美国老年医学专科医生的培训和资格认证

美国老年医学专科医生必须经过一整套正规和系统的培训,包括4年大学本科和4年医学院的医学教育及3年内科(或家庭医学科)住院医生培训和1～3年老年医学专科培训.老年医学专科医生的资格认证和水平考核也很严格,除了全美统一的医师执照考试(3步)和各州政府医师执照的审批外,还有非政府性的老年医学专科医生的资格认证和水平考核.后者是一个很专业化的过程,包括自学、书面考试和患者调查等,其证书需要每10年更新1次.这一整套正规和系统的培训和专科资格认证考核确保了老年医学专科医生的高专业水平,同时,也避免各地老年医学专科医生专业水平参差不齐.希望通过我们的介绍能促进我国老年医学专科医生培训以及资格认证和水平考核正规化、系统化.     

对我国老年医学专科医师培养途径与模式的粗浅认识

随着我国进入老龄化社会,建立一支为之服务的老年医学医师队伍是保证老年人医疗健康服务的基础.但如何培养并建立起这支既能满足老年社会的基本医疗需求又能兼顾老年医学学科发展的队伍是摆在我们面前的重要任务.从内科高年住院医师中选拔高素质人才,进行现代老年医学相关专科培训,同时建立一支多学科老年医学临床工作团队,从临床上培养老年医学专科医师是一种可行的培养模式;另外建立导师制,从科研与个人职业发展方向两方面给予指导是培养高层次老年医学领军人才的可借鉴模式;将这些培养模式与社区医师培养相结合,使老年医学专科人才资源延伸到社区是快速培养我国老年医学医师队伍的可能方式.     

Normative Performance on the Brief Smell Identification Test (BSIT) in a Multi-Ethnic Bilingual Cohort: A Project FRONTIER Study 1

The Brief Smell Identification Test (BSIT) is a commonly used measure of olfactory functioning in elderly populations. Few studies have provided normative data for this measure, and minimal data are available regarding the impact of sociodemographic factors on test scores. This study presents normative data for the BSIT in a sample of English- and Spanish-speaking Hispanic and non-Hispanic Whites. A Rasch analysis was also conducted to identify the items that best discriminated between varying levels of olfactory functioning, as measured by the BSIT. The total sample included 302 older adults seen as part of an ongoing study of rural cognitive aging, Project FRONTIER. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that BSIT scores require adjustment by age and gender, but years of education, ethnicity, and language did not significantly influence BSIT performance. Four items best discriminated between varying levels of smell identification, accounting for 59.44% of total information provided by the measure. However, items did not represent a continuum of difficulty on the BSIT. The results of this study indicate that the BSIT appears to be well-suited for assessing odor identification deficits in older adults of diverse backgrounds, but that fine-tuning of this instrument may be recommended in light of its items’ difficulty and discrimination parameters. Clinical and empirical implications are discussed.     

The Push-Turn-Taptap Task Outperforms Measures of Executive Functioning in Predicting Declines in Functionality: Evidence-Based Approach to Test Validation

Performance on the Push-Turn-Taptap (PTT) task has been shown to be a strong predictor of concurrent everyday functioning. This study utilized a prospective, longitudinal design to evaluate the PTT task for predicting future performance on a behavioral assessment of everyday functioning. The PTT task was compared to other measures of executive functioning as well as general cognition in terms of administration time and ability to identify participants who evidenced functional decline. A total of 50 community-dwelling older adults (ages 58–87) completed the PTT task, Mattis Dementia Rating Scale, Geriatric Depression Scale, Behavioral Dyscontrol Scale, Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System, and Timed Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. Baseline PTT performance (a) was highly correlated with an objective measure of everyday functioning after approximately one year (r?=??.497, p?<?.001), (b) was associated with changes in follow-up functioning, F(3, 46)?=?3.15, p?=?.03, (c) was a better predictor of future functional status than a longer battery of EF, and (d) reliably identified individuals with the greatest magnitude of functional decline. The PTT tasks may provide a particularly advantageous method of predicting future changes in everyday functioning in older adults.     

Pharmacists' interventions to reduce sedative/hypnotic use for insomnia in hospitalized patients

Background

Hospitalization can contribute to insomnia in many patients and is usually treated symptomatically. However, sedative/hypnotic misuse is associated with complications in this population, especially in the elderly. Such complications include dizziness, falls and over-sedation. Due to the implicit dangers, widespread use of these drugs for insomnia, particularly in older patients, has been discouraged by many hospitals. The aim of this study was to review and evaluate prescribing patterns and to optimize the use of the sedative/hypnotic agents through daily pharmacy interventions at a community hospital.

Targeting ageing and preventing organ degeneration with metformin

BackgroundAgeing is characterized by a decline in cognitive and bodily functions. Metformin, the most commonly prescribed antidiabetic agent today, has proved to be able to modulate oxidative stress, several inflammatory pathways and cellular senescence to promote anti-ageing. This review aims to explore and summarize the effects of metformin on ageing.ResultsMetformin, a longstanding treatment for diabetes, has been shown to increase lifespan in both vertebrate and mammalian models. This pleiotropic effect is hypothesized to mimic calorie restriction, a currently proven means of slowing ageing, by decreasing insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 levels and improving insulin sensitivity. However, studies have shown that metformin is also able to target several other ageing pathways, thereby inhibiting mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), increasing AMPK activity and improving DNA repair. Clinical studies, such as those supported by the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink service, have reported that diabetes patients treated with metformin live longer than patients without diabetes. Metformin use can also reduce type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) incidence among those at risk, lower cancer incidence, and improve cognitive function, cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and atherosclerosis.ConclusionVarious studies have found that metformin can target several nutrient-sensing, anti-ageing and immune pathways, leading to reductions in oxidative stress, inflammation and DNA damage as well as providing effects similar to those of calorie restriction. However, further trials are still needed to confirm these findings.     

40例老年冠状动脉旁路移植术临床分析

目的总结40例老年冠状动脉旁路移植术(CABG)无死亡的临床体会,比较非体外循环不停跳冠状动脉搭桥术(OPCAB)和体外循环下冠状动脉旁路移植术(CCABG)后的早中期结果。方法回顾性地分析2003年9月至2006年6月连续完成的40例老年冠状动脉搭桥术。患者年龄65～85岁,其中12例CCABG,28例OPCAB。结果患者无手术死亡。OPCAB组3支病变26/28,CCABG组3支病变10/12,其中1例同期室壁瘤切除,1例同期主动脉瓣置换。平均旁路移植支数为(3.4±0.8)支。患者随访率100%,随访时间1～34个月。随访期间仅有1例术后1个月剧烈活动后出现心绞痛,其他无任何症状。结论对于选择性病例,只要掌握手术适应证,OPCAB和CCABG均可以获得较满意的早中期效果。