Prevention of dementia presents a potentially critical platform for improvement of long-term public health

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-99
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Potential Importance ◽  
Related Risk ◽  
Public Health Threat ◽  
Secondary Outcomes

With the aging of the population, Alzheimer disease (AD) has become an epidemic and a major public health threat. Hundreds of molecules tested in clinical trials in the last decade to treat AD have failed, moving the field to examine the clinical and neurobiological value of prevention of cognitive decline and AD. This short review describes recently finished or currently ongoing clinical trials for prevention of AD, both their main outcomes and secondary outcomes. In addition, the potential modifying effects of age and of genetics as important factors that may affect the design of future clinical trials is discussed. Finally, we discuss the development of new molecular imaging and of digital technologies as a means to disclosure of dementia-related risk and disease progress, and their potential importance as contributors to adherence to healthy lifestyle for the prevention or delay of AD onset.

Prevention of dementia presents a potentially critical platform for improvement of long-term public health

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-99
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Potential Importance ◽  
Related Risk ◽  
Public Health Threat ◽  
Secondary Outcomes

With the aging of the population, Alzheimer disease (AD) has become an epidemic and a major public health threat. Hundreds of molecules tested in clinical trials in the last decade to treat AD have failed, moving the field to examine the clinical and neurobiological value of prevention of cognitive decline and AD. This short review describes recently finished or currently ongoing clinical trials for prevention of AD, both their main outcomes and secondary outcomes. In addition, the potential modifying effects of age and of genetics as important factors that may affect the design of future clinical trials is discussed. Finally, we discuss the development of new molecular imaging and of digital technologies as a means to disclosure of dementia-related risk and disease progress, and their potential importance as contributors to adherence to healthy lifestyle for the prevention or delay of AD onset.

scholarly journals Prevention of dementia presents a potentially critical platform for improvement of long-term public health

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-99
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Potential Importance ◽  
Related Risk ◽  
Public Health Threat ◽  
Secondary Outcomes

With the aging of the population, Alzheimer disease (AD) has become an epidemic and a major public health threat. Hundreds of molecules tested in clinical trials in the last decade to treat AD have failed, moving the field to examine the clinical and neurobiological value of prevention of cognitive decline and AD. This short review describes recently finished or currently ongoing clinical trials for prevention of AD, both their main outcomes and secondary outcomes. In addition, the potential modifying effects of age and of genetics as important factors that may affect the design of future clinical trials is discussed. Finally, we discuss the development of new molecular imaging and of digital technologies as a means to disclosure of dementia-related risk and disease progress, and their potential importance as contributors to adherence to healthy lifestyle for the prevention or delay of AD onset.

scholarly journals High-risk lifestyle and all-cause mortality in older Australians with stroke: A data linkage study

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
W Peng ◽  
Andrew Hayen ◽  
J a n e Maguire ◽  
J o n Adams ◽  
David Sibbritt
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Cox Regression ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Lifestyle Factors ◽  
Stroke Survivors ◽  
Vigorous Exercise ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
All Cause Mortality

Abstract Background Stroke prevention via lifestyle modification is a public health priority in developed countries. Few studies have examined the association of high-risk lifestyle factors with long-term mortality of stroke survivors. Therefore, this study aims to explore the effect of key lifestyle factors on all-cause mortality after stroke. Methods Sample is derived from the 45 and Up Study, the largest ongoing study in the Southern Hemisphere focusing on the health of people aged 45 years and older living in NSW, Australia. The lifestyle data in the 45 and Up Study between 2006 to 2015 were linked with data from the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, NSW Cause of Death Unit Record File, and NSW Admitted Patient Data Collection by the Centre for Health Record Linkage. We defined a high-risk lifestyle as no vigorous exercise, smokers, or > 10 alcoholic drinks/week. Multivariate Cox regression model is used to examine the effect of high-risk lifestyle on survival using 10-year all-cause mortality as the main outcome, adjusted for key confounders. Results We analysed information on 8410 adults with a stroke event occurring prior to the baseline 45 and Up Study, and 31% of them died in 10 years. 6219 participants were identified as having a high-risk lifestyle at baseline. Being a current smoker and without vigorous exercise were associated with 41% (95% CI: 16%, 73%) and 52% (95% CI: 30%, 78%) increase in the likelihood of death in 10 years, respectively. However, high-risk alcohol drinking was not significantly associated with survival. Of note, having cardiovascular-related comorbidities showed greater risks of mortality (HR range, 3.6-7.2). Conclusions High-risk lifestyle factors were associated with an increased risk of long-term all-cause mortality, suggesting that enhancing public health initiatives to promote 'healthy' lifestyle behaviours can be of great benefit to stroke survivors. Key messages It is essential for stroke survivors to maintain a healthy lifestyle to delay all-cause mortality. Stroke survivors with high-risk lifestyle may be associated with increased likelihood of death if they have comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertension.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): Why is it so lethal?

