Disorders In Old Age Research Articles

Sleep and sleep disorders in old age

The increasing interruptions of nocturnal sleep with aging must be distinguished from actual sleep disorders. Morbidity and medication have an impact on sleep. The relationship between sleep and morbidity is mutual. Disturbed sleep modifies many clinical symptoms and diseases affect sleep and the ability to sleep. Geriatric syndromes such as falls, depression and dementia are modified by sleep disorders. Geriatric syndromes can be favorably influenced by the treatment of sleep disorders. Adequate diagnostics are important prerequisites. Coincidences of different sleep disorders are frequent. The medical history of patients and asleep diary form the basis of the diagnostics. Sleep medicine provides further technical examination procedures. Older people should be examined in asleep laboratory if the results have consequences that are accepted by the patient. This should be clarified in advance.

Air pollution: a latent key driving force of dementia

Many researchers have studied the role of air pollutants on cognitive function, changes in brain structure, and occurrence of dementia. Due to the wide range of studies and often contradictory results, the present systematic review was conducted to try and clarify the relationship between air pollutants and dementia. To identify studies for this review, a systematic search was conducted in Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science databases (without historical restrictions) until May 22, 2023. The PECO statement was created to clarify the research question, and articles that did not meet the criteria of this statement were excluded. In this review, animal studies, laboratory studies, books, review articles, conference papers and letters to the editors were avoided. Also, studies focused on the effect of air pollutants on cellular and biochemical changes (without investigating dementia) were also excluded. A quality assessment was done according to the type of design of each article, using the checklist developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). Finally, selected studies were reviewed and discussed in terms of Alzheimer's dementia and non-Alzheimer's dementia. We identified 14,924 articles through a systematic search in databases, and after comprehensive reviews, 53 articles were found to be eligible for inclusion in the current systematic review. The results showed that chronic exposure to higher levels of air pollutants was associated with adverse effects on cognitive abilities and the presence of dementia. Studies strongly supported the negative effects of PM2.5 and then NO2 on the brain and the development of neurodegenerative disorders in old age. Because the onset of brain structural changes due to dementia begins decades before the onset of disease symptoms, and that exposure to air pollution is considered a modifiable risk factor, taking preventive measures to reduce air pollution and introducing behavioral interventions to reduce people's exposure to pollutants is advisable.

Positive aging-How does it work? : Contribution of resilience to the prevention of depressive disorders in old age

Although the prevalence of depressive disorders in old age is high, many older people succeed in staying healthy despite age-related stressors. The individual resilience or mental power of resistance can explain these differences. It is shown how resilience factors or strategies of healthy aging can be used for the primary prevention of depressive disorders in old age. The article summarizes the practically relevant age-specific aspects of resilience obtained through anarrative literature search and evaluates the relevant state of knowledge, also with respect to the consecutive development of primary preventive measures to avoid depressive disorders. Individual psychological strategies for promoting resilience include "stay active", and "mindfulness towards positive things", social strategies "remain socially connected" and "acceptance of support options". In addition to this individual level, which aims at every single person, the social dimension of resilience also includes strategies that start at the social level. Above all, this includes the esteem of older people in society as well as improved opportunities for participation. Age-specific aspects of resilience can be specifically used for the prevention of depressive disorders in old age. They enable aframework to establish resource-promoting and activating interventions, to counteract the deficit perspective on ageing. At the same time, there are clear limits to individual prevention and resilience. The responsibility cannot be seen solely for each individual but above all social structures and framework conditions must enable successful implementation in old age.

Subgroups of patients with late onset schizophrenia-like psychoses revealed by the analysis of glutathione-dependent enzymes and inflammation markers

