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In a world first, silent discos are being used as dementia therapy in New South Wales and sufferers are reaping huge mental benefits.
With the sounds of The Andrews Sisters, Dean Martin, Elvis and occasionally a bit of Taylor Swift coming through their Bluetooth headsets, patients are transported through music and movement.
If you are the caregiver of someone who suffers from dementia, you know that certain changes in routine or location can cause great anxiety in your loved one. The holiday season is a time that causes welcomed disruptions in most people’s lives, but unfortunately this means that the happiest time of the year can cause painful discomfort for individuals suffering from dementia.
When you hear the next plea for increased Alzheimer’s funding – and you’ll hear a lot of it during the upcoming Alzheimer’s Awareness months, both global and national – your first thought will likely be that the money should go into to find a cure. However, people who already have the disease, as well as those who care for them, may disagree. A recent survey showed that these people feel that more financial resources should be dedicated to helping them live life with some quality. Funding research is fine, but that will only help people years in the future. They need help now.
It’s not uncommon to feel ill-equipped to serve as primary care partner for your loved one with dementia. In hindsight, you may think, “I’ve made lots of mistakes,” “I wish I’d done more research,” “If only I’d paid more attention to little signs,” “I should have had an action plan,” “I really didn’t know what was coming,” “Now I have a lot of guilt.”
Adult caregivers looking after aging relatives and friends have little training for their stressful roles but still find the experience rewarding, according to a poll released Thursday.
The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey finds that long-term caregivers don’t just provide rides to the doctor and run errands. Nearly half perform some kind of medical care, from changing bandages (30 percent) to inserting catheters or feeding tubes (6 percent).
More than half of elderly patients with dementia are prescribed at least one potentially inappropriate medication, a recent study from eight European countries suggests.
Some medicines are not typically given to older patients because the potential side effects outweigh their clinical benefit and because there are often safer or more effective alternatives available.
Fresh evidence that the body's immune system interacts directly with the brain could lead to a new understanding of diseases from multiple sclerosis to Alzheimer's.
A study of human and monkey brains found lymphatic vessels — a key part of the body's immune system — in a membrane that surrounds the brain and nervous system, a team reported Tuesday in the online journal eLife.
Recent research has challenged previously accepted notions that the gene variant ApoE4 gave its female carriers a greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s than men. older woman thinking in a park
A team of researchers led by Dr. Scott Neu of the University of Southern California and supported in part by NIA found that gender differences in Alzheimer’s risk are not as clear as once thought, and that the decade or so after menopause poses the most significant risk for women. The scientists examined clinical and genetic data from nearly 58,000 study participants to provide a more detailed, nuanced picture of sex difference and the gene variant.
As dementia progresses, the person affected may begin to have trouble communicating.
While the exact progression of the disease is different for each person, it is common for them to repeat stories or not be able to find the words they need to get their point across. Other communication issues may include disorganized speech, easily losing track of thoughts and speaking in tangents, inventing new words, speaking less or speaking in a native language.
Halima Amjad, MD, MPH, recalls a time when her father wandered into the kitchen as her mother prepared dinner, snatched a piece of raw chicken and put it in his mouth. Her mother, and his wife of 37 years, yelled and ran toward him, ignoring the pain in her arthritic knee, and quickly yanked the chicken out of his mouth. The now-retired dentist was living with frontotemporal dementia.
It’s a little after 1.30pm on a Wednesday and a crowd has gathered outside the Rio cinema in Dalston, east London. The first film of the day will not start for another hour, but regulars to the monthly classic matinee are eager to grab their favourite seats.
The matinee is aimed at the community’s senior citizens and all the screenings are dementia-friendly. Cinemagoers are greeted warmly by the familiar faces of the Rio’s staff, who take their orders for tea, coffee and cake – all free with the £2 ticket.
aregivers are an important part of any care facility or at-home service. However, sometimes there’s such heavy focus on their duties that those providing care forget to also give adequate care to themselves.
In an effort to do the best they can for their senior counterparts, most caregivers skip meals, suffer sleep depravation, and much more. Even though we understand the drive behind their need to be there for their patients, you can help others best when you first help yourself.