Cognitive assessment to optimize prediction of functional outcome in subacute hip fracture: a short-term prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment is a long-known negative prognostic factor after hip fracture. Cognition is usually screened by a single easy-to-administer bedside tool, but recent studies have shown that screening tests may be not enough to rule out cognitive impairment with an unfavorable prognostic role. Unfortunately, data on outcome prediction by further cognitive assessments is sparse. AIM: We focused on patients with subacute hip fracture defined cognitively intact or mildly impaired on the screening evaluation performed by the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ). We hypothesized that each of 3 further cognitive tests could independently predict activities of daily living, with optimal prediction of function obtained by performing all three the tests. DESIGN: Short-term prospective study. SETTING: Rehabilitation ward. POPULATION: Inpatients with subacute hip-fracture. METHODS: Three cognitive tests were performed on admission to rehabilitation in the patients who made ≤4 errors on the SPMSQ: Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT, immediate and delayed recall) and Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). We assessed activities of daily living by the Barthel index. Successful rehabilitation was defined with a Barthel Index Score ≥85. RESULTS: Each of the three cognitive tests assessed before rehabilitation significantly predicted the Barthel index scores measured at the end of the rehabilitation course in our sample of 280 inpatients. However, only the MoCA score retained its significant predictive role when the scores from the three tests were included together as independent variables in a multiple regression model, with adjustments for a panel of potential confounders (P=0.007). The adjusted odds ratio to achieve successful rehabilitation for a seven-point change in MoCA score was 1.98 (CI 95% from 1.02 to 3.83; P=0.042). CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to our hypothesis, MoCA but not RAVLT and FAB retained the prognostic role when the scores from the three tests were evaluated together as potential predictors of functional ability in activities of daily living. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: In the presence of a normal (or mildly altered) score on the SPMSQ in subacute hip fracture, MoCA scores improve prediction of activities of daily living and should be routinely performed.

Reply to Wimalawansa, S.J. Comment on "Bertoldo et al. Definition, Assessment, and Management of Vitamin D Inadequacy: Suggestions, Recommendations, and Warnings from the Italian Society for Osteoporosis, Mineral Metabolism and Bone Diseases (SIOMMMS). Nutrients 2022, 14, 4148".

With regard to Dr. Wimalawansa's comment [...].

Definition, Assessment, and Management of Vitamin D Inadequacy: Suggestions, Recommendations, and Warnings from the Italian Society for Osteoporosis, Mineral Metabolism and Bone Diseases (SIOMMMS).

In the recent years, both the prescriptions of serum 25(OH)D levels assay, and vitamin D supplementation are constantly increasing, as well as the costs to be incurred relating to these specific aspects. As in many other countries, the risk of vitamin D deficiency is particularly high in Italy, as recently confirmed by cohort studies in the general population as well as in patients with metabolic bone disorder. Results confirmed the North-South gradient of vitamin D levels described among European countries, despite the wide use of supplements. Although vitamin D supplementation is also recommended by the Italian Medicine Agency for patients at risk for fragility fracture or for initiating osteoporotic medication, the therapeutic gap for osteoporosis in Italy is very high. There is a consistent proportion of osteoporotic patients not receiving specific therapy for osteoporosis following a fragility fracture, with a poor adherence to the recommendations provided by national guidelines and position paper documents. The failure or inadequate supplementation with vitamin D in patients on antiresorptive or anabolic treatment for osteoporosis is thought to further amplify the problem and exposes patients to a high risk of re-fracture and mortality. Therefore, it is important that attention to its possible clinical consequences must be given. Thus, in light of new evidence from the literature, the SIOMMMS board felt the need to revise and update, by a GRADE/PICO system approach, its previous original recommendations about the definition, prevention, and treatment of vitamin D deficiency in adults, released in 2011. Several key points have been here addressed, such as the definition of the vitamin D status: normality values and optimal values; who are the subjects considered at risk of hypovitaminosis D; opportunity or not of performing the biochemical assessment of serum 25(OH)D levels in general population and in subjects at risk of hypovitaminosis D; the need or not to evaluate baseline serum 25(OH)D in candidate subjects for pharmacological treatment for osteoporosis; how and whether to supplement vitamin D subjects with hypovitaminosis D or candidates for pharmacological treatment with bone active agents, and the general population; how and whether to supplement vitamin D in chronic kidney disease and/or chronic liver diseases or under treatment with drugs interfering with hepatic metabolism; and finally, if vitamin D may have toxic effects in the subject in need of supplementation.