IntroductionWhile chronic inflammation and enhanced imbalance of pro- and antioxidant, including glutathione-dependent, systems contribute substantially to pathogenesis of mental disorders in old age, extent of oxidative stress and degree of inflammatory processes severity are varying among patients with late onset schizophrenia.ObjectivesRevealing various phenotypes in patients with late onset schizophrenia basing on measurement of activity levels for blood glutathione-dependent enzymes and inflammation markers and analysis of their links with clinical features of the patients.MethodsOf 59 studied women patients 34 were with late onset (after 40 years) and 25 with very late onset (after 60 years) schizophrenia or schizophrenia-like psychoses (F20; F22.8; F25; F23; F06.2 by ICD-10). 34 mentally healthy women elder than 50 years comprised controls. Glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), neutrophil elastase (NE), and α1-roteinase inhibitor (α1-PI) activities were measured in blood. PANSS, CDSS and CGI-S were used to assess the severity of psychotic symptoms, depression and treatment effectiveness.ResultsIn the whole group of patients, GR was lower (p<0.05), and α1-PI was higher (p<0.0001) than in control group. Clustering the patients by their biochemical and immunological signs revealed two clusters (C1, n=34, and C2, n=25) significantly differing by GST (p<0.0001), NE (p<0.0001), and α1-PI (p<0.001) activities. As compared with controls, GST and α1-PI were higher (p<0.05 and p<0.0001), and NE was lower (p<0.05) in C1. As compared with controls, GR activity was lower (p<0.05), NE activity was higher (p<0.001), and α1-PI activity was much higher (p<0.001) in C2. Patients of C1 and C2 did not differ in age, diagnosis, severity of the disease, but differed in clinical features of the course of the disease: significantly more patients with very late onset schizophrenia (76%) were met in C1 (χ2=13.41, p<0.001). Also, different clinical-biological correlations were found in these clusters. Particularly, negative correlations of baseline NE activity with PANSS general psychopathology subscale scores (R=-0.39, p<0.05) and with total PANSS scores (R=-0.39, p<0.05) were found in C1. Positive correlation of GST activity with PANSS positive subscale score was found in C2 (R=0.43, p<0.05).ConclusionsThe revealed clusters differ in the extent of the glutathione antioxidant system impairment and in levels of the immune response markers. The revealing of the patient subgroups on the basis of biological markers reflecting impairments in metabolic and immune systems can represent interest in the search for individual treatment approaches.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Cognitive reserve and the risk of postoperative neurocognitive disorders in older age.

Postoperative delirium (POD) and postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) are postoperative neurocognitive disorders (PNDs) that frequently occur in the aftermath of a surgical intervention. Cognitive reserve (CR) is a concept posited to explain why cognitive health varies between individuals. On this qualitative understanding of cognitive health, factors like IQ, education level, and occupational complexity can affect the impact of neuropathological processes on cognitive outcomes. We investigated the association between CR and POD and CR and POCD on data from 713 patients aged≥65 years with elective surgery. Peak pre-morbid IQ was estimated from vocabulary. Occupational complexity was coded according to the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT). Education level was classed according to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED). These three factors were used as proxies of CR. In a series of regression models, age, sex, depression, site of surgery, and several lifestyle and vascular factors were controlled for. Patients with a higher IQ had lower odds of developing POD. We found no significant association between the other two CR markers with POD. None of the CR markers was associated with POCD. The significant association of a higher IQ with lower POD risk allows for the stratification of elderly surgical patients by risk. This knowledge can aid the prevention and/or early detection of POD. Further research should attempt to determine the lack of associations of CR markers with POCD in our study.

Lithium treatment for affective disorders in old age

Lithium is considered the gold standard for the treatment of bipolar affective disorder for the prevention of recurrence of manic and depressive episodes and for augmentation treatment in unipolar severe depressive episodes. The indications for treatment with lithium do not differ for older or younger patients. Nevertheless, there are anumber of aspects to be considered with respect to drug safety in the group of old patients. The aim was to give an overview of the current literature on lithium treatment in old age and from this to derive recommendations for action. Aselective literature review on lithium treatment in old age was conducted to answer questions on drug safety, monitoring (particularly with respect to comorbidities) and potential alternatives to lithium. Lithium is an effective and, if used correctly, safe drug also in old people; however, with respect to somatic comorbidities that increase with age, special caution is required when using lithium in order to prevent nephropathy and intoxication.

Attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder in old age and the risk of dementia: A national cohort study in Israel

