Cortisol diurnal patterns,associations with depressive symptoms,and the impact of intervention in older adults: Results using modern robust methods aimed at dealing with low power due to violations of standard assumptions

Advances in salivary bioscience enable the widespread integration of biological measures into the behavioral and social sciences. While theoretical integration has progressed, much less attention has focused on analytical strategies and tactics. The statistical literature warns that common methods for comparing groups and studying associations can have relatively poor power compared to more modern robust techniques. Here we illustrate, in secondary data analyses using the USC Well Elderly II study (n = 460, age 60–95, 66% female), that modern robust methods make a substantial difference when analyzing relations between salivary analyte and behavioral data. Analyses that deal with the diurnal pattern of cortisol and the association of the cortisol awakening response with depressive symptoms and physical well-being are reported. Non-significant results become significant when using improved methods for dealing with skewed distributions and outliers. Analytical strategies and tactics that employ modern robust methods have the potential to reduce the probability of both Type I and Type II errors in studies that compare salivary analytes between groups, across time, or examine associations with salivary analyte levels.     

Control of head stability during gait initiation in young and older women

Transition tasks between static and dynamic situations may challenge head stabilization and balance in older individuals. The study was designed to investigate differences between young and older women in the upper body motion during the voluntary task of gait initiation. Seven young (25 ± 2.3 years) and seven older healthy women (78 ± 3.4 years) were required to stand on a force platform and initiate walking at their self-selected preferred speed. Angles of head, neck and trunk were measured by motion analysis in the sagittal plane and a cross-correlation analysis was performed on segments pairs. Variability of head and neck angular displacements, as indicated by average standard deviation, was significantly greater in the older than in the young participants. The young women maintained dynamic stability of the upper body, as forward flexion of the trunk was consistently counteracted by coordinated head–neck extension. Differently, movement patterns employed by the older women also included a rigid motion of all upper body segments leaning forward as a single unit. These results demonstrated that older women perform the transition from standing to walking with greater variability in the patterns of upper body motion compared to young women.     

A Personal Light-Treatment Device for Improving Sleep Quality in the Elderly: Dynamics of Nocturnal Melatonin Suppression at Two Exposure Levels

Light treatment has been used as a non-pharmacological tool to help mitigate poor sleep quality frequently found in older people. In order to increase compliance to non-pharmacological light treatments, new, more efficacious light-delivery systems need to be developed. A prototype personal light-treatment device equipped with low brightness blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) (peak wavelength near 470 nm) was tested for its effectiveness in suppressing nocturnal melatonin, a measure of circadian stimulation. Two levels of corneal irradiance were set to deliver two prescribed doses of circadian light exposure. Eleven older subjects, between 51 and 80 yrs of age who met the selection criteria, were exposed to a high and a low level of light for 90 min on separate nights from the personal light-treatment device. Blood and saliva samples were collected at prescribed times for subsequent melatonin assay. After 1 h of light exposure, the light-induced nocturnal melatonin suppression level was about 35% for the low-light level and about 60% for the high-light level. The higher level of blue light suppressed melatonin more quickly, to a greater extent over the course of the 90 min exposure period, and maintained suppression after 60 min. The constant exposure of the low-light level resulted in a decrease in nocturnal melatonin suppression for the last sampling time, whereas for the high-light level, suppression continued throughout the entire exposure period. The present study performed with healthy adults suggests that the tested personal light-treatment device might be a practical, comfortable, and effective way to deliver light treatment to those suffering from circadian sleep disorders; however, the acceptance and effectiveness of personal light-treatment devices by older people and by other segments of the population suffering from sleep disorders in a real-life situation need to be directly tested. (Author correspondence: figuem@rpi.edu)     

Adaptation changes in dynamic postural control and contingent negative variation during repeated transient forward translation in the elderly

Background

Adaptation changes in postural control and contingent negative variation (CNV) for the elderly were investigated during repeated forward floor translation.

Methods

Fifteen healthy elderly persons, living in the suburban area of Kanazawa City, Japan, underwent backward postural disturbance by a forward-floor translation (S2) 2 s after an auditory warning signal (S1). A set with 20 trials was repeated until a negative peak of late CNV was recognized in the 600-ms period before S2, and the last set was defined as the final set. Electroencephalograms, center of foot pressure in the anteroposterior direction (CoPap), and electromyograms of postural muscles were analyzed.

Results

CoPap displacement generated by the floor translation was significantly decreased until the twelfth trial in the first set, and mean CoPap displacement was smaller in the second and final sets than in the first set. The mean displacement was significantly smaller in the final set than the previous set. A late CNV with a negative peak was not recognized in the first and second sets. However, most subjects (13/15) showed a negative peak by the fourth set, when the late CNV started to increase negatively from about 1,000 ms after S1 and peaked at about 300 ms before S2. At about 160 ms before the CNV peak, the CoPap forward shift started. The increase in timing of the gastrocnemius activity related to the CoPap shift was significantly correlated with the CNV peak timing (r = 0.64). After S2, peak amplitudes of the anterior postural muscles were significantly decreased in the final set compared to the first set.

Conclusions

It was demonstrated that even for the elderly, with so many repetitions of postural disturbance, a late CNV with a negative peak was recognized, leading to accurate postural preparation. This suggests the improvement of frontal lobe function (e.g., anticipatory attention and motor preparation) in the elderly.     

