In the past few years there has been a change in the policy of the use of Medical Cannabis in many nations around the world. In those nations there is a "Medical legalization" in regards to the use of Cannabis.

The Cannabis plant is known for its ability to relieve pain, anti-inflammatory affect and to stimulate appetite. Many different research papers have shown that the Cannabis plant is a useful remedy in a large range of diseases some of which are associated with the golden age such as Alzheimer, Parkinson, chronic pain, MS, relief of side effects related to cancer treatment as well as proof treatment of the cancer itself in part of the cases and palliative treatment for end stage patients.

One of the advantages of Cannabis use is the nonsignificant side effects as reported by the patients as well, there are no reported cases of overdose with Cannabis and the percentage of addictions to the plant is significantly lower than with other substances.

In the body there is an Endocannabinoid system which affects a large spectrum of biological and chemical processes in the body and constitutes a critical factor of human health. Researchers believe that the main purpose of this system is to preserve homeostasis – the balance of the inner body in spite of external influences. This system reacts directly to the active substances that are found in Cannabis, which are also present naturally in the human body.

  There is a thirst for knowledge amongst researchers, doctors and in the Cannabis industry in relation to a number of questions that have yet to be researched on the Cannabis plant.
Topics that need to be approached in depth:

1. In the Cannabis plant there are a number of "active ingredients" that have yet to be charted (out of approximately100 active ingredients, until today only two have been charted: CBD, THC)

2. Improved Methods of extraction

3. Affective medical alternatives that are accepted throughout the world for the use of Cannabis medically (as appose to the use of smoking cannabis which is thought of as an unhealthy, though today the most effective method used) for example: capsules, ointments, suppositories, inhalation etc.

4. Genetic strand development to improve the cultivation of better strains, faster. For example strains which are rich in specific canaboids that are intended for a specific indication.

5. There is a need to adapt advanced technologies from conventional agriculture to the field of Cannabis. For example: to prevent pesticides, resistant strains, reducing the use of water and energy, enlargement of yield, packing and storage methods which will improve shelf life.

Knowledge for fitness

It is for everybody to admire a 65 year old runner finishing the Athens authentic Marathon of 42.124 meters. But is it everybody that finds this endurance challenge to be for the benefit of the runner? Is such an effort for or against her health? While it is obviously positive to her moral and self-esteem, is it positive to her longevity and physical condition?

As age proceeds people become - at an always growing pace - more sensitive of their every day practices and habits. Small variations in eating, drinking or physical and mental effort have a big effect in their wellbeing and fitness.

Eating selections, preference of red over white wine, the plethora of herbs and why not food supplements claiming to have an effect on physical condition are all puzzling people in the silver era of their lives. Because it is hard to find valid answers, people are resorting to common sense and to “hearing” their bodies or undocumented rumors.

The idea is to develop a structured form of advice supported – where possible – by empirical, scientific and/or experimental evidence.

How to find what works for me? If this “me” is one of the hundreds of millions of Europeans approaching or being in the silver age.

The answer could be to build an ontology or to develop a platform where individuals’ experiences are uploaded and the data created are mined using analytics algorithms.

The fact remains that silver age needs to feel better and be better in order to perform more efficiently. A Hub of reliable and trusted knowledge is certainly a much needed tool.

To provide basic house upgrades for the most vulnerable elderly population in order to guarantee the minimum security and habitability conditions; simplify accessibility and life condition of the person in his own home; promote functional autonomy an life quality at home.

The programme can be addressed to people from 65 year-old, with difficulty to carry out daily life activities, in situation of dependence and/or lack of personal autonomy, that live alone or with other elderly, and with scarce economic resources.

In a similar way as shifts of time between World's time zones provide business oportunites for services relying on overnight execution and delivery, this idea builds on the time lag between solar time and local time (time on your watch) to explore new business and services leveraging on energy savings. The Silver Economy group would be targeted as beneficiaries of the new services as their condition of retired frees them to adjust their daily activites and live according to the sun. Time differnece between solar time (time shown by a solar clock) and actual time on our watch can span up to two hours on certain periods of the year. It is expected that living according to the sun would provide substantial savings in areas of energy, transportation, home services -including Ambient Assited Living-, personal care-, etc. and therefore this seems to be an area of businesses discovery and services innovation worth exploring. 

