摘要:

Production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) was examined in splenocyte cultures of C57BL/6J mice aged between 1 and 34 months. A significant increase in PGE2 production, in response to polyclonal stimulation by concanavalin A, was found after 24 and 48 h of incubation in all age groups. However, activated splenocytes taken from mice of the oldest group (28–34 months) produced 2- to 3-fold greater amounts of PGE2, as compared with the younger groups, and a trend towards an age-associated increase was apparent from the age of 18 months onwards. No significant age-related difference in PGE2 levels was observed in unstimulated cultures. The results obtained conform to the hypothesis that PGE2 is involved in the age-related changes in lymphocyte functions. Increased PGE2 production in response to mitogenic stimuli may affect the profile of cytokines and may limit cell-mediated immune responses in aging, such as lymphocyte proliferation and natural killer cell activit

ISSN:0304-324X    

DOI:10.1159/000213673

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1995

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

Aging in animals in accompanied by a decrease in exploratory drive, as assessed by hole poking and spontaneous alternation tests. This decrease is caused either by increased fear of the novel testing environment (neophobia) or by apathy. Either cause may be related to dysfunction of prefrontal cortex-related pathways. The myelination of the prefrontal cortex appears late in ontogeny. In accordance to the last-in first-out principle, this brain region seems to be affected early during aging. It remains to be determined whether this decrease of exploratory behavior is reversible by behavioral intervention, by dietary changes or by the administration of psychotropic drugs. One hypothesis worth testing is whether the decrease in exploration is associated to the well-described adipsia in human aging, whose neurobiological basis has not yet been determined. It is possible to consider that the maladaptive response to thirst is responsible for some senescent changes in the brain and that reversal of adipsia by behavioral, dietary or pharmacological means improves the quality of life in the elderly.

ISSN:0304-324X    

DOI:10.1159/000213674

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1995

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

The aim of this study was to ascertainthe 5-year survival figures of 171 consecutive colorectal cancer patients in southwestern Finland, the differences between various age groups, and which clinical variables predict poor outcome. The mean age at the time of diagnosis was 67 years in men and 69 years in women. The 5-year survival was lower in older patients, especially in those over 80 years with concomitant diseases. However, the colorectal cancer mortality did not differ between the three age groups: 80 years. Employing univariate analysis, a poor 5-year outcome was associated with metastases, and the outcome was excellent if the cancer was confined locally (p = 0.0001). As many as 26% of the patients in whom the cancer was confined to the bowel wall (Dukes B) at the time of operation died within 5 years. A poor survival rate was also found if the patients had emergency operations (p = 0.0021). The postoperative mortality was 6%. Using logistic regression analysis, the poor 5-year survival rate was correlated strongly with metastasized cancer (p = 0.000) but less so with age (p = 0.040

ISSN:0304-324X    

DOI:10.1159/000213675

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1995

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

It is well documented that alcohol abuse is associated with an increased risk of fracture in men, but the relationship of moderate alcohol intake to bone mineral density (BMD) is not as clear. We examined the relationship between self-reported alcohol intake and BMD measured at the hip and spine using dual X-ray absorptiometry in a population-based cohort of men. The men were categorized as (1) non-drinkers and drinkers and (2) as having no, low, medium, and high alcohol intake (units/week). 458 men aged 69.1 ± (SD) 2.8 (range 64–76) years were studied. Drinkers were significantly younger (p = 0.01), had lower recorded caffeine intake (p = 0.02), and had fewer pack years of smoking (p = 0.04) than non-drinkers. The mean BMD at the hip was significantly higher in drinkers as compared with non-drinkers (p = 0.02) before and after adjusting for age and weight. However, after further adjusting for pack years of smoking, caffeine intake, and physical activity, the difference remained significant at the trochanter only. Men categorized in the highest tertiles of alcohol intake ( > 11 units/week) were younger (p = 0.3), had lower caffeine intake (p = 0.008), and had significantly higher γ-glutamyltransferase levels (p = 0.002) than the other categories. The crude mean BMD at femoral neck, trochanter, and Ward’s triangle was significantly higher in men who drank 1–4 units of alcohol per week. However, most of this association disappeared when BMD was adjusted for age and weight except at the trochanter. The association at the trochanter did not remain after adjusting for all covariates. In men moderate alcohol intake (1–2 drinks per day) does not appear to have a detrimental effect on BMD, and even high intakes of alcohol, in this older cohort, did not appear to decrease BMD. Non-drinkers have consistently low BMD measurements, which confirms that a small amount of alcohol may be

ISSN:0304-324X    

DOI:10.1159/000213676

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1995

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

D-dimers, cross-linked fibrin split products, have been found to be an indicator of thromboembolic disease and may predict, as fibrinogen or other factors of hemostasis, a higher risk of cerebro- and cardiovascular diseases. D-dimers rose with advancing age in healthy elderly subjects and reached values well above the upper limit of the normal test values. The increase is considered to be the result of several causes, i.e. higher fibrinogen concentrations in the elderly, a slower urinary excretion, more frequent fibrin generation, (occult) diseases, risk factors, inflammatory reactions and degenerative vascular damage. In the elderly, moderately elevated D-dimers are therefore an unspecific finding. The specificity of the D-dimer test for diagnosing thromboembolic diseases can be expected to be lower than in young subjects.

ISSN:0304-324X    

DOI:10.1159/000213677

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1995

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

The cardiovascular risk factor profile was assessed in a population sample consisting of 60 nonmenopausal (control) and 100 menopausal women from different cities in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Each subject was individually interviewed and asked to complete a specially designed questionnaire aimed at identifying cardiovascular risk factors. A clinical general and gynecological examination including blood pressure and anthropometric measurements as well as a Papanicolaou smear were performed. The most prevalent risk factor in the menopausal group was low physical activity (87% of the subjects), followed by nervous complaints (67%), obesity (64%), familial antecedents of cardiovascular disease (CVD; 38%) and hypertension (33%). Other risk factors assessed showed a level of prevalence below 10%. In the control group, a tobacco smoking habit was the CVD risk factor with the highest prevalence (47%). Nervous complaints also showed a high prevalence (48%). Most menopausal patients (77%) had a cardiovascular risk index (RI) level between 1.5 and 4.0, whereas 17% of these subjects had an RI greater than 4.0 (high-risk patients). The present study reveals that, in the studied community, the menopause is associated with increased levels of both estrogen-dependent and psychosocial risk factors for CVD.

ISSN:0304-324X    

DOI:10.1159/000213678

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1995

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

To determine the influence of age, disease and other factors on anthropometric indices in elderly subjects aged 70 years and above, body mass index (BMI), arm muscle circumference (AMC), corrected arm muscle area (CAMA), fat-free mass (FFM) and total body fat (TBF) were determined in a random sample of 990 Chinese men and 1,021 women aged 70 years and over stratified by age and sex. Old age, presence of disease, poor self-perceived health, poor functional ability, lower level of physical activity, lack of dentures, depression and cognitive impairment were all factors associated with lower anthropometric values. Haemoglobin, total cholesterol and walking speed were also associated factors, although the latter two factors became insignificant after adjusting for age. When subjects with a history of disease or cognitive impairment were excluded, an age-related decline in BMI, AMC, CAMA and TBF was still observed in men although FFM remained unchanged. However, in women, only TBF showed an age-related decline. It is concluded that in the old-old population, both age and disease affect anthropometric indices, the change being more marked in men.

ISSN:0304-324X    

DOI:10.1159/000213679

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1995

数据来源: Karger