Interdisciplinary Topics in Gerontology This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Geriatric oncology nursing: beyond standard care.
Authors: Overcash J Abstract Geriatric oncology nursing is a specialization that requires unique knowledge and education to care for the older person diagnosed with cancer. Understanding principles of functioning in a multidisciplinary team setting, assessment of an older patient, and cancer-related issues are central elements of the role of the geriatric oncology nurse. Additionally, education of patients and families are important in helping the older person navigate the healthcare system. The purpose of this chapter is to review the current literature in geriatric oncology nursing. PMID: 2350352...
Source: Interdisciplinary Topics in Gerontology - November 25, 2014 Category: Geriatrics Tags: Interdiscip Top Gerontol Source Type: research

Exercise for older cancer patients: feasible and helpful?.
Authors: Klepin HD, Mohile SG, Mihalko S Abstract Older adults are at high risk for functional decline after a cancer diagnosis. Physiologic changes of aging which negatively impact body composition, strength, and fitness increase vulnerability to the development of short- and long-term disability when stressed with cancer burden and treatments. Treatment-associated physical disability impairs quality of life, limits therapeutic options, and contributes to the social and economic burden of cancer care in the elderly. Despite this, few clinical trials capture disability as an outcome or focus on whether it ...
Source: Interdisciplinary Topics in Gerontology - November 25, 2014 Category: Geriatrics Tags: Interdiscip Top Gerontol Source Type: research

Aging and cancer - addressing a nation's challenge.
Authors: Bréchot JM, Le Quellec-Nathan M, Buzyn A Abstract The incidence of cancer will increase dramatically among elderly people in the 21st century. The first French National Cancer Plan (2003-2006) with the French Ministry of Health supported the creation of 15 pilot coordination units in oncogeriatrics (UPCOG) in 13 out of the 27 French regions. The second French National Cancer Plan (2009-2013) continues to support oncogeriatrics. Based on evaluation of the pilot experiment in 2010, requirement specifications for an oncogeriatric coordination unit were defined and rolled out nationwide. The followin...
Source: Interdisciplinary Topics in Gerontology - November 25, 2014 Category: Geriatrics Tags: Interdiscip Top Gerontol Source Type: research

The commitment of human cells to senescence.
Authors: Holliday R Abstract Fifty years ago, it was demonstrated by Leonard Hayflick that human diploid fibroblasts grown in culture have a finite lifespan. Since that time, innumerable experiments have been published to discover the mechanism(s) that are responsible for this 'Hayflick limit' to continuous growth. Much new information has been gained, but there are certain features of this experimental system which have not been fully understood. One is the fact that different populations of the foetal lung strains WI-38 and MRC-5 have a range in division potential of at least a millionfold. The commitmen...
Source: Interdisciplinary Topics in Gerontology - November 25, 2014 Category: Geriatrics Tags: Interdiscip Top Gerontol Source Type: research

Evolutionary theories of aging can explain why we age.
Authors: Le Bourg E Abstract Evolutionary theories of aging explain why we age. These theories take into account the fact that, in the wild, mean lifespan of many species is usually shorter than it could be in protected environments. In such conditions, because most of animals die before reaching old age, there is no selection in favor or against alleles with effects at old age. Alleles with negative effects at this age can thus accumulate in successive generations, particularly if they also have positive effects at young age and are thus retained by selection. This chapter describes the evolutionary theor...
Source: Interdisciplinary Topics in Gerontology - November 25, 2014 Category: Geriatrics Tags: Interdiscip Top Gerontol Source Type: research

Control of cell replication during aging.
Authors: Macieira-Coelho A Abstract The observation that human fibroblasts have a limited number of cell population doublings in vitro led to the proposal that it is the expression of cellular aging. In vitro, the proliferation of human fibroblasts terminates with a postmitotic cell which was called senescent cell. Due to misinterpreted experiments, the latter was considered the hallmark of cellular aging, although obviously we do not age because our cells stop dividing. The so-called senescent cell has been the core of the investigation on cellular aging and of the theories proposed on the subject. The ...
Source: Interdisciplinary Topics in Gerontology - November 25, 2014 Category: Geriatrics Tags: Interdiscip Top Gerontol Source Type: research

Cell senescence: role in aging and age-related diseases.
Authors: Campisi J, Robert L Abstract Cell senescence is one of the major paradigms of aging research. It started with the demonstration by L. Hayflick of the limited number of divisions by normal, nontransformed cells, not shown by transformed malignant cells, this processes being largely regulated by the telomere-telomerase system. A complete renewal of this discipline came from the demonstration that cells can enter senescence at any time by an anti-oncogene-triggered pathway, enabling them to escape malignancy. The senescent cell became a major actor of the aging process, among others, by the acquisiti...
Source: Interdisciplinary Topics in Gerontology - November 25, 2014 Category: Geriatrics Tags: Interdiscip Top Gerontol Source Type: research

