View clinical trials related to Aging.
Filter by:With the introduction of the National Insurance Law in Israel in 1995, there have been increased efforts to reduce hospitalization in general and length of stay in the hospital in particular. Under nourished patients have been shown to have a longer mean length of stay and they are more likely to suffer from complications, which significantly increase cost of care. Intense nutritional intervention programs, aimed at decreasing rehospitalizations and post hospitalization complications, are not clearly currently included in the basket of services provided under the law. Nutritional intervention has been shown to be clinically efficacious and cost-effective. Demonstration of the benefits of such intervention, both in terms of reduced expenditures and quality of care, may open a path for specific nutritional intervention programs that are needed for older persons during and after discharge from Acute Care. Given the effort made to reduce the length of hospitalization time, even in frail elderly patients, it is clear that full scale nutritional intervention cannot be completed during their hospitalization. Therefore, there is a need to create continuity between in-patient and follow-up nutritional intervention. This combined policy has the potential to improve general health, reduce the rates of under nutrition and its associated complications, and thus reduce future hospitalization, along with the mortality and morbidity associated. It is plausible that improved general health and less frequent hospitalization will eventuate in cost reduction and allow the intervention to be cost effective. Furthermore, the descriptive information regarding the nutritional status of older patients admitted to an Acute Care department may be important for policy makers in their development of nutritional intervention programs to support the elderly before, during and after hospitalization. Study Hypothesis: We hypothesize that multidisciplinary nutritional intervention, during and following hospitalization, will improve dietary intake and nutritional status. Improvement in nutritional status will, in turn, cut health care costs by decreasing the use of health services. In-hospital nutritional care will be beneficial, but combined in-hospital and community care will be more clinically efficacious and more cost effective in the long run.
This study is being done to understand how testosterone, the major male sex hormone, controls the pituitary gland's secretion of growth hormone (GH). GH is an important metabolic hormone, which controls sugar; fat and protein use in the body and maintains muscle strength and bone calcium content. Both testosterone and GH decline in older men. The age-related fall in these hormones probably contributes to relative frailty, reduced quality of life, bone loss, muscle wasting and impaired sexual function.
Recent evidence suggests that there is a significant overlap between AD and cerebrovascular disease. In fact, AD and cerebrovascular disease may share some of the same risk factors, including hypercholesterolemia. In addition, studies have suggested that the HMG Co-A reductase inhibitor lipid-lowering agents, known as "statins," decrease the risk of AD by up to 70%; however, effects differed by specific statin use. This study will compare two statins, simvastatin (which crosses the blood brain barrier) and pravastatin (which does not), with respect to their ability to alter blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of AD and inflammatory markers. The primary aim of the proposed study is to determine whether there is a reduction in Abeta with statins and whether the ability of the statin to cross the blood-brain barrier will affect its ability to decrease Abeta. If it can be demonstrated that statins alter AD-associated biomarkers, this would have broad implications for the treatment and prevention of AD.
Aging is an independent risk factor, without any clear explanation. The primary aim of the study is to depict the effect of aging on the coagulation fibrinolysis parameters and microparticles.
The purpose of the ACTIVE study was to test if cognitive training interventions could maintain functional independence in elders by improving basic mental abilities, with follow-up assessments through five years.
This study randomized healthy sedentary people age 20-80 years to 16 weeks of supervised exercise versus no exercise. Several end points were evaluated after 16 weeks including insulin sensitivity and muscle physiology.
The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of a computer-based training program on the memory and cognitive abilities of mature individuals undergoing healthy aging.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether Tai Chi Chih vs. cognitive behavioral therapy vs. sleep education reduces insomnia in older adults. The secondary goal of the study is to determine whether the behavioral treatment of insomnia alters proinflammatory cytokine activity.
The role of dehydroepiandosterone (DHEA) and its sulphated ester (DHEAS) [together known as DHEA(S)] in humans remains to be fully elucidated. They are the most abundant circulating steroid hormones in humans with the principle source of production being the adrenal glands. In adrenalectomised or hypoadrenal subjects it is not standard clinical practice to replace this hormone. Whilst this lack of DHEA(S) is clearly not life threatening, the published literature on the psychological effects of replacement in this population has shown some benefit in quality of life but data concerning the metabolic effects is conflicting and incomplete. We wish to carry out a study to measure the effect of DHEA(S) replacement in a group of adrenalectomised / hypoadrenal subjects and measure the outcome of a number of psychological and metabolic parameters both prior to and after twelve weeks of 50 mg/day DHEA(S) in a double blind randomised cross over design. Mood, quality of life and sexual well being will be assessed using validated questionnaires. In addition, we will utilise the GCRC facility to measure body composition using total body water and DEXA. We will measure insulin sensitivity, exercise performance, muscle fatigability and VO2 max. Pre- and post- intervention muscle biopsies will assess DHEA(S) effects on myosin heavy chain isoform expression; skeletal muscle mitochondrial ATP production and be used to assess muscle enzyme levels.
The purpose of the SMART study was to better understand whether the body's own production of growth hormone (GH) would improve memory and problem solving ability, or cognitive function. The study was a double blind, placebo-controlled study of the cognitive effects of growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) in healthy older men and women and in those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).