The EASY-Care Standard, used to assess the health and care needs of older individuals, is widely accepted by patients and physicians across poor, middle-income, and rich countries, according to a new multicenter study. Led by Keir E. Philip, MBChB, BSc, of Royal Free Hospital in Bristol, United Kingdom, researchers wanted to evaluate the EASY-Care Standard (2010) from the perspective of health care workers and patients in six countries. They used a multicenter, mixed-method approach and collected data from 2008 to 2012. Ian Philp, MD, FRCP, of the University of Warwick, Warwick, United Kingdom, developed the EASY-Care system during a research fellowship at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health. “The idea was to develop something that would be useful for the primary care setting using the principles of good assessment,” Dr. Philip said in an interview. The EASY-Care Standard (2010) consists of three sections. The first section includes patient demographic information and medical history. The next section assesses current needs and priorities. The last section provides summary scores based on the responses. The research team has studied use of the EASY-Care system in 40 countries, and in this report, they describe results in Iran, Colombia, India, Lesotho, Tonga, and the United Kingdom by using a questionnaire that included quantitative and qualitative data. Participants' responses generally were positive as far as the ability to use EASY-Care to identify and address needs. Of 115 patients surveyed, 96 (83%) said the EASY-Care Standard was about the right length, 83 (72%) said everything was clear, 84 (73%) said that the test was very helpful in identifying the health and care needs most important to them, and 86 (75%) said they would definitely recommend it. The results of the study suggest that the EASY-Care Standard assessment has potential for cross-cultural use as a standard method for assessing older individuals, the researchers said. ▸ Source: Development of EASY-Care, for Brief Standardized Assessment of the Health and Care Needs of Older People; With Latest Information About Cross-National Acceptability — Philip KE, et al. White matter lesions correlate with balance and gait disturbance and can help predict falls in elderly patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease, according to a cross-sectional study. Researchers from Japan's National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology enrolled 149 individuals with Alzheimer's disease and 14 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment in the study. They divided them into two groups: 63 individuals who experienced falls in the past year and 100 who didn't. The researchers assessed cognitive ability, depression, dementia symptoms, medication use, and balance/gait function. They analyzed white matter lesions, as seen on magnetic resonance imaging. Those individuals who fell had a greater volume of white matter lesions, and their posture/gait performance tended to be worse than non-fallers. Periventricular hyperintensity in frontal caps and occipital white matter lesions were especially strong predictors for falls. ▸ Source: Regional white matter lesions predict falls in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease — Ogama N, et al.