Eye disease in older people

SummaryAge-related changes affect all structures of the eye, and while age-related changes may influence the quality of vision, it is important to distinguish age-related physiological changes from pathological changes. This is important particularly when identifying pathological changes that may be treatable. The prevalence of visual loss increases substantially after 60 years of age and poor vision is the second most prevalent physical disability in older people. This review describes the normal ageing changes of the eye and outlines common ophthalmic diseases affecting older people. We refer to recent advances in diagnosis and treatment, and relevant current research.

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Providing dignified continence care to older people at end of life

International Journal of Palliative Nursing ◽

10.12968/ijpn.2019.25.10.504 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 (10) ◽

pp. 504-512 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Linda Nazarko

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Older People ◽

End Of Life ◽

Older Person ◽

Entire Family ◽

Long Term Conditions ◽

Age Related ◽

Age Related Changes

The prevalence of urinary incontinence increases as a person ages, as age-related changes make it more difficult to maintain continence. Long-term conditions and treatments prescribed to treat conditions, such as heart failure, can lead to an urgency to void the bladder. Frailty can make it difficult for an older person to respond this need. At end of life, mobility is often compromised and people can experience extreme fatigue. Caregivers can obtain support to manage an individual's incontinence during the day but often struggle alone at night. Caregivers can become exhausted and a situation can reach breaking point. Working with the older person and caregivers to determine the goals of care and how to meet them can make a huge difference. It can take the pressure off the entire family, meet a person's needs and enable the person to stay at home. This article aims to enable nurses to understand the problems older people may experience and how to work with the older person and caregivers to develop solutions that maintain dignity and enhance quality of life.

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Developing a recovery-focused therapy for older people with bipolar disorder: a qualitative focus group study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2021-049829 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. e049829

Author(s):

Elizabeth Tyler ◽

Fiona Lobban ◽

Rita Long ◽

Steven H Jones

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Bipolar Disorder ◽

Focus Group ◽

Older People ◽

Focus Groups ◽

Later Life ◽

Focus Group Study ◽

Age Related ◽

Health Related ◽

Age Related Changes

ObjectivesAs awareness of bipolar disorder (BD) increases and the world experiences a rapid ageing of the population, the number of people living with BD in later life is expected to rise substantially. There is no current evidence base for the effectiveness of psychological interventions for older adults with BD. This focus group study explored a number of topics to inform the development and delivery of a recovery-focused therapy (RfT) for older adults with BD.DesignA qualitative focus group study.SettingThree focus groups were conducted at a university in the North West of England.ParticipantsEight people took part in the focus groups; six older adults with BD, one carer and one friend.ResultsParticipant’s responses clustered into six themes: (1) health-related and age-related changes in later life, (2) the experience of BD in later life, (3) managing and coping with BD in later life, (4) recovery in later life, (5) seeking helping in the future and (6) adapting RfT for older people.ConclusionsParticipants reported a range of health-related and age-related changes and strategies to manage their BD. Participants held mixed views about using the term ‘recovery’ in later life. Participants were in agreement that certain adaptations were needed for delivering RfT for older adults, based on their experience of living with BD in later life. The data collected as part of the focus groups have led to a number of recommendations for delivering RfT for older adults with BD in a randomised controlled trial (Clinical Trial Registration: ISRCTN13875321).

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Bone and Muscle Crosstalk in Aging

Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology ◽

10.3389/fcell.2020.585644 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Chen He ◽

Wenzhen He ◽

Jing Hou ◽

Kaixuan Chen ◽

Mei Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Bone Mineral Density ◽

Skeletal Muscle ◽

Bone Cells ◽

The Elderly ◽

Extracellular Vesicle ◽

Mineral Density ◽

Age Related ◽

Age Related Changes

Osteoporosis and sarcopenia are two age-related diseases that affect the quality of life in the elderly. Initially, they were thought to be two independent diseases; however, recently, increasing basic and clinical data suggest that skeletal muscle and bone are both spatially and metabolically connected. The term “osteosarcopenia” is used to define a condition of synergy of low bone mineral density with muscle atrophy and hypofunction. Bone and muscle cells secrete several factors, such as cytokines, myokines, and osteokines, into the circulation to influence the biological and pathological activities in local and distant organs and cells. Recent studies reveal that extracellular vesicles containing microRNAs derived from senescent skeletal muscle and bone cells can also be transported and aid in regulating bone-muscle crosstalk. In this review, we summarize the age-related changes in the secretome and extracellular vesicle-microRNAs secreted by the muscle and bone, and discuss their interactions between muscle and bone cells during aging.

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Eczema and the older person

British Journal of Community Nursing ◽

10.12968/bjcn.2020.25.9.451 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 25 (9) ◽

pp. 451-459

Author(s):

Linda Nazarko

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Older People ◽

Physical Health ◽

Skin Condition ◽

Common Condition ◽

Older Person ◽

Poor Physical Health ◽

Age Related ◽

Different Types ◽

Age Related Changes

Age-related changes lead to an increase in skin problems, and around 70% of older people have a treatable skin condition. However, ageing and poor physical health can make it difficult for older people to care for their skin. Eczema, a chronic inflammatory skin condition, where the skin becomes red, inflamed, itchy and scaly, can develop easily in older adults. This can, in turn, become infected and cause discomfort and health problems. This article explains how ageing affects the skin, how eczema can develop and how it can be treated, also touching upon the different types of eczema. It aims to equip community nurses with knowledge about this common condition and how to recognise and manage it.

