Elderly subjects decline

Until recently, little attention had been paid to nicotinic mechanisms in explaining either the pathophysiology or treatment of AD. Patients with AD have a marked reduction in cortical nicotinic cholinergic receptor binding compared with that of age-matched control subjects (Aubert et al. 1992 Flynn and Mash 1986 Whitehouse et al. 1986). Psychiatrically healthy elderly subjects show an age-related decline in cortical nicotinic binding (Flynn and Mash 1986). 

D. J. Mehagnoul-Schipper, L. C. Vloet, W. N. Colier, W. H. Hoefnagels, and R. W. Jansen, Cerebral Oxygenation Declines in Healthy Elderly Subjects in Response to Assuming the Upright Position, Stroke, 31(7), 1615-1620 (2000). 

Elderly Pramipexole total oral clearance was approximately 30% lower in subjects older than 65 years of age compared with younger subjects, because of a decline in pramipexole renal clearance. The incidence of confusion and hallucinations appears to increase with age. Serious adverse events were more common in older patients (ie, falling, cardiovascular events, respiratory disorders, Gl events). 

The effect of age on the stereoselective pharmacokinetics of propranolol has been the subject of several studies [21,46- 8], with conflicting results. For instance, while Colangelo et al. [48] and Lalonde et al. [46] reported no significant changes in the oral clearances of the propranolol enantiomers with advancing age, others [21,47] have reported a significant decline in the clearance of both enantiomers in the elderly. Additionally, in contrast to... 

At least some evidence exists for the occurrence of zinc deficiency among each of these groups in developing country settings. The elderly may also be at elevated risk of zinc deficiency, due to a decline in adequacy of zinc intakes and possibly a reduction in the absorption of dietary zinc. However, evidence for zinc deficiency among the elderly has thus far only been derived from industrialized countries elderly populations have not been the subject of study of zinc deficiency in developing countries. 

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