As people with learning disabilities are living longer, then they are also experiencing age related disorders such as dementia, where they have been shown to have a higher risk than the general population. Here we look at a review of the current state of knowledge which looks at a range of issues, from prevalence, assessment, treatment and future directions for research.
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Caroline Struthers appraises a recent US cross-sectional study of the use of medications of “questionable benefit” in nursing home residents with advanced dementia. She concludes that all medications are of questionable value if they have side effects which might have a negative impact on quality of life or are likely to cause harm.
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Laurence Palfreyman highlights a recent BMJ study, which finds an association between Alzheimer’s disease and benzodiazepine use.
[read the full story...]Jake Crawshaw reports on a recent systematic review of cognitive and exercise interventions for older people with and without cognitive impairment.
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Research by SeeAbility and the RNIB suggests that adults with learning disabilities are ten times more likely to be blind or partially sighted than the rest of the population. If they have severe or profound learning disabilities, then they are likely to have serious sight problems. There already exists some guidance for GPs on responding [read the full story…]
This recent and well-conducted meta-review concludes that the impact on mortality and suicide of mental disorders is substantial, and probably poorly appreciated as a public health problem. Raphael Underwood’s blog summarises the data for all-cause and suicide mortality in mental disorders.
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Andrés Fonseca summarises the findings of a recent systematic review of the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of sensory, psychological and behavioural interventions for managing agitation in dementia.
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This updated Cochrane review on statins for the treatment of dementia contains worrying adverse effects data, but Caroline Struthers has to do a significant amount of digging to root it all out.
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Last week we posted a second blog about a project aimed at helping older people with learning disabilities have an active and inclusive retirement. The number of people with learning disabilities in England aged over 60 continues to rise with the most recent predictions suggesting that by 2030 the number of adults aged over 70 [read the full story…]
Psychiatrist Andrés Fonseca considers how his clinical practice should change, after reading a systematic review and meta-analysis of drug treatment for neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease
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