A Surprising Early Sign of Lewy Body Dementia
What's a sign that you may be more likely to develop Lewy body dementia? Some might think that a symptom like memory loss or poor judgment would be on that list. Actually, according to researchers at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting, acting out your dreams may be a key early symptom of Lewy body dementia.
Researchers presented a study at about REM sleep behavior disorder where people not only vividly dream but actually physically act out their dreams by moving their bodies, getting up, shouting, hitting and more. They found a significantly high correlation, especially for men, of acting out dreams and deve...
Source: About Alzheimers Disease - March 29, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Do Consistent Caregivers Benefit People with Alzheimer's Disease?
If you or a loved one with dementia lives in a facility such as a nursing home, one question that may arise is whether the staff members have consistent assignments or whether they rotate around to care for different people. This issue can arise with home health care as well, depending on the number of different staff members available to provide in-home care.
While there are reasons that can explain both sides of those staffing arrangements, research has shown that consistent staff assignments benefit not only the person receiving the care, but also those around that person, including the facility and family members.
Re...
Source: About Alzheimers Disease - March 24, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
How to Identify Depression in Alzheimer's Disease
Do you know how to tell if someone with dementia is depressed? Depression in someone with Alzheimer's or another type of dementia might look a little different than depression in someone whose memory and communication abilities are functioning well. Knowing the signs is important. In addition to the more obvious effects of depression such as sadness and a lack of interest in people and things around you, depression can also increase confusion and masquerade as delirium.
There are a couple of screenings that are commonly used to determine if someone with dementia is experiencing depression. One is the Cornell Screen for De...
Source: About Alzheimers Disease - March 17, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
The Use of Validation Therapy vs. Reality Orientation for Alzheimer's
What's the best way to respond to someone with Alzheimer's or another type of dementia if she's anxious and yelling out for her mother who passed away many years ago? The short but true answer is that it depends on the individual- which stage of Alzheimer's disease she's in, what approaches are typically helpful in reassuring her, and how much distress she's experiencing.
The longer answer includes a discussion on a couple of theories: reality orientation and validation therapy. Historically, reality orientation has been fairly dogmatic about continually reminding the person that she is 89 years old and that her mother pa...
Source: About Alzheimers Disease - March 10, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Antipsychotic Medication Use in Dementia: Good, Bad or Neutral?
Antipsychotic medications have been prescribed for people with dementia for everything from restlessness, wandering, insomnia, combativeness and anxiety. But, according to the US Federal Drug Administration, none of those conditions are approved reasons to use antipyschotics, also called neuroleptics.
So, why are they prescribed, then? And, do they help people or harm them? The answer depends on the situation, as is the case with the use of many medicines. For some, antipsychotic medications have significantly improved their quality of life. However, there are significant risks with antipsychotic medications for people wh...
Source: About Alzheimers Disease - March 3, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
How to Not Stick Your Foot in Your Mouth
Most of us have had that uncomfortable feeling of, "Ooh, maybe I shouldn't have said that" in response to a diagnosis or health challenge of a family member or friend. Or, perhaps, we should've had that uneasy concern but we were blissfully unaware of our misstep.
Several of us who write for the Health Channel at About.com have heard multiple stories of reactions that are good, bad or terrible to readers' life circumstances, and that's resulted in the compilation of "What Not to Say" articles about various topics to help each other avoid the Bad Comment Syndrome.
Here are mine about Alzheimer's disease and Dementia:
Wha...
Source: About Alzheimers Disease - February 24, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Can Too Many Medications Cause Mild Cognitive Impairment?
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a condition that sometimes develops into Alzheimer's disease, has many causes, including very early undiagnosed Alzheimer's. But some of the causes of MCI may be reversible, including one you might not suspect: medications.
While medications are, of course, intended to help and are prescribed for specific diagnoses, many have side effects and may interact with each other, causing adverse effects. These can include lethargy, weakness, weight gain or loss, additional medical complications, and mild cognitive impairment, among others.