A screening test is not enough to define the prognostic role of cognitive impairment after hip fracture: a short-term prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment assessed by easy-to-administer tests successfully predicts function after hip fracture, whereas the prognostic role of additional cognitive evaluations is largely unknown. AIMS: To investigate the capability of further assessments to discriminate cognitive impairment with prognostic relevance in hip-fracture women defined cognitively intact or mildly impaired on the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ). METHODS: We prospectively investigated women with subacute hip fracture admitted to our rehabilitation facility. The women who made ≤4 errors on the SPMSQ were further assessed by 4 tests: Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (immediate and delayed recall) and Frontal Assessment Battery. Activities of daily living (ADL) were measured by the Barthel index. Successful rehabilitation was defined with a Barthel index score ≥85. RESULTS: Data from 127 women were available. Each of the 4 cognitive tests assessed at admission significantly predicted the Barthel index scores measured at discharge. The predictive role persisted after multiple adjustments. For a change in cognitive scores corresponding to the difference between 25° and 75° percentiles in their distribution in the sample, the adjusted odds ratio to achieve successful rehabilitation roughly ranged from 2 to 4, depending on which cognitive test was adopted. DISCUSSION: The women with subacute hip fracture defined cognitively intact or mildly impaired on the SPMSQ could have cognitive impairment revealed by further examination, with prognostic disadvantages in ADL. CONCLUSIONS: Assessing cognition by the SPMSQ seems not enough to exclude the presence of cognitive impairment with relevant prognostic disadvantage in hip-fracture women.

Reproducibility and Accuracy of the Radiofrequency Echographic Multi-Spectrometry for Femoral Mineral Density Estimation and Discriminative Power of the Femoral Fragility Score in Patients with Primary and Disuse-Related Osteoporosis.

We aimed to investigate the reproducibility and accuracy of Radiofrequency Echographic Multi-Spectrometry (REMS) for femoral BMD estimation and the reproducibility and discriminative power of the REMS-derived femoral fragility score. 175 patients with primary and disuse-related osteoporosis were recruited: one femoral Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) scan and two femoral REMS scans were acquired. No significant test-retest differences were observed for all REMS-derived variables. The diagnostic concordance between DXA and REMS was 63% (Cohen's kappa = 0.31) in patients with primary osteoporosis and 13% (Cohen's kappa: -0.04) in patients with disuse-related osteoporosis. No significant difference was observed between REMS and DXA for either femoral neck BMD (mean difference between REMS and DXA: -0.015 g/cm2) or total femur BMD (mean difference: -0.004 g/cm2) in patients with primary osteoporosis. Significant differences between the two techniques were observed in patients with disuse-related osteoporosis (femoral neck BMD difference: 0.136 g/cm2; total femur BMD difference: 0.236 g/cm2). Statistically significant differences in the fragility score were obtained between the fractured and non-fractured patients for both populations. In conclusion, REMS showed excellent test-retest reproducibility, but the diagnostic concordance between DXA and REMS was between minimal and poor. Further studies are required to improve the REMS-derived estimation of femoral BMD.

Increased Risk to Develop Hypertension and Carotid Plaques in Patients with Long-Lasting Helicobacter pylori Gastritis.

Helicobacter pylori infection has been reported to be positively associated with hypertension, although with conflicting results. In this study, the relationship between H. pylori infection and hypertension, as well as atherosclerotic carotid lesions, was analyzed. METHODS: Clinical records of patients referred to undergo upper endoscopy and gastric biopsy were retrieved. Information regarding the presence of H. pylori infection with atrophy/metaplasia/dysplasia (interpreted as a long-lasting infection), and current or past H. pylori infection was collected, as well as demographic variables, smoking habits, body mass index (BMI), dyslipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, presence of carotid lesions, and current treatment, and analyzed by multivariable regression models. RESULTS: A total of 7152 clinical records from patients older than 30 years (63.4% women) were available for the study. Hypertension was present in 2039 (28.5%) patients and the risk was significantly increased in those with long-lasting H. pylori infection after adjusting for age decades, sex, BMI, cigarette smoking, diabetes, and dyslipidemia (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.02-1.35). In addition, the long-lasting H. pylori infection was an independent risk for carotid plaques (OR 2.15, 95% CI 1.14-4.09). CONCLUSIONS: Our retrospective study demonstrated that long-lasting H. pylori infection is an independent risk factor for hypertension and the presence of carotid lesions after adjusting for potential confounders, although further validation our findings is needed from prospective studies.

