By APNWLNS Viagra online
Studies Find Mixed Results for Dementia Units
By their euphemistic names, ye shall know them: The Memory Care Unit. The Reminiscence Neighborhood. Homestead.
These special units for residents with dementia have spread throughout the American nursing home industry; more than 16 percent of nursing homes now include one.
The laudable idea was to move patients with dementia out of the typically over stimulating and understaffed nursing home into a separate wing, a calm and secure environment where well-trained staffers would offer tailored activities, handle problematic behaviors and provide greater support.
But I’ve always wondered whether these units actually live up to their promises and their higher price tags. In a competitive nursing home market, they may provide an edge in attracting paying customers. But do they provide better care, or mostly a reassuring name and a locked door?
The research provides some intriguing findings but, sadly, no clear thumbs-up for families trying to figure out if this is the solution for someone who wanders, gets frightened or obstreperous, or needs more attention.
Full story on dementia units at The New York Times
Photos courtesy of and copyright PhotoPin, http://photopin.com/
Care homes use ‘doll therapy’ for residents with dementia
The image of an older person cuddling and singing to a child's doll can be strange and disturbing, yet doll therapy is being used by a growing number of care homes across the UK for people with dementia.
Four Seasons Healthcare, which frequently uses doll therapy in its homes, has found that residents have become so attached to the dolls there have been tussles over them. It has even had to go as far as introducing baby high chairs into the dining halls so residents could feed their dolls while eating their meals.
Despite its growing use, doll therapy is still a controversial intervention as it can be extremely upsetting for families to see their relatives in this infantilised state. Four Seasons Healthcare admits that there has been opposition from both relatives and staff.
Caroline Baker, head of quality and dementia care at Four Seasons Healthcare, said: "On a few occasions we have had relatives question it and we always make sure we fully explain what doll therapy is to the relatives."
Full story of doll therapy for dementia at The Guardian
Photos courtesy of and copyright PhotoPin, http://photopin.com/
Why Your Loved One’s Dementia Doesn’t Have to Be a Death Sentence for You, Too
You finally convince your spouse to go to the doctor with you. He's only in his late 60s, but lately he's been forgetting where his car keys are, losing words and getting lost when he goes out alone. You've been worried for a while, so you're relieved your spouse is willing to see a professional.
The doctor, a neurologist, is a tall, distinguished researcher in his late 50s. He wears a long, starched white lab coat and sits behind his cluttered desk. He tells your husband to remember three things: a ball, a toothbrush and a pen. You memorize them, hoping your brain is still working. Then he asks your husband to subtract seven from 100 and continue subtracting sevens down to zero if he can. Your husband says,"93, 82." What? You sit up straighter and try not to blurt "93, 86." Your husband was a math major in high school and studied engineering in college. He taught you calculus, but all of a sudden he doesn't know 93 minus seven is 86?
You start thinking about how you've been in denial about his dropping things and tripping around the house. Your husband can't remember the three things he was supposed to remember 10 minutes ago. You're glad you can, but your heart is beating too fast.
Full story of dementia care at Huffington Post
Photos courtesy of and copyright PhotoPin, http://photopin.com/
Minding Our Elders: Dementia aggression difficult to control
DEAR CAROL: My 79-year-old mother is on medication for aggression due to her dementia, but she still has periodic violent outbursts where she kicks and hits me. Her psychiatrist has tried several drugs in small doses to avoid side effects, but most of them leave her sleepy and have had little positive effect. Zyprexa has helped her the most, but that only means the outbursts have been cut in half. We haven’t found any specific triggers. Her physical aggression is wearing me out and I’m tired of this medication rollercoaster that’s been going on for three years. Am I expecting too much from these drugs? – Jeannine
DEAR JEANNINE: It’s likely that someday a physician will be able to order a blood test which will identify the exact medication needed to balance a person’s brain chemistry. Unfortunately, we are a long way from that ideal. Your mother’s doctor is trying his or her best to find a medication that will help, but considering your mother’s age as well as any possible health issues she may have, finding the optimum medication is difficult.
Full story of controlling dementia at Inforum.com
Photos courtesy of and copyright PhotoPin, http://photopin.com/
8 Ways to Spot Your Denial About Dementia
At first, denial can be a healthy defense against admitting that your loved one has dementia.
Denial involves not acknowledging what you see or hear and/or unconsciously negating what you see or hear. Denial helps you block the more painful aspects of reality. However, if denial continues too long, then it can be life-threatening to you and your loved one.
Here's what happened to me, a psychiatrist, and my husband who died seven months ago from Lewy body dementia.
