Healthy Elderly Population Research Articles

Cognitive Deficits in Healthy Elderly Population With "Normal" Scores on the Mini-Mental State Examination.

This study investigated whether healthy older adults with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores above 23 exhibit cognitive impairment on neuropsychological tests. Participants completed the MMSE and a neuropsychological battery including tests of 10 domains. Results were compared to published normative data. On neuropsychological testing, participants performed well on measures of naming and recall but showed mild to moderate impairment in working memory and processing speed and marked impairment in inhibition, sustained attention, and executive functioning. Almost everyone (91%) scored at least 1 standard deviation (SD) below the mean in at least 1 domain. The median number of domains in which individuals scored below 1 SD was 3.0 of 10.0, whereas over 21% scored below 1 SD in 5 domains or more. With the strictest of definitions for impairment, 20% of this population scored below 2.0 SDs below the norm in at least 2 domains, a necessary condition for a diagnosis of dementia. The finding that cognitive impairment, particularly in attention and executive functioning, is found in healthy older persons who perform well on the MMSE has clinical and research implications in terms of emphasizing normal variability in performance and early identification of possible impairment.

DIETARY MILK FAT GLOBULE MEMBRANE WITH SEMIWEEKLY LIGHT EXERCISE IMPROVES CHOICE STEPPING REACTION TIME IN HEALTHY JAPANESE ELDERLY SUBJECTS: A RANDOMIZED DOUBLE BLIND, PLACEBO-CONTROLLED TRIAL

This study aimed to demonstrate the beneficial effects of nutritional supplementation with milk fat globule membrane combined with light exercise on agility, which predicts falls in the elderly. Twenty-five healthy volunteers (aged 60-74 years old; male/female = 11/14) were enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled intervention study. The subjects ingested placebo or milk fat globule membrane (1 g/day) tablets daily for 5 weeks and engaged in a 30-min light exercise program semiweekly. After 5 weeks, agility was evaluated using the choice stepping reaction time. The milk fat globule membrane group had significantly shorter motion start and reaction times compared to the placebo group. The reduction in motion start and reaction times was significantly greater in the milk fat globule membrane compared to the placebo group. In conclusion, this study provides evidence that dietary milk fat globule membrane supplementation improves choice stepping reaction time and agility in the healthy elderly population.

Is There an Association of Physical Activity with Brain Volume, Behavior, and Day-to-day Functioning? A Cross Sectional Design in Prodromal and Early Huntington Disease.

Background: Huntington disease (HD) is a genetic neurodegenerative disease leading to progressive motor, cognitive, and behavioral decline. Subtle changes in these domains are detectable up to 15 years before a definitive motor diagnosis is made. This period, called prodromal HD, provides an opportunity to examine lifestyle behaviors that may impact disease progression. Theoretical Framework: Physical activity relates to decreased rates of brain atrophy and improved cognitive and day-to-day functioning in Alzheimer disease and healthy aging populations. Previous research has yielded mixed results regarding the impact of physical activity on disease progression in HD and paid little attention to the prodromal phase.Methods: We conducted analyses of associations among current physical activity level, current and retrospective rate of change for hippocampus and striatum volume, and cognitive, motor, and day-to-day functioning variables. Participants were 48 gene-expanded cases with prodromal and early-diagnosed HD and 27 nongene-expanded control participants. Participants wore Fitbit Ultra activity monitors for three days and completed the self-reported International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Hippocampal and striatal white matter volumes were measured using magnetic resonance imaging. Cognitive tests included the Stroop Color and Word Test, and the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). Motor function was assessed using the Unified Huntington’s Disease Rating Scale total motor score (TMS). Day-to-day functioning was measured using the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS) version 2.0.Results: Higher Fitbit activity scores were significantly related to better scores on the SDMT and WHODAS in case participants but not in controls. Fitbit activity scores tracked better with TMS scores in the group as a whole, though the association did not reach statistical significance in the case participants. Higher Fitbit activity scores related to less day-to-day functioning decline in retrospective slope analyses. Fitbit activity scores did not differ significantly between cases and controls.Conclusions: This is the first known study examining the associations between activity level and imaging, motor, cognitive, and day-to-day functioning outcomes in prodromal and early HD. Preliminary results suggest physical activity positively correlates with improved cognitive and day-to-day functioning and possibly motor function in individuals in the prodromal and early phase of the condition.

