Lydia Rolita, M.D.

Neurovascular coupling: Key to gait slowing in aging?
Rolita, Lydia; Verghese, Joe
2011 Aug;70(2):189-191, Annals of neurology
— id: 136518, year: 2011, vol: 70, page: 189, stat: Journal Article,

A Novel Longitudinal Geriatric Medical Student Experience: Using Teaching Objective Structured Clinical Examinations
Sutin D; Rolita L; Yeboah N; Taffel L; Zabar S
2011 Sep;59(9):1739-44 L, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
It has previously been shown that medical students perform poorly when assessing older adults with recurrent falls. To address this and teach students about other geriatric syndromes, a standardized patient, played by one of nine actresses, aging during the course of an afternoon, was developed. The patient is first aged 75 with falls, then 80 with memory problems, then 82 with an acute confusional state. The third-year students interact with the patient on a one-to-one basis. After seeing and examining her, the students write up the case and then meet with the supervising physician after each section to discuss the case. This intervention was well accepted, scoring 5.95 on a 7-point Likert-type scale. At the end of the clinical year, the students participated in an eight-case clinical skills examination that included a 79-year-old man with falls. Using the actor's checklists, the performances of the 42 medical students who had participated in the standardized patient experience were compared with those of the 128 who had not. Over the eight cases, there was no difference in the three domains of communication, information gathering, and physical examination, but in the geriatric case, the students who had participated in the experience performed significantly better in all three domains. The intervention students were also three times as likely to examine the subject's gait (60% vs 20%). A 3-hour interactive session substantially improved specific geriatric competencies. One can only wonder what more dedicated time could accomplish
— id: 137825, year: 2011, vol: 59, page: 1739, stat: Journal Article,

Homocysteine and mobility in older adults
Rolita, Lydia; Holtzer, Roee; Wang, Cuiling; Lipton, Richard B; Derby, Carol A; Verghese, Joe
2010 Mar;58(3):545-550, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
OBJECTIVES: To determine the influence of homocysteine on mobility decline in older adults. DESIGN: Prospective cohort. SETTING: Einstein Aging Study, community-based aging study. PARTICIPANTS: Five hundred seventy-four older adults without dementia (mean age 80.2 +/- 5.4, 61% women). MEASUREMENTS: Mobility decline defined using gait velocity measurements at baseline and annual follow-up visits. Linear mixed effects models were used to adjust for age, sex, education, and other potential confounders. RESULTS: Higher homocysteine levels were associated with slower gait velocity at baseline. Adjusted for age, sex, and education, a one-unit increase in baseline log homocysteine levels was associated with a 2.95-cm/s faster mobility decline per year (P=.01) over a median follow-up of 1.4 years. The 140 subjects in the highest quartile of homocysteine had a faster rate of mobility decline (1.75 cm/s per year faster, P=.01) than the 434 subjects in the lowest three quartiles of homocysteine (<or=15 micromol/L). The association between homocysteine and mobility decline remained robust even after adjusting for multiple confounders and accounting for the presence of clinical gait abnormalities. CONCLUSION: Higher homocysteine levels are associated with greater risk of mobility decline in community-residing older adults
— id: 137826, year: 2010, vol: 58, page: 545, stat: Journal Article,

Educating the older adult in over-the-counter medication use
Glaser J; Rolita L
2009 ;12:103-109, Geriatrics & aging
— id: 102307, year: 2009, vol: 12, page: 103, stat: Journal Article,

Evaluation of an elderly faller by medical students and rehabilitation residents
Rolita, Lydia; Ark, Tavinder K; Moroz, Alex; Lanyi, Valery; Southwell, Julianne; Sutin, David
2009 Apr;57(4):709-713, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
As part of the development of a curriculum for medical students and rehabilitation residents at New York University School of Medicine, an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) station was developed for formative evaluation. The goal was to determine the existing knowledge and competence of medical students and rehabilitation residents in the analysis and treatment of a geriatric patient with a history of falls. This OSCE station was designed to focus on three specific clinical skills needed in assessing the elderly faller. The OSCE station was a standardized patient (SP) encounter with a 75-year-old man presenting with falls. Seventy-five medical students and 41 rehabilitation medicine residents participated in the study. There was high agreement between the SP and a geriatric physician used to assess performance on gait (Cronbach alpha=0.918) and orthostatic blood pressure (Cronbach alpha=0.887) assessment. Of the medical students, 43.5% did not check orthostatic blood pressure, 56.8% did not evaluate gait, and 92.0% did not consider assistive device prescription. Only 20.0% checked both orthostatic blood pressure and gait. Likewise, 73.8% of residents did not check orthostatic blood pressure, 38.1% did not evaluate gait and 92.9% did not consider assistive device prescription. Only 19.0% checked both orthostatic blood pressure and gait. The results of this examination are alarming and suggest that education regarding the approach to an elderly person who falls is inadequate, leaving students and residents poorly prepared to take care of the 'silver tsunami.'
— id: 111643, year: 2009, vol: 57, page: 709, stat: Journal Article,

Seizing a golden window of opportunity: Assessing domestic fall risk among independently living older adults in NYC
Rolita, L; Strasser, S; Gonzalez, J
2008 APR ;56(4):S60-S60, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
— id: 78724, year: 2008, vol: 56, page: S60, stat: Journal Article,

Evaluation of an elderly faller by medical students and rehabilitation residents
Rolita, L; Sutin, D; Ali, E; Ark, T; Moroz, A; Lanyi, V
2008 APR ;56(4):S42-S43, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
— id: 78723, year: 2008, vol: 56, page: S42, stat: Journal Article,

Over-the-counter medication use in older adults
Rolita, Lydia; Freedman, Michael
2008 Apr;34(4):8-17, Journal of gerontological nursing
Use of over-the-counter (OTC) medications is becoming more of a problem in the older adult population as the push to deregulate prescription medications grows. This article summarizes the side effects, adverse reactions, and medication interactions older adults face when using some common OTC medications
— id: 79144, year: 2008, vol: 34, page: 8, stat: Journal Article,

Apoptotic gene expression in Alzheimer's disease
Marcus, DL; Sajan, FD; Martiniuk, F; Rolita, L; Frey, WH; Freedman, ML
2006 APR ;54(4):S20-S20, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
— id: 64486, year: 2006, vol: 54, page: S20, stat: Journal Article,