How to help veterans with dementia maintain function

Caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals,

Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care  professionals to get an easyceu or two

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The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition

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AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY

People with dementia often have behavioral symptoms. These include problems with memory, language, and decision-making abilities. People with dementia can also experience changes in mood, such as increased irritability, depression, and anxiety. They often need assistance with their daily activities, such as feeding, dressing, using the toilet, and bathing themselves. These symptoms are often troubling for people with dementia, as well as for their caregivers.

These dementia symptoms can reduce quality of life for people as they age. This can make them dependent on other people, which can lead to caregivers feeling distressed. It may also lead to people with dementia being hospitalized or placed in a nursing home, even if it is not what they would prefer for their care.

There are no effective drug treatments for dementia or its symptoms. Therefore, researchers have been exploring treatment options to improve symptoms that don't involve using medication. A team of researchers studied one of those programs, called the Tailored Activity Program (TAP). TAP matches activities to the interests and abilities of people with dementia. Then it teaches caregivers how to use those activities daily.

The researchers initially reported positive results in a small study of 60 people. They then studied TAP in a larger group of veterans living with dementia. They reported their results in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

The researchers studied 160 veterans diagnosed with dementia and whose average age was 80. The study also included 160 of the veterans' caregivers, who were mostly women around 72-years-old.

TAP included up to eight in-home sessions led by occupational therapists (health professionals who focus on helping us participate in the activities of everyday life). During the first two sessions, these health professionals evaluated the veterans' risk for falls, their daily routines and habits, and their previous and current interests. They also examined the veterans' home environment, including lighting, seating, clutter, and noise. They looked as well at the interests and abilities of the veterans' caregivers. Based on the assessment, the therapists provided an "assessment report" and offered three "activity prescriptions."

The therapists showed the veterans and caregivers how to set up the activities and use them every day. They also provided written instructions for the caregivers. The instructions covered activity goals for the individual veteran and communication strategies for the caregiver. They also instructed caregivers on ways that they could modify the home environment to help the veteran participate in the activity. The therapists worked with the veterans to show the caregivers how to use activities. They had caregivers practice recommended communication strategies. They also provided on-going education to help caregivers understand dementia and its behavioral symptoms.

During the last two sessions, caregivers learned how to simplify activities as the veterans' abilities declined. They also learned strategies to make care challenges like bathing easier.

A control group of caregivers received eight telephone sessions with a trained research team member who offered caregiver education about home safety and dementia. The researchers did not offer information about activities or behavioral symptoms to this group.

After four months, nearly 70 percent of the veterans in the TAP group either eliminated or reduced the frequency and severity of their dementia-related behaviors. This is compared to 46 percent of the veterans in the control group. Also, caregivers in the TAP group reported that the veterans were less dependent on them as they performed their daily activities. Caregivers in the TAP group reported less distress due to the veterans' behaviors, too.

The researchers concluded that TAP offers immediate benefits to the veterans and their caregivers.

Dental health linked to dementia risk

Caregivers, and healthcare professionals, here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care  professionals to get an easyceu or two

Follow alzheimersideas on twitter

The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition

Reuters) - People who keep their teeth and gums healthy with regular brushing may have a lower risk of developing dementia later in life, according to a U.S. study.

Researchers at the University of California who followed nearly 5,500 elderly people over an 18-year-period found that those who reported brushing their teeth less than once a day were up to 65 percent more likely to develop dementia than those who brushed daily.

"Not only does the state of your mind predict what kind of oral health habits you practice, it may be that your oral health habits influence whether or not you get dementia," said Annlia Paganini-Hill, who led the study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Inflammation stoked by gum disease-related bacteria is implicated in a host of conditions including heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

Some studies have also found that people with Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, have more gum disease-related bacteria in their brains than a person without Alzheimer's, Paganini-Hill said.

It's thought that gum disease bacteria might get into the brain, causing inflammation and brain damage, she said.

Paganini-Hill and her team followed 5,468 residents of a Californian retirement community from 1992 to 2010. Most people in the study were white, well-educated and relatively affluent. When the study began, participants ranged in age from 52 to 105, with an average age of 81.

All were free of dementia at the outset, when they answered questions about their dental health habits, the condition of their teeth and whether they wore dentures.