NRSF and BDNF polymorphisms as biomarkers of cognitive dysfunction in adults with newly diagnosed epilepsy.

Cognitive dysfunction is a common comorbidity in people with epilepsy, but its causes remain unclear. It may be related to the etiology of the disorder, the consequences of seizures, or the effects of antiepileptic drug treatment. Genetics may also play a contributory role. We investigated the influence of variants in the genes encoding neuron-restrictive silencer factor (NRSF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), proteins previously associated with cognition and epilepsy, on cognitive function in people with newly diagnosed epilepsy. A total of 82 patients who had previously undergone detailed neuropsychological assessment were genotyped for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across the NRSF and BDNF genes. Putatively functional SNPs were included in a genetic association analysis with specific cognitive domains, including memory, psychomotor speed, and information processing. Cross-sectional and longitudinal designs were used to explore genetic influences on baseline cognition at diagnosis and change from baseline over the first year since diagnosis, respectively. We found a statistically significant association between genotypic variation and memory function at both baseline (NRSF: rs1105434, rs2227902 and BDNF: rs1491850, rs2030324, rs11030094) and in our longitudinal analysis (NRSF: rs2227902 and BDNF: rs12273363). Psychomotor speed was also associated with genotype (NRSF rs3796529) in the longitudinal assessment. In line with our previous work on general cognitive function in the healthy aging population, we observed an additive interaction between risk alleles for the NRSF rs2227902 (G) and BDNF rs6265 (A) polymorphisms which was again consistent with a significantly greater decline in delayed recall over the first year since diagnosis. These findings support a role for the NRSF–BDNF pathway in the modulation of cognitive function in patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy.

Does Age of Patients Influence the Composition of Gene Mutations in Myeloid Neoplasms?

