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• Families of people entering and living in residential aged care settings have complex and dynamic bereavement care needs, and there is paucity of evidence-based bereavement support intervention, specifically focussed on this population. • The quality of care provided to an older person at the end of their life and after death care can influence family caregivers' grief reactions. • The aged care workforce should consider the complexities involved in decision-making strategies that support death preparedness and bereavement support as a part of care planning and provision. • There is a need for government agencies and research entities to work together in developing and implementing a comprehensive approach to grief, loss, and bereavement care, focussing on the residential aged care sector. The grief, loss and bereavement needs of the families of those living and dying in residential aged care setting is not very well understood. This systematic review examines grief, loss, and bereavement experience of, and interventions relating to, family caregivers of those entering, living and dying in residential aged care. Out of 2023 papers that were identified, 35 met the inclusion criteria which included (n=28) qualitative and (n=7) quantitative intervention studies. The qualitative findings indicated quality of care provided to the resident at the end of their life, and after death care influenced family caregivers' grief reactions. The intervention studies revealed that educational interventions have the potential to lead to some benefits in the context of grief loss and bereavement outcomes. Recognizing the emotional experiences and support needs of families and carers may enhance the understanding of the ageing, caring, dying, grieving pathway for older people and their families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Sex differences: females had lower MMOS than males among healthy elderly individuals. • Age impact: MMOS decreases with age, indicating reduced mouth-opening strength. • Dysphagia impact: dysphagic individuals showed significantly lower MMOS compared to healthy elderly. • Data insufficiency : limited reliable data on mouth-opening strength across populations. • Research need: further studies are needed to understand mouth-opening performance. To characterize mouth-opening muscular performance (MOMP) in adults and elderly individuals with dysphagia and healthy controls. We searched the PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane, Scopus, and Web of Science databases from inception to Jan. 26, 2023. Two independent researchers considered the titles, abstracts, and full texts of potentially eligible papers from 1451 search results. Twenty-five studies that evaluated mouth-opening maximal strength (MOMS) in healthy adults, elderly individuals, and patients with dysphagia met the inclusion criteria. We found comparable, reliable values with significant sex differences in maximal mouth opening strength (MMOS) in the meta-analysis for healthy elderly patients (females 5.31 ± 0.47 kg vs. males 7.04 ± 0.70 kg; mean difference of 0.84 kg). Age has also emerged as an essential factor in reducing strength. There was a significant reduction in the MMOS score in the only study that compared dysphagic individuals to healthy elderly individuals. In another study, the MMOS score was comparable to the meta-analysis of healthy elderly individuals. Both sex and age play significant roles in the MMOS. There is no reliable data on the normal mouth-opening strength and endurance of healthy adults, patients with dysphagia, or individuals with other relevant clinical problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• High prevalence of involuntary treatment among community-dwelling older persons with dementia. • Specific caregiver and care recipient factors associated with involuntary treatment. • Urgent need for proactive measures and targeted interventions to enhance care quality. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to ascertain the prevalence of involuntary treatment among community-living older persons with dementia and explore associated factors. We comprehensively searched seven electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Scopus) from their inception to October 17, 2023, with an update conducted on April 1, 2024. Meta-analysis synthesized prevalence estimates of involuntary treatment and its three subcategories, with 95% confidence intervals. This study included 11 research papers involving 12,136 community-dwelling individuals with cognitive impairment and dementia from 19 countries. The pooled prevalence of involuntary treatment among community-dwelling older persons with dementia was 45.2% (95% CI: 33.7−60.5%). Subcategories included physical restraints (9.8%, 95% CI: 5.1−18.8%), psychotropic medication (19.1%, 95% CI: 13.6−26.9%), and non-consensual care (34.3%, 27.6−42.7%). Factors influencing involuntary treatment were categorized as caregiver-related and care recipient-related. This study underscores the prevalent use of involuntary treatment among community-dwelling older persons with dementia, emphasizing its association with specific caregiver and care recipient factors. Addressing these findings underscores the importance of proactive measures and targeted interventions to improve the quality of care for this vulnerable population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Seven studies with 770 randomized patients with dementia were included, which compared valproic acid with placebo. • Valproic acid is generally well-tolerated in patients with dementia, even in long-term therapy for 24 months. • Insufficient evidences are found to support valproic acid in the treatment of dementia for symptoms or disease-modifying. • The anticipations for a success in the trial of valproic acid for dementia in the future look not optimistic. The neuroprotective effect of valproic acid has been observed in the animal models of neurodegeneration, which suggests it as a potential candidate for clinical trials. In this paper, we aimed to systematically analyze the efficacy and safety of valproic acid in the treatment of dementia. We searched the electronic databases PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library and China National Knowledge Infrastructure until March 2020 for the eligible randomized controlled trials, as well as the unpublished and ongoing trials. We pooled the results using a random-effects model. We included seven studies with 770 randomized patients with dementia, which compared valproic acid with placebo. Indeed, there were no significant differences found in the scores of Mini–mental State Examination, Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory and number of patients with adverse events. Valproic acid is generally well-tolerated in patients with dementia, even in long-term therapy for 24 months. Insufficient evidences are found to support valproic acid in the treatment of dementia for cognitive, psychiatric symptoms or disease-modifying. The anticipations for a success in the trial of valproic acid for dementia in the future look not optimistic based on the available evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]