly people and senile, frequent execution of short handwritten records in unusual conditions, and sometimes with the help of other people, limitations in the studied graphic material. The article attempts to substantiate and systematize theoretical knowledge on the study of short handwritten records executed by elderly and senile people through analyzing the literature and forensic practice on the study of this type of objects, establishing individual patterns of handwriting, explaining the nature of diagnostic signs occurrence, determining the structure of the process for solving the mentioned tasks. Cases from practice and related problematic aspects of solving identification and diagnostic tasks are considered. The main characteristics of impaired ability (sensory, amnestic and motor aphasia) to write are given. Literature sources are analyzed, which consider the physiological mechanisms of the formation of writing skills and the features of their changes due to various conditions in elderly and senile people. Handwriting can undergo changes owing to aging of the body. Disorder of hand-eye coordination, conditions of the musculoskeletal system, nervous system, circulatory disorders, inherent for elderly and senile people, affect the stability of handwriting features. Testaments, contracts of sale and donation, bank documents are often signed by people of elderly and senile age shortly before death resulting from a serious long illness after experiencing such conditions as stroke or myocardial infarction. It is the aging of the body that is accompanied by deterioration in the state of health, impaired vision, muscle weakness, depletion of the nervous system, decreased mobility of the musculoskeletal system and impaired blood circulation. Features of writing motor skill functioning in the elderly and senile people lead to a slowdown in the tempo of movement, decrease in their amplitude and speed, decrease in the plasticity of movements. The correct ratio of such signs as proficiency and coordination of movements is of great importance. In addition, short handwritten records executed by the elderly and senile people contain a limited amount of graphic material. At the moment of executing a short recording, even under normal conditions, the performer needs a certain adaptation to a situation, which can not be performed while rare or occasional execution of a single short record. Therefore, the stability of a skill while executing short recording has an increased spread, and selective variability has low thresholds.

Aim. Based on the results of the study of the frequency and structure of complete loss of teeth in the upper and lower jaws, to determine the need of elderly and senile people in prosthetics with complete removable orthopedic structures. Materials and methods. A dental examination was carried out in 5,791 people aged 60 to 93 years. At the same time, on the recommendation of WHO, a key age group of 65-74 years was formed. The study took into account the topography of the absence of teeth, gender, age, the presence and evaluation of previously manufactured complete removable dentures and the need for prosthetics. Results. A high prevalence of complete loss of teeth on the upper and lower jaws was found in the examined age groups of elderly and senile age. The largest proportion of complete loss of teeth of the upper and lower jaws was revealed in the age group of 75-84 years. At the same time, in elderly people, complete adentia is detected mainly in women, since men occupy a quarter of the gender ratio. Meanwhile, taking into account the indications for reprosthetics and the absence of prostheses with complete loss of teeth, the need for the manufacture of orthopedic structures in the form of complete removable prostheses in the surveyed population is determined. Conclusions. The obtained results dictate the need to improve orthopedic rehabilitation of patients with complete loss of teeth in the upper and lower jaws, taking into account the data obtained on the structure and frequency of complete loss of teeth in elderly and senile people.

Objective: to compare the effectiveness of immunodiagnosis of TB in elderly and senile people using the test with the recombinant tuberculosis allergen (RTA) and the Mantoux test with 2 TU PPD-L. Materials and methods. We used case history data for 2011–2022 to analyze results of TB detection using skin tests with tuberculin and RTA in 541 patients,including those with established pulmonary TB: 75 patients aged 60–89, 239 patients aged 18–44, and 227 patients with non-tuberculous pulmonary diseases aged 60–89 years. Among them were 319 (59%) male patients and 222 (41%) female patients. The Mantoux test and RTA test were simultaneously performed on both forearms before TB treatment. HIV-positive patients were not included in the study. Results. We established that sensitivity of the Mantoux test was 60% in elderly and senile people, and 89.5% in young people, while sensitivity of the RTA test was 46.7% in elderly and senile people, and 66.1% in young people. Among elderly and senile people false-positive reactions to the Mantoux test were observed in 25 (33.3%) and to the RTA test – in 36 (48%) out of 75 patients; among young people – 17 (48%) and 71 (29.7%) out of 239 patients, respectively. Simultaneous injections of both tests in elderly and senile people demonstrated concordant positive reactions in 32 (42.7%), concordant negative reactions – in 22 (29.3%), indeterminate reactions – in one (1.3%), and discordant reactions – in 20 (26.7%) out of 75 patients. Conclusion. Sensitivity of immunological skin tests for TB detection in elderly and senile people was lower than in young people. Considering high incidence of false-negative reactions and discordance in reactions to the Mantoux test and RTA test in elderly and senile people, it is advisable to simultaneously perform tests on both forearms to detect positive reaction to any of the tests followed by extensive examination for TB.