Introduction: Incidences of myeloid neoplasms, i.e. AML, MDS, MDS/MPN overlap, increase with age. Cytogenetic aberrations are still the hallmark for diagnosis and prognostication especially in AML and MDS. Different patterns of relations between chromosomal aberrations and age have been described. However, in recent years, gene mutations have been depicted to further discriminate patients with respect to their diagnosis and are increasingly used for prognostication. In parallel, recent studies (Jaiswal, NEJM 2014) have demonstrated that mutations in genes occurring in hematological neoplasms are also observed in healthy individuals and increase in frequency with age.Aim: To investigate if specific molecular markers, such as DNMT3A, ASXL1, and TET2, increase in frequency with age in myeloid neoplasms as recently shown for healthy individuals.Patients and methods: We investigated 1639 patients (pts) between 20 and 93 years (yrs), 578 with de novo AML (median age: 63 yrs), 846 with MDS (median age: 73 yrs), and 215 with CMML (median age: 75 yrs). In all cases, we followed the diagnostic criteria of the WHO classification based on morphology. All patients have also been investigated by cytogenetics and for disease-oriented molecular mutations (15-36 genes/pt: 15 in AML, 36 in MDS, and 21 in CMML). Analyses were performed by melting curve analysis, gene scan, Sanger sequencing, or next generation sequencing.Results: In total we detected 3089 mutations (range: 0-9/pt) spread over all except for seven analyzed genes. Grouping the entity-specific cohorts by age of the patients into decades revealed a steady increase of the prevalence of mutations with age in MDS (at least one mut/pt, 25% in 20-29 to 93% in >80 yrs; p<0.001), less prominent in AML (77% in 20-29 to 100% in >80 yrs, p=0.007), but not in CMML (96%-100% in all decades). However, the number of mutations per patient increased according to age in all three entities, significantly in MDS (p<0.001) and AML (p<0.001). Considering AML patients separated into three cytogenetic classes (Grimwade, Blood 2010) resulted in the same findings for the intermediate risk (p=0.012) and adverse risk group (p<0.001), while the good risk group showed no change in mutation numbers over decades (median: 1 mut/pt, range 0-3). This indicates that in good risk AML (PML-RARA, CBFB-MYH11, RUNX1 -RUNX1T1) only very few additional mutations are needed for AML initiation. In contrast, an age-dependent increasing incidence of gene mutations is specific in normal karyotype and in adverse cytogenetics.We next focused on specific gene mutations according to age <60 vs ≥60 yrs within all three entities. In addition, AML patients where again subgrouped by cytogenetics. In AML good and adverse risk groups no age-dependent significant increase of specific gene mutations occurred, while in the intermediate risk group mutations in ASXL1 (3/160 vs 32/114, p<0.001), MLL-PTD (3/160 vs 17/214, p=0.01), RUNX1 (32/160 vs 20/214, p=0.001), and TET2 (4/159 vs 26/214, p=0.001) were significantly more frequent at higher age. In contrast, NRAS mutations appeared more often in younger AML patients (32/160 vs 20/214, p=0.004). In MDS, mutations in SF3B1 (27/115 vs 253/731, p=0.019), SRSF2 (10/115 vs 133/730, p=0.011), TET2 (10/115 vs 250/731, p<0.001), and TP53 (2/115 vs 50/731, p=0.035) were more frequently observed in older patients. In CMML only TET2 mutations occurred more often in older patients (5/12 vs 135/190, p=0.026).Focusing on the genes recently described to be mutated in healthy individuals showed that all of the above mentioned mutations found in myeloid neoplasms (except MLL-PTD and RUNX1) are comprised in the 10 most frequently mutated genes in the healthy aging population. However, the fact that the frequencies of these mutations are not age-dependent in some entities, e.g. ASXL1 only age-dependent in AML but not in CMML and MDS, might indicate different roles of these mutations in the pathogenesis, i.e. driver mutations independent of age, as well as their contribution to accumulation of mutations and onset of a myeloid neoplasm.Conclusions: 1) The number of mutations significantly increase with age in AML and MDS and non-significantly in CMML. 2) Several genes show age-dependent frequencies, which differ between AML, MDS, and CMML and are also related to the cytogenetic background. 3) Based on molecular mutations healthy aging and myeloid neoplasms are neighbouring scenarios. DisclosuresMeggendorfer:MLL Munich Leukemia Laboratory: Employment. Kern:MLL Munich Leukemia Laboratory: Employment, Equity Ownership. Perglerová:MLL2 s.r.o.: Employment. Schnittger:MLL Munich Leukemia Laboratory: Employment, Equity Ownership. Haferlach:MLL Munich Leukemia Laboratory: Employment, Equity Ownership. Haferlach:MLL Munich Leukemia Laboratory: Employment, Equity Ownership.

Vascular aging in healthy population of both sexes in 3 strata of South Indian population

Vascular aging in healthy population of both sexes in 3 strata of South Indian population

Apolipoprotein E ϵ4 is positively related to spatial performance but unrelated to hippocampal volume in healthy young adults

The apolipoprotein E (APOE) ϵ4 allele is known to be a major genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). It has been linked to especially episodic memory decline and hippocampal atrophy in both healthy and demented elderly populations. In young adults, ϵ4 carriers have shown better performance in episodic memory compared to non-carriers. Spatial memory, however, has not been thoroughly assessed in relation to APOE in spite of its dependence on the hippocampus. In this study, we assessed the effect of APOE genotype on a variety of spatial and episodic memory tasks as well as hippocampal volume assessed through manual tracing in a sample of young adults (N=123). We also assessed whether potential effects were modulated by sex. The presence of one or more ϵ4 alleles had positive effects on spatial function and memory and object location memory, but no effect on word recognition. Men were superior to women in spatial function and memory but there were no sex differences in the other tasks. In spite of APOE ϵ4 carriers having superior performance in several memory tasks, no difference was found as a function of APOE genotype in hippocampal volume. To our knowledge, this study is the first to show that APOE ϵ4 has a positive effect on spatial ability in young adults.

