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List Svensson posted an update 2 weeks, 5 days ago
INTRODUCTION The ageing of the population has led to a progressive increase in age-related diseases, such as dementia or visual impairment, due to chronic diseases. This work describes and analyses the efficacy and feasibility of an individualised intervention carried out with two male users of a day-care centre with a diagnosis of dementia and a severe visual impairment, which made it difficult for them to take part in the regular activities of the centre. MATERIAL AND METHOD The intervention process had a time frame of three months, and had an assessment phase before and after the intervention. For the assessment, use was made of the Mini-Mental State Examination, Geriatric Depression Scale, and an observational tool based on the Dementia Categorization Recording Observational System. The intervention lasted for eight weeks, and consisted of different dynamics adjusted to the preferences of the participants. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS After the intervention, a clinically significant reduction in the depressive symptomatology was observed for both participants, along with a reduction in the frequency of apathetic behaviour during the time they spent in the centre. Furthermore, an increase was observed in the prosocial behaviour and on the engagement with the task. The results show that the personalisation of the activities for particular users increases the stimulation of the participants, improving their well-being through small and inexpensive adaptations to the interventions that are carried out in the centres. The politics of active ageing present active citizenship of the elderly as a key challenge for the coming years. Active citizenship has been defined in different ways (as complimentary in most cases), outlining an eclecticism of participatory activities that includes political engagement in a participatory and deliberative manner, as well as community and voluntary action. This term is found in different contexts such as formal politics, work, civil society, and the home. This paper, based on a systematic review, identifies the context in which this concept emerges in relation to older people and people with dementia. It also analyses the different expressions of active citizenship used, and provides key elements to be taken into account in the formulation of policies in a context of accelerated demographic ageing and where dementia is a public health priority. The notion of active citizenship in old age is a step forward from active ageing to a broader concept that integrates the principle of equality between people irrespective of gender, age and the need for support. BACKGROUND A significant number of people with physical disabilities in the world, especially in most developing countries face a lot of impediments. There is a dearth of literature describing the consensus of effectiveness of home-based rehabilitation programs designed specifically for people living with different types of physical disabilities resulting from stroke, Parkinson’s and other musculoskeletal conditions. OBJECTIVE To determine if home-based rehabilitation is effective in improving physical function of people with physical disabilities. METHOD A systematic review of randomized controlled trials was done. An electronic search of the literature was done by PubMed, Cochrane Library, the Physiotherapy Evidence Database and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature from 1990 to March 2018 to identify full text, peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials, Published in English. Selected randomized controlled trials were critically appraised with 11 items Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale scores extracted from the Physiotherapy Evidence Database and studies were included if the cutoff of 5 points was reached on Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale score. RESULTS Nine randomized controlled trials met the preset eligibility criteria. This systematic review found that there is the consistency of findings among the included studies which showed that home-based rehabilitation is an effective option for people with physical disabilities. CONCLUSION Home-based rehabilitation is not superior to hospital-based rehabilitation in improving nearly all patient outcomes assessed. However, home-based exercise programs require patient enthusiasm and regular follow-up to yield positive outcomes. BACKGROUND Trends in the incidence of stroke are important for health care planning. Information is particularly scarce in Australia, due to the paucity of studies with access to recent, large-scale, longitudinal datasets. In this paper we investigated the incidence of hospitalization for stroke by sex, age, and subtype in the whole State of Queensland (Australia). check details METHODS We obtained data of all hospital admissions for stroke in Queensland from 2002 to 2015. Age standardized hospitalization rates for first-ever stroke were calculated along with WHO adjusted rates. Poisson regression analyses were conducted to investigate the influence of time and gender on the incidence of subtypes of stroke as well as the total incidence. RESULTS Admissions for first-ever stroke were 57,597. Crude hospitalization incidence rose from 87 (95% confidence interval [CI], 84-90) to 108 (95%CI, 105-111) for both sexes. The highest increase was in the age bands 40-49 from 33 (95%CI, 26-40) to 54 (95%CI, 46-62; +62%) and 50-59 from 82 (95%CI, 70-93) to 127 (95%CI, 114-140; +56%) in men and in 60-69 from 118 (95%CI, 100-136) to 159 (95%CI, 143-175; +34%) in women. Ischemic subtype rates appeared to increase more than haemorrhagic rates. Age range, sex, and year reliably predicted incidence rates. CONCLUSIONS If these trends are maintained, the data predict further increases, especially in males aged 40-59. With people apparently stroking earlier and mortality rates dropping, the healthcare system in Australia is faced with a rapidly increasing care burden. BACKGROUND 585 nm light-emitting diodes have been proven to suppress melanogenesis in melanocytes. However, whether LEDs will influence normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs) and paracrine effect of LEDs-irradiated NHEKs in melanogenesis remains unknown. OBJECTIVE To elucidate the possible mechanisms in vitro of anti-melanogenic activity of 585 nm LEDs on paracrine effect of NHEKs and its exosomes. METHODS NHEKs irradiated with different fluences of 585 nm LEDs were evaluated the cell viability by CCK8 assay. Irradiated medium of NHEKs was co-cultured with melanocytes. Melanin content, tyrosinase activity and melanogenic enzymes activities were detected. Exosomes from NHEKs medium were isolated and characterized by electron microscopy and nanoparticle tracking analysis. The expression changes of H19 and its encoded exosomal miR-675 were analyzed. RESULTS Irradiation with 585 nm LEDs from 0 J/cm2 to 20 J/cm2 had no cytotoxic effect on NHEKs. After co-cultured with irradiated medium of NHEKs, melanin content and tyrosinase activity were reduced and the melanogenic activities were downregulated on both mRNA and protein levels of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), tyrosinase (TYR) and tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TRP-1).