AbstractBackgroundEvidence of the association between Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and the risk of dementia is scarce, inconsistent, and subject to potential sources of bias that are as yet unconsidered. Our objective was to examine the association between ADHD and dementia risk.MethodA prospective national cohort study born 1933‐1952, without a dementia diagnosis for two years, were followed up for incident dementia from 2002‐2020. Information was from electronic health records in a healthcare maintenance organization in Israel. ADHD diagnosis was classified as present from the age of the first diagnosis, otherwise absent. Competing risk Cox regression models were fit to quantify the risk of incident dementia with the Hazard Ratio (HR) and their associated 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) with inverse probability weights, age as the underlying time‐scale, unadjusted and, in the primary analysis, adjusted by 18 covariates.ResultOf 110,196 participants aged 50‐70 years in 2002, 56,914 (51.6%) were female. During follow‐up there were a total of 746 (0.7%) cases of ADHD, and 8,339 (7.6%) of incident dementia. The percentage of incident dementia was 13.1% (N = 98) among those with ADHD present and 7.5% (N = 8,241) among those with ADHD absent. In the primary analysis, the group with ADHD was statistically significantly (P<.05) associated with a higher risk of dementia (unadjusted: HR = 3.57, CI = 2.89, 4.42; adjusted HR = 2.73, CI = 2.04, 3.65) compared to the group with ADHD absent. Eight of ten sensitivity analyses replicated the statistically significant association observed in the primary analysis. Psychostimulant medication offset the association between ADHD and dementia risk to null, and evidence of reverse causation was mild.ConclusionADHD is associated with increased dementia risk. Policymakers, caregivers, patients, and clinicians may wish to monitor ADHD in old age reliably.

Neuro‐immune markers, socioeconomic inequalities, and neurodegenerative disorders in older age

AbstractBackgroundAccumulating evidence suggests that the neuro‐immune markers of inflammation may be involved in the onset of neurodegenerative disorders (Bostancıklıoğlu, 2019; Park et al., 2020). However, immune mechanisms linking socioeconomic adversities in later life and neurodegenerative disorders have yet to be fully explored. This study has used a large longitudinal study to investigate the mediating effects of neuro‐immune markers in the socioeconomic disparities of neurocognitive disorders in older adults.MethodData of 4815 participants aged 50 and above from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) across three waves of data collection. Socioeconomic position was assessed in 2008/9 and neuro‐immune markers in 2012/2013. Neurocognitive disorders were ascertained using cognitive variables available in 2018/2019 using a well‐accepted consensus criterion (Richardson et al., 2019). It was categorised into no cognitive impairment, cognitive impairment, no dementia (CIND) and dementia. Mediation analysis was carried out to investigate the mediation effect of c‐reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen and white blood cell (WBC) count in the association between socioeconomic position and different subtypes of neurocognitive disorders. All models were adjusted for age, sex, marital status and baseline cognitive status.ResultAfter accounting for potential confounders, CRP, fibrinogen, and WBC partly mediated the association of education, occupation, and wealth with cognitive impairment. Results on dementia were all non‐significant.ConclusionAdverse socioeconomic environment were related to early stages of neurocognitive disorders partly via elevated biomarker levels in later life. Neuroinflammation might be one of the immunobiological mechanisms underlying socioeconomic disparities in cognitive impairment. Further research should explore other plausible biological mechanisms to develop interventions to delay the onset of neurodegeneration.

Psychotherapy for elderly patients

A particular feature of the demographic change is the growing proportion of elderly and very elderly people. In Western countries, this is largely due to improved medical care for age-associated diseases. There is still comparatively little knowledge about mental health disorders in old age, their age-typical clinical presentation and specific psychotherapeutic treatment.

Swallowing disorders in old age: diagnostics and therapy in primary care

Swallowing disorders in old age: diagnostics and therapy in primary care

Immunometabolic alterations in older adults with heightened depressive symptom trajectories: a network approach

Objective: To analyse the patterns of relationships between depressive symptoms and immunometabolic markers across longitudinal depression status in older people. Methods: A sample of 3349 older adults (55.21% women; initial age: m = 58.44, sd = 5.21) from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing was used. Participants were classified according to their longitudinal depression status: minimal depressive symptoms (n = 2736), depressive episode onset (n = 481), or chronic depression (n = 132). Network analysis was used to study the relationships between depression symptoms (CES-D 8 items), inflammatory (white blood cell, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen) and metabolic biomarkers (metabolic syndrome markers). Results: Network structure remained invariant across groups. The minimal symptom group had higher overall strength than both clinical groups (p < .01). Moreover, significant relationships between symptoms and markers were observed across group-specific networks. C-reactive protein and effort symptom were positively connected in the minimal symptom group but not in the other groups. Loneliness and diastolic blood pressure were positively associated only in the chronic depression group. Finally, metabolic markers were identified as central nodes in the clinical status networks. Conclusion: The network analysis constitutes a useful approach to disentangle pathophysiological relationships that may maintain mental disorders in old age.

