Poor sleep in elderly populations is associated with detrimental neuropsychological, and physiological changes including premature immunosenescence and reduced brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Here, we evaluated the effects of acupuncture on sleep quality, psychological distress and immunosenescence in elderly, as well as effects on BDNF levels. Forty-eight community-dwelling elderly were randomized into true or placebo acupuncture, and intervention consisted of ten sessions. Sleep quality, depression and stress scores were evaluated by the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), beck depression inventory (BDI II) and perceived stress scale (PSS), respectively, before and after the intervention. Lymphocyte subsets commonly associated with stress, sleep impairment and immunosenescence were phenotyped by flow cytometry. BDNF plasma levels were assessed by ELISAs. Acupuncture was highly effective for improving sleep quality (-53.23%; p<0.01), depression (-48.41%; p<0.01), and stress (-25.46%; p<0.01). However, neither lymphocyte subpopulations nor BDNF levels changed following the intervention.

Objetivo: Analisar a qualidade de vida de idosos frequentadores de oficinas de informática (OINFO). Métodos: Participaram 92 indivíduos na terceira idade, divididos em dois grupos: grupo I composto por 23 frequentadores de OINFO, e grupo II constituído por 69 sujeitos, que não participavam de OINFO. Utilizaram-se como instrumentos um questionário sociodemográfico e a escala de qualidade de vida WHOQOL-Bref. Os dados foram analisados no programa SPSS® (versão 17.0). Para a análise do WHOQOL, aplicou-se o teste “t” na amostra independente, já nas variáveis sociodemográficas foi utilizado o Qui-quadrado. Resultados: Houve diferença significativa nos domínios físico (p

Aims: This study aimed to observe the possible benefits of acupuncture in chronic pain and gait performance of oldest-old, people aged 80 and older. Method: The study population consisted of oldest-old with chronic pain. For the initial assessment of pain was used a questionnaire containing a figure with anatomical regions and intensity of pain referred by the participant. The evaluation of the gait performance we used the Zeno walkway that has electronic sensors pressure and evaluates various gait parameters. After 10 acupuncture sessions, pain intensity and gait performance were reevaluated. The sessions had a frequency of twice a week and treatment was performed individually for several protocols points according to the illness or pain reported by each patient. Results: Twenty-three oldest-old were initially enrolled, 16 completed the ten sessions of acupuncture and proposed assessments. In the final evaluation, the intensity of pain decreased in 12 of the 13 sites initially referred. In gait parameters, we achieved significant improvement in step and stride length, increased gait speed and cadence. Conclusions: Demonstrated with this study that the acupuncture treatment was effective in reducing chronic pain and improvement in gait performance of the oldest-old.