It’s a sad fact of life that as people get older they sometimes find themselves living a lonely lifestyle; cut off from stimulating social networks and all of the activities and benefits that friendships entail. Social exclusion and a lack of frequent interaction may predict impaired cognition in the older members of the population. Researchers [read the full story…]
This new 70-page report from Alzheimer’s Disease International warns that in countries such as England, 50-80% of dementia cases are not being recognised in primary care. It highlights the fallacy that as people get older they naturally have problems with their memory, and goes on to recommend that primary care staff who see people with [read the full story…]
It has been widely reported that antipsychotics have been frequently used to treat the behavioural and psychological symptoms that affect people with dementia and that this course of action has resulted in an estimated 1,800 excess strokes and 1,600 excess deaths in the UK alone. This double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled randomised trial looks at one of the [read the full story…]
The Dementia Action Alliance has launched a call to action on the use of antipsychotic drugs for people with dementia: All people with dementia who are receiving antipsychotic drugs should receive a clinical review from their doctor to ensure that their care is compliant with current best practice and guidelines and that alternatives to medication have been [read the full story…]
The US National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer’s Association have published a new set of guidelines for diagnosing dementia and mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease. All of the papers from the Alzheimer’s and Dementia journal are available online in full-text: Jack CR Jr, Albert MS, Knopman DS, McKhann GM, Sperling RA, Carrillo MC, Thies [read the full story…]
The review and re-appraisal of donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine and memantine for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease has resulted in a change in the guidance. Specifically: donepezil, galantamine and rivastigmine are now recommended as options for managing mild as well as moderate Alzheimer’s disease, and memantine is now recommended as an option for managing moderate Alzheimer’s [read the full story…]
