Introduction to the Happy Antics programme

Jae-Llane Ditchburn, née Yvonne J-Lyn Khoo, gave a presentation on a project started in August 2013, which aimed to examine the feasibility and acceptability of holistic exercise as a physical activity for people with dementia and to solve the problem of no services for exercise activities for people with dementia in Workington, Cumbria, UK. The study involved a specialized exercise programme called “Happy Antics” designed for people with dementia

Happy antics: holistic exercise for people with dementia

Aim: To examine the feasibility and acceptability of holistic exercise as a physical activity for people with dementia. Participants: people with dementia 8, carers 5, volunteers 2. Happy Antics sessions: once per week for 45 minutes, every Thursday at the Alzheimer’s Society premises, Workington. Holistic exercise: Combines physical exercise with the wellness approach (Swarbrick, 2006) where multidimensional factors are taken into consideration, and which includes physical, emotional, intellectual, social, environmental and spiritual dimensions (Swarbrick, 1997, 2006; Copeland, 2002; Copeland and Mead, 2004)

Engaging older people in research

Study title: The effects of VR-enhanced exercise in improving balance in older people with chronic pain. Looking for people who were: Aged 65 and older with chronic pain; Able to walk independently; Not awaiting/receiving rehabilitation; Not having a medical condition that would prevent them from taking part. What was asked from them: Come to the university, sign the Consent Form; Be randomised into either control/experimental group; Have their balance measures taken at baseline/upon completion; Come to the lab twice a week for 6 weeks; Exercise and fill up questionnaires at every visit

Digital technologies and rural healthcare: Cumbria Rural Health Forum

Paper presented by Alison Marshall (University of Cumbria), Tom Bell (Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust) and J-Lyn Khoo (University of Cumbria), at this event which explored how the use of technology is supporting improvements in the care of people with long-term conditions and other health and social care needs

How do older people perceive and experience exercising in a virtual environment?

Virtual-reality (VR) has great potential for use in rehabilitation and exercise contexts. Older people who exercise are generally healthier, more independent and enjoy a better quality of life compared to their sedentary peers. Given the previous evidence of advantages from VR supported physical activity programmes in different groups, the question if older people accept exercising in a virtual environment is of particular relevance. Degree of acceptance may have important implications for future use and concordance to VR-enhanced exercise programmes. Therefore, this study investigates how older people perceive and experience virtual-reality enhanced exercise

The Happy Antics programme: Holistic exercise for people with dementia

Background: Holistic exercise for people with dementia could have psychological and physical benefits, but there is a lack of research on the experience of this type of exercise. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the feasibility and acceptance of holistic exercise among people with dementia. Method: A holistic exercise programme for people with dementia was designed and implemented. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken to explore participants' experience of holistic exercise, transcribed verbatim and analyzed. Results: Seven themes were generated from the data. They were enjoyment, relaxation, keeping active, social interaction, pain relief, learning something new and intention to continue, respectively. Conclusion: The results of the current small-scale study provide evidence for the feasibility and acceptance of holistic exercise for people with dementia. In addition, participants appeared to benefit in terms of psychological and physical wellbeing

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles (MISEV2023): From basic to advanced approaches

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), through their complex cargo, can reflect the state of their cell of origin and change the functions and phenotypes of other cells. These features indicate strong biomarker and therapeutic potential and have generated broad interest, as evidenced by the steady year-on-year increase in the numbers of scientific publications about EVs. Important advances have been made in EV metrology and in understanding and applying EV biology. However, hurdles remain to realising the potential of EVs in domains ranging from basic biology to clinical applications due to challenges in EV nomenclature, separation from non-vesicular extracellular particles, characterisation and functional studies. To address the challenges and opportunities in this rapidly evolving field, the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) updates its 'Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles', which was first published in 2014 and then in 2018 as MISEV2014 and MISEV2018, respectively. The goal of the current document, MISEV2023, is to provide researchers with an updated snapshot of available approaches and their advantages and limitations for production, separation and characterisation of EVs from multiple sources, including cell culture, body fluids and solid tissues. In addition to presenting the latest state of the art in basic principles of EV research, this document also covers advanced techniques and approaches that are currently expanding the boundaries of the field. MISEV2023 also includes new sections on EV release and uptake and a brief discussion of in vivo approaches to study EVs. Compiling feedback from ISEV expert task forces and more than 1000 researchers, this document conveys the current state of EV research to facilitate robust scientific discoveries and move the field forward even more rapidly

CYP2C8 Polymorphisms among malaria patients in Guinea-Bissau

Malaria is one of the major public health problems in more than 90 countries, inhabited by a total of some 2.4 billion people, representing about 40% of the world’s population (WHO, 2004). Amodiaquine (AQ) has been recently introduced into artemisinin-based combination therapy for use in malaria control programmes and as a first line treatment for children with uncomplicated malaria (WHO, 2006). Besides amodiaquine, CYP2C8 also metabolizes several therapeutically important drugs and endogenous substances including: paclitaxel, verapamil, rosiglitazone, cerivastatin, amiodarone, dapsone, all-trans-retinoic acid, arachidonic acid. Research objectives: To study CYP2C8 alleles among malaria patients from Guinea Bissau; To assist policy-makers in the management of malaria in Guinea-Bissau; To generate pharmacogenetic data for the evaluation of treatment and drug dispension; To contribute findings to other databases and bio-banks within and outside Europe; To allow further comparisons with other populations previously characterized in the Center for Molecular and Structural Biomedicine, Universidade do Algarve, Portugal

Mapping of digital health projects in Cumbria

Digital health definitions - Telemedicine: Remote examination of a patient by a health professional; Telehealth: Remote monitoring to enable patients to monitor and self manage their health at home, data shared electronically with health providers; Telecare and assistive technologies: Community alarms to enable patients to call for help in an emergency, equipment to enable people to manage independent living in and outside the home; E-health: sharing of patient records, e-referrals, patient controlled records, social media and related products

Needs analysis for digital health delivery in GP practices in Cumbria: preliminary findings from interviews with practices

What we wanted to do: Make a one-day audit of incoming patient calls for appointments, visits and face-to-face consultations; Evaluate which cases can be dealt with remotely (or enhanced with technology use). What we have done so far: Approached a few GP practices to get started. What we have been unable to do: Obtain actual feedback from GPs/clinical staff and access to do a one-day audit of patient calls/visits