To investigate the association between diabetes symptoms and physical activity (PA) levels among middle-aged and older Chinese adults. Data for this study were obtained from 2018 Charles data. Z test, logistic regression analysis, and linear hierarchical regression analysis were performed in 5352 individuals aged ≥50 years with complete information. In terms of diabetes, 6.8% of the middle-aged and elderly people with diabetes were detected, and 93.2% of the middle-aged and elderly people without diabetes symptoms. The proportion of middle-aged and elderly people with high PA levels was 50.5%, and the proportion of middle-aged and elderly people with low PA was 49.5%. There was a significant positive correlation between low PA and diabetes (P < .05). After adjusting demographic characteristics (gender, registered permanent residence type, education level, age, widowhood) and health status characteristics (poor mood, asthma, hyperlipidemia, disability, memory disease, self-assessment of health status, hypertension, smoking, stroke, depression), there was still a statistical significance between PA level and diabetes (P < .05). The risk of diabetes of middle-aged and elderly people in China increases with age, while the risk of diabetes of middle-aged and elderly people with low level of PA is higher. The risk of diabetes is high among middle-aged and elderly people who are old, have poor self-evaluation health, suffer from hyperlipidemia, memory disease, and asthma. The middle-aged and old people should increase their PA levels to prevent and improve diabetes.

This paper was aimed at studying the structural and functional changes in the myocardium and heart valves in patients of advanced and senile age with coronary pathology. 128 patients with coronary heart disease were examined; the average age was 82.4 ± 10.6 years (from 65 to 90 years old). According to the WHO classification, the patients were divided into two age groups: 1st – elderly people – from 65 to 74 years (32%), 2nd – senile people – from 75 to 90 years (68%). All subjects underwent anamnesis, physical examination, electrocardiography, echocardiography with tissue dopplerography, assessment of global longitudinal strain using a 2D-speckle-tracking technique, coronaroangiography. Patients of elderly and senile age with coronary pathology have age-associated structural and functional myocardial changes, multivessel lesions in the coronary arteries, history of previous myocardial infarction, as well as concomitant pathology (arterial hypertension). The patients older than 75 years have a progression of coronary pathology, systolic and diastolic dysfunction, aortic valve calcification, combined aortic and mitral valve defects, also the number of people with left ventricular hypertrophy is increasing. The number of people with left ventricular hypertrophy is increasing. The study showed informative value of echocardiographic evaluation of global longitudinal myocardial strain to identify the subclinical systolic dysfunction of the myocardium in patients of elderly and senile age with coronary pathology.

