Improving Physical Activity and Health of Older People Involved in a Social Farming Regional Preventative Multidimensional Programme in Italy

Physical exercise and social activities play a role of primary importance in the prevention of diseases and in maintaining functional abilities in old age, nevertheless, maintaining a regular habit of exercise is considered a challenge during the aging process. Motivation to start and maintain physical activity is an essential factor. In the case of older people, promoting exercise by means of activities intrinsically pleasurable is preferable to physical activity programs based on health improvements. From this perspective, our study is aimed to understand if preventative interventions combining physical activity, self-efficacy, and social participation in the context of a natural environment might be of help in increasing the level of physical activity. The sample was composed of 95 subjects, of which 40 were excluded because declared to be already engaged in regular physical activity at baseline. Considering the final sample of 55 subjects with low or no physical activity at baseline, 21 subjects (38.2%) improved the intensity of their physical activity at follow-up. They were younger (52.4% with age >=70 vs 82.4; p=0.017), mostly women (85.7% vs 58.8%; p = 0.036), and had a higher balance test score with respect to the others (3.6 ± 0.7 vs 2.8 ± 1.0; p=0.005). Results should be able to strengthen the concept that having a good level of physical conditions, such as good balance, facilitates the path for greater physical improvements and better quality of life among older adults. Balance issues may be cause of fear of falling and psychological difficulties which may have limited the effects of the programme

Circulating hsa-miR-5096 predicts 18F-FDG PET/CT positivity and modulates somatostatin receptor 2 expression: a novel miR-based assay for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

Gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) are rare diseases encompassing pancreatic (PanNETs) and ileal NETs (SINETs), characterized by heterogeneous somatostatin receptors (SSTRs) expression. Treatments for inoperable GEP-NETs are limited, and SSTR-targeted Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy (PRRT) achieves variable responses. Prognostic biomarkers for the management of GEP-NET patients are required. 18F-FDG uptake is a prognostic indicator of aggressiveness in GEP-NETs. This study aims to identify circulating and measurable prognostic miRNAs associated with 18FFDG- PET/CT status, higher risk and lower response to PRRT

Review and Selection of Online Resources for Carers of Frail Adults or Older People in Five European Countries: Mixed-Methods Study

17.06.2020. BACKGROUND: Informal carers have a crucial role in the care of older people, but they are at risk of social isolation and psychological exhaustion. Web-based services like apps and websites are increasingly used to support informal carers in addressing some of their needs and tasks, such as health monitoring of their loved ones, information and communication, and stress management. Despite the growing number of available solutions, the lack of knowledge or skills of carers about the solutions often prevent their usage. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to review and select apps and websites offering functionalities useful for informal carers of frail adults or older people in 5 European countries (Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Sweden). METHODS: A systematic online search was conducted from January 2017 to mid-March 2017 using selected keywords, followed by an assessment based on a set of commonly agreed criteria and standardized tools. Selected resources were rated and classified in terms of scope. Focus groups with informal carers were conducted to validate the list and the classification of resources. The activities were conducted in parallel in the participating countries using common protocols and guidelines, a standardization process, and scheduled group discussions. RESULTS: From a total of 406 eligible resources retrieved, 138 apps and 86 websites met the inclusion criteria. Half of the selected resources (109/224, 48.7%) were disease-specific, and the remaining resources included information and utilities on a variety of themes. Only 38 resources (38/224, 17.0%) were devoted specifically to carers, addressing the management of health disturbances and diseases of the care recipient and focusing primarily on neurodegenerative diseases. Focus groups with the carers showed that almost all participants had no previous knowledge of any resource specifically targeting carers, even if interest was expressed towards carer-focused resources. The main barriers for using the resources were low digital skills of the carers and reliability of health-related apps and websites. Results of the focus groups led to a new taxonomy of the resources, comprising 4 categories: carer's wellbeing, managing health and diseases of the care recipient, useful contacts, and technologies for eldercare. CONCLUSIONS: The review process allowed the identification of online resources of good quality. However, these resources are still scarce due to a lack of reliability and usability that prevent users from properly benefiting from most of the resources. The involvement of end users provided added value to the resource classification and highlighted the gap between the potential benefits from using information and communication technologies and the real use of online resources by carers.This study was co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union, under the Project “Apps for carers”, Grant Agreement n. 2016-1-SE01-KA204-022067. This study was partially supported by Ricerca Corrente funding from the Italian Ministry of Health to IRCCS INRCA