Aging of cell membranes: facts and theories.
Authors: Zs-Nagy I Abstract This chapter is intended to outline the main results of a research trend realized by the author during the last 45 years, focused on the main role played by the cell membrane in the aging process. It is a very wide field; therefore, the reader cannot expect in this limited space a detailed description, but will be given a wide, interdisciplinary insight into the main facts and theories regarding cellular aging. The central idea described here is the concept called the membrane hypothesis of aging (MHA). The history, the chemical roots, physicochemical facts, biophysical processe...
Source: Interdisciplinary Topics in Gerontology - November 25, 2014 Category: Geriatrics Tags: Interdiscip Top Gerontol Source Type: research

Oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and the mitochondria theory of aging.
Authors: Kong Y, Trabucco SE, Zhang H Abstract Aging is characterized by a progressive decline in cellular function, organismal fitness and increased risk of age-associated diseases and death. One potential cause of aging is the progressive accumulation of dysfunctional mitochondria and oxidative damage with age. Considerable efforts have been made in our understanding of the role of mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress in aging and age-associated diseases. This chapter outlines the interplay between oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, and discusses their impact on senescence, cell de...
Source: Interdisciplinary Topics in Gerontology - November 25, 2014 Category: Geriatrics Tags: Interdiscip Top Gerontol Source Type: research

Aging of connective tissues: experimental facts and theoretical considerations.
Authors: Labat-Robert J, Robert L Abstract In this chapter, we describe in detail the age-dependent modifications of connective tissues, separately for their cellular and extracellular compartments. Cell aging was studied by the in vitro method established by Hayflick as well as by ex vivo explant cultures, and results with both methods are discussed. Follows then the description of age changes of macromolecular components of extracellular matrix as well as the decline with age of receptor-mediated cell-matrix interactions. These interactions mediated by several types of receptors, as integrins, the elasti...
Source: Interdisciplinary Topics in Gerontology - November 25, 2014 Category: Geriatrics Tags: Interdiscip Top Gerontol Source Type: research

Aging of cell communication: loss of receptor function.
Authors: Robert L, Fulop T Abstract Communication between cells is the most important evolutionarily conserved mechanism which enabled the bioconstruction of multicellular organisms. These mechanisms all comprise some general properties such as specific receptors recognized by agonists, molecules capable of activating them as well as the intracellular signalling pathways which activate the effector functions. A large number of such receptors and transmission pathways have been described, and both agonists and antagonists have been identified and are used in medicine. A more recent discovery was the demonst...
Source: Interdisciplinary Topics in Gerontology - November 25, 2014 Category: Geriatrics Tags: Interdiscip Top Gerontol Source Type: research

On the immunological theory of aging.
Authors: Fulop T, Witkowski JM, Pawelec G, Alan C, Larbi A Abstract Aging is a complex phenomenon the cause of which is not fully understood, despite the plethora of theories proposed to explain it. As we age, changes in essentially all physiological functions, including immunity, are apparent. Immune responses decrease with aging, contributing to the increased incidence of different chronic diseases with an inflammatory component (sometimes referred to as 'inflamm-aging'). It is clear from many studies that human longevity may be influenced by these changes in the immune system, but how they proceed is no...
Source: Interdisciplinary Topics in Gerontology - November 25, 2014 Category: Geriatrics Tags: Interdiscip Top Gerontol Source Type: research

Aging of the brain, dementias, role of infectious proteins: facts and theories.
Authors: Morinet F Abstract Neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and prion diseases are a major and growing public health issue for aging populations as aging is the greatest risk factor for neurodegeneration. Protein misfolding and spreading are common to these neurodegenerative diseases. There are many high-quality reviews concerning these diseases; also in this brief chapter, I have tried to give a summary of the principal points involved in the pathogenesis of these three clinical entities. PMID: 24862020 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Interdisciplinary Topics in Gerontology)
Source: Interdisciplinary Topics in Gerontology - November 25, 2014 Category: Geriatrics Tags: Interdiscip Top Gerontol Source Type: research

Aging as alteration.
Authors: Miquel PA Abstract Aging is a normative biological process, and not simply a physical one. It is not accurate to define it by the fact that life has an entropic cost, and to characterize it as a pure imbalance between exergonic and endergonic reaction in metabolism (the free radical theory of aging) or finally as an imbalance between the excessive formation of reactive oxygen species and limited antioxidant defenses. In connective tissues, aging is alteration. And alteration is more than destruction or degradation. It deals with self-destruction and with the so-called molecular vicious circles of ...
Source: Interdisciplinary Topics in Gerontology - November 25, 2014 Category: Geriatrics Tags: Interdiscip Top Gerontol Source Type: research

Longevity and its regulation: centenarians and beyond.
Authors: Robert L, Fulop T Abstract Regulation of longevity depends on genetic and environmental factors. According to Svanborg, a Swedish geriatrician, over the last decades human life expectancy increased as well as the age at onset of fatal diseases. Nevertheless, autopsies of centenarians revealed the presence of several severe pathologies which could have killed them much earlier. Therefore, the emphasis is on regulation of resistance dependent on the expression of genes such as Sirtuins, mTOR pathway and others controlling body resistance. Only a small fraction (<1%) of centenarians live to become...
Source: Interdisciplinary Topics in Gerontology - November 25, 2014 Category: Geriatrics Tags: Interdiscip Top Gerontol Source Type: research