Is sarcopenia associated with osteoporosis? A cross-sectional study of 262 women with hip fracture.

BACKGROUND: Several lines of evidence support the view that sarcopenia and osteoporosis are strictly connected. However, the capability of the updated sarcopenia definition to capture the concomitant presence of osteoporosis has been scarcely investigated. AIM: The main aim was to assess the association between sarcopenia defined according to the revised criteria from the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2) and osteoporosis in women with a hip fracture. A second aim was to investigate the thresholds for low appendicular lean mass (aLM) and handgrip strength to optimize osteoporosis detection. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Rehabilitation hospital. POPULATION: Women with subacute hip fracture. METHODS: A scan by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was performed to assess body composition. A Jamar dynamometer was used to measure handgrip strength. Sarcopenia was diagnosed with both handgrip strength <16 kg and aLM <15 kg. Osteoporosis was identified with femoral bone mineral density lower than 2.5 standard deviations below the mean of the young reference population. RESULTS: We studied 262 of 290 women. Osteoporosis was found in 189 of the 262 women (72%; 95% CI: 67-78%) whereas sarcopenia in 147 (56%; 95% CI: 50-62%). After adjustment for age, time interval between fracture and DXA scan and body fat percentage the odds ratio to have osteoporosis for a sarcopenic woman was 2.30 (95% CI: 1.27-4.14; P=0.006). Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses showed that the best cut-off points to discriminate osteoporosis were 20 kg for handgrip strength and 12.5 kg for aLM. Adopting the optimized thresholds to define sarcopenia, the adjusted odds ratio to have osteoporosis for a sarcopenic woman was 3.68 (95% CI: 1.93-7.03; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary study shows a positive association between sarcopenia defined according to the EWGSOP2 criteria and osteoporosis in 262 women with hip fracture. The association may be bettered by refining the cut-off points for low aLM and handgrip strength. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: Sarcopenia seems to be a risk factor for osteoporosis in hip-fracture women. The issue, and the potential role of optimized thresholds should be addressed by robust longitudinal studies.

Sarcopenic obesity and function in women with subacute hip fracture: a short-term prospective study.

BACKGROUND: The prognostic role exerted by the concurrent presence of sarcopenia and obesity after hip fracture has not been elucidated. AIM: To assess the effect of sarcopenic obesity on ability to function in women with subacute hip fracture. DESIGN: Short-term prospective study. SETTING: Rehabilitation hospital. POPULATION: Women with subacute hip fracture. METHODS: At admission, grip strength, by a Jamar dynamometer, and body composition by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry were assessed. Sarcopenia was defined according to the criteria released by the European Working Group for Sarcopenia in Older People in 2019, with both grip strength <16 kg and appendicular lean mass (aLM)<15 kg. Alternatively, aLM/(height)2<5.5 kg/m2 was substituted for aLM<15 kg to confirm sarcopenia in the women with grip strength <16 kg. Obesity was diagnosed with fat mass exceeding 40% of total body mass. Function was assessed by the Barthel index. RESULTS: We assessed 183 of 200 women. Sarcopenic women had lower Barthel index scores assessed at the end of subacute inpatient rehabilitation (U=300,0; z=-4.3; P<0.001) and lower Batrhel index effectiveness (U=310,0; z=-4.2; P<0.001) than non-sarcopenic women. Conversely, we found no significant differences in function between obese and non-obese women. The concurrent presence of sarcopenia and obesity did not worsen the functional prognosis versus the presence of isolated sarcopenia. After adjustment for Barthel index scores before rehabilitation, age, hip-fracture type and cognitive impairment, sarcopenia was significantly associated with Barthel index scores (P=0.001) and Barthel index effectiveness (P<0.001), whereas obesity was not. The results did not materially change when aLM/(height)2<5.5 kg/m2 was substituted for aLM <15 kg to confirm sarcopenia in the women whose handgrip strength was <16 kg. CONCLUSIONS: The concurrent presence of obesity did not worsen the negative prognostic role of sarcopenia in the short-term recovery of ability to function after hip fracture in women. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: In women with subacute hip fracture, sarcopenia but not obesity should be assessed to contribute to the prediction of the short-term functional outcome.