A pre experimental study to evaluate the effectiveness of structured teaching programme regarding management of dementia among geriatric care givers

Dementia is a chronic progressive debilitating disease that is largely a disorder of old age. It is characterized by widespread impairment of mental functioning, progressive memory loss, language difficulties, confusion and disorientation. These impairments are often accompanied by behavioral and psychological disturbance. The behavioral disturbances associated with dementia are defined as symptoms of disturbed perception, altered thought content, mood and Behavior. A pre-experimental research design with one group pre-test and post-test design was adopted. Sixty samples of geriatric care givers were selected from Chhatauna and Mandir Hausad, Arrang, Raipur, (C.G.). Samples were using by convenient sampling technique. A self structured knowledge questionnaire was prepared as a tool to assess socio demographic variables, and knowledge of geriatric care givers regarding management of dementia. Collected data was analyzed using paired „ z‟- test and chi-square test. : In the pretest 38 (63.33%) are having poor knowledge,22 (36.66%) are having Average knowledge and no one had good Knowledge. After administration of structured teaching programmein the post test level of knowledge has improved in 34 (56.66%) are having average Knowledge and26 (43.33%) are having good knowledge and no one had poor knowledge. Hence it can be interpreted that in the pretest majority of the geriatric care giver were in the poor category and after structured teaching programme the geriatric care giver gained adequate knowledge regarding management of dementia of the subject were in the good category. In the pre test the calculated mean is 9 the mean score 30% the standard deviation is 3.86 and in the post test the calculated mean is 20.5, the mean score 66.83% and the standard deviation is 5.27, hence it can be interpreted that there is a striking difference between the mean pretest and post test knowledge score of geriatric care giver which explains that the structured teaching programme was effective in enhancing the knowledge score regarding management of dementia among geriatric care givers in selected area of Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Hence, it can conclude that the structured teaching programme was highly effective. And they gain knowledge i.e 36.83% using„ z‟ test it was found that at 0.05 level of significance the table value is 2.00 and the calculated value is 7.81(p&amp;#62;0.05) which shows that the calculated value is higher than the table value, so the test was highly Significant at 0.05 level. Research hypothesis (H) was accepted. Findings of the study indicates significant difference in the knowledge level after administration of Structured teaching Prgramme regarding Management of Dementia among Geriatric care Givers in Selected Area of Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

The application and evaluation of an augmented-reality-based physical and cognitive stimulation programme for older adults

The aim of this paper is to present the results of research analysing the incorporation of virtual or augmented reality into a programme based on physical and cognitive stimulation in older adults and to evaluate its effects following its application. The specific objectives were to verify whether the intervention had a positive effect on the cognitive deterioration of older adults as far as their mobility and fall risk were concerned and whether it was possible to observe any significant differences. A total of 18 people over the age of 65, all of whom were users of a day centre for the elderly, participated in this research. In terms of methodology, the study employed a quasi-experimental approach with two groups and both a pretest and a posttest to analyse the data quantitatively and descriptively. Three scales adapted to a Spanish population were used to measure cognitive deterioration, mobility and fall risk and to evaluate mental disorders in old age. As far as the results are concerned, although no statistically significant data have been found, it has been possible to appreciate slight improvements which suggest that virtual or augmented reality is a tool which can be used to complement physical and cognitive intervention programmes and activities in day centres for the elderly, incorporating aspects of an interactive nature which allow people to exercise and recover basic abilities in their everyday life, particularly in the area of cognition.

