Special aspects of nutrition in elderly / Besonderheiten in der Ernährung im Alter

A balanced and wholesome diet provides the human organism with energy (macronutrients) and all necessary micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, proteinogenic amino acids, omega fatty acids) necessary for the maintenance of all metabolic processes. The necessary quantity and composition especially of energy-supplying macronutrients change with age due to physiological and pathological changes in the body. These age-related changes as well as corresponding recommendations for elderly patients will be summarized in the following article based on the current S3 guidelines of the German Society for Nutritional Medicine on «Clinical Nutrition in Geriatrics¼ as well as further literature and the recommendations of the German Nutrition Society. Nutrition at the terminal stage of life and special nutritional advices for persons suffering from diabetes mellitus are not discussed.

Neuropsychological assessment of a veteran with a large arachnoid cyst.

Arachnoid cysts are benign, congenital masses that are believed to form when the arachnoid membrane splits or is duplicated and the resulting space fills with fluid. Despite their potentially alarming appearance on brain imaging, congenital cysts discovered in adulthood are usually silent and do not result in functional impairment. A left-handed male veteran with mild memory complaints was discovered to have a large (16.4 cm × 7.7 cm), left-sided arachnoid cyst. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed significant displacement of brain structures including the hippocampus, Sylvan fissure, and splenium. Viewing brain MRI images in only 1 plane was misleading and could have erroneously resulted in assuming some structures were absent. Viewing multiple planes of section revealed significant structural displacement and provided a better 3-dimensional conceptualization of an abnormal brain. A clinical interview indicated excellent premorbid functioning, and neuropsychological test results were within the normal range with the exception of mildly impaired scores on tests reliant on processing speed and lower-than-expected visual memory scores. Results were consistent with previous research noting retained verbal abilities and low-average visual skills. Low-average and mildly impaired scores were potentially secondary to microvascular changes, slowed visual scanning, psychiatric conditions, and testing base rates.

Neuropsychological Function in a Case of Dandy-Walker Variant in a 68-Year-Old Veteran.

Dandy-Walker syndrome (DWS) is a congenital brain malformation that is characterized by partial or complete agenesis of the cerebellar vermis and cystic dilatation of the 4th ventricle that shifts ventrolaterally to displace the cerebellar hemispheres. This case is a 68-year-old male veteran with complaints of new-onset cognitive disorder who was found to have previously unsuspected DWS on head computed tomography. This is one of the first case studies to present complete neuropsychological test results in a veteran with DWS. Despite the level of abnormality on imaging, the veteran functioned well until onset of mild cognitive impairments in late adulthood.

Promoting careers in gerontology to students: what are undergraduates seeking in a career?

The graying of the Baby Boomers has created a shortage of professionals in aging-related careers. However, colleges and universities with gerontology and aging programs face a challenge of recruiting students. The purpose of this study was to determine what students are looking for in a career and whether these attributes are congruent with careers in gerontology. Results of this study indicated that factors important to students in a future career include whether career is enjoyable, has adequate benefits, provides personal fulfillment, provides excitements, provides an opportunity to help others, is well respected by others, and provides opportunities for employment.

Tuning them in versus turning them on: how do we interest students in working with older adults?

As a nation, we face a shortage of individuals to serve our aging population. Therefore, the recruitment of undergraduate students into gerontology programs is an important, although challenging task. The purpose of this study was to determine if students who do not choose to major in gerontology do so because they simply are unaware of the opportunities or because they are uninterested. College students who were not gerontology majors (N = 226) were surveyed to determine whether they were aware of a gerontology major at their university, whether they could define gerontology, and their reasons for not pursuing gerontology. Results suggest that a lack of awareness, rather than a lack of interest, may be responsible for the challenges of recruiting college students into the field of gerontology. This implies that the most efficient path to bolstering our gerontology workforce may be to make students aware of the diverse and rewarding career opportunities in the field of aging.

Post-call cognitive function and satisfaction in medical students on different call schedules: a prospective observational pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of 2 different call schedules on post-call cognitive function and satisfaction. STUDY DESIGN: This is a prospective observational pilot study of 20 third-year medical students. A computerized cognitive function test was administered to students with call every fourth night or a week of 12-hour "night float" shifts. Questionnaires were completed to assess satisfaction on different call schedules. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in cognitive functioning scores for students on either call schedule. Responses on questionnaires indicate that night float allows students to feel more alert for clinical duties (P = .03). CONCLUSION: There is no significant impact of sleep deprivation on cognitive scores; however, night float allows students to feel subjectively more alert for clinical duties.

A percepção de usuários sobre as orientações das palestras de educação à saúde em grupos de hipertensão em uma unidade de saúde do município de Colombo-PR / Perception of users about the orientations of Speech in education in health in hipertension groups in a health unit in Colombo-PR municipalty

Este trabalho foi realizado em uma Unidade de Saúde do Município de Colombo-PR, sendo resultado da conclusão do Curso de Especialização em Saúde da Família, promovido pelo Núcleo de Estudos em Saúde da Família, Setor de Ciências da Saúde da Universidade Federal do Paraná. Teve como objetivo, insvestigar a percepeção dos usuários hipertensos participantes das palestras de educação à saúde, sobre os temas abordados, visando contribuir para a prática de educação à saúde. Seu embasamento científico deu-se pelo estudo na literatura e pela aplicação da metodologia qualitativa de caráter exploratório. A aplicação dessa proposta metodológica ocorreu no mês de novembro de 2003, por meio de visitas domiciliares aos usuários hipertensos. Os sujeitos do estudo foram selecionados de acordo com a participação, maior número de presenças no ano de 2003, nos encontros de educação à saúde realizados pela Unidade de Saúde. A amostra foi de 14 usuários hipertensos, sendo utilizado como critério a saturação dos dados. Foi possível observar que a relação dos usuários hipertensos com os membros da equipe de saúde é um fator altamente positivo na adesão desses ao tratamento. O objetivo do estudo foi alcançdo, pois todos os usuários hipertensos responderam terem recebido orientações para o controle adequado da hipertensão arterial e afirmaram que as orientações dadas nas palestras surtiram resultados extremamente positivos na vida de cada um. Todos estes aspectos destacados deverão ser observados para se manter e garantir o desenvolvimento das ações de promoção de saúde e prevenção de complicações. Assim considero que os objetivos propostos foram atingido