Aging is an inevitable part of life and is becoming a worldwide social, economic and health problem. This is mainly due to the fact that the increasing proportion of individuals in the advanced age category have a higher probability of developing age-related disorders, such as type II diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disorders, sarcopenia, and neurodegenerative conditions. New therapeutic approaches are still needed to decrease or slow the effects of such diseases. Advances in -omic technologies, such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics, have significantly advanced our understanding of disease in multiple medical areas, as the analysis of multiple molecular networks has simultaneously provided a more integrated view of disease pathways. It is hoped that emerging hits from these analyses might be prioritized for further screening as potential novel drug targets for increasing the human healthspan in line with the lifespan. In turn, this will lead to new therapeutic strategies as well as drug development projects by the pharmaceutical industry. This book presents a series of reviews describing studies that have resulted in identification of new potential drug targets for age-related disorders. Much of this information has come from -omic comparisons of healthy and disease states or from testing the effects of new therapeutic approaches. Authored by experts from around the globe, each chapter is presented in the context of specific chronic diseases or therapeutic strategies. This book is designed for researchers in the areas of aging and chronic disease, as well as clinical scientists, physicians and stakeholders in major drug companies.

The diagnosis and treatment of the elderly psychotic is problematical due to the fact that many of them have either Alzheimer's disease or vascular disease-related dementia. Expert contributors present the newest research based on clinical studies of the handling and treatment of elderly patients whose psychosis may be directly related to an incurable organic disease. They offer a multi-faceted approach to the treatment of these patients ranging from the medical, neurological, psychopharmacological, and therapeutic to social and family considerations. Assessment and Treatment of the Elderly Neuropsychiatric Patient also includes chapters dealing with attitudes toward death and dying as well as psychoanalysis.

In this interdisciplinary book, experts from philosophy, medicine, law, psychology, economics, and social sciences address questions and develop solutions for a well-designed society of long life. Young as well as old people have to actively shape more and more of their life span. At the same time, aging becomes more multifaceted: the individual view on one's own life course is changing, and the needs and demands for a fulfilled life are diversifying. The implications affect all spheres of life - from education and workplace to health care and the culture of interaction. They require content-related and structural adjustments for a diverse society of longevity in which multiple generations live alongside each other. But how can change be managed responsibly, how can individual and collective responsibility be distributed appropriately, and how can a sustainable and fair social future be ensured?

Improvements in health care in the 21st century mean people are living longer, but with the paradox that chronic illness is increasingly prevalent. Dementia, a term used to describe various different brain disorders that involve a loss of brain function that is usually progressive and eventually severe, is a condition associated with an ageing population and is becoming increasingly common. Worldwide there are approximately 24 million people with dementia, expected to rise to 81 million by 2040. Inevitably, people living with dementia will die, but their needs at the end of life are not well known. This book describes what might be achieved if the values and best practice of both dementia care and palliative care are brought together, to achieve quality end of life care for this specific group of patients. It explores what is known about the experience of dying with dementia, using a narrative approach, and develops a model that draws together a 'person-centred' approach to care. The book examines the possibilities and the challenges faced when trying to improve quality of life for people with dementia, and presents examples of good practice from across the world.

An in-depth and wide-ranging approach to the study of older adults in society Taking a holistic approach to the study of aging, this volume uses biological, archaeological, medical, and cultural perspectives to explore how older adults have functioned in societies around the globe and throughout human history. As the world's population over 65 years of age continues to increase, this wide-ranging approach fills a growing need for both academics and service professionals in gerontology, geriatrics, and related fields. Case studies from the United States, Tibet, Turkey, China, Nigeria, and Mexico provide examples of the ways age-related changes are influenced by environmental, genetic, sociocultural, and political-economic variables. Taken together, they help explain how the experience of aging varies across time and space. These contributions from noted anthropological scholars examine evolutionary and biological understandings of human aging, the roles of elders in various societies, issues of gender and ageism, and the role of chronic illness and "successful aging" among older adults. This volume highlights how an anthropology of aging can illustrate how older adults adapt to shifting life circumstances and environments, including changes to the ways in which individuals and families care for them. The research in Anthropological Perspectives on Aging can also help researchers, students, and practitioners reach across disciplines to address age discrimination and help improve health outcomes throughout the life course.