The subject of the study is the attitude of the personality of elderly and senile people to the meaning of life and life satisfaction. The methodological basis of the study is the biopsychosocial approach, as a fundamental research model in medicine and medical psychology. Changes in the lives of older people are associated with retirement, changes in social status, loss of professional, interpersonal connections and financial stability, the presence of health problems, which leads to changes in values and meanings of life, and sometimes to maladaptation, which makes it relevant to study the characteristics of individual relationships old people. The purpose of the study is to identify the characteristics of the personality of elderly and senile people to the meaning of life and life satisfaction and to indicate the direction of psychological assistance. Scientific novelty of the study: empirical data were obtained on significant differences in the life-meaning orientations of elderly and senile people. The study was focused on studying the life-meaning orientations, life satisfaction, cognitive functions and emotional state of elderly and senile people. When analyzing the relationships between indicators, it was revealed that the meaningfulness of life of older people is associated with the consistency of achieving goals, which leads to positive self-esteem and satisfaction with life itself. Representatives of old age, due to physical and cognitive decline, distance themselves from activity in society, while maintaining satisfaction with life. The focus of psychological assistance programs requires a differentiated approach when working with elderly and senile people. Along with the correction of cognitive functions and the formation of new hobbies, it is important to include classes to develop communication skills among representatives of the older group. The results obtained can be used by specialists in medical and social institutions.

Studies taking a person-centred statistical approach when examining young peoples` psychological experiences in sport is scarce. The main aim of the present study was to examine the relationships between young football players' psychological health resources and the psychological quality of their football-specific experiences. Data for this cross-sectional study was collected as part of the [BLINDED] arm of the larger Promoting Adolescence Physical Activity (PAPA) multi-centre project [1]. The sample consisted of young [BLINDED] male (n = 814), female (n = 576), grassroots football players between the ages of 10 and 15 years (M = 12.5 years, SD = 1.1 years). We performed a latent profile analysis using Mplus 8.4 using a robust maximum likelihood estimator (MLR). Players with the most resourceful psychological health profile experienced more coach social support (mean = 4.38) than did those with a less well-off resourceful profile (mean = 3.79) and those with the least well-off profile (mean = 3.28). Players with the most resourceful profile also felt a stronger sense of unity among their teammates and they enjoyed football more than those least well off (mean = 4.43 vrs. mean = 3.12 and mean = 4.74 vrs 3.50. respectively). Parallel between-profile differences were also found for the players' general health resources including perceived life satisfaction, general health and family affluence as covariates. Findings suggest that variations in young players' psychological health profiles and their general health resources play a role in the quality of their football-specific psychological experiences.

Today, the proportion of elderly and senile people is steadily growing throughout the world. The most important factors in the first line of immune defense of the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract are β-defensins, which are a group of secretory proteins with antimicrobial activity. The aim of this study was to study the expression of genes for antimicrobial peptides β-defensins and the composition of the microbiome of the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract in elderly people and long-livers with various aging phenotypes.The main study group included 67 centenarians and 49 elderly people, who were further divided into two subgroups depending on the course of aging (pathological and successful aging). Nucleic acids were isolated from nasopharyngeal scrapings and the expression levels of the DEFB1 and DEFB4 genes were determined using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The composition of the microbiota in nasopharyngeal swabs was determined by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.In analyzing the expression of the DEFB1 gene in elderly people and centenarians with successful and pathological aging phenotypes, no difference was revealed between the groups. Expression of the DEFB4 gene was increased in centenarians with pathological aging compared to centenarians with successful aging and in the elderly group. Excessive production of antimicrobial peptides is dual in nature; on the one hand, they provide the first line of defense against microorganisms, and on the other, they are cytotoxic to their own cells. An increase in the expression of the DEFB4 gene during aging may be due to an increase in the number of pathogen-associated molecular patterns, which can be one’s own microbiota and/or components of microbial metabolism. Analysis of the microbiota composition showed an increase in biodiversity in individuals with a successful aging phenotype compared to a pathological phenotype. Particular attention is paid to Staphylococcus spp., the species composition of which depends on the aging phenotype. In the pathological aging group, the frequency of St. aureus colonization is significantly higher than in the successful aging group.Thus, overexpression of the DEFB4 gene and changes in the composition of the microbiota of the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract may be one of the mechanisms explaining the increased susceptibility to infections in various aging phenotypes.

The article reveals the characteristics of the psychological health of university students of a technical and humanitarian profile. A compiled and tested set of psychodiagnostic techniques for studying the specifics of students' psychological health resources is described. It is shown that there is a relationship between psychological health resources and the direction of training university students. The developed recommendations for advising students on the strengthening of psychological health resources are presented.