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Updated definition and classification of dry eye disease: Renewed proposals using the nominal group and Delphi techniques

European Journal of Ophthalmology ◽

10.1177/1120672120960586 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 112067212096058

Author(s):

Stefano Barabino ◽

Pasquale Aragona ◽

Antonio di Zazzo ◽

Maurizio Rolando ◽

Keyword(s):

Dry Eye ◽

Ocular Surface ◽

Dry Eye Disease ◽

Nominal Group ◽

Eye Disease ◽

Type I ◽

Disease Definition ◽

Quality Of Vision

The aim of our research was to obtain expert consensus for updated definition and classification of dry eye disease using formal methodology. The nominal group technique (NGT) involved a steering committee of four ophthalmologists began with collection of ideas followed by group discussion. The ideas were collated, refined, and voted upon. The main characteristics considered, each with different degrees of severity in types I, II, and III, were the ability or not of the ocular surface to re-equilibrate itself, frequency of symptoms, presence of inflammation, epithelial alterations, and possible alterations in the quality of vision. This was followed by three rounds of a “mini-Delphi” involving an expert panel of 13 ophthalmologists, with the last round including all 17 ophthalmologists. Consensus in the final round of voting (⩾75% of votes) was reached on the definition of dry eye disease and on criteria for its classification in three forms. Type I is a transient and reversible form with subclinical inflammation, possible epithelial alterations, and occasional alterations in vision. Type II is a recurrent form characterized by a reduced ability to re-equilibrate the ocular surface, frequent symptoms and alterations in vision with clinically-evident inflammation, and clear evidence of epithelial alterations. Type III is a chronic form with inability to re-equilibrate the ocular surface and accompanied by clinically-evident and chronic inflammation, persistent epithelial alterations, and frequent alterations in quality of vision. The vast majority of patients with dry eye disease can be easily classified into one of these three forms. Dry eye disease definition was updated accordingly.

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Age-related changes in the carcass yield and meat quality of male and female nutrias ( Myocastor coypus ) under intensive production system

Meat Science ◽

10.1016/j.meatsci.2017.06.003 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 133 ◽

pp. 51-55 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Eva Tůmová ◽

Darina Chodová ◽

Jana Vlčková ◽

Tomáš Němeček ◽

Linda Uhlířová ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Meat Quality ◽

Production System ◽

Myocastor Coypus ◽

Male And Female ◽

Carcass Yield ◽

Intensive Production ◽

Age Related ◽

Age Related Changes

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Effect of Age-Related Changes in Gastric Physiology on Tolerability of Medications for Older People

Drugs & Aging ◽

10.2165/00002512-200522080-00003 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 22 (8) ◽

pp. 655-661 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Julia L Newton

Keyword(s):

Older People ◽

Gastric Physiology ◽

Age Related ◽

Effect Of Age ◽

Age Related Changes

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Sight loss and how the person with dementia can cope with it

British Journal of Healthcare Assistants ◽

10.12968/bjha.2020.14.10.490 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 (10) ◽

pp. 490-499

Author(s):

Linda Nazarko

Keyword(s):

Eye Disease ◽

People With Dementia ◽

Age Related ◽

The World ◽

Sight Loss ◽

Huge Impact ◽

The Uk ◽

Person With Dementia ◽

Age Related Changes

In the UK, around 250 000 people are living with both sight loss and dementia ( Bowen et al, 2016 ). People with dementia are more likely to experience sight loss than people of their age who do not have dementia. Dementia affects the ability to understand and relate to the world and sight loss has a huge impact on the ability of the person with dementia. This article examines normal age-related eye changes and eye disease. It outlines ways to compensate for age-related changes and how to detect and treat eye disease.

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Poisoning among older people with dementia: a wake up call

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610215001416 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 27 (11) ◽

pp. 1755-1756

Author(s):

Christopher D. Etherton-Beer

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Cardiovascular Diseases ◽

Life Expectancy ◽

Older People ◽

Medical Care ◽

Human Lifespan ◽

People With Dementia ◽

Age Related

Medical care can be both “a blessing and a curse”. The contributions of medicines to increased human lifespan and falling mortality from the major cardiovascular diseases are undisputed. However, in lockstep with remarkable extension of human lifespan has been increase in the numbers of people living with chronic age related neurodegenerative conditions and frailty. In frail, multi-morbid populations, with limited homeostatic reserve and life expectancy, the balance between the risk and harms of medicines can be in equipoise. In this context the number of older people living with dementia is increasing, and understanding threats to the quality of life of people with dementia is of growing significance. Among the myriad potential causes of harm to older people with dementia, in this issue of the journal Mitchell and colleagues present new Australian data reminding us of the importance of admissions due to both intentional and unintentional poisoning.

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