This issue of Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, guest edited by Dr. Daniel E. Forman, is devoted to Cardiac Rehabilitation. Articles in this outstanding issue include: Cardiac Rehabilitation: No Such Thing As 'Too Old'; Evaluating and Treating Frailty in Cardiac Rehabilitation; Utility of Home-based Cardiac Rehabilitation for Older Adults; Benefits of Smart devices, Wearables, and Other Telehealth Options to Enhance Cardiac Rehab; Resistance Training in Cardiac Rehabilitation for Older Adults; High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) in Cardiac Rehabilitation for Older Adults; Pre-habilitation: The right medicine for older frail adults anticipating TAVR, CABG, and other cardiovascular care; Using Cardiac Rehabilitation to Adjust Medications in Older Adults: Aggressive Prevention and Deprescribing as 2 Sides of the Same Coin; Gender Disparities in Cardiac Rehabilitation Among Older Women: Key opportunities to improve care; Cardiac Rehabilitation for TAVR; Cardiac Rehabilitation for Heart Failure in Older Adults; Cardiac Rehabilitation for Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) in Older Adults; Cardiac Rehabilitation as Part of Management in Post-acute Care (PAC): Opportunities for improving care; and Tailoring Assessments in Cardiac Rehabilitation for Older Adults: The relevance of geriatric domains.

This open access book turns the research attention of social policy scholars and long-term care researchers from comparative descriptions of care systems, focusing mostly on expenditures and volumes of long-term care services, to outcomes, and in particular to the question whether older people really receive the support that they need. Without knowledge about which needs and which social groups are currently inadequately covered, it is impossible to guide policy development. The book puts forward a novel theoretical framework to guide future research work and public discussion on the issue of unmet long-term care needs, by broadening the current discussion so that inadequate care is seen in its societal and policy contexts, taking structural issues and policy designs into account. Kroeger outlines three different domains of care poverty (personal care poverty, practical care poverty and socio-emotional care poverty) and differentiates between main methods how unmet needs are measured. This book summarises the existing knowledge on the prevalence, factors and consequences of unmet care needs and interprets these comparatively in the light of social inequalities and care policy models of different welfare states. It will be invaluable to students and scholars of social policy, social work, social gerontology, sociology and political science, and to all disciplines across the field of social sciences that study welfare state policies and care for older people.

With the aging of the baby boomers and medical advances that promote longevity, older adults are rapidly becoming the fastest growing segment of the population. As the population ages, so does the incidence of age related disorders. Many predict that 15% - 20% of the baby-boomer generation will develop some form of cognitive decline over the course of their lifetime, with estimates escalating to up to 50% in those achieving advanced age. Although much attention has been directed at Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, it is estimated that nearly one third of those cases of cognitive decline result from other neuropathological mechanisms. In fact, many patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease likely have co-morbid disorders that can also influence cognition (i.e., vascular cognitive impairment), suggesting mixed dementias are grossly under diagnosed. The Clinical Handbook on the Neuropsychology of Aging and Dementia is a unique work that provides clinicians with expert guidance and a hands-on approach to neuropsychological practice with older adults. The book will be divided into two sections, the first addressing special considerations for the evaluation of older adults, and the second half focusing on common referral questions likely to be encountered when working with this age group. The authors of the chapters are experts and are recognized by their peers as opinion leaders in their chosen chapter topics. The field of neuropsychology has played a critical role in developing methods for early identification of late life cognitive disorders as well as the differential diagnosis of dementia. Neuropsychological assessment provides valuable clinical information regarding the nature and severity of cognitive symptoms associated with dementia. Each chapter will reinforce the notion that neuropsychological measures provide the clinician with sensitive tools to differentiate normal age-related cognitive decline from disease-associated impairment, aid in differential diagnosis of cognitive dysfunction in older adults, as well as identify cognitive deficits most likely to translate into functional impairments in everyday life.

