This week’s British Medical Journal features a review of depression in later life. The authors bring together recent systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and randomised controlled trials to summarise best current knowledge about the diagnosis and management of patients who develop depression in later life. The review addresses the following questions: What is late life depression and [read the full story…]
End-of-life care services are typically funded and delivered by a mix of organisations from the NHS, local authorities and the voluntary sector as well as by independent agencies and through individual means (informal or family carers). Given the growing complexity of and demands on end-of-life care services, commissioning in this area is likely to be [read the full story…]
For many of us, music therapy represents a safe, cheap and enjoyable treatment option for older people living in care. A ‘no brainer’ for those responsible for the daily activities provided to keep care home residents active in body and mind. This small randomised controlled trial conducted by researchers from Taipei Medical University in Taiwan [read the full story…]
The Mental Health Foundation are marking the first National Dementia Awareness day by relaunching three of their patient information booklets that have recently been updated with the latest legislation and contacts. The booklets are all available as free PDF downloads from the Mental Health Foundation website and paper copies are available for a small fee. The [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 PEARLS Program is a team-based approach, involving counsellors, psychiatrists and medical providers, designed to reduce depressive symptoms and improve quality of life in adults with epilepsy. It was developed by a team at the University of Washington and has been studied through two randomised controlled trials, the second of which measures the long-term benefits of [read the full story…]
Depression is common in patients with dementia and antidepressants are widely prescribed for this population although the evidence remains limited. This randomised controlled trial conducted by researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry in London and published in the Lancet, explored the safety and efficacy of two widely-used drugs (sertraline and mirtazapine) in patients with dementia and [read the full story…]
Older people who suffer from depression and executive dysfunction experience significant levels of disability and often don’t respond well to conventional drug treatments. This randomised controlled trial conducted by researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York State, attempted to find out if problem-solving therapy is better than supportive therapy for reducing disability in older [read the full story…]
Many people with dementia experience pain, but often find it difficult to communicate this to their carers and the pain is therefore manifested as agitation instead. A randomised controlled trial published in the British Medical Journal looks at a systematic approach to the treatment of pain, to see if it can reduce agitation in people with [read the full story…]
