Effectiveness of a specific care plan in patients with Alzheimer’s disease: cluster randomised trial (PLASA study)

Objective To test the effectiveness of a comprehensive specific care plan in decreasing the rate of functional decline in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease compared with usual care in memory clinics

Multidimentional working and evaluation methodology for gerontechnology

International audienc

A smart insole to promote healthy aging for frail elderly

International audienc

Une semelle intelligente pour promouvoir l'activité physique des patients âgés fragiles

International audienc

Development of technologies for healthy aging: searching for the right way

International audienceMedical imaging (e.g. PET-scan) and interventional (e.g. robotic surgery) technologies seem- to better fit the actual technological progress than do technologies for aging. The commercial market of aging care remains subdued since the introduction of low-technology devices decades ago (e.g. walker). Revisiting the evaluation and development methods of technologies to support healthy aging could help spread innovative technologies in this field. Methods and findings: In literature, a number of publications have been identified that addresses issues about technological devices that target the different needs of the older person. Nevertheless, a successful evaluation and development often remains unmet. This deficiency arises to a large extent from the confrontation of two worlds: that of technology which is not yet well versed in the field of healthy aging intervention, and the medical world which mainly uses the linear pharmaceutical drug development model. Many methods propose to tackle the global multidimensional evaluation of health technologies. However, they do not address the sequencing of the whole development and evaluation processes. In the present paper, we present a framework to help tackle the complexity of healthy aging technologies assessment and development. Conclusion: The evaluation and development methods usually adopted for healthy aging technologies are not appropriate and that all the collaborative multidisciplinary processes have to be revised

Mortality in hospitalised older patients: the WHALES short-term predictive score

International audienceObjective To develop and validate the WHALES screening tool predicting short-term mortality (3 months) in older patients hospitalised in an acute geriatric unit. Methods Older patients transferred to an acute geriatric ward from June 2017 to December 2018 were included. The cohort was divided into two groups: derivation (n=664) and validation (n=332) cohorts. Cause for admission in emergency room, hospitalisation history within the previous year, ongoing medical conditions, cognitive impairment, frailty status, living conditions, presence of proteinuria on a urine strip or urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio and abnormalities on an ECG were collected at baseline. Multiple logistic regressions were performed to identify independent variables associated with mortality at 3 months in the derivation cohort. The prediction score was then validated in the validation cohort. Results Five independent variables available from medical history and clinical data were strongly predictive of short-term mortality in older adults including age, sex, living in a nursing home, unintentional weight loss and self-reported exhaustion. The screening tool was discriminative (C-statistic=0.74 (95% CI: 0.67 to 0.82)) and had a good fit (Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test (X 2 (3)=0.55, p=0.908)). The area under the curve value for the final model was 0.74 (95% CI: 0.67 to 0.82). Conclusions and implications The WHALES screening tool is a short and rapid tool predicting 3-month mortality among hospitalised older patients. Early identification of end of life may help appropriate timing and implementation of palliative care

Impact des déficiences cognitives sur la gestion de la souris dans une tâche d’interaction

International audienc

Résultats d'un test visuo-gnosique: modèle de prédiction du niveau d'atteinte cognitive d'une personne âgée ?

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