Showing posts with label Patients With Dementia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Patients With Dementia. Show all posts

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Alzheimers Disease, #Dementia & #Senility Resources, (#Bedside #Nursing) #Patient #healthcare #nursefriendly

See also:

Alzheimers Disease, #Dementia & #Senility Resources, (#Bedside #Nursing) #Patient #healthcare #nursefriendly

See also:

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Are senior citizens being overmedicated? – The Chart - CNN.com Blogs

Strong, antipsychotic drugs are being prescribed more often to senior citizens in U.S. nursing homes, setting off a debate about whether it's the right treatment for the elderly suffering from dementia.

Daniel Levinson, inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services, believes this increase - detailed in a recent study by his office - is a cause for alarm.  "The report found that too often, elderly residents are prescribed antipsychotic drugs in ways that violate government standards for unnecessary drug use," he wrote in a commentary for CNN.com.

Psychiatrist Daniel Carlat disagrees, saying the study Levinson cites is a "blizzard of statistics" that doesn't tell the entire story.  "When these drugs are successful, they soothe the inner turmoil that makes life intolerable for these patients, improving their quality of life dramatically," Carlat wrote in his commentary for CNN.com.

Click on the "Via" link for the full article.

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Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
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Monday, May 16, 2011

Caring for an Ill Spouse, and for Other Caregivers

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Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

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Sunday, May 15, 2011

Alzheimers Disease, Dementia & Senility, Direct (Bedside Nursing) Patient Care

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Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

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Thursday, May 5, 2011

Extra Pounds at Midlife May Boost Dementia Risk Later: MedlinePlus

Being overweight during middle age may increase your risk of developing dementia later on, a new Swedish study suggests.

Several studies have already linked obesity in middle age to dementia in later life, but it was unclear whether merely carrying some extra pounds in midlife was a risk factor. The new research suggests that even being overweight -- defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 30 -- is linked with a higher risk of dementia.

"Being overweight at midlife increased the risk of dementia in late life by more than 70 percent," said lead study author Dr. Weili Xu, a postdoctoral researcher at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

Being obese raised the risk even more, to nearly fourfold.

"Although the effect of midlife overweight on dementia is not as substantial as that of obesity, its impact on public health is significant," Xu said, noting that 1.6 billion adults worldwide are obese or overweight, including 50 percent of adults in the United States and Europe.

The study is published in the May 3 issue of Neurology.

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Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.inspirationalnursing.com
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Friday, April 22, 2011

HealthNewsReview.org | Independent Expert Reviews of News Stories | Holding Health and Medical Journalism Accountable

Like the NPR story we also reviewed, this story about revised guidance on diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease does a nice job of clearly distinguishing what is relevant to readers and what is of interest only to researchers.

Our Review Summary

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This report tells readers the stark reality, that lab tests and brain scans for Alzheimer’s are not ready for clinical use and even when the tests are validated, they will have limited value to patients until effective treatments are developed.

This story includes a comment about how early diagnosis could help patients and families plan for the future; but it would have been nice to see an acknowledgment of the potential psychological and social consequences.

Like the NPR story, this report fails to tell readers about the ties between quoted experts and companies that are developing tests and treatments, even though those ties were disclosed. This story quoted several experts, but none who are independent of the panel that issued the revised diagnosis guidance.


Why This Matters:

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It is more than just validation of the new diagnostic approaches being described that will be needed before these can influence clinical practice. All of the diagnostic test characteristics will need to be examined, including the ability of the test results to accurately predict which patients are likely to develop AD (the false positive, false negative, positive and negative predictive value, etc). Additionally, the reliability of the measures will need to be determined. From a clinical perspective, until there are treatments that can alter progression, other than helping patients understand what to expect in the future, currently there is not a lot of benefit and there are potential harms for knowing early on if a patient has this condition.

Click on the "via" link for the rest of the article.

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******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.inspirationalnursing.com
http://www.legalnursingconsultant.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursingcasestudy.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com

Friday, April 15, 2011

The Alzheimer List, Washington University

As Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Washington University, I reluctantly have decided to phase out the Alzheimer List, effective February 1, 2011.  I have made this decision based on two factors.  First, the use of the list has been steadily declining.  In January 2005, there were 1,057 monthly posts to the List, but in May 2010 there only were 175 posts. This declining use possibly reflects the fact that, since the List was originated in 1994, many more resources now are available for families and caregivers of persons affected by Alzheimer’s disease and other dementing disorders.  Indeed, many of the current posts to the List do not address caregiver or related issues. Second, for us to support the List requires resources such as personnel, hardware, and maintenance of archives.  Although the List is not a major resource burden, in this period of constrained research funding we must manage any expenditures very carefully.  We have notified our funding agency, the National Institute on Aging, of our decision to end the List and they are in agreement.