Evidence-Informed Approaches for Managing Dementia Transitions provides evidence-informed approaches and future directions for supporting a higher quality of life for people living with dementia. Through a person-centered lens, this book equips care providers to better help people living with dementia align their expectations and hopes with the trajectories they can expect in their journey. It highlights the various transitions that those with dementia will experience and describes best practices for optimal adjustment to each. Topics covered include problem identification, driving cessation, loss of financial autonomy, acute hospital admission, moving to assisted living residences and long term care homes, and palliative and end of life care. This is a must have reference for researchers, clinicians, and mental health professionals (psychologists, counsellors, social workers, mental health nurses) as well as policy makers and other health and social care providers working with individuals with dementia.

This book aims to address the major aspects of future drug product development and therapy for older adults, giving practical guidance for the rational product and clinical development and prescribing of drug products to this ever growing segment of the population. With authors coming from key "aging" markets such as Europe, the USA, China and Japan, the book will provide valuable information for students, scientists, regulators, practitioners, and other healthcare professionals from academia, industry and regulatory bodies.

Alzheimer's disease can be thought of as a multi-faceted neuropsychological disorder, with diverse impairments in cognitive abilities, such as attention, memory, language and executive functioning. Over the last decade cognitive neuropsychology has provided a far richer understanding of these impairments, and this book describes these advances, placing them in their clinical context. The first section deals with background theoretical and clinical issues, such as the extent to which Alzheimer's disease can be considered as a single entity or whether it is more fruitful to explore the neuropsychology of individual patients. It considers the diagnostic aspects of Alzheimer's disease, the natural history of the disease, how it progresses over time and the characteristics of the prodromal phase. A second section, the core of the book, covers major cognitive functions and delineates how impairments can be differentiated from each other. A third portion integrates what is known about cognitive decline with the underlying neurobiological basis, including pathological structural brain abnormality and neuropharmacological changes. A final section explores the clinical implications of the research with an overview of the neuropsychological assessment of this disease, cognitive approaches to management, and neurobiological treatment.
As an introduction to this field, The Cognitive Neuropsychology of Alzheimer's Disease brings together the opinion of leading researchers in a book that will provide a useful source of information for neurologists, neuropsychologists, psychiatrists and neuroscientists who wish to broaden their knowledge concerning this debilitating illness.

We live in an aging world. Illnesses that are prevalent and cause significant morbidity and mortality in older people will consume an increasing share of health care resources. One such illness is depression. This illness has a particularly devastating impact in the elderly because it is often undiagnosed or inadequately treated. Depression not only has a profound impact on quality of life but it is associated with an increased risk of mortality from suicide and vascular disease. In fact for every medical illness studied, e.g. heart disease, diabetes, cancer, individuals who are depressed have a worse prognosis. Research has illuminated the physiological and behavioral effects of depression that accounts for these poor outcomes. The deleterious relationship between depression and other illnesses has changed the concept of late-life depression from a "psychiatric disorder" that is diagnosed and treated by a psychiatrist to a common and serious disorder that is the responsibility of all physicians who care for patients over the age of 60.
This is the first volume devoted to the epidemiology, phenomenology, psychobiology, treatment and consequences of late-life depression. Although much has been written about depressive disorders, the focus has been primarily on the illness as experienced in younger adults. The effects of aging on the brain, the physiological and behavioral consequences of recurrent depression, and the impact of other diseases common in the elderly, make late-life depression a distinct entity. There is a compelling need for a separate research program, specialized treatments, and a book dedicated to this disorder. This book will be invaluable to psychiatrists, gerontologists, clinical psychologists, social workers, students, trainees, and others who care for individuals over the age of sixty.