When the researchers followed up 18 years later, they used interviews, medical records and in some cases death certificates to determine that 1,145 of the original group had been diagnosed with dementia.

Of 78 women who said they brushed their teeth less than once a day in 1992, 21 had dementia by 2010, or about one case per 3.7 women.

n comparison, among those who brushed at least once a day, closer to one in every 4.5 women developed dementia which translates to a 65-percent greater chance of dementia among those who brushed less than daily.

Among the men, the effect was less pronounced with about one in six irregular brushers developing the disease, making them 22 percent more likely to have dementia than those who brushed daily. Statistically, however, the effect was so small it could have been due to chance, the researchers said.

Paganini-Hill could only speculate on the reasons for the different outcomes among men and women. Perhaps women wear their dentures more often than men and visit the dentist more frequently.

The study has limitation. Paganini-Hill and her team looked at behavior and tooth numbers as a kind of proxy for oral health and gum disease and didn't carry out any dental exams. While neglecting teeth might be a sign of early vulnerability to dementia, some other factor be having an impact too.

Head injury and malnutrition are also important causes of tooth loss in adults, and either of those might increase the dementia risk, said Amber Watts, who studies dementia at the University of Kansas and wasn't part of the study.

"I would be reluctant to draw the conclusion that brushing your teeth would definitely prevent you from getting Alzheimer's disease," she said. bit.ly/N5CCOu

(Reporting from New York by Natasja Sheriff at Reuters Health; editing by Elaine Lies and Bob Tourtellotte)

Study: Lifelong stress increases risk of Alzheimer's disease

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Nutrition.diet News

LOGAN, UTAH, July 29, 2011 /NewsRelease/ - Chronic psychological stress throughout a lifespan might increase an individual’s risk for Alzheimer’s and dementia later in life, according to research from the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services at Utah State University.

■Chronic Stress Produces Chemicals That Over Time Can Increase Rate of Neuronal Cell Death
■Stress Management Interventions Could Reduce Risk for Alzheimer’s
■Study Used Objective Data From a Recently Completed 15-Year Alzheimer’s Study
The research, led by Maria Norton, Ph.D., built off the recently completed 15-year Cache County Memory Study (CCMS) and used that data to focus on the role psychological stress has on dementia. The findings are consistent with the hypothesis that chronic stress can expose an individual to long-term levels of stress-related hormones, which results in chronically high levels of glucocorticoids, a natural chemical, shown in both animal and human studies to increase the rate of neuronal cell death with long-term exposure.

“Using this objective data, such as death records, medical information, and the cognitive evaluations from the CCMS, we were able to see that people who experienced particularly stressful life events, such as a parent’s death during one’s childhood, death of a child or spouse, or living with a spouse who is afflicted with dementia is associated with significantly higher rates of dementia later in life,” Norton said.

Norton also found that there were some factors that were associated with lower rates of depression and stress, such as individuals who had high levels of religious involvement, thus indicating that the ability to cope with psychological adversity might reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s.

“There are certainly some individuals who seem to weather stress and trials better than others, and as such they don’t tend to develop depression or face the long-term chronic exposure to the stress-related hormones that are linked to dementia,” added Norton. “This indicates that there may be preventative measures that can be taken to prevent or delay dementia. This study has helped us determine how to identify the more vulnerable subgroups of people who might benefit from stress management or other preventive interventions.”

Norton is an associate professor at Utah State University’s Department of Family, Consumer and Human Development. The Emma Eccles Jones College of Education is currently ranked fifth in the nation in terms of external funding for research.

The “Lifespan Stressors and Alzheimer’s Disease” study was funded by the National Institute on Aging. Findings from this study have been published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, the Journals of Gerontology, and Age and Aging.

Study: Hospice helps those with dementia

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

OzarksFirst.com

(Providence, RI) -- A newly-released survey indicates hospice care is significantly improving life for patients with dementia and their families.

Brown University gerontologist Dr. Joan Teno says people responding to the survey noted enhanced care and a perception that the quality of dying was also improved.

The report notes family members were 51-percent less likely to report unmet needs and concerns with the care received.

They also note the peacefulness and quality of dying was more positive than families whose loved ones did not receive hospice care.

The study appears in the "Journal of the American Geriatrics Society."