Identification and comparison of the predictors of maximal inspiratory force and handgrip in a healthy elderly population. The proof study

A severe weakness of peripheral muscles occurs in half of the persons aged 80 years or older. The common factors between muscle depletion and reduced respiratory strength have not yet been established. In the subjects of the Proof cohort, we aimed to identify, among body composition, pulmonary function and energy expenditure parameters, the predictors of maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) as an index of respiratory muscle strength and handgrip (HG) as an index of peripheral muscle strength. In 375 healthy elderly subjects aged 72±1 years, fat mass (FM) and fat free mass (FFM) were assessed by DEXA, the last being also indexed to height (FFMI). Spirometry was performed and daily energy expenditure (DEE) was estimated by a questionnaire. After three years, MIP and HG of the dominant arm were determined and the predicting value of pulmonary function tests, body composition and DEE on these parameters was tested. Mean MIP and HG were 77±26% and 106±19% of the predicted value (%pred) with 90 (24%) and 30 (8%) subjects below standards, respectively. There was a significant but weak correlation between MIP%pred and HG%pred (r=0.175, p<0.001). Logistic regression showed that low MIP was predicted by trunk FFM and FFMI in women, and DEE in men. Low HG was predicted by trunk FM in men only. The predictors of a reduction of MIP in the elderly differ from those of HG, suggesting a differential regulation of respiratory muscle and arm strength.

Reproducibility and biological variability of HDL's vascular functional assays.

Recent failures of clinical trials promoting HDL-elevating therapies have prompted research groups to focus on its functional activity in disease. Endothelial effects of HDL can be measured with invitro cell assays. The reproducibility and biological relevance of these assays have not been explored both in healthy individuals and those at increased cardiovascular (CV) risk. HDL dependent nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, superoxide (SO) production and serum paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) activity were measured in 35 healthy adults (34.37 24-49) and 8 patients (43.56 37-49) suffering from a chronic inflammatory condition (periodontitis-PD). Assay reproducibility was assessed by independent technicians on consecutive days to determine inter and intra analyser variability for each assay. The 35 healthy individuals were further divided into young (n=16) and middle aged (n=19) groups and compared with regards to HDL functions. Within-subject biological variation of HDL function was determined in a sub-group of 25 healthy volunteers at intervals of one day and 1 month, and in 8 patients at intervals of one day and 1 week. Power curves were also generated to estimate the number of patients that would be required for HDL functional assays in a cross-over and parallel study design. NO bioavailability was the most reproducible assay in healthy adults (coefficient of variation=1.72%, 1.92 - intra and inter respectively) and PD patients (CV=4.4% and 5.5%). All measures demonstrated no statistical difference between young and healthy middle aged population. No single assay demonstrated significant variations over time, indicating that within patient variations are negligible. Our power curves for NO bioavailability and PON-1 activity suggest that low number of patients will be required to detect significant differences in HDL function in a cross over and parallel study design. This study suggests that invitro HDL functional assays are reliable and can be used to assess HDL functionality in healthy and diseased populations. NO bioavailability was the most reproducible assay, but PON-1 activity remains the most practical for application in clinical trials due to its capacity for scale.