Purpose: to identify the features of the pathology of the eye in elderly and senile people in the Arkhangelsk region. Material and methods. Annual reports of medical eye care facilities for the 2009 to 2019 who offered ophthalmological assistance to individuals aged 60 or older were analyzed. To estimate the differences infrequency of occurrence Pearson's Chi-square was used. Results. The incidence of eye pathologies in elderly and senile people amounts to 20.74% (17.83 % male and 22.29 % female). The most common conditions included the pathology of the lens that occurred in almost 50 % of the old people, glaucoma was diagnosed in about 20 % and retinal conditions in one out of seven people. In the age group of 60 to 74 years, the most common pathologies included glaucoma, diabetic angioretinopathy, retinal conditions and refractive errors; in the people of advanced age (75—89 years), lens pathologies and age-related macular degeneration occurred more frequently than in the younger age group while glaucoma, diabetic angioretinopathy, retinal conditions and refractive errors occurred less frequently. The oldest age group (90 years and older) showed a different pathology distribution than people of the younger age groups: they have higher occurrence of lens pathologies, age-related macular degeneration, optic disc pathology. In contrast, they have a rarer occurrence of retinal diseases, whilst diabetic angioretinopathy or refractive errors were not diagnosed at all. Gender differences of eye pathology distribution are revealed in the fact that, among people aged 60 to 89, women have a higher occurrence of age-related macular degeneration, retinal diseases and refractive errors, while men are more often diagnosed with glaucoma. Conclusion. The identified features of eye pathology in elderly and senile people living in the Arkhangelsk region should be taken into account when medical care for advanced age groups is developed and improved.

Aim. To reveal the features of multimorbidity in elderly and senile people with hypertension (HTN).Material and methods. A total of 70 elderly and senile hypertensive patients were examined at one of the Arkhangelsk outpatient clinics (from 60 to 90 years old; mean age — 69,14±1,34 years), including those aged 60-74 years (n=56; (80,0%) and 75 years and older (n=14; 20,0%). We assessed the questionnaire survey data, the outpatient medical records, the clinical status, and the cumulative illness rating scale for geriatrics (CIRS-G).Results. The analysis showed a high prevalence of multimorbidity in elderly and senile people with HTN, which was found in all patients. On average, an elderly patient with HTN has 6 diseases that are pathogenetically interrelated and unrelated, while a senile patient has 8 diseases. The most common comorbidities were gastrointestinal (81,43%), musculoskeletal (77,14%) and endocrine (77,14%) diseases. Among the cardiovascular comorbidities in the elderly with HTN, the following were more common: heart failure (54,29%), coronary artery disease (angina pectoris — 41,43%) and cerebrovascular diseases (28,57%) (stroke/transient ischemic attack, vascular encephalopathy). Patients with HTN took an average of 6 different drugs at the same time. There was moderate comorbidity level in the elderly patients and a high one in those of senile age.Conclusion. In elderly and senile patients with HTN, there is a high prevalence of multimorbidity, which must be taken into account when preventing polypharmacy.

BackgroundFall is a worldwide health problem among elderly people and a known leading cause of disabilities. Fall prevention programs have been implemented in various forms. The Otago exercise program (OEP) is one of the most recent home-base exercise training program.ObjectivesThis study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of OEP to reduce falls among elderly people in Shahroud, IR Iran.Materials and MethodsThis randomised control trial was conducted among the elderly community dwellers in Shahroud city of the Semnan province, IR Iran, with experience of falls in the last 12 months. Subjects of the study (n = 317) were recruited from elderly senior citizens at public health centers. Block systematic random sampling was applied to categorize the subjects in experimental and control groups. The experimental group (n = 160) received OEP for six months and was compared with the control group (n = 157) who received general health training. This study was registered with the following ID, IRCT2014012016285N1.ResultsThe findings of the study showed that OEP improved physical performance (Berg-Balance-Score with P > 0.025, and Timed-Up-Go-Test with P > 0.017) and functional capacity (Arm-Curl-Test with P > 0.00 and Chair-Stand-Test with P > 0.01). In addition, OEP significantly reduced the incidence of falls (P ≤ 0.00) among senior citizens in the experimental group.DiscussionThe OEP as a home-based exercise is effective for the reduction of the incidence of falls among senior citizens with a history of falls. The OEP can be recommended for elderly homebound people who do not have access to facilities.

