Assistive technology for communication of older adults: a systematic review

Objective: Describe the use of assistive technology to enhance communication opportunities for older adults.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted in two databases, PubMed and Web of Science, by using two different searches in each. The search was limited to original articles, in English language, including people aged 60 years and older that used any type of assistive technology for communication. The articles found in the initial search were filtered by title, abstracts and the remaining articles were fully read.

Results: Eighteen studies were included in this review after the reading of full-texts. Most of the studies included apparently healthy participants with communication limitations due to aging related changes and the others included people with some pathology that prevent them from normal communication.

Conclusion: Four categories of assistive technology were identified: assistive technology for people with speech problems; robot or videoconferencing systems; Information and Communication Technologies and, other types of assistive technology for communication, such as hearing aids and scrapbooks. Assistive technology for communication of older adults is not only used by people with disabilities that prevent them from usual communication. They are mostly for older adults without a pathological communication problem.     

Heart-hand syndrome

Heart–hand syndromes show substantial clinical and genetic heterogeneity. The unusual case of a patient with a heart–hand syndrome consisting of preaxial polydactylia, postaxial syndactylia, parachute mitral valve, mild subaortic stenosis, and double outlet right ventricle is presented and discussed. The importance of distinguishing Holt–Oram syndrome from its phenocopies and other heart–hand syndromes is underlined.     

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome is an autonomic dominant disease characterized by hamartomatous polyps and mucocutaneous hyperpigmentation. We present 16 cases; females were more affected. The most common presenting complaints were of gastrointestinal tract. All polyps found were hamartomatous with general distribution through gastrointestinal tract. Endoscopic polypectomy should be carried out for treatment. Radiologic, endoscopic and histologic studies should be conducted for long-term follow-up, because of high risk of malignancy.     

Evaluation of the therapeutic effect of albendazole on experimental and human infections by Hymenolepis nana

With the objective of knowing adequately the spectrum of activity of albendazole against intestinal helminthiases, we made observations regarding hymenolepiasis caused by Hymenolepis nana. Two series of investigations were carried out: a) treatment of mice with single doses of either 25 or 50 mg/kg, repeated after ten days, using as controls animals treated with 25 mg/kg of praziquantel or not treated with any antiparasitic drugs; b) treatment of adults and children with 400 mg daily for three consecutive days, repeated after ten days.     

Galectina-3 Associada a Formas Graves e Mortalidade em Longo Prazo em Pacientes com Doença de Chagas

Background The histopathological characteristics of Chagas disease (ChD) are: presence of myocarditis, destruction of heart fibers, and myocardial fibrosis. Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a biomarker involved in the mechanism of fibrosis and inflammation that may be useful for risk stratification of individuals with ChD.Objectives We sought to evaluate whether high Gal-3 levels are associated with severe forms of Chagas cardiomyopathy (CC) and whether they are predictive of mortality.Methods We studied anti-T. cruzi positive blood donors (BD): Non-CC-BD (187 BD without CC with normal electrocardiogram [ECG] and left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF]); CC-Non-Dys-BD (46 BD with CC with abnormal ECG but normal LVEF); and 153 matched serum-negative controls. This cohort was composed of 97 patients with severe CC (CC-Dys). We used Kruskall-Wallis and Spearman’s correlation to test hypothesis of associations, assuming a two-tailed p<0.05 as significant.Results The Gal-3 level was 12.3 ng/mL for Non-CC-BD, 12.0 ng/mL for CC-Non-Dys-BD, 13.8 ng/mL for controls, and 15.4 ng/mL for CC-Dys. LVEF<50 was associated with higher Gal-3 levels (p=0.0001). In our linear regression adjusted model, we found association between Gal-3 levels and echocardiogram parameters in T. cruzi-seropositive subjects. In CC-Dys patients, we found a significant association of higher Gal-3 levels (≥15.3 ng/mL) and subsequent death or heart transplantation in a 5-year follow-up (Hazard ratio – HR 3.11; 95%CI 1.21–8.04; p=0.019).Conclusions In ChD patients, higher Gal-3 levels were significantly associated with severe forms of the disease and more long-term mortality, which means it may be a useful means to identify high-risk patients. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2021; 116(2):248-256)