Comparing Physical Performance of Patients with Advanced Colon Cancer with the Healthy Aging Population

Comparing Physical Performance of Patients with Advanced Colon Cancer with the Healthy Aging Population

Ageing shows a pattern of cerebellar degeneration analogous, but not equal, to that in patients suffering from cerebellar degenerative disease

Ageing generally leads to impairments in cognitive function and the ability to execute and learn new movements. While the causes of these impairments are often multi-factorial, integrity of the cerebellum in an elderly population is an important predictive factor of both motor function and cognitive function. A similar association between cerebellar integrity and function is true for cerebellar patients. We set out to investigate the analogies between the pattern of cerebellar degeneration of a healthy ageing population and cerebellar patients. We quantified cerebellar regional volumes by applying voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to a publicly available dataset of MR images obtained in 313 healthy subjects aged between 18 and 96years and a dataset of MR images of 21 cerebellar patients. We observed considerable overlap in regions with the strongest loss of cerebellar volume in the two datasets. In both datasets, the anterior lobe of the cerebellum (lobules I–V) and parts of the superior cerebellum (primarily lobule VI) showed the strongest degeneration of cerebellar volume. However, the most significant voxels in cerebellar patients were shifted posteriorly (lobule VII) compared to the voxels that degenerate most with age in the healthy population. The results showed a pattern of significant degeneration of the posterior motor region (lobule VIIIb) in both groups, and significant degeneration of lobule IX and X in the healthy population, but not in cerebellar patients. Furthermore, we saw strong volumetric degeneration of functionally defined cerebellar regions associated with cerebral somatomotor function in both groups.Predominance of degeneration in the anterior lobe and lobule VI suggests impairment of motor function in both groups, while we suggest that the posterior shift of degeneration in cerebellar patients would be associated with relatively stronger impairment of higher motor function and cognitive function. Thus, these results may explain the specific symptomology associated with cerebellar degeneration in ageing and in cerebellar patients.

Sudomotor function and obesity-related risk factors in an elderly healthy population: The PROOF–Synapse Study

Autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction that can be assessed through alterations of sweat function is a major risk predictor of all-cause mortality in the general adult population [1]. Obesity, metabolic syndrome (MS) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have been recognised as risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) [2,3]. Whether these factors are related with ANS dysfunction as measured by sweat function, it has never been well established. Sudoscan has been developed to provide a quick, simple, non-invasive and quantitative assessment of sweat function [4,5].

Impacts of Comorbidities on the Association between Arterial Stiffness and Obstructive Sleep Apnea in the Elderly

Background: Although the impact of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on cardiovascular risk is reasonably well established in middle-aged patients, the debate persists as to whether OSA also increases this risk in the elderly. Arterial stiffness has been used as an early independent predictor of cardiovascular risk. Study Objectives: We sought to determine whether OSA has significant effects on the arterial stiffness in the elderly population and evaluate the impact of comorbidities on the association between arterial stiffness and OSA. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study in a university hospital. Elderly participants (≥60 years) were invited to participate in our study between November 2010 and January 2013. OSA was diagnosed using gold standard polysomnography and arterial stiffness was assessed by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) and central systolic and diastolic blood pressure (cSBP and cDBP). The high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) level was also measured. Results: We found no significant association between the severity of OSA and the arterial stiffness-related parameters cSBP, cDBP, baPWV, CAVI and hs-CRP. However, in patients with no comorbid medical conditions or use of medications (n = 101), we showed a modest association between OSA and arterial stiffness-related parameters and hs-CRP. Conclusion: We conclude that OSA is associated with increased arterial stiffness in an otherwise healthy elderly population, although the association was obviated by comorbidities and medications perhaps due to ceiling effects.

Upper Extremity Proprioception in Healthy Aging and Stroke Populations, and the Effects of Therapist- and Robot-Based Rehabilitation Therapies on Proprioceptive Function

The world’s population is aging, with the number of people ages 65 or older expected to surpass 1.5 billion people, or 16% of the global total. As people age, there are notable declines in proprioception due to changes in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Moreover, the risk of stroke increases with age, with approximately two-thirds of stroke-related hospitalizations occurring in people over the age of 65. In this literature review, we first summarize behavioral studies investigating proprioceptive deficits in normally aging older adults and stroke patients, and discuss the differences in proprioceptive function between these populations. We then provide a state of the art review the literature regarding therapist- and robot-based rehabilitation of the upper extremity proprioceptive dysfunction in stroke populations and discuss avenues of future research.

