Building Bridges for Innovation in Ageing: Synergies between Action Groups of the EIP on AHA

The Strategic Implementation Plan of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA) proposed six Action Groups. After almost three years of activity, many achievements have been obtained through commitments or collaborative work of the Action Groups. However, they have often worked in silos and, consequently, synergies between Action Groups have been proposed to strengthen the triple win of the EIP on AHA. The paper presents the methodology and current status of the Task Force on EIP on AHA synergies. Synergies are in line with the Action Groups' new Renovated Action Plan (2016-2018) to ensure that their future objectives are coherent and fully connected. The outcomes and impact of synergies are using the Monitoring and Assessment Framework for the EIP on AHA (MAFEIP). Eight proposals for synergies have been approved by the Task Force: Five cross-cutting synergies which can be used for all current and future synergies as they consider overarching domains (appropriate polypharmacy, citizen empowerment, teaching and coaching on AHA, deployment of synergies to EU regions, Responsible Research and Innovation), and three cross-cutting synergies focussing on current Action Group activities (falls, frailty, integrated care and chronic respiratory diseases).

ARIA 2016: Care pathways implementing emerging technologies for predictive medicine in rhinitis and asthma across the life cycle

The Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) initiative commenced during a World Health Organization workshop in 1999. The initial goals were (1) to propose a new allergic rhinitis classification, (2) to promote the concept of multi-morbidity in asthma and rhinitis and (3) to develop guidelines with all stakeholders that could be used globally for all countries and populations. ARIA—disseminated and implemented in over 70 countries globally—is now focusing on the implementation of emerging technologies for individualized and predictive medicine. MASK [MACVIA (Contre les Maladies Chroniques pour un Vieillissement Actif)-ARIA Sentinel NetworK] uses mobile technology to develop care pathways for the management of rhinitis and asthma by a multi-disciplinary group and by patients themselves. An app (Android and iOS) is available in 20 countries and 15 languages. It uses a visual analogue scale to assess symptom control and work productivity as well as a clinical decision support system. It is associated with an inter-operable tablet for physicians and other health care professionals. The scaling up strategy uses the recommendations of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing. The aim of the novel ARIA approach is to provide an active and healthy life to rhinitis sufferers, whatever their age, sex or socio-economic status, in order to reduce health and social inequalities incurred by the disease.

[Test for determination of attention in patients with sleep apnea syndrome]

To investigate the daytime sleepiness in patients with sleep apnea syndrome, we used a test for measurement of sustained attention. The present study was performed on 65 participants: 10 healthy non-snoring volunteers, 25 snoring volunteers and 30 patients with symptoms of sleep apnea. The error rate (percentage of incorrect responses) appears to be most suitable for the evaluation of the test. The difference between the habitual snorers and the healthy non-snoring volunteers was statistically significant. At the apneic patients, there are significant differences in age, sex, and body mass index; attention decreases significantly in the last 10 minutes of the test. The attention test can be helpful for the measurement of daytime sleepiness in apneic patients.

Experimental studies on human bronchial smooth muscle in vitro

The aim of this study was the investigation of bronchial reactivity in human bronchial smooth muscle in vitro. In fact, the study has two purposes: to achieve the best methods of research on human bronchial strips reactivity in vitro; to reveal the effect of acetylcholine and histamine on bronchial smooth muscle; The contractile effect of acetylcholine appears at 10(-6) M in the organ-bath; the maximal acetylcholine contraction was obtained at 10(-3) M in the organ-bath. Histamine induced a maximal contraction at 10(-3) M, but a concentration of 10(-3) M in the organ bath had no effect.