View clinical trials related to Aging.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of mental effort on improving muscle strength.
The proposed study objective is to compare hospital-based rehabilitative care with transitional subacute rehabilitation for adults recently diagnosed with a disabling disorder. Clinical outcomes, cost and utilization of services will be compared in order to test the hypotheses that medically-stable patients receiving rehabilitation from subacute care facilities will: 1) function as well physically, 2) report less family dysfunction, 3) have better psychological adjustment and well-being than controls who receive only hospital-based inpatient care, and 4) receive services at lower cost. We intend to assess the impact of hospital-based versus subacute care on clinical and cost outcomes at admission, discharge [3 months post-admission] and at 12 months. The first set of analyses will determine predictors of physical function, family function, psychological adjustment and well-being over a 1 year period.
Hospitalization for an acute medical condition often results in functional decline in older adults. This loss of function often is not reversed after hospital discharge. Our general hypothesis is that patients will benefit from rehabilitation that occurs simultaneously with the medical management of acute conditions and when linked with a home exercise program that can be implemented after discharge from the hospital. This approach differs from the traditional approach of addressing rehabilitation needs after acute conditions have resolved and providing rehabilitation services for selected patients in institutional settings, such as subacute units or nursing homes. The feasibility of the program will be assessed by documenting the participation of subjects during the inpatient phase and adherence of subjects with the home-based program. Fifty subjects will be recruited from individuals who are 60 years of age or older who have been admitted to the Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) for treatment of an acute medical condition. Subjects will be either unable to ambulate, require assistance for ambulation, or be unable to ambulate a functional distance (150 feet) at a functional velocity (30m/min). Subjects will be randomly assigned to a physical rehabilitation group (PR) or to a control group (CON). During hospitalization, subjects in the PR group daily will have one 45-minute morning rehabilitation session and one 30-minute evening rehabilitation session. Both sessions will include ambulation and transfer training. The longer morning session will also include resistance exercise. Subjects in the CON group will have medial care as it is currently provided. During the six months after discharge, subjects in the PR group will perform a home-based exercise program consisting of ambulation and resistance exercises. The program will be monitored and progressed by an exercise physiologist who will visit subjects weekly for the first month after discharge, every other week for the second and third months after discharge, and monthly in the fourth, fifth, and six months after discharge. This study is designed to test the feasibility and effectiveness of a practical and potentially cost-effective rehabilitation program.
The objective of this project is to determine the safety and efficacy of testosterone supplementation as an adjunct to traditional rehabilitation therapy in the care of deconditioned older men. Our long range goal is to determine whether other hormones (e.g., combined testosterone and growth hormone) are helpful as an adjunct to traditional rehabilitation therapy. This project is important to the VA health care system because 38% of American veterans are aged (age > 65 years), bioavailable testosterone is diminished in older age men, low testosterone is associated with impaired muscle strength, and lack of muscle strength hinders rehabilitation. Older men who are not successfully rehabilitated often get admitted to nursing homes for long term care, at a cost of approximately $40,000/year. Payment for long term care is currently one of our most difficult health care problems. If testosterone supplementation improves rehabilitation outcomes, as our pilot data suggest it will, patients will be more satisfied and long-term care financial resources will be saved. We will conduct a randomized, placebo-controlled trial to test the hypothesis that supplementation with testosterone improves rehabilitation outcomes in deconditioned older men. Specifically, we will screen all hospitalized older men with delayed discharge from the hospital (> 7 day hospital stay). Men who have at least one new impairment in their ability to perform activities of daily living (e.g., inability to walk), low serum testosterone concentration, and no contraindications (e.g., prostate or breast cancer) will be offered the opportunity to participate. Study participants will be randomized to receive either testosterone (5 mg transdermally each night) or placebo (matching transdermal patch) daily in a double-blind fashion for the duration of their hospital course (expected average duration of study is 29 days). Subjects will then receive their rehabilitation as usual, with all members of the health care team blinded as to whether the subject is receiving testosterone or placebo. At baseline, weekly, at discharge, and at 6 and 12 months after discharge, subjects will be assessed using validated measures (i.e., Functional Independence Measure - FIM). Our hypothesis is that testosterone supplementation, as an adjunct to traditional rehabilitation therapy, will improve rehabilitation outcomes.
This study uses a patented type of exercise poles, developed to assist runners rehabilitating from lower body injuries. These poles may offer older adults improved stability, reduced fear of falling, and lessened lower body pain when exercise walking.
Studies investigating physiological processes involved in aging-related deficits in regulation of stress hormone systems.
This research on Functional Incidental Training ( FIT) primarily involves women residing in community nursing homes. It is an individualized rehabilitative protocol intended to improve mobility, endurance, strength and continence in frail, older, functionally impaired and disabled veterans. Objectives of the project are as follows: 1) Test the effects of FIT on transfer ability, continence, ambulation/mobility, balance and fall risk, strength, and endurance; 2) Determine the characteristics of NHCU residents who respond to FIT; 3)Identify the most sensitive outcome measures related to FIT; and 4) Determine the labor costs of FIT relative to usual care.