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-67
Author(s):  
Anika Tursa Promi ◽  
Sanzida Islam Bristi ◽  
Farhana Akhter ◽  
Rashed Noor
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
Antiviral Drugs ◽  
Present Review ◽  
Health Threat ◽  
Mass Public ◽  
Public Health Threat

COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has been the most dreadful mass public health threat for more than a year. An array of clinical trials with repurposed and repositioned drugs as well as with the candidate vaccines are being conducted with the aim of mitigation of COVID-19. While a few antiviral drugs and several candidate vaccines showed satisfactory results in the clinical trials, the side effects after vaccination and the evolution of new SARS-CoV-2 variants appear as a major challenge for the scientists. Present review focused on the possible reasons behind the lethality of SARS-CoV-2.

scholarly journals Relieving distressed caregivers (ReDiCare study): study protocol of a randomized pragmatic trial

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Pfeiffer ◽  
◽  
Christina Theurer ◽  
Gisela Büchele ◽  
Ana Babac ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Intervention Research ◽  
Care Quality ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Intervention Protocol ◽  
Secondary Outcomes

Abstract Background Providing care for someone with a disease or chronic condition can have a negative psychological, physical, social, and economic impact upon informal caregivers. Despite the socio-economic relevance and more than three decades of caregiver intervention research only very few translational efforts of successful interventions are reported. Still less of these interventions have been implemented into routine services. The aim of the ReDiCare study (German acronym BerTA) is to evaluate the effectiveness of a stepped counselling approach for burdened caregivers delivered by care counsellors of two long-term care insurances and registered psychotherapists. Methods/ design A pragmatic randomised controlled trial with 572 caregivers of older adults (≥ 60 years) receiving benefits of one of the two participating long-term care insurances. Participants are assigned (t0) to either the ReDiCare intervention or a control group receiving routine care and counselling. Data are collected at baseline (-t1), 3-month (t1), 9-month (t2) and 15-month (t3). The 9-month post-intervention assessment (t2) is the primary endpoint to evaluate the results on the primary and secondary outcomes, measured by self-reported questionnaires. Depressive symptoms measured with the CES-D are the primary outcome. The main secondary outcomes are physical complaints, utilization of psychosocial resources, caregiver self-efficacy and burden, positive aspects of caregiving and perceived care quality. A process evaluation, including audio tapes, self-report questionnaires and documentation will be conducted to examine internal and external validity of the intervention. Data on direct and indirect costs are collected for the (health) economic evaluation, using a health care perspective and a societal perspective. Discussion While comparable previous caregiver interventions have been developed and evaluated for specific caregiver groups (e.g. dementia caregivers, stroke caregivers), the ReDiCare study will indicate whether a stepped approach will be effective also in a broader group of caregivers. The intervention is one of the very few translational studies in caregiver intervention research and will provide valuable insights into relevant factors for training, intervention protocol adherence, effectiveness, and costs for future implementation steps. Trial registration Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien (German Clinical Trials Register), DRKS00014593 (www.drks.de, registered 14 May 2018) and International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, DRKS00014593  (https://apps.who.int/trialsearch/).

scholarly journals Current pharmacologic treatments for smoking cessation and new agents undergoing clinical trials

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 175346661987592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatsuya Nagano ◽  
Masahiro Katsurada ◽  
Yuichiro Yasuda ◽  
Kazuyuki Kobayashi ◽  
Yoshihiro Nishimura
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
First Line ◽  
New Agents ◽  
Cochrane Database ◽  
Public Health Threat ◽  
Supplementary Material ◽  
Pharmacologic Treatments

Smoking causes various diseases and is a major public health threat worldwide. Therefore, promoting smoking cessation is the most important intervention contributing to maintaining the health of smokers and nonsmokers and saving enormous financial expense. We reviewed existing and emerging smoking-cessation pharmacotherapies from the Cochrane Database of Systemic Reviews, PubMed, Ovid, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases. A literature review revealed that bupropion may be appropriate for patients interested in reducing smoking who dislike, or who have failed, nicotine-replacement therapy (NRT). Additionally, varenicline and NRT are efficacious first-line smoking cessation treatments and should be given to all individuals unless contraindicated. The reviews of this paper are available via the supplementary material section.

scholarly journals The Prevalence of Tobacco Consumption Among Women in Târgu Mureş and Associations with Socio-Demographic and Cultural Factors

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-81
Author(s):  
Florina Ruţa ◽  
Oana Maria Iacob ◽  
Cristina Naşca ◽  
Anca Ileana Sin
Keyword(s):  
Young Women ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Tobacco Consumption ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Women Of Childbearing Age ◽  
Childbearing Age ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Related Risk ◽  
Resistance To Stress

Abstract The habit of smoking is one of the most dangerous long-term behaviors affecting the health of a population, especially for young women, who will become the mothers to give birth to the future generations. In order to identify the prevalence of smoking among young women in Târgu Mureş, as well as other lifestyle-related risk factors, in this cross-sectional study we used a questionnaire to assess lifestyle among 964 women aged 15 to 49 years. The results showed that almost half of the interviewed women declared being smokers. The highest prevalence was found to be associated with the 21 to 30 year age group, no high-school education, non-Romanian ethnics, showing no interest for a healthy lifestyle, low resistance to stress and lack of proper rest and relaxation. This increased prevalence of smoking among women of childbearing age was identified alongside a low willingness for smoking cessation.

scholarly journals COVID-19 reinfection - An enigmatic public health threat

2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karthikeyan P. Iyengar ◽  
Vijay Kumar Jain ◽  
Pranav Ish
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Lung Fibrosis ◽  
Herd Immunity ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Neurological Deficits ◽  
Question Mark ◽  
Viral Mutation ◽  
Public Health Threat ◽  
Area Of Concern

To the Editor The COVID-19 pandemic has been consistently on the rise across the globe. The recovered patients getting long-term sequelae, especially lung fibrosis and residual neurological deficits, is an area of concern. Another extremely important conundrum is the risk of re-infection. It has been recently documented from Hong Kong  and puts an unpleasant question mark on long term immunity, sampling technique standardization, viral mutation and efficacy of herd immunity. There are definitions for COVID -19 infection and its severity, but unfortunately none for re-infection.

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