The Silver Economy in Europe

The silver economy is the part of the economy that includes relevant economic activities for elder European citizens (health, healthcare, nutrition, leisure, transportation, education, employment, etc.). The silver economy is much related with the European demographic trends and the effects of an ageing population in the quality of life and in the economy from a broad perspective.

An ageing society can be considered as a sign of social and economic advancement and comes associated with new opportunities for economic, social and cultural development.

Currently, the silver economy is relatively unknown, but in the coming years will be a major fraction of the development of the European Union.

The European Commission (EC) is studying ongoing and foreseen initiatives and ideas carried out in this field. The diverse sectors silver economy covers are: 1) connectivity and social participation; (2) entertainment, culture and tourism; (3) financial services; (4) food and nutrition; (5) health and care; (6) living and building; (7) mobility and transport; (8) physical and cognitive abilities; (9) safety and security; (10) work and training, among others.

Regarding the part concerning health, the silver economy would include solutions to help healthcare, preventive and therapeutic (including palliative care) activities, as well as activities that help with personal hygiene. It also includes the use of new technologies (telemedicine, telecare, mHealth and robotics).

Therefore, from the General Pharmaceutical Council of Spain, the project AdherenciaMED can be used as proposal for the EC.

Introduction

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) adherence is defined as "the extent to which a person’s behaviours – taking medication, following a diet, and/or executing lifestyle changes, corresponds with agreed recommendations from a healthcare provider”. Adherence is, therefore, complex and multifactorial.

As regards medication, lack of adherence to treatment is a very significant problem that has clinical implications (desirable therapeutic outcomes not reached, complications, etc.), economic (wastage of medicines, increased use of healthcare resources, etc.) and in the quality of life of patients.

The ageing of the population, particularly significant in Spain but widespread across Europe, and the increase associated with the chronicity and pluripathology, leads to that the management of adherence to treatment is key for European health systems.

The improvement of therapeutic adherence entails the involvement of the patient, of all healthcare professionals caring for him/her, the administration and the pharmaceutical industry.

Role of the pharmacist

From the pharmaceutical perspective, it is important to guide any intervention performed by the community pharmacist to the specific cause that is causing the problem of adherence and design a customized plan that fits to the type of adherence problem identified in the patient. Broadly speaking, non-adherence can be intentional and non-intentional and, on this basis, the intervention of the pharmacist will vary.

Another factor to consider is that the degree of adherence varies between patients, treatments, and even over time in the same patient. It is therefore key, carry out interventions on adherence from the community pharmacy on a regular basis.

There are many interventions that can be made, since the provision of information and counselling about the treatment and its correct use process, through the preparation of lists or tables of medicines, the preparation of personalized dosing systems (PDS), reminders (telephone calls, alarms, mobile applications, etc.), to influence the beliefs of the patient in relation to the disease/treatment.

AdherenciaMED Project

AdherenciaMED project has as main objective the design and evaluation of the clinical, economic and humanistic impact of a professional pharmaceutical service aimed to improve the therapeutic adherence in patients in pharmacological treatment for hypertension, asthma or COPD, in comparison with the usual pharmaceutical care. Hypertension, asthma and COPD are, together with the diabetes, the more prevalent chronic diseases in population over 65 years.

More specifically, the study will assess:

• The effectiveness of the adherence service designed as well as it suitability.
• The clinical impact of the service on the high blood pressure, asthma, or COPD control.
• The economic impact in terms of medicines used, hospitalizations, visits to emergency, primary care and resources used to provide the service and the cost-utility of it.
• The impact on quality of life and perceived health status.

The professional service foreseen for the study will be a brief complex intervention, based on an interview and, depending on the type of adherence problem identified, the possibility of offering the patient PDSs as reinforcement system to the unintentional lack of adherence.