Introduction. Iron accumulates in the substantia nigra (SN) in aging and Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, there is a distinct lack of information about the changes in the metabolism of ferritin–an iron-binding protein in nigral cells–in aging and PD. The aim of the study was to quantify the changes in the number of H- and L-ferritin glia in the SN structures in aging and PD. Materials and methods. We examined autopsies of PD patients (5 cases), mature and elderly people (6 cases), as well as senile people (5 cases). Immunohistochemistry and light microscopy were used to study the location of H- and L-ferritin chains in the SN structures. The density of H– and L–ferritin-containing neuroglia was determined with computer morphometry. Results. In all cases, ferritin was accumulated predominantly in the reticular part of the SN in unpigmented neurons and neuroglial cells. The density of H– and L–ferritin-containing neuroglia in the SN of PD patients and senile people was significantly higher compared to that in mature and elderly people. The same differences between the groups of PD patients and elderly people were found only for the density of H–ferritin-containing neuroglia. Conclusion. The differences revealed between the age groups in the density of H– and L–ferritin-containing neuroglia characterize their increase with age and correspond to the accumulation of iron in the SN during aging. The differences revealed with the same parameters between patients with PD and mature, elderly, and senile patients characterize the imbalance of iron accumulation and oxidation processes in ferritin-containing glial cells of patients with PD. Keywords: aging, Parkinson’s disease, substantia nigra, immunohistochemistry, morphometric, ferritin, neuroglia

The relevance of the study is caused by the increasing number of elderly and senile people in the structure of society and, accordingly, the growing attention to the problems associated with difficulties in adapting to new conditions of their life activity. The article describes an empirical study aimed at identifying the relationship be-tween the level of stress and depression in elderly and senile people and the presence of cognitive impair-ment. The sample consisted of 210 people (100 men and 110 women aged 60–89 years). Results of three methods: the Mini-Cog, the Geriatric Depression Scale, and the PSM-25 assessment of mental state and stress level are outlined. Correlation analysis revealed that high levels of stress and depression are accompanied by greater cognitive impairment. Moreover, the results obtained can be used in the organization of geriatric care for the elderly and senile people.

Human handwriting changes throughout life, undergoing natural changes. Handwriting undergoes significant changes in the process of transition from mature to advanced and senile age. Aging is a natural, regular process of organism change at physiological, psychological, social levels. Over the past 50 years, the process of aging of the nation on a global scale is developing at a high speed. This article discusses the urgent issue of the study of signatures made by elderly and senile people: first of all, an attempt is made to determine the age boundaries of such concepts as «advanced» and «senile», as well as signs characteristic of signatures made by elderly or senile people are given age, and signs that the artist is trying to reproduce the signature with imitation. The problematic aspects that have arisen by experts during posthumous handwriting examinations of signatures are revealed, the main of which is the quality and quantity of lifetime free samples of signatures and the handwriting of the deceased. This is due to the fact that it is no longer possible to take experimental samples of signatures and handwriting from a deceased person, and free face samples, due to the peculiarity of the deceased’s life, may be in very limited numbers and may not correspond to the time of writing the document under study. Finally, the authors come to the conclusion that the methodology developed in 1983 for the forensic investigation of signatures made on behalf of elderly and senile people still remains effective and relevant, allows us to successfully detect the fact that signatures were performed by this category of people, but needs to be improved, experimental research, continuous monitoring of current trends in the physiological and psychological development of man.