Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “Dementia”
As providers, you know the challenges of caring for residents living with memory loss, whether it is a blanket diagnosis of “dementia” or a specific diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, it is devastating for both the resident and the family. Watching loved ones decline to the point of not recognizing their own children can cause frustration and such a huge sense …
Everyone is still reeling from the impact loss of companionship has had on our seniors, up to and including death. I read an interesting article in JAMA Neurology where the researchers evaluated the impact on COVID-19 on residents living with dementia, focused primarily on nursing home settings. The question was “is the COVID-19 pandemic associated with changes in mortality among …
Okay already, we have all been bombarded with research on how loneliness impacts overall health. We have all lived through “lockdowns” in our centers where we watched our residents on a slippery slope of decline, obviously related to being separated from their families. Isn’t what we have learned and lived been enough? Nope, another research study published in Neurology is …
You know the old adage, an active body stays active? Well, what about an active mind? Will doing crossword puzzles, playing solitaire, being socially engaged, reading the newspaper, and engaging in activities that require you to “think” keep your mind healthy? According to some researchers, yes! They found that a cognitively active lifestyle in older age may delay the onset …
An estimated 47 million people worldwide were living with dementia in 2015, while in the United States, around 5.7 million people have Alzheimer’s dementia. Modifiable risk factors, including hypertension, hearing loss, depression, diabetes, and smoking, account for around 35% of dementia cases. Anticholinergic drugs are another potentially modifiable risk factor. This broad group of drugs acts by blocking the neurotransmitter …
Age and female gender are 2 major risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease (AD); two-thirds of older adults with AD are women. Even regarding the difference in longevity, studies suggest that women are still at a higher risk. Among various aging and dementia theories, altered N-MethylD-aspartate receptor (NMDAR)-related neurotransmission is involved in dementia manifestations, including cognitive and behavioral domains. NMDAR overactivation …
Dementia can arise from multiple conditions, and it is characterized by an array of symptoms including problems with memory, attention, communication, and physical coordination. The two most common causes of dementia are Alzheimer’s disease and white matter strokes, which are small strokes that accumulate in the connecting areas of the brain. “It’s a vicious cycle: the two leading causes of …
An estimated 5.8 million Americans age 65 and older and 50 million people worldwide are living with Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias. Strong risk factors for cognitive decline and dementia include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. Many of these common comorbidities in patients with dementia are also demonstrated risk factors for COVID-19 and are associated with worse clinical outcomes. …
More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia and the “Comprehensive Care for Alzheimer’s Act” would help the 95% of individuals with dementia that have one or more other chronic conditions, such as hypertension, heart disease and diabetes. The bipartisan bill is expected to reduce medical complications for these patients by creating a …
In a recent article published in the British Journal of Opthalmology, research suggests an association between normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) and dementia. They cited a study that investigated whether cognitive impairment is more strongly associated with NTG than high tension glaucoma (HTG) using cognitive screening within an Australian Glaucoma Disease Registry. There were 290 participants in the study who completed cognitive …