If you are experiencing some of the symptoms of MCI, ask ...
Source: About Alzheimers Disease - February 17, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
The Challenge of Combative Behavior
Not everyone who has Alzheimer's disease will develop challenging behaviors, but according to the Alzheimer's Association, about 90% will experience at least one behavior or mood difficulty, often during the middle stages of the disease. One of those challenging behaviors is combativeness, or physical aggression.
When people with Alzheimer's or another dementia become combative, they might strike out, push, hit or kick others. While there are rare occasions when there's no discernible trigger for that behavior, usually there are specific reasons why the person reacted that way. These can include:
Physical causes, such ...
Source: About Alzheimers Disease - February 10, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Do You Have Early Onset Dementia? Don't Ignore These Signs at Your Job
Worried about your ability to do your job? Ever feel like it's getting harder and harder to keep up, or that you just can't remember everything and keep it all straight?
There are many possible explanations for these feelings, including stress, fatigue and busyness, as well as companies trying to do more work with less people.
However, if it seems like you're the only one with these difficulties, they persist even after life has settled down, and you or your partner notice these concerns frequently at home as well, it's worth getting checked out by a physician for early onset dementia.
Early onset dementia, which can be...
Source: About Alzheimers Disease - February 3, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
How to Spot and Treat Depression in Dementia
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 10% of Americans suffer from depression. But, did you know that the rate of depression in people with Alzheimer's or another dementia is around 4 times that? That's right; approximately 40% of people with dementia experience depression.
This high incidence of depression makes it imperative to be on alert for it, but what if someone with dementia doesn't have the right words to express those feelings? How do you identify depression then?
Certainly, if your loved one or patient is frequently tearful, that's a fairly strong clue that he might be feeli...
Source: About Alzheimers Disease - February 2, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Research Points to Possibility of an Alzheimer's Vaccine
This study was partly funded by GlaxoSmithKline, a pharmaceutical company, and was published in an early online edition of the journal Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.Research Points to Possibility of an Alzheimer's Vaccine originally appeared on About.com Alzheimers Disease on Sunday, January 20th, 2013 at 22:16:56.Permalink | Comment | Email this (Source: About Alzheimers Disease)
Source: About Alzheimers Disease - January 20, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Would You Want to Know if You Were Diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease?
<p>This may seem like an insulting question to some, so let me assure you that it's not meant that way. There are many readers who are very aware of their own diagnosis of <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://alzheimers.about.com/od/whatisalzheimer1/a/What-Is-Alzheimers-Disease.htm">Alzheimer's</a> or <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://alzheimers.about.com/od/typesofdementia/Types_of_Dementia.htm">another type of dementia</a>. In fact, some of you have sent in questions to me and are continually involved in reading about the latest research...
Source: About Alzheimers Disease - January 13, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Deep Brain Stimulation: A New Way to Treat Alzheimer's Disease?
Recently, Johns Hopkins Medicine announced the implantation of a devise that delivers electric impulses in the brain of a person with Alzheimer's disease. A pacemaker-like machine was also implanted in the person's chest to trigger the electrical currents to the wires in the brain. This procedure is called deep brain stimulation and in recent years, it has been used with some success for people with Parkinson's disease. This was the first procedure in the United States in someone with dementia.
Johns Hopkins also announced plans to implant this device in approximately 40 people over the next year as part of a study to m...
Source: About Alzheimers Disease - January 6, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Delirium: Longer Hospital Stays, Higher Mortality & Higher Chance of Developing Dementia
<p>Delirium, while often reversible, is not something that can be casually dismissed, especially when it develops in an older adult.</p>
<p>According to a recent <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0163834312002009">study</a> published in the journal <em>General Hospital Psychiatry</em>, the presence of delirium for hospital patients in intensive care units is associated with longer hospital stays and a higher rate of death. Other research has shown that delirium is also connected with a greater likelihoo...
Source: About Alzheimers Disease - December 15, 2012 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