QUALITY OF LIFE DURING CHILDHOOD AS A SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL PHENOMENON

Relevance. The study of the quality of life is one of the current trends in the field of sociology, psychology, pedagogy, medicine and other sciences. Considering the essence of the quality of life of children, we note that today it is an interdisciplinary concept that characterizes all aspects of a child’s life: the level of intellectual and physical development; the degree of satisfaction of material and social needs; ensuring the safety of life, etc. Thus, the quality of life of children covers their physical, psychological and social health, as well as their perception of their place in society.&#x0D; The aim of the study was to study the quality of life during childhood through the prism of the mental states of children in parents with different levels of satisfaction with marriage.&#x0D; Research methods. In the course of the study, a theoretical analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature was carried out, which made it possible to clarify the depth and relevance of the problem of quality of life during childhood. An empirical study of the mental states of preschoolers and satisfaction with their parents’ marriage was conducted using the testing method. Quantitative and qualitative processing of the results was carried out on the basis of SPPS statistical programs.&#x0D; Results. As a result of empirical research, we have revealed that in families with a low degree of satisfaction with marriage, children, as a rule, have a negative mental state and, accordingly, in families with a high degree of satisfaction with marriage, children, as a rule, have a positive mental state. Unsatisfactory child-parent relationships provoke the emergence of more complex disorders in older age, contribute to the formation of various character accentuations in adolescence and a negative assessment of the quality of their lives, and therefore need adjustment aimed at parents’ awareness of their attitude to children. It is from the period of childhood that the value uniqueness of the child begins to take shape, which is realized in a special cultural and social reality, where childhood and adulthood are differentiated. During this period, children are already beginning to enter the social space, participating in a certain subculture of childhood, showing the acquired skills of socialization, and hence the corresponding quality of life. In the socio-psychological context, the structure of the family and the system of “parents-children” relationships are of great importance. Therefore, in the content of the upbringing of children, the conditions of the child’s development and the quality of his life, there are certain differences between families who are satisfied or not satisfied with their marriage. However, with all the differences in the quality of life of children, their mental states are associated with factors such as instability of marriage, low-income family, drinking in the family, constant conflicts in the family, the presence of people in the family who have offenses, etc.&#x0D; The field of application. The article will be useful for teachers and students of pedagogical universities studying in the areas of “Preschool pedagogy and psychology”, as well as managers and educators of preschool institutions.

Association between osteoporosis or osteopenia and taking antiplatelet agents in general US population of NHANES.

BackgroundOsteoporosis (OP) and osteopenia are common bone disorders in old age, and lots of patients suffering from OP or osteopenia need to take antiplatelet agents to treat basic diseases. However, clinical data on the link between osteopenia or OP and antiplatelet agents are limited.MethodsData in this study were collected and screened from the NHANES from 2013 to 2014 and 2017 to 2018. The variables were extracted from interviews and compared between OP or osteopenia participants and normal. The relationship between OP or osteopenia and taking antiplatelet drugs was analyzed by weighted multivariate logistic regressionResultsAfter excluding individuals who were not eligible and had invalid data, we finally identified 894 participants for inclusion in the study. We found a negative association between OP or osteopenia and taking antiplatelet agents (OR = 0.53; 95% CI, 0.33–0.84; p < 0.05). These results did not change on multiple imputations (OR = 0.32, 95% CI, 0.19–0.56; p <0.01). In the subgroup analyses, the associations were more significant in women (OR = 0.18, 95% CI, 0.05–0.62; p <0.05).ConclusionThis study demonstrated that the association between OP or osteopenia and taking antiplatelet agents was significant. Therefore, it is necessary to confirm the result by extending further research.

Delusional Disorder in Old Age: A Hypothesis-Driven Review of Recent Work Focusing on Epidemiology, Clinical Aspects, and Outcomes.

The theme, strength, and duration of a delusion are considered important in distinguishing one psychosis of old age from another. Research results, however, are mostly based on studies conducted on one form of psychosis, namely schizophrenia. The aim of this hypothesis-driven narrative review is to gather clinically important information about the psychosis identified as delusional disorder (DD), as it affects persons of senior age. We hypothesized that DD becomes relatively prevalent in old age, especially in women; and that it is associated with demonstrable brain changes, which, in turn, are associated with cognitive defects and poor pharmacological response, thus increasing the risk of aggression and suicide. Computerized searches in PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov were conducted using the following search terms: (delusional disorder) AND (elderly OR old OR aged OR psychogeriatrics). A total of 16 recent studies (including case reports) were reviewed. Our hypotheses could not be definitively confirmed because research evidence is lacking. In order to improve eventual outcomes, our literature search demonstrates the need for more targeted, well-designed studies.

Young Adults with a Parent with Dementia Show Early Abnormalities in Brain Activity and Brain Volume in the Hippocampus: A Matched Case-Control Study.

Having a parent with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias confers a risk for developing these types of neurocognitive disorders in old age, but the mechanisms underlying this risk are understudied. Although the hippocampus is often one of the earliest brain regions to undergo change in the AD process, we do not know how early in the lifespan such changes might occur or whether they differ early in the lifespan as a function of family history of AD. Using a rare sample, young adults with a parent with late-onset dementia, we investigated whether brain abnormalities could already be detected compared with a matched sample. Moreover, we employed simple yet novel techniques to characterize resting brain activity (mean and standard deviation) and brain volume in the hippocampus. Young adults with a parent with dementia showed greater resting mean activity and smaller volumes in the left hippocampus compared to young adults without a parent with dementia. Having a parent with AD or a related dementia was associated with early aberrations in brain function and structure. This early hippocampal dysfunction may be due to aberrant neural firing, which may increase the risk for a diagnosis of dementia in old age.