Anciano y anemia: revisión crítica de su definición y prevalencia

Background and objectivesThe prevalence of anaemia is an important health indicator, although there is little rigorous information gathered on the elderly population, particularly in those over 80 years old. The same criteria that are used in the general population are often used to define anaemia in the elderly. The epidemiological data collected by the WHO in 1968 (that have been used to generalise this criteria), did not include the population over 65 years-old.Two objectives are established, which includes a critical review of the available evidence on whether the criteria used to define anaemia in the adult population can be extrapolated to the elderly, and a review of publications on the prevalence of anaemia in the elderly over 80 years-old.Material and methodsA systematic bibliographic search was performed on the established objectives.ResultsAlthough the WHO criteria, based on data from 1968, are widely used, other possible cut-off points have been proposed for elderly people. A total of 20 studies were found that were conducted in North America and Europe, with only 70,000 patients, and different age criteria. The prevalence of anaemia ranges between 3% and 63%, depending on the diagnostic criteria, age, and whether they were institutionalised or not.ConclusionsAnaemia is a very prevalent disease in elderly patients. The collection of large databases is necessary to determine more adequate diagnostic criteria.     

螺内酯治疗老年高血压的临床疗效及对血清炎性因子水平的影响

目的:探讨螺内酯治疗老年高血压的临床疗效及对血清炎性因子水平的影响。方法:选择2017年6月至2018年12月我院收治的144例老年高血压患者,根据治疗方法的不同将其分为观察组80例与对照组64例。对照组给予硝苯地平治疗,观察组给予螺内酯治疗,两组均治疗观察4周,对比两组治疗前后的血清内皮素(Endothelin,ET)-1和血栓素(Thromboxane,TX)-B2含量、白介素(Interleukin,IL)-6与可溶性细胞间粘附分子(Soluble intercellular adhesion molecule,s ICAM-1)水平的变化及临床疗效。结果:所有患者完成治疗,无严重不良反应发生。治疗后,观察组的总有效率为98.8%,显著高于对照组(85.9%,P0.05)。两组治疗后24 h收缩压(Systolic blood pressure,SBP)和舒张压(Diastolic bloodpressure,DBP)、血清ET-1、TX-B2、IL-6与s ICAM-1水平均显著低于治疗前(P0.05),且观察组以上指标均明显低于对照组(P0.05)。结论:螺内酯治疗老年高血压的临床疗效明显优于硝苯地平治疗,可能与其明显抑制血清与ET-1、TX-B2、IL-6与s ICAM-1水平有关。     

右美托咪定对老年恶性肿瘤全麻手术患者术后细胞免疫功能、认知功能及炎症因子水平的影响

目的:探讨右美托咪定对老年恶性肿瘤全麻手术患者术后细胞免疫功能、认知功能及炎症因子水平的影响。方法:选取2017年2月～2019年6月期间到我院择期行手术治疗的老年恶性肿瘤患者119例,根据随机数字表法将患者分为对照组(n=59)和研究组(n=60),研究组麻醉中输注右美托咪定,对照组麻醉中输注同容量等速率的生理盐水,比较两组患者围术期指标、细胞免疫功能、不良反应、炎症因子指标、简易智力状态量表(MMSE)评分。结果:两组患者术后第3 d的CD4~+/CD8~+、CD3~+、CD4~+较术前下降,CD8~+较术前升高(P0.05);研究组术后第3 d的CD4~+/CD8~+、CD3~+、CD4~+高于对照组,CD8~+则低于对照组(P0.05)。两组术后第3 d的血清高迁移率族蛋白1(HMGBl)、白介素-6(IL-6)、肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)水平均升高,但研究组低于对照组(P0.05)。两组手术时间、术中出血量、麻醉时间比较无差异(P0.05)。两组患者术前、术后第1 d、术后第3 d的MMSE评分呈先下降后升高趋势(P0.05),且研究组术后第1 d、第3 d的MMSE评分高于对照组(P0.05)。两组不良反应发生率比较无统计学差异(P0.05)。结论:老年恶性肿瘤全麻手术患者术中输注右美托咪定,可减轻细胞免疫抑制及炎症反应,对术后早期的认知功能下降有一定预防作用。     

普罗布考联合胰激肽原酶对老年糖尿病周围神经病变患者氧化应激反应及血清NSE水平的影响

目的:探讨普罗布考联合胰激肽原酶对老年糖尿病周围神经病变患者氧化应激反应及血清神经元特异性烯醇化酶(NSE)水平的影响。方法:选择2015年8月至2017年8月我院接诊的94例老年糖尿病周围神经病变患者作为本研究对象,通过随机数表法将其分为观察组(n=47)和对照组(n=47)。对照组在常规治疗基础上给予胰激肽原酶治疗,观察组在对照组基础上联合普罗布考治疗,两组均连续治疗12周。比较两组治疗后的临床疗效、治疗前后运动传导速度(MNCV)、感觉传导速度(SNCV)、多伦多临床评分系统(TCSS)评分、血清丙二醛(MDA)、超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶(GSH-Px)及NSE水平的变化和不良反应的发生情况。结果:治疗后,观察组临床疗效总有效率为93.62%(44/47),明显高于对照组[70.21%(33/47)](P0.05);两组正中神经、腓总神经MNCV、SNCV较治疗前均显著延长(P0.05),且观察组正中神经、腓总神经MNCV、SNCV均明显高于对照组(P0.05);两组TCSS评分各内容和总分、血清MDA、NSE水平较治疗前均显著降低(P0.05),且观察组TCSS评分中症状评分、反射评分、感觉评分和总分及、血清MDA、NSE水平均明显低于对照组(P0.05);两组血清超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶(GSH-Px)水平较治疗前均显著升高(P0.05),且观察组血清SOD、CAT、GSH-Px水平均明显比对照组高(P0.05)。两组治疗期间不良反应总发生率分别为10.64%(5/47)、4.26%(2/47),组间比较差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:普罗布考联合胰激肽原酶治疗老年糖尿病周围神经病变患者的效果显著优于单用胰激肽原酶治疗,可更有效改善神经病变程度,其机制可能和缓解氧化应激反应、降低血清NSE水平有关。