At end of this message, please find links to other online support groups that may be useful for some of you. The publicly accessible archive of all posts to the List will be maintained after February 1, 2011, (i.e., after the List itself is halted) as the archive has proven valuable for several reasons, including for caregiving research.             

Finally, I would like to thank all of you who have made the List a vital initiative for sharing and supporting caregiver interests.  I also want to recognize Geri Hall for her tremendous contributions to the List over many years; her caring and insightful comments have been of great help to many people and we very gratefully acknowledge her efforts.

Sincerely,

John C. Morris, MD (morrisj@abraxas.wustl.edu)

Alternative Online Support Groups:

Alzheimer’s Association message boards and chat rooms:
http://www.alz.org/apps/we_can_help/support_groups.asp

ElderCare Online Forum:
http://eldercare.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x

Alzheimer's Care Giver Support Group (started by former members of the ADRC Alzheimer List:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlzheimerSupport/


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******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.legalnursingconsultant.com
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http://www.nursingcasestudy.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com

Monday, April 11, 2011

Popular drug for mild Alzheimer's largely a flop - Health - Alzheimer's Disease - msnbc.com

A drug frequently prescribed to treat people with mild Alzheimer's disease does not appear to be an effective therapy for many of these patients, according to a new study.

The results show the drug, memantine, is no better than a dummy pill when it comes to ameliorating disease symptoms, including the decline of mental abilities, the researchers say. There is also meager evidence that the drug works for patients with moderate Alzheimer's, the researchers say.

Memantine is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat patients with moderate and severe Alzheimer's. However, physicians often prescribe it off-label to those with mild forms of the disease.  About 19 percent of U.S. patients with mild Alzheimer's disease take the drug, the researchers say. The drug is intended to improve cognitive functions and make it easier for patients to perform daily activities.

Click on the "via" link for the rest of the article.

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Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.legalnursingconsultant.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingcasestudy.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Five new genes linked to Alzheimer's | ABS-CBN News | Latest Philippine Headlines, Breaking News, Video, Analysis, Features

Scientists said Sunday they had uncovered 5 genes linked to the onset of Alzheimer's disease, doubling the number of genetic variants known to favor the commonest form of dementia.

The findings, published in the journal Nature Genetics, may provide clues on the causes of this incurable and complex disease and help doctors predict who is most at risk, they said.

In the largest such studies to date, some 300 scientists in two consortia combed the genomes of 54,000 people -- some afflicted, others not -- to tease out the newly identified genetic variations.

The two projects started out independently but later swapped their data, enabling each group to confirm the overall findings.

Click on the "via" link to read the rest of the article.

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******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.legalnursingconsultant.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingcasestudy.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com

Friday, April 1, 2011

‘A True Art’: Strategies for Feeding Patients with Dementia-Registered Nursing Blog – Info for Nurses

Feeding difficulties in people with dementia are common, but the way such difficulties manifest can vary widely, and there is no single, one-size-fits-all solution. Nurse researchers Chia-Chi Chang and Beverly L. Roberts open their April CE article, “Strategies for Feeding Patients with Dementia,” with some disturbing statistics that make clear the scope of the problem:

People with dementia constitute roughly 25% of hospital patients ages 65 and older and 47% of nursing home residents. And more than half of them lose some ability to feed themselves, which puts them at high risk for inadequate food intake and malnutrition. Patients who are unable to eat independently must rely on caregivers to assist them . . . Unfortunately, caregivers may be unable to identify the various types of feeding problems that accompany dementia or unaware of the feeding practices required to address them.

In an earlier literature review published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing, Chang and Roberts evaluated three tools used to assess feeding difficulties in people with dementia, then created a conceptual model depicting such difficulties, contributing factors, and outcomes. Now, in this CE article, the authors take their work a step further. They describe a range of assessment and intervention practices, matched to specific feeding difficulties and observed behaviors, that caregivers can try. For example:

  • if a patient refuses or displays an aversion toward food, as evidenced by pushing the feeder or the food away, spitting out food, or refusing to open her or his mouth,
  • then strategies might include feeding the patient at another time, seeking help from another nurse or nursing assistant, offering verbal encouragement, sitting down and making eye contact with the patient, and offering familiar foods.

Click on the "via" link for the rest of the article.

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******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.legalnursingconsultant.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingcasestudy.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com