Sleep duration and risk of fatal and nonfatal stroke: a prospective study and meta-analysis.

Objective:To study the association between sleep duration and stroke incidence in a British population and to synthesize our findings with published results through a meta-analysis.Methods:The prospective study included 9,692 stroke-free participants aged 42–81 years from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer–Norfolk cohort. Participants reported sleep duration in 1998–2000 and 2002–2004, and all stroke cases were recorded until March 31, 2009. For the meta-analysis, we searched Ovid Medline, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library for prospective studies published until May 2014, and pooled effect estimates using a weighted random-effect model.Results:After 9.5 years of follow-up, 346 cases of stroke occurred. Long sleep was significantly associated with an increased risk of stroke (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.46 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08, 1.98]) after adjustment for all covariates. The association remained robust among those without preexisting diseases and those who reported sleeping well. The association for short sleep was smaller (and not statistically significant) (HR = 1.18 [95% CI 0.91, 1.53]). There was a higher stroke risk among those who reported persistently long sleep or a substantial increase in sleep duration over time, compared to those reporting persistently average sleep. These were compatible with the pooled HRs from an updated meta-analysis, which were 1.15 (1.07, 1.24) and 1.45 (1.30, 1.62) for short and long sleep duration, respectively.Conclusions:This prospective study and meta-analysis identified prolonged sleep as a potentially useful marker of increased future stroke risk in an apparently healthy aging population.

Improvement of functional constipation with kiwifruit intake in a Mediterranean patient population: An open, non-randomized pilot study

Introduction: Kiwifruit consumption has shown to improve functional constipation in healthy elderly population, according to studies in New Zealand and China. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of kiwifruit intake on functional constipation in a Mediterranean patient population characterized by its distinctive nutritional habits.Material and Methods: An open, non-controlled and non-randomized longitudinal study was conducted in 46 patients with constipation (Rome III criteria). Patients monitored for five weeks: weeks 1 and 2 no kiwifruit and weeks 3-5 three kiwifruit per day (Green kiwifruit, Actinidia deliciosa var Hayward). Bristol Scale, volume of stools, and ease of defecation was self- reported daily. The evolution of the categorical variables was tested using the Bhapkar test; functional data methodology was used for continuous variables, and Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) models were adjusted.Results: The percentage of patients with ≥3 stools per week increased from 82.61% (95% CI: 69–91.2) at week 1 to 97.78% (95% CI: 87.4–99.9) at week 2 of kiwifruit intake, with 76.09% (95% CI: 61.9–86.2) responding during the first week. The reporting of stable ideal stools increased from 17.39% (95% CI: 8.8–31) at week 2 to 33.33% (95% CI: 21.3–48) at week 5. According to GEE models, the number of depositions increased significantly (p-values&lt;0.001) in 0.398 daily units at week 1 the first week of intake, up to 0.593 daily units at week 5; significant improvements on facility in evacuation and volume of evacuation were found from the firstweek of intake (all p-values&lt;0.001).Conclusions: The intake of three kiwifruits per day significantly improves the quality of evacuation (number of depositions, volume, consistency and ease) in a Mediterranean patient population suffering from functional constipation.

Implication of Sarcopenia and Sarcopenic Obesity on Lung Function in Healthy Elderly: Using Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Previous studies have demonstrated a positive association between obesity and decreased lung function. However, the effect of muscle and fat has not been fully assessed, especially in a healthy elderly population. In this study, we evaluated the impact of low muscle mass (LMM) and LMM with obesity on pulmonary impairment in healthy elderly subjects. Our study used data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2008 to 2011. Men and women aged 65 yr or older were included. Muscle mass was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. LMM was defined as two standard deviations below the sex-specific mean for young healthy adults. Obesity was defined as body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m2. The prevalence of LMM in individuals aged over 65 was 11.9%. LMM and pulmonary function (forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in 1 second) were independently associated after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, alcohol consumption, and frequency of exercise. LMM with obesity was also related to a decrease in pulmonary function. This study revealed that LMM is an independent risk factor of decreased pulmonary function in healthy Korean men and women over 65 yr of age.