This book documents the state of the art in the field of ambient assisted living (AAL), highlighting the impressive potential of novel methodologies and technologies to enhance well-being and promote active ageing. It covers a broad range of topics, with sections on technological sensors and platforms, social robotics for assistance, assistance and care applications, health and medical support methodologies and technologies, as well as the analysis, modelling and design of AAL services. The book comprises a selection of the best papers presented at the 8th Italian Forum on Ambient Assisted Living (ForitAAL 2017), which was held in Genoa, Italy, in June 2017 and brought together researchers, technology teams and professional associations, as well as representatives of the Italian regions and advisors to the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research, with the goal of developing a consensus on how to improve provisions for the elderly and impaired. The respective contributions offer valuable insights into how the latest advances can help address the needs of the elderly and those with chronic health conditions. They also underscore the need for AAL to continue moving toward multidisciplinary integration, so as to embrace the various disciplines that place the user of services at the centre of the design process.

This book presents a comprehensive and state-of the-art approach to vascular disease for the geriatric patient, focusing on vascular pathology and interventions but also on perioperative care, anesthetic care, functional outcomes and quality of life, as well as ethical considerations that impact decision making. The book addresses open and endovascular interventions in different vascular beds, as well as preoperative workup and optimization, anesthetic considerations, all aspects and expectations of the postoperative care and recovery and is the only book to include specialize in the intricacies of the care of the geriatric patients, the challenging recovery and neurocognitive changes, and ethical considerations for the end stage geriatric patient or in the setting of postoperative complications. Written by experts in the field, each section addresses patient selection, pre-operative considerations, technical conduct of the most common operations with open or endovascular options, and avoiding complications. A brief review of the existing literature addressing the particular topic follows in each section. With its concise yet comprehensive summary of the field, Vascular Disease in Older Adults is the ultimate resource for geriatricians, cardiologists, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and all physicians of who care for the aging patient with vascular disease.

This book focuses on the nutrients and nutraceuticals that promote active and healthy ageing - recently defined by the WHO as the process of development and maintenance of functional capacity that allows well-being at an advanced stage of life. There has been a rapid rise in the use of nutritional interventions as well as specific nutraceuticals in the management of multifactorial aspects of clinical health outcomes. Written by leading experts this book comprehensively discusses the various ageing phenotypes and age-related diseases. It also assesses the nutritional status of the elderly and the various epidemiological factors that influence it. It reviews the role of dietary fiber in disease-free and fully functional ageing. Further, the book explores the benefits of polyphenols, which are secondary plant metabolites, in protecting against cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and various neurodegenerative diseases.

Though mental health recommendations for the elderly is rapidly evolving, the few current textbooks on this subject are either too voluminous or complex for regular review by clinicians, and most do not contain the latest information available in the field. Written by experts in geriatric psychiatry, this book provides a comprehensive yet concise review of the subject.The text covers topics that include the social aspect of aging, treatment and diagnosis options unique to the elderly in need of psychiatric care, policy and ethics, and particular geriatric health concerns that may influence psychiatric considerations. Psychiatric Disorders Late in Life is the ultimate resource for practicing psychiatrists, physicians, geriatricians, and medical students concerned with the mental healthcare of the elderly.

Anemia in the elderly has been properly defined as the silent epidemic, representing 3 million people in the United States aged 65 years and older. Incidence and prevalence of this condition increase with age. It differs in its etiology, pathogenesis and treatment from anemia in children and younger adults. Anemia is associated with reduced survival, increased risk of functional dependence and hospitalization, increased risk of congestive heart failure and stage renal disease and cognitive disorders. Approximately 70% of anemia in older individuals is reversible.