Effectiveness of a home-based telerehabilitation system in patients after total hip arthroplasty: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The demand for total hip arthroplasty (THA) is quickly rising given the escalating global incidence of hip osteoarthritis, and it is widely accepted that the post-surgery rehabilitation is key to optimize outcomes. The overall objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a new telerehabilitation solution, ReHub, for the physical function and clinical outcome improvement following THA. The specific aims of this manuscript are to describe the study design, protocol, content of interventions, and primary and secondary outcomes and to discuss the clinical rehabilitation impact of the expected experimental results. METHODS/DESIGN: This prospective, randomized, controlled, parallel-group trial will include 56 patients who had undergone primary THA. Patients are randomized to a control group (standard rehabilitation during the 2-week stay in the rehabilitation clinic followed by 3 weeks of unsupervised home-based rehabilitation) or an experimental group (standard rehabilitation during the 2-week stay in the rehabilitation clinic followed by 3 weeks of home-based ReHub-assisted telerehabilitation). The primary outcome is physical performance assessed through the Timed Up-and-Go (TUG) test. Secondary outcomes include independence level, pain intensity, hip disability, hip range of motion, muscle strength, and patient's perception of clinical improvement. DISCUSSION: Proving the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a home-based telerehabilitation program for physical and muscle function following THA could support its systematic incorporation in post-surgical rehabilitation protocols, which should be tailored to the individual and collective needs. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrial.gov NCT04176315 . Registered on 22 November 2019.

The handgrip strength threshold of 16 kg discriminates successful rehabilitation: A prospective short-term study of 258 women with hip fracture.

AIM: In 2019 the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) indicated weakness as the key characteristic of sarcopenia and released the threshold of 16 kg for handgrip strength to define weakness in women. We aimed to externally validate the 16 kg cut-off point for predicting functional recovery in 258 women with subacute hip fracture admitted to our rehabilitation ward. METHODS: We assessed handgrip strength by a hand-grip Jamar dynamometer at admission to inpatient rehabilitation and functional ability in activities of daily living by the Barthel index at the end of the rehabilitation course. Successful rehabilitation was defined with a Barthel index score ≥85 and highest possible recovery with a Barthel index effectiveness = 100 %. RESULTS: A handgrip strength ≥16 kg significantly predicted both successful rehabilitation (χ2 = 23.5, P < 0.001) and highest possible recovery (χ2 = 31.05, P < 0.001). For the women with a handgrip strength ≥16 kg, the odds ratios to gain successful rehabilitation and highest possible recovery were 2.68 (95 % CI from 1.19 to 6.04; P = 0.018) and 2.81 (95 % CI from 1.47 to 5.37; P = 0.002), after adjustment for Barthel index scores before rehabilitation, age, hip-fracture type (either medial or lateral), cognitive impairment and 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. CONCLUSION: Our results provide an external validation of the 16 kg handgrip strength threshold recently released to discriminate functional outcomes: it significantly predicted the short-term ability to perform activities of daily living after hip fracture in women.

Sarcopenia, osteoporosis and the burden of prevalent vertebral fractures: a cross-sectional study of 350 women with hip fracture.

BACKGROUND: The concurrent presence of sarcopenia and osteoporosis may enhance fracture risk. AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between sarcopenia, osteoporosis, or the concurrent presence of both the conditions (osteosarcopenia) and the burden (number and severity) of vertebral fractures in women with hip fracture. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Division of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine. POPULATION: We studied 350 women with subacute hip fracture. METHODS: Lateral radiographs of the spine were taken 18.2±4.5 days after fracture occurrence and the Spine Deformity Index (SDI) was calculated. Body composition was assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Low muscle mass was identified with appendicular lean mass <15.02 kg and low bone mineral density with a femoral T-Score <-2.5. RESULTS: The presence of sarcopenia (P=0.033) and osteoporosis (P=0.032) was associated with the SDI scores independently of each other and independently of age, percentage of body fat and hip-fracture type. The 350 women were categorized into 3 groups according to the absence of both osteoporosis and sarcopenia (N.=25), presence of either osteoporosis or sarcopenia (N.=95) or presence of osteosarcopenia (N.=230). We found a significant difference in SDI scores across the 3 groups: χ2 (2, N.=350) = 15.29; P<0.001. The categorization of the 350 women into the 3 groups was associated with the SDI scores (P=0.001) independently of age, percentage of body fat and hip-fracture type. CONCLUSIONS: Both osteoporosis and sarcopenia were independently associated with the burden of prevalent vertebral fractures in women with hip fracture. The concurrent presence of sarcopenia and osteoporosis was associated with a higher SDI Score than the presence of only one of the 2 conditions. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: Subjects with both low bone mass and low muscle mass should be considered at particularly high risk for vertebral fractures. Interventions targeting both the components of the muscle-bone unit, including exercise, nutrition, and possibly new medications, should be investigated to optimize fracture prevention.