Iron status in healthy elderly people: an evaluation of the role of soluble transferrin receptors in elderly

Objective The aim of this study was to examine the status of iron and the significance of soluble transferrin receptors (sTfR) in healthy elderly population. Participants and methods This study was carried out on 30 healthy elderly individuals (15 men and 15 women) above 65 years of age (the elderly group); in addition, 10 young participants served as controls (the control group). Serum iron level, total capacity of iron binding (TIBC), ferritin, and hemoglobin were measured. The level of sTfR was measured with a commercial kit using BioVendor Humans sTfR ELISA. Results Significant statistical decrease in hemoglobin level ( P = 0.0007), ferritin ( P = 0.00001), and serum iron ( P = 0.00001), and a significant statistical increase in sTfR ( P = 0.0013) were found in the elderly group. There was no statistical significant difference in TIBC ( P = 0.4719) and significant negative correlation between sTfR and ferritin, TIBC, hemoglobin, and serum iron. Conclusion Serum iron decreases with advancing age and sTfR level increases. sTfR is negatively correlated with serum iron level and can be used as a reliable marker for iron stores, as sTfR is not affected by acute inflammatory conditions. sTfR measurement is useful in the diagnosis of iron deficiency.

Estimation of Spectral Amplitude Measures in Healthy Aged Individuals

ABSTRACT Introduction The anatomical and physiological changes in the phonatory system due to aging have a major impact on voice. Widely researched parameters of voice like fundamental frequency and the perturbation measures have strong correlation with age. However, these measures depend on the location of the exact pitch pulses and it may yield unreliable results in case of a severely aperiodic voice. Also, harmonic measures of voice in healthy aging are scanty in the literature. Aim The present study focused on determining the changes in harmonic-related measures in healthy aging individuals using spectral amplitude measures. Materials and methods The participants were classified into three groups as young, middle-aged, and elderly adults based on their age. All the participants were required to sustain three different types of vowels. Voice samples were analyzed using CSL software to obtain the spectral amplitude measures. Results This showed that there was a decrease in spectral amplitude measures with aging. Discussion Thus, suggesting that the harmonic structure of voice is not affected in healthy aged individuals. Vowel type and gender also influences the harmonic-related measures in the healthy aging population. Conclusion The results of the present study could be used by the voice clinicians while assessing adults with voice disorders. It will also help the clinicians in delineating the age and gender differences in the vocal parameters. How to cite this article Monnappa D, Balasubramanium RK. Estimation of Spectral Amplitude Measures in Healthy Aged Individuals. Int J Phonosurg Laryngol 2015;5(2):42-47.

Cepstral analysis of voice in healthy aged individuals

Introduction: The anatomical and physiological changes in the phonatory system due to aging have a major impact on voice. Widely researched parameters of voice such as fundamental frequency and the perturbation measures depend on the location of the exact pitch pulses, and it may yield unreliable results in case of a severely aperiodic voice. Aim of the Study: The present study focused on determining the cepstral characteristics of voice in healthy aging individuals. Methods: All the participants among the young adults, middle-aged adults, and old adults were required to sustain the vowel/a/. Voice samples were analyzed using Hillenbrand's Z tool software to obtain the cepstral measures. Results: Results showed that there was an increase in the cepstral measures with aging, thus suggesting that the harmonic structure of voice is not affected in healthy aged individuals. Gender also influences the cepstral measures in healthy aging population. Conclusion: The results of the present study could be used by the voice clinicians while assessing adults with voice disorders. It will also help the clinicians in delineating the age and gender differences in the vocal parameters.