INLIFE - independent living support functions for the elderly : technology and pilot overview

In this paper, we present the European H2020 project INLIFE (INdependent LIving support Functions for the Elderly). The project brought together 20 partners from nine countries with the goal of integrating into a common ICT platform a range of technologies intended to assist community-dwelling older people with cognitive impairment. The majority of technologies existed prior to INLIFE and a key goal was to bring them together in one place along with a number of new applications to provide a comprehensive set of services. The range of INLIFE services fell into four broad areas: Independent Living Support, Travel Support, Socialization and Communication Support and Caregiver Support. These included security applications, services to facilitate interactions with formal and informal caregivers, multilingual conversation support, web-based physical exercises, teleconsultations, and support for transport navigation. In total, over 2900 people participated in the project; they included elderly adults with cognitive impairment, informal caregivers, healthcare professionals, and other stakeholders. The aim of the study was to assess whether there was improvement/stabilization of cognitive/emotional/physical functioning, as well as overall well-being and quality of life of those using the INLIFE services, and to assess user acceptance of the platform and individual services. The results confirm there is a huge interest and appetite for technological services to support older adults living with cognitive impairment in the community. Different services attracted different amounts of use and evaluation with some proving extremely popular while others less so. The findings provide useful information on the ways in which older adults and their families, health and social care services and other stakeholders wish to access technological services, what sort of services they are seeking, what sort of support they need to access services, and how these services might be funded

International conference on the healthy effect of virgin olive oil

Ageing represents a great concern in developed countries because the number of people involved and the pathologies related with it, like atherosclerosis, morbus Parkinson, Alzheime's disease, vascular dementia, cognitive decline, diabetes and cancer. Epidemiological studies suggest that a Mediterranean diet (which is rich in virgin olive oil) decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease. The Mediterranean diet, rich in virgin olive oil, improves the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as the lipoprotein profile, blood pressure, glucose metabolism and antithrombotic profile. Endothelial function, inflammation and oxidative stress are also positively modulated. Some of these effects are attributed to minor components of virgin olive oil. Therefore, the definition of the Mediterranean diet should include virgin olive oil. Different observational studies conducted in humans have shown that the intake of monounsaturated fat may be protective against age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. Microconstituents from virgin olive oil are bioavailable in humans and have shown antioxidant properties and capacity to improve endothelial function. Furthermore they are also able to modify the haemostasis, showing antithrombotic properties. In countries where the populations fulfilled a typical Mediterranean diet, such as Spain, Greece and Italy, where virgin olive oil is the principal source of fat, cancer incidence rates are lower than in northern European countries. The protective effect of virgin olive oil can be most important in the first decades of life, which suggests that the dietetic benefit of virgin olive oil intake should be initiated before puberty, and maintained through life. The more recent studies consistently support that the Mediterranean diet, based in virgin olive oil, is compatible with a healthier ageing and increased longevity. However, despite the significant advances of the recent years, the final proof about the specific mechanisms and contributing role of the different components of virgin olive oil to its beneficial effects requires further investigations. © 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Developing a pragmatic evaluation of ICTs for older adults with cognitive impairment at scale: the IN LIFE experience

Implementing information and communications technology (ICT) at scale requires evaluation processes to capture the impact on users as well as the infrastructure into which it is being introduced. For older adults living with cognitive impairment this requires evaluation that can accommodate different levels of cognitive impairment, alongside input from family and formal caregivers, plus stakeholder organisations. The European Horizon 2020 project INdependent LIving support Functions for the Elderly (IN LIFE) set out to integrate 17 technologies into a single digital platform for older people living with cognitive impairment plus their families, care providers and stakeholders. The IN LIFE evaluation took place across six national pilot sites to examine a number of variables including impact on the users, user acceptance of the individual services and the overall platform, plus the economic case for the IN LIFE platform. The results confirmed the interest and need among older adults, family caregivers, formal caregivers and stakeholders, for information and communications technology (ICT). Relative to the baseline, quality of life improved and cognition stabilized, however, there was an overall reluctance to pay for the platform. The findings provide insights into existing barriers and challenges for adoption of ICT for older people living with cognitive impairment

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The Jaen Statement 2004: Consensus document of the International Conference on the healthy effects of virgin olive oil

Aging represents a great concern in developed countries because the number of people involved and the pathologies related with it, like atherosclerosis, Parkinson, Alzheimer, vascular dementia, cognitive decline, diabetes and cancer. Epidemiological studies suggest that a Mediterranean diet (which is rich in virgin olive oil) decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease. The Mediterranean diet, rich in virgin olive oil, improves the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as the lipoprotein profile, blood pressure, glucose metabolism antiantithrombotic profile. Endothelial function, inflammation and oxidative stress are also positively modulated. Some of these effects are attributed to minor components of virgin olive oil. Therefore, the definition of the Mediterranean diet should include virgin olive oil. Different observational studies conducted in humans have shown that the intake of monounsaturated fat may be protective against age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. Microconstituents from virgin olive oil are bioavailable in humans and have shown antioxidant properties and capacity to improve endothelial function. Furthermore, they are also able to modify the haemostasis, showing antithrombotic properties. In countries in which the populations fulfilled a typical Mediterranean diet, such as Spain, Greece, and Italy, where virgin olive oil is the principal source of fat, cancer incidence rates are lower than in Northern European countries. The protective effect of virgin olive oil can be most important in the first decades of life, which suggests that the dietetic benefit of virgin olive oil intake should be initiated before puberty, and maintained through life. The more recent studies consistently support that the Mediterranean diet, based in virgin olive oil, is compatible with a healthier aging and increased longevity. However, despite the significant advances of the recent years, the final proof about the specific mechanisms and contributing role of the different components of virgin olive oil to its beneficial effects requires further investigations