According to a recent government study reported in The New York Times, 82% of residents who live in assisted living facilities suffer from at least one of the three most common chronic conditions: Alzheimer’s disease, high blood pressure and heart disease. The alarming way in which these ailments overlap has…
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, over 5.3 million people over the age of 65 have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States. Alzheimer’s is a disease that not only inhibits the patient’s mental capacity, but also can be a severe burden on family and friends close to the…
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, “Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior”. Alzheimer’s affects 5 million US citizens, which in turn, establishes the disease as the 6th leading cause of death in the country. Alzheimer’s disease has no known cure, prevention, or treatment.…
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s affects 40% of the American population, constituting the disease as the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. Due to the staggering amount of people affected, coupled with the severity of the disease, scientists are allocating more resources to Alzheimer’s research. Proteome…
It is becoming increasingly evident that pharmacological interventions should be a last resort when treating patients with dementia. Due to a lack of resources and staff most skilled nursing home facilities overlook non-pharmacological options. However, studies have shown that non-pharmacological treatments are a safer alternative for patients. While pharmacological interventions…
Of the symptoms associated with dementia, one of the most common is agitation. It is common for sufferers of dementia to be increasingly agitated at meal times. According to an article in the Journal of American Medical Directors Association, “Effectiveness of Mealtime Interventions on Behavior Symptoms of People with Dementia…
Many nursing homes often substitute individualized care with the use of psychotropic drugs to make up for the lack of adequate staffing in their facilities. As a result, nursing homes often misuse psychotropic drugs by administering them to residents in order to sedate or control them. This has the tragic…
Elderly individuals suffering from dementia often exhibit certain behaviors, such as aggression, agitation, or anxiety, which many people consider to be symptoms of dementia. However, experts have noted that categorizing these behaviors as ‘symptoms’ and applying such terminology to these behaviors may be misleading or mistaken. This is because research…
The U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH) recently announced that it would be providing $45 million in funding for researchers to test novel drugs and therapies towards Alzheimer’s disease prevention, promoting a nationwide effort to find a solution to this prevalent degenerative disease. The NIH hopes this funding will help…
Those suffering from dementia are generally members of the elderly population, and as life expectancy continues to increase, the need to address dementia and its complications also increases. Dementia is comprised of a variety of symptoms, some of which include memory loss, impaired judgment, and difficulties with language and motor…