Simultaneous hip and upper-limb fractures are associated with lower Geriatric Nutritional Index scores than isolated hip fractures: a cross-sectional study of 858 women.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Factors associated with simultaneous fractures at hip and upper limb have scarcely been investigated. Our aim was to assess the association between Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) scores and concurrent upper-limb fractures in women with a fall-related hip fracture. METHODS: We investigated 858 of 907 women admitted to our Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine ward following a fall-related hip fracture. RESULTS: GNRI scores were significantly lower in the 41 women with a simultaneous upper-limb fracture than in the 817 with an isolated hip fracture: median (interquartile range) were 85.9 (80.6-94.1) ad 90.3 (83.4-98.0), respectively, in the two groups (p = 0.021). After adjustment for age, height, body mass index, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, parathyroid hormone, femoral-neck bone mineral density, cognitive impairment, neurologic impairment and type of hip fracture we confirmed a significant association between GNRI scores and the concomitant upper-limb fractures (p = 0.001). The adjusted odds ratio for suffering a concomitant fracture was 7.53 (95% CI from 1.79 to 31.72; p = 0.006) for the 190 women of the GNRI lowest class (GNRI score < 82) versus the 213 women of the highest class (GNRI score > 98). CONCLUSIONS: Data show that GNRI scores were significantly lower in the subgroup of women with hip fracture and concurrent upper-extremity fracture than in the controls with isolated hip fracture. Although caution is needed in interpreting our results due to the cross-sectional design of the study, we suggest that low GNRI scores may have a role in the genesis of the concurrent fractures.

A New Threshold for Appendicular Lean Mass Discriminates Muscle Weakness in Women With Hip Fracture: A Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between measures of muscle mass and grip strength in women with subacute hip fracture. Firstly, we aimed to assess the capability of the current thresholds for appendicular lean mass, appendicular lean mass/body mass index ratio and appendicular lean mass/height to separate weak and nonweak women. Secondly, we aimed to explore alternative thresholds for the three measures of muscle mass to discriminate weakness. DESIGN: This is cross-sectional study of 160 women with hip fracture admitted to a rehabilitation hospital. We assessed appendicular lean mass by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and grip strength by a Jamar hand dynamometer. Weakness was defined as grip strength of less than 16 kg. RESULTS: Weakness was not significantly associated with appendicular lean mass of less than 15.02 kg, appendicular lean mass/body mass index ratio of less than 0.512 or appendicular lean mass/height of less than 5.67 kg/m. For appendicular lean mass (but not for the other 2 measures of muscle mass), an alternative threshold (11.87 kg instead of 15.02 kg) significantly discriminated weakness: χ (1, n = 160) = 10.77 (P = 0.001). The association between appendicular lean mass of less than 11.87 kg and grip strength of less than 16 kg persisted after adjustment for age and body mass index (odds ratio = 2.50, 95% confidence interval = 1.17-5.34, P = 0.018). CONCLUSIONS: Data suggest that the current thresholds for measures of muscle mass do not discriminate weakness in women with subacute hip fracture. For appendicular lean mass, an alternative cutoff point actually separated weak and nonweak women.

Influence of controlled encoding and retrieval facilitation on memory performance of patients with subcortical ischemic vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Patients with subcortical ischemic vascular dementia (SIVD) perform better than Alzheimer's disease patients (AD) on the Free and Cued Recall Selective Reminding test (FCSRT). In this test, SIVD are able to overcome their strategic retrieval deficit, whereas AD patients, whose memory impairment is due to a hippocampal storage deficit, are not. However, the FCSRT does not assess the advantage passing from free to assisted learning, which is expected to be different in frontal and hippocampal damage. We compared SIVD, AD and healthy subjects on the free recall of a 15-word list not assisted at encoding and on the free and cued recall of the FCRST. Indexes of Encoding, Cueing and Total (measuring the advantage passing from the 15-word list free recall to the free and cued recall of the FCRST) were computed. The two groups performed comparably poorly on the free recall of the 15-word list, but SIVD outperformed AD patients in the free and cued recall of the FCSRT and took greater advantage than AD patients on both learning and recall when passing from the unassisted to the assisted paradigms. All indexes significantly predicted diagnostic group membership, but the Total Index showed the larger classification accuracy with 80% of AD and 71% of SIVD correctly classified. These results confirm that the FCRST is able to differentiate AD and SIVD patients with a good level of accuracy. However, the evaluation of memory performance variation as a function of support to encoding provides additional data able to increase diagnostic reliability.