Almost a decade has passed since the first edition of this book was published and the explosion of new research in stroke is very apparent. Several important themes have coloured medicine during this time: the development of evidence based health care, new optimism for acute drug treatments for stroke, the growth of new information about the human genome, a dramatic increase in the number of stroke clinicians and researchers world-wide, and the establishment of the Cochrane Collaboration. All of these trends are relevant in revising a book of this nature. Clinical epidemiology remains an essential foundation for the practice of evidence-based healthcare. The enthusiasm of the pharmaceutical industry has resulted in a large number of new trials, often too small to detect clinically important differences, and have increased the number of clinicians actively engaged in stroke research. It is even more important that these clinicians should have a good understanding of the design of trials, the rationale for randomisation and blinding, and the importance of selecting the most appropriate outcomes. Surprisingly, little of practical importance has resulted from the decade of exploration of the human genome - the best indication of a person's risk remains their phenotype and not their genotype. The impetus to organise stroke medicine into a defined speciality, with emphasis on acute stroke, is even stronger - but it is essential to bear in mind the importance of interdisciplinary working, the value of primary care, geriatric medicine, psychiatry and rehabilitation in the prevention, treatment rehabilitation and long-term care of stroke patients. The Cochrane Collaboration is currently grappling with a task of enormous size - the compression of tens of thousands of randomised control trials -and other scientific evidence- into systematic reviews of the effects of interventions. Citations to this work are made in the section on management. In this edition, there is an extra opening section entitled Epidemiology which comprises the nuts and bolts of the subject and reviews the purposes of health care for stroke patients. The remaining sections follow the format of the first edition: Diagnosis, Management, and Prognosis. All chapters have been substantially updated. The book retains its focus on epidemiology that is relevant to the clinician and attempts to use examples from stroke to illustrate many aspects of epidemiological thinking. The book aims to stimulate readers to think about their own practice, the nature of scientific evidence and the vast areas of clinical uncertainty that remain the target for research over the coming decades.

This major work with an internationally famous list of contributors deals with the ways in which needs assessment, service, evaluation, and public health and social policy may improve the care of elderly people in all societies. It discusses the methodology of epidemiological studies, risk factors, and the most common problems and diseases in old age.

This multi-chapter book focuses on one of the hottest topics in ageing research - the role of hormones in health and longevity, offering a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of their mechanistic roles in health, ageing and longevity. Hormones are an excellent system of communication between cells and tissues within an organism, and they coordinate a wide range of processes in biological systems, including neuroendocrine and immunological controls. The book offers insights into the latest significant advances in our understanding of the mechanisms of hormonal signaling that control a variety of processes involved in development and ageing. It is divided into four parts: Part I includes a review of the hundred-year history of hormones by the illustrious hormone biochemist Dr. J.R. Tata. Part II presents various chapters on the hormones involved in growth, stress and metabolism, while Part III addresses the hormones controlling cognition and rhythms in ageing processes. Lastly, Part IV discusses the hormones affecting reproduction, immunity and life span. It also explores the use of hormones as pharmaceuticals to maintain health in the elderly. It is a valuable resource for those working in the area of hormone signaling in general and in the field of ageing research in particular.

A comprehensive review of psychopathology in older adults–combining theory, research, and practice

The tremendous growth of the aging population has dramatically increased the importance of clinical geropsychology as a major area of research, theory, and practice. The unique ways in which psychological disorders manifest in the later years of life create special challenges for professionals working with older clients. Edited by a well-known expert in aging, and with contributions from leading clinical researchers, Psychopathology in Later Adulthood addresses the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment issues health professionals encounter in late adulthood.

Combining theory, research, and case examples, this book explores both the physical and cognitive changes that occur as adults age. Each chapter focuses on a specific disorder and includes a relevant clinical case study, which is integrated into the substantive content. Some of the subjects covered are:

• Personality, anxiety, mood, and sexual disorders
• Dementia
• Suicide
• Substance abuse disorders
• Schizophrenia and related disorders
• Sleep-related disorders
• General principles of therapy

Thorough and practical, Psychopathology in Later Adulthood provides the reader with the insight needed to understand and successfully treat the complex aspects of aging.

This book highlights international efforts to better understand the role of individual differences in healthy aging by exploring new directions, methods, and questions within the field. The book considers how to measure personality and personality change during adulthood, the associations between personality and healthy aging outcomes over time, and the role of personality in building interventions to promote healthy aging. The first section considers the value of personality constructs for healthy aging outcomes beyond the broad Big Five personality dimensions. It discusses the role of attachment, purpose, and affect, and also touches on the issue of psychopathology. The second section presents innovative assessment methods, research designs beyond classical longitudinal approaches, as well as sophisticated and integrative techniques for analyzing personality change processes. The third section raises new important questions, such as how interventionists from non-personality domains can incorporate personality processes in their intervention programs. It also discusses how different domains of individual functioning may interact in concert to predict healthy aging outcomes, as well as how more integrative lifespan models of healthy aging may advance research on personality and healthy aging. Overall, this book will spark interest and chart new directions for researchers, practitioners and interventionists in healthy aging, gerontology and applied fields.