The design of the study is a clinical randomized controlled trial, which will be held in community pharmacies in 6 Spanish provinces. The pharmacist will offer patients requesting the dispensing of a medicine for the treatment of hypertension, asthma or COPD, the possibility of participating in the study. In addition to this criteria for inclusion, patients will have to be over 18 years of age, consent to participate in the study and be able to complete several self-reported questionnaires on adherence, health and quality of life.

May sound wired, but not so much , I mean the role of seniors in biodiversity and in generating additional pocket income. They love to care , and also for their plants. But too often these plans are common flowers, vegetables or fruits, which , in limited quantities, can be grown on a terrasse or in a window. The added value of the people doing this , is their interest, time, and happyness in seeing a result . This extends to rare/disappearing fruit species (or varieties); in Southern Europe, there are over 200 species in danger; they are not economically viable for production on farms, but local demand and customers exist (for fresh fruits as well as for jams). Contrary to say 20 years ago, there are bio-farmers or bio shops (even store networks) , who would love to sell such rarities , and could collect them in their neighborhoods, paying the seniors a little for their production. The same stakeholders could either make the seeds/plants available, or let the seniors buy them . 

Another, more extreme case, is the cultivation of some specific flowers , where the production has largely disappeared from Europe only because of labor costs. Take Jasmin , a wonderful flagrance. The bushes are small and grow slowly; the key issues are patience, and time to water them. When in bloom, in the early morning, one must harvest the flowers one by one, and plant them upside down into a flat greased surface which sucks up the flagrance. The seniors would enjoy the smell but also the revenue. Indeed, 8 tons of flowers are needed to produce 1 kg of "essential flagrance" from the grease extracts, but this kg is worth over 100 000 Euros.If one elderly person does it right, and collects say 8 kg of flowers, they could well reap monetary rewards in the hundred euro bracket. This is just an example of a suggested model whereby seniors can be productive, use their availability , a bit of water, the reap pleasure and some pocket money.  

Younger people visit their seniors in terms of their work and ideas disposition, to discuss the past the present and the future as the 2 generations have experienced it, will experience it and to get advice and ideas evaluated from either side.

For example – Young Electrical Engineers will visit their seniors (retired and aging) for companionship and at the same time discuss projects and ask for advice and share experiences.

It is surprising how much people of the same background have to talk about and also how much older people appreciate the companionship of their juniors. It will also relieve depression and anxiety on older people, healthier mental state and maybe increase their research and mental activity.

In my point of view older people should be working untill they really want to retired. I think that most of elderly people would like to still work, not having the rule of age pension. What can the goverments do to keep older people active. Active for me means less health problems and more social interaction. So, what goverments can do?

1 - Start building a idea that get old don't mean you have to quit your job.

2 - After 45 years of age enterprises should have motivation teams. Learn new and innovation with old knowelge.

3 - Create incentives for older people have they own business.

4 - Social work, in my opinion, should be pay.

5 - Part-time should be first option, before older people think in retired.

6 - Nursery homes should give adapted work.

7 - Familys should incentived the relatives to keep work.

8 - More effective prevention of work - diseases.

Universities are typically engaged with preparing young people for a professional career. Dublin City University is a research intensive university of enterprise and innovation with a young population however, in 2012 DCU became the first designated age-friendly university. We recognise that Ireland is approx 20 years behind the rest of Europe in terms of an ageing population and in particular we have  the lowest number of 80 year olds in the EU.  We are golbally leading  a network of age friendly  universities to work collaboratively to meet the needs of an ageing deomgraphic and to support active and healthy ageing.

We have developed 10 Principles of an Age Friendly University and have convened a  multidisciplinary team which work collaboratively in ageing issues with the support of an Age Friendly Coordinator.  We have also established an Expert Advisory Board comprising organisations who work with older people in Ireland.  The Age Friendly Coordinator works  to encourage older people onto the university campus to engage in lifelong learning,entrepreunership,  health, sports and cultural activities.  This provides our students with the opportunity to engage in intergenerational dialogue learning and mentoring opportunities, challenges attitudes towards ageing and contributes to informing their own ageing process.  It also provides rich and diverse research opportunities.  For our older learner  who has skills and life experience in abundance  its the sense of empowerment, belonging, social interaction, educational opportunities, keeping the mind active, mentoring and social engagement.