Classes of vitamin D status and functional outcome after hip fracture: a prospective, short-term study of 1350 inpatients.

BACKGROUND: Vitamin D depletion is associated with unfavourable outcomes after hip fracture. However, the classes of vitamin D status currently in use, which are defined according to serum calcifediol levels, have not been validated for their predictive capability of the functional recovery. AIM: To investigate the association between serum calcifediol categorized into 4 classes and the functional recovery after hip fracture. DESIGN: Prospective, short-term observational study. SETTING: Rehabilitation hospital in Italy. POPULATION: We evaluated 1350 of 1412 inpatients with hip fracture. METHODS: Serum calcifediol was measured by an immunoenzymatic assay 14.7±4.4 (mean±SD) days after surgery and categorized into 4 classes: I class <12 ng/mL; II class 12-20 ng/mL; III class 21-29 ng/mL; IV class ≥30ng/mL. The functional outcome was assessed by using the Barthel Index. RESULTS: We found a significant difference in Barthel index scores at the end of inpatient rehabilitation across the 4 classes of vitamin D status: χ2 (3, N.=1350) 27.2; P<0.001. The difference persisted after adjustment for 8 covariates (P=0.004). By comparing pairs of classes, we found that Barthel index scores were lower in the 829 patients of the I class than in the 275 of the II (P=0.005) who had in turn Barthel index scores lower than the 132 patients of the III class (P=0.038). Conversely, no significant differences emerged between the patients of the III class and the 114 patients of the IV class (P=0.421). The results did not materially change when Barthel Index effectiveness was substituted for Barthel Index scores as the outcome measure. CONCLUSIONS: Calcifediol levels below 12ng/mL were associated with a worse recovery than those between 12 and 20ng/mL that were in turn associated with a worse recovery than those between 21 and 29 ng/mL. Conversely, no significant differences were found between the patients with calcifediol between 21 and 29ng/mL and those with calcifediol ≥30 ng/mL. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: Despite caution due to the observational design, our study suggests that vitamin D depletion should be treated after hip fracture to optimize the functional outcome, with a target level for serum calcifediol of 21-29ng/mL and no further advantages associated with calcifediol levels of 30ng/mL or higher.

The attribute priming effect in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Experiments with semantic priming (SP) paradigms have documented early hypopriming in patients with AD when concepts are used as primes and attribute concept features as targets, suggesting that concept attributes are vulnerable to damage very early in the disease course. The aims of this study were to confirm early priming reduction in the attribute condition in patients with AD and to determine which of several semantic indexes (such as the level of distinctiveness, correlation or feature dominance of concept features) best predicts the priming effect size in AD. We administered an SP attribute condition paradigm to 20 mildly demented patients with AD and to 10 NCs. We used concept-attribute pairs for which normative data of semantic indexes relative to both concept primes (i.e., number, type, mean level of dominance, distinctiveness and correlation of features constituting the concepts) and target features (i.e., level of feature dominance, correlation and distinctiveness) were available. Results showed that compared to NCs, the AD group obtained very reduced priming facilitation. Furthermore, the item regression analyses showed that the priming decrement in the AD group was predicted by the feature dominance of the target in the related pairs; that is, the lower the target feature dominance, the lower the priming effect elicited. These results confirmed hypopriming in the attribute condition from the very early phase of AD and support the view that attributes which are more salient for the identification of a given concept are also those most resistant to semantic memory degradation in AD pathology.