Psychometric Evaluation of the German Version of the Social Functioning in Dementia Scale (SF-DEM).

Dementia is one of the most common and most severe disorder in old age. In addition to cognitive decline and functional impairment, changes in social functioning occur in the course of dementia. Currently, there is no valid instrument in German language to assess social functioning in individuals with dementia. We aim to adapt and psychometrically evaluate a German version of the Social Functioning in Dementia Scale (SF-DEM). First, a multi-step and team-based translation process based on the TRAPD model was performed. Second, we interviewed dyads of individuals with mild dementia and caregivers to test the internal consistency, test-retest reliability, interrater reliability, construct validity, and acceptance of the German version of the SF-DEM. The internal consistency of the patient-rated (α= 0.72) and the caregiver-rated (α= 0.76) SF-DEM is at an acceptable level. The interrater reliability was excellent for both versions (patients: ICC = 0.98, CI [0.95-0.99]; caregiver: ICC = 0.95, CI [0.89-0.98]) and the test-retest reliability was moderate (patients: ICC = 0.57, CI [0.26-0.77]; caregiver: ICC = 0.58, CI [0.27-0.78]). Caregiver-rated SF-DEM correlated strong with LSNS-6 (rs = 0.60, p < 0.01), QoL-AD (marriage: rs = 0.61, p < 0.01; friends: rs = 0.51, p = 0.01). In addition, the SF-DEM was accepted by the participants. The German SF-DEM is a valid, reliable, and acceptable instrument to assess social functioning in individuals with dementia. Further research should address the psychometric properties in individuals with more severe dementia.

Efekat oralne konzumacije ekstrakta lavande (Lavandula) na prehipertenziju kod penzionera smeštenih u gerontološkim centrima - randomizovana klinička studija

Introduction/Aim: Hypertension is a common disorder of old age, which could be prevented by medicinal herbs. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of lavender extract on prehypertension in the retired population. Methods: This triple-blind clinical trial was conducted on 60 retired men and women who were divided into two groups of lavender extract and placebo using the permuted block technique. Lavender extract (originating from flower part) and placebo were used twice a day (3 grams is equivalent to 3 cc each time) for two weeks. Blood pressure was measured before use, in the first and second week after use, and one week after the discontinuation of the medication to evaluate the stability of the drug effects. Data analysis was performed in STATA software version 14 at the significance level of p &lt; 0.05. Results: Before the intervention, the mean systolic blood pressure in the lavender extract and placebo groups was 133.9 ± 9.3 mmHg and 127.3 ± 6.3 mmHg, respectively. After a one-week intervention, the mean blood pressure of the groups was 123.1 ± 12.6 mmHg and 125.8± 7.2 mmHg, respectively, while it was 120.8 ± 10.7 mmHg and 127.9 ± 2 mmHg after two weeks. One week after drug discontinuation, these levels were estimated at 123.7 ± 10.7 mmHg and 129.2 ± 10.10 mmHg, respectively. The results of repeated measures ANOVA indicated that lavender extract had significant effects on systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the intervention group (p &lt; 0.05). Conclusion: According to the results, lavender extract was effective in prehypertension control in the retired subjects.

Compromised autophagy and mitophagy in brain ageing and Alzheimer's diseases.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most persistent and devastating neurodegenerative disorders of old age, and is characterized clinically by an insidious onset and a gradual, progressive deterioration of cognitive abilities, ranging from loss of memory to impairment of judgement and reasoning. Despite years of research, an effective cure is still not available. Autophagy is the cellular 'garbage' clearance system which plays fundamental roles in neurogenesis, neuronal development and activity, and brain health, including memory and learning. A selective sub-type of autophagy is mitophagy which recognizes and degrades damaged or superfluous mitochondria to maintain a healthy and necessary cellular mitochondrial pool. However, emerging evidence from animal models and human samples suggests an age-dependent reduction of autophagy and mitophagy, which are also compromised in AD. Upregulation of autophagy/mitophagy slows down memory loss and ameliorates clinical features in animal models of AD. In this review, we give an overview of autophagy and mitophagy and their link to the progression of AD. We also summarize approaches to upregulate autophagy/mitophagy. We hypothesize that age-dependent compromised autophagy/mitophagy is a cause of brain ageing and a risk factor for AD, while restoration of autophagy/mitophagy to more youthful levels could return the brain to health.