One day he tried to cut my bangs, something he always did for me in between hairdresser appointments. We both enjoyed this ritual. Although he was an attorney by trade, he was pretty handy with scissors, knives, and other tools. I combed my hair and sat down in front of him, ready for my bang trim. With his usual confidence, he grabbed my bangs and moved the scissors toward me. My eyes were closed, but fortunately I opened them just before he began to cut. He had the angle all wrong. I was shocked as I grabbed his hand and asked what he was doing. I saw a blank stare. My husband was a gentle man and would never hurt me, that's why I'd chosen to be with him, but he was unaware of how close he'd come to gouging my eyes out. His senses of distance, danger, and appropriateness were all thrown off.
Full story of dementia denial at Huffington Post
Photos courtesy of and copyright PhotoPin, http://photopin.com/
Study links dementia to sleep loss
The behavior of research participants was found to vary according to how much sleep they had received.
In older volunteers, a shortage of good quality, or slow-wave sleep, was found to be linked to future memory problems.
This was subsequently linked to disappearance of neurons in the brain’s medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) area, which often occurs with age.
The study, which has been featured in the journal Nature Neuroscience, asked participants to memorize a list of words and recall them after having slept through the night.
Dr Matthew Walker, from the University of California at Berkeley, US, and his co-researchers said in the report: “These data support a model in which age-related mPFC atrophy diminishes SWA (slow-wave activity), the functional consequence of which is impaired long-term memory.”
Full story of sleep loss and dementia at Nursing Times
Photos courtesy of and copyright PhotoPin, http://photopin.com/
Rock Star Nearly Loses Career With ‘Curable’ Dementia (VIDEO)
Dick Wagner had enjoyed a successful life on stage, playing lead guitar for bands like Alice Cooper, Aerosmith and Kiss, when he had a stroke and a heart attack in 2007.
"I woke up from a coma after two weeks with a paralyzed left arm," said Wagner, now 70 and living in Arizona. "My profession as a guitarist, I thought was over."
He and Cooper co-wrote the majority of the band's top-selling songs, including the 1975 hit, "Welcome to My Nightmare."
But Wagner's own personal horror show had just begun. He worked hard at rehabilitation, but new symptoms began to appear: mental fuzziness and an odd gait.
"I couldn't turn to the left as I walked, only to the right, and I would do a spiral and fall," he said. "I fell completely flat on my face in the driveway on the concrete. I didn't know what had happened to me."
Full story of rock stars curable dementia at ABC News
Photos courtesy of and copyright PhotoPin, http://photopin.com/
Fostering a different attitude to dementia
Is it us or people with dementia who are hollowed out?
When I first graduated from university, I remember reading an account of an interaction with a resident with dementia. Alighting from the bus after an outing, she turned to the driver and said: "Thank you for that. I can't remember what I did but I know I enjoyed it!"
This highlights an important and sometimes forgotten aspect of dementia: people may forget events quite quickly but emotional memory lingers. Feelings of frustration, joy, happiness or despair may continue well past the event that provoked the feeling.
Is the capacity for feeling and emotion lost in the person with dementia? I don't believe so. What is lost is a sense of positivism - a ''while there's life, there is hope'' feeling - on the part those who care.
This is not to blame people who care; it's what we would expect might happen if you have an older adult who is functionally very dependent and unable to communicate with you.
Full story of attitude change for dementia at The Age
Photos courtesy of and copyright PhotoPin, http://photopin.com/
Behind the Wheel with Dementia
Dementia sufferers most likely to stop driving based on decision of caregivers
Some reports say that dementia patients may be more likely to have car accidents while driving. But, are accidents the reason that people stop driving when they have dementia?
A recent study found that about 40 percent of people with mild to moderate dementia were still driving. The number one reason that people with dementia stopped driving was the caregiver’s belief that it was too risky. Very few people stopped driving because of accidents or having their license taken away.
The study, led by Stephan Seiler, MD, of the Department of Neurology at the Medical University of Graz in Austria, sought to find what factors were considered when dementia patients stopped driving.
The researchers looked at patients who were part of a long-term dementia study in Austria.
Full story of driving with dementia at Daily RX
Photos courtesy of and copyright PhotoPin, http://photopin.com/
Caring for people with dementia
Although the elderly are mostly affected by dementia, it is not a normal part of the ageing process. Globally, 35.6 million people suffer from dementia and a new case is diagnosed every four seconds.
In Malta, the numbers are also on the rise. In fact, it is estimated that in three years’ time, 1.25 per cent of our population will suffer from dementia. This counts for approximately 4,892 cases.
Dementia is a degenerative condition which causes deterioration in thinking, memory, behavior and the ability to perform basic tasks and activities of daily living.
It is caused by various types of brain illnesses, the most common being Alzheimer’s disease, which is also a major cause of disability and loss of independence among the elderly.
Other contributing factors may be vascular dementia and dementia with lewy bodies, an abnormal collection of protein that develops inside the brain’s nerve cells.
Full story of caring for dementia at Times of Malta
Photos courtesy of and copyright PhotoPin, http://photopin.com/