Is there a definition of low lean mass that captures the associated low bone mineral density? A cross-sectional study of 80 men with hip fracture.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Subjects with osteosarcopenia, the concurrent presence of sarcopenia and osteoporosis, have prognostic disadvantages and can benefit from treatments targeted at both the conditions. Our aim was to elucidate whether the available definitions of low appendicular lean mass (aLM) capture or not the men with associated low bone mineral density (BMD) following a hip fracture. METHODS: 80 men admitted to our rehabilitation hospital underwent a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan 19.1 ± 4.1 (mean ± SD) days after hip fracture occurrence. Low aLM was identified according to either Baumgartner's definition (aLM/height2 < 7.26 kg/m2) or the criteria from the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH): aLM < 19.75 kg, or aLM adjusted for body mass index (BMI) < 0.789. Low BMD was diagnosed with a T-score < - 2.5 at the unfractured femur. RESULTS: We found a significant positive correlation between aLM and BMD assessed at either femoral neck (r = 0.44; p < 0.001) or total hip (r = 0.50; p < 0.001). After categorization according to the FNIH threshold for aLM, we found a significant association between low aLM and low BMD: χ2(1, n = 80) = 5.4 (p = 0.020), which persisted after adjustment for age and fat mass. Conversely, categorization according to neither Baumgartner's threshold for aLM/height2 nor to the FNIH threshold for aLM/BMI was associated with low BMD. CONCLUSIONS: The association between low aLM and low BMD in men with hip fracture dramatically depends on the adopted definition of low aLM. FNIH threshold for aLM (< 19.75 kg) emerges as a useful tool to capture men with damage to both the components of the muscle-bone unit.

Lean Mass and Functional Recovery in Men With Hip Fracture: A Short-Term Prospective Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to assess the capability of different definitions of low appendicular lean mass (aLM) to predict the short-term functional recovery in men with hip fracture. DESIGN: We investigated 80 of 95 men with hip fracture admitted consecutively to a rehabilitation hospital. Body composition was assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Functional recovery after inpatient rehabilitation was evaluated using Barthel Index scores. RESULTS: The patients with aLM above the cutoff value of 19.75 kg indicated by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) had significantly higher Barthel Index scores than those with aLM below the cutoff value (P = 0.002). Patients' categorization according to the same threshold (aLM = 19.75 kg) was significantly associated with a Barthel Index score of 85 or higher after adjustment for age, cognitive impairment, hip fracture type, co-morbidities, and medications (odds ratio = 7.17, 95% confidence interval = 1.43-35.94, P = 0.017). Conversely, patients' categorization according to neither Baumgartner's cutoff value (7.26 kg/m(2)) for aLM/height(2) nor Foundation for the National Institutes of Health cutoff value (0.789) for aLM divided by body mass index was significantly associated with the Barthel Index scores. CONCLUSIONS: Categorization according to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health threshold for aLM, but not to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health threshold for aLM/body mass index or Baumgartner's threshold for aLM/height, was associated with the short-term recovery in activities of daily living after a hip fracture in men.

Association between low lean mass and low bone mineral density in 653 women with hip fracture: does the definition of low lean mass matter?

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Loss of both muscle and bone mass results in fragility fractures with increased risk of disability, poor quality of life, and death. Our aim was to assess the association between low appendicular lean mass (aLM) defined according to different criteria and low bone mineral density (BMD) in hip-fracture women. METHODS: Six hundred fifty-three women admitted to our rehabilitation hospital underwent dual energy X-ray absorptiometry 19.1 ± 4.1 (mean ± SD) days after hip-fracture occurrence. Low aLM was identified according to either Baumgartner's definition (aLM/height2 less than two standard deviations below the mean of the young reference group) or FNIH criteria: aLM <15.02 kg, or aLM adjusted for body mass index (BMI) <0.512. Low BMD was diagnosed with a T-score <-2.5 at the unfractured femoral neck. RESULTS: Using Baumgartner's definition, the association between low aLM/height2 and low BMD was significant: χ 2(1, n = 653) = 8.52 (p = 0.004), but it was erased by adjustments for age and fat mass. Using the FNIH definition the association between low aLM and low BMD was significant: χ 2(1, n = 653) = 42.5 (p < 0.001), and it was confirmed after adjustment for age and fat mass (p < 0.001). With the FNIH definition based on aLM/BMI ratio the association between low aLM/BMI ratio and low BMD was nonsignificant: χ 2(1, n = 653) = 0.003 (p = 0.957). CONCLUSIONS: The association between low aLM and low BMD in women with hip fracture dramatically depends on the adopted definition of low aLM. FNIH threshold for aLM (<15.02 kg) emerges as a useful tool to capture women with damage of the muscle-bone unit.