Tomoko Kikuchi

Community-based comprehensive geriatric assessment of short- and long-term predictors of cognitive decline in elderly adults.

A risk index devised in 1962 to predict and measure rehabilitation outcomes on inpatient units also predicts adverse outcomes in community-living older adults in the modern era. This finding underscores the central importance of functional and cognitive status in older adults across settings and historical eras. Use of this score in clinical practice is not advocated—in particular, there is a ceiling effect, with most community-living older adults scoring high on the scale. Nonetheless, the cumulative effect of cognitive and functional loss remains important in the clinical care, administration, and research into the health of older adults. This early risk score also demonstrates the historical roots of some of the current frailty models. Although not defined as frailty, the notion has deep roots in geriatric medicine.

Administration of Angiotensin Receptor II Blockade Improves Vascular Function, Urinary Albumin Excretion, and Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Low-Risk Essential Hypertensive Patients Receiving Antihypertensive Treatment with Calcium Channel Blockers

We examined calcium channel blockers (CCBs) and angiotensin receptor II blockers in low-risk hypertensives to evaluate renal, vascular function and left ventricular mass (LVM) from the viewpoint of salt intake (SI). Low-risk hypertensives who had not met blood pressure (BP) goals with CCB were administered telmisaltan. Office and home BP, urinary albumin excretion (uAE), brachial ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and LVM were significantly reduced. uAE and baPWV correlated with SI. It is therefore necessary to evaluate the organ-protecting effects from the viewpoint of SI. In low-risk hypertensives, telmisartan with CCB improves renal, vascular function and LVM.