A volunteer feeding assistance program can improve dietary intakes of elderly patients – A Pilot Study

Malnutrition is prevalent in elderly hospitalised patients and has been associated with longer lengths of stay (LOS), higher rates of complications and increased hospital costs. Feeding assistance has traditionally been the role of nurses, however with an ageing population and an ever-increasing workload there may not be sufficient time to ensure the nutritional care of all patients. A program in which trained volunteers assist, socialise and feed nutritionally vulnerable patients at lunch on weekdays has been initiated in a major suburban hospital in Sydney. The pilot study reported here aimed to evaluate the lunchtime assistance program in terms of dietary intakes by comparing data from weekdays (with volunteers) and that from weekends (no volunteers). Nine patients (mean age+(SD): 89±4.6 years) participated in the study. Observations and weighed plate waste were recorded for each patient at lunch on two weekdays and two weekend days. When volunteers were present, the average protein intake increased by 10.1 g at lunch (p\u3c0.05) and 10.7g over the whole day (p\u3c0.05). There was also a trend to increased energy intake. Observations indicated that the volunteers, when compared to the nurses, socialised more with patients, encouraged them to eat more often and spent more time feeding them. Trialing volunteer assistance in a larger study would be useful

Neuroprotective effect of small heat shock protein, Hsp27, after acute and chronic alcohol administration

Alcohol induces degeneration of neurons and inhibits neurogenesis in the brain. Small heat shock proteins are able to protect neurons in cerebral ischemia and oxidative stress. In this study, we investigated the neuroprotective effect of small heat shock protein, Hsp27, after acute and chronic ethanol administrations using transgenic mice overexpressing the human Hsp27 protein. Transgenic mice and wild-type littermates were injected with 2 g/kg ethanol intraperitoneally, and then motor coordination and muscle strength were analyzed using different behavioral tests, such as footprint analysis, balance beam, and inverted screen tests. Ethanol-injected transgenic mice showed similar footprints to control saline-injected mice, did not fall of the beam, and were able to climb to the top of the inverted screen, while wild-type mice showed ataxia and incoordination after ethanol injection. The effect of Hsp27 on chronic ethanol consumption was also investigated. Drinking water of mice was replaced by a 20% ethanol solution for 5 weeks, and then brain sections were stained with Fluoro Jade C staining. We found significantly lesser amount of degenerating neurons in the brain of ethanol-drinking transgenic mice compared to wild-type mice. We conclude that Hsp27 can protect neurons against the acute and chronic toxic effects of ethanol