Poliomyelitis, better known as polio, thoroughly stumped the medical science community. Polio's impact remained highly visible and sometimes lingered, exacting a priceless physical toll on its young victims and their families as well as transforming their social worlds. This social history of infantile paralysis is plugged into the rich and dynamic developments of the United States during the first half of the twentieth century. Children became epidemic refugees because of anachronistic public health policies and practices. They entered the emerging, clinical world of the hospital, rupturing physical and emotional connections with their parents and siblings. As they underwent rehabilitation, they created ward cultures. They returned home to occasionally find hostile environments and always discover changed relationships due to their disabilities. The changing concept of the child, from an economic asset to an emotional commitment, medical advances, and improved sanitation policies led to significant improvements in child health and welfare. This study, relying on published autobiographies, memoirs, and oral histories, captures the impact of this disease on children's personal lives, encompassing public-health policies, hospitalization, philanthropic and organizational responses, physical therapy, family life, and schooling. It captures the anger, frustration, and terror not only among children but parents, neighbors, and medical professionals alike.

This book explores positive aging through the lens of precarity, aiming to ground positive aging theories in current social contexts. In recent years, research on aging has been branded by growing disagreements between supporters of the successful aging model and critical gerontologists who highlight the widening inequalities, disadvantages and precarity that characterize old age. This book comes to fill a gap in knowledge by offering an alternative view on positive aging, informed by precarity and its impact on projections concerning aging. The first part of the book places aging in broader theoretical and empirical context, exploring the complex links between views on aging, successful aging theories, policy and social reality. The second part uses results from a qualitative research conducted in Germany to illustrate the dissonance between successful aging ideals and both negative and positive views on aging as well as aging preparation strategies inspired by precarity. Findings from this section provide a solid starting point for comparisons with countries that are both similar and different from Germany in terms of welfare regimes and aging policies. The final part of the book discusses the psychological implications of these findings within and beyond the German case study and outlines potential solutions for practice. This book provides health psychologists, gerontologists, sociologists, social workers, health professionals as well as students and aging individuals themselves with better understanding of the meaning of aging in precarious times and builds confidence about aging well despite precarity.

The Owner's Manual for Your Eyes: The most comprehensive guide to taking care of vision. In The Eye Book, specialist Dr. Gary H. Cassel presents readers with trusted, evidence-based information they can rely on to protect vision and learn more about how to treat any eye problems that come up. This easy-to-understand volume takes a step-by-step approach, providing an overview of the eye's anatomy, a tour of healthy vision, and an explanation of what steps readers and health care providers should take to address vision issues. Drawing on years of clinical experience with patients, Cassel also looks at eye complications associated with common medical conditions (for example, diabetes) along with the best treatments for eye conditions, such as cataracts and glaucoma. Now in its second edition, this bestselling book continues to provide the interested reader, along with nurse practitioners, physician assistants, internists, and family doctors, with practical information about * eyeglass materials, contact lenses, and refractive surgeries (including LASIK) to improve vision * tips to spot and treat common eye irritations and infections, including conjunctivitis ("pink eye") * advice about when people should take care of an eye problem on their own and when they need to consult with an expert * what people (and their health care providers) can do about blurriness, dry eyes, eye strain, eye allergies, and floaters * how vision problems may be a sign of other health conditions, including thyroid problems and multiple sclerosis * which medications may affect vision * what people within and outside of the medical field need to know about macular degeneration and low vision Richly illustrated and engagingly written, this edition features special bonus material, including a chapter on cosmetics and the eye, FAQs ("Can cataracts grow back after cataract surgery?"; "Will I go blind from my glaucoma?"), and a handy symptom index that allows readers to research topics by the presentation of an eye problem. Useful for everyone, including general medical professionals who want to learn more about the health of the eyes, this up-to-date, in-depth, and authoritative book will serve as a users' manual for the eyes and help promote better vision for a brighter tomorrow.