Can an EASYcare based dementia training programme to improve diagnostic assessment and management of dementia - RCT

   Can an EASYcare based dementia training programme to improve diagnostic assessment and management of dementia by general practitioners and primary care nurses? The design of a randomised controlled trial, BMC Health Services Research 2008, 8:71 doi:10.1186/1472-6963-8-71
For the full-text of this article please click on the Title above
Abstract:
Early diagnosis of dementia benefits both patient and [...]

Elderly - NHS Choices story on whether limb length affects dementia risk

NHS Choices story on whether limb length affects dementia risk, NLH, May 2008
“Longer limbs ‘mean less risk of dementia’” reads the headline in The Guardian today. It goes on to report that a study in the US followed 2,798 people, with an average age of 72, over a period of five years. It found that [...]

Court of Appeal ruling on NICE guidance on the use of Alzheimer’s drugs

 
Court of Appeal ruling on NICE guidance on the use of Alzheimer’s drugs ,2nd May 2008, NeLM, Nice Guidance & BBC news   

Abstract: BBC Health news reports that the Court of Appeal has ruled that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) should have been more transparent in the way it made decisions over Alzheimer’s [...]

Dementia - Always a last resort: Inquiry into the prescription of antipsychotic drugs to people with dementia living in care homes

  Always a last resort: Inquiry into the prescription of antipsychotic drugs to people with dementia living in care homes, Alzheimer’s Society , 28th April 2008
Abstract:
An influential group of MPs is calling on the Government to stop the dangerous over-prescribing of antipsychotic drugs to people with dementia.
Up to 105,000 people with dementia are given [...]

Living on the Edge: enabling older owner occupiers with moderate learning disabilities to live independently

  Living on the Edge: enabling older owner occupiers with moderate learning disabilities to live independently, Care and Repair, 15th April 2008
Abstract:
National housing charity, Care & Repair England, is calling for a radical change in the way that older people are dealt with if their homes degenerate into chaos.
 In a hard hitting report, ‘Living [...]

Nursing - Understanding dementia: developing person-centred communication

  Understanding dementia: developing person-centred communication, Pat Hobson
British Journal of Healthcare Assistants, Vol. 2, Iss. 4, 10 Apr 2008, pp 162 - 164
Abstract: Dementia is a disorder that affects the person’s ability to communicate with you and the world around them. As a healthcare assistant one of your unique roles is to maintain the [...]

Nursing - Positive dementia care: taking perspective

  Positive dementia care: taking perspective, Nursing & Residential Care, Vol. 10, Iss. 4, April 2008, pp 184 - 187
Abstract: Clive Evers discusses the importance of understanding the needs of the person with dementia from the person’s perspective. Facilitating independence in completing tasks such as dressing and grooming can help maintain self-esteem.
For the full-text please email: [...]

Age Concern Campaign: The Price of No Advice

  Age Concern Campaign: The Price of No Advice, 11th April 2008, Age Concern
Age Concern have launched the campaign - The Price of No Advice - because older people are at risk of missing out on the support provided by independent, trusted information and advice services.
Although, as the new report ‘Transforming Lives’ shows, support from information and [...]

Occupational Therapy - The Care Home Activity Project: Does introducing an occupational therapy programme reduce depression in care homes?

  The Care Home Activity Project: Does introducing an occupational therapy programme reduce depression in care homes? Aging & Mental Health, Volume 11 Issue 1 January 2007 , pages 99 - 107
Abstract:
The primary aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that depression severity in care homes for older people would be [...]

SPARC - Research Studies on the Elderly

   Executive summaries of SPARC (Strategiec Promotion of Ageing Research Capacity) projects have been added to the library on falls, health and construction workers, and vision and physical activity in older people.      Research Studies,  Publisher: SPARC, April 2008
Click below for Full-text of the Research Studies
Mind Where You Walk! Older people’s vision and stepping
Modelling Health Systems: Delivering care [...]

Pharmacological Management of Psychosis in Alzheimer’s Disease

  The Art of Prescribing
Pharmacological Management of Psychosis in Alzheimer’s Disease: Clinical Challenges Associated With Second-Generation Antipsychotic Medications , Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, Volume 44 Issue 2 Page 120-123, April 2008
Abstract:

QUESTION. There is growing concern about the use of second-generation or atypical antipsychotic medications in the management of psychosis in patients with Alzheimer’s disease [...]

Document of the Week from NLH - The evidence base for palliative care at the end of life.

   Evidence-based interventions to improve the palliative care of pain, dyspnea and depression at the end of life.
Click on the links below for full-text
The evidence base for palliative care at the end of life.
The first paper is a clinical practice guideline and the second paper is a systematic review, providing the evidence for improving the [...]

Dementia - Top 10 Most Read Articles from - Dementia

   The Top 10 most read articles from the journal - Dementia
Some links below will take you straight through to full-text, for all others contact myself at the email address below.
How can occupational therapy improve the daily performance and communication of an older patient with dementia and his primary caregiver?: A case study, Dementia, 2006; [...]

Dementia - Using the Senses Framework to achieve relationship-centred dementia care services

   Using the Senses Framework to achieve relationship-centred dementia care services: A case example, Dementia, Vol. 7, No. 1, 71-93 (200  
Abstact:
This article describes the development of a new service for people with dementia and their carers in a large post-industrial city in the north of England, UK. The service arose in response to [...]

Dementia - Journal of Quality Research in Dementia

  Journal of Quality Research in Dementia, Issue 4, September 2007 , click on the link above for full-text:

Probing the mechanisms linking hypoxia with Alzheimer’s disease:
a key role for Ca2+ channels?

Chris Peers, John P Boyle, Jason L Scragg and Hugh A Pearson

Immunotherapy and Alzheimer’s disease

Rhian S Thomas, Emma J Kidd and J Eryl Liddell

Analysis [...]

The 10 Most Frequently Read Journal Articles from Evidence Based Mental Health Journal

   These articles have received the most “hits” in Evidence-Based Mental Health during February 2008
There will be some full-text and some abstracts, just click on the links to find, if you only locate an abstract please email susan.jennings@lancashirecare.nhs.uk to request the full-text.

1. 
Julie Glanville, Carol Lefebvre

Identifying systematic reviews: key resources

Evid. Based Ment. Health 2000; 3: 68-69.
(In [...]

Alzheimer’s - Videos from the Alzheimer’s Society

   Videos from the Alzheimer’s Society, March 2008, Alzheimer’s Society
Here you can find videos made by the Alzheimer’s Society and its supporters.
Videos include:

About My Grandparents

Malcolm and Barbara

Kal Ki Baat

My Voice

Dementia - Living with Dementia Magazine March 2008

  Living with Dementia Magazine March 2008, from the Magazine of the Alzheimer’s Society
Living with Dementia Magazine
March 2008

Life goes on
Partners in care
One day at a time
The helmet heading for success?

Dementia - Current Pharmacologic Treatment of Dementia: A Clinical Practice

    Current Pharmacologic Treatment of Dementia: A Clinical Practice Guideline from the American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Family Physicians,  Annals of Internal Medicine, 4 March 2008 | Volume 148 Issue 5 | Pages 370-378
Abstract: Description: The American College of Physicians and American Academy of Family Physicians developed this guideline to present the [...]

Dementia - Effectiveness of Cholinesterase Inhibitors and Memantine for Treating Dementia: Evidence Review for a Clinical Practice Guideline

   Effectiveness of Cholinesterase Inhibitors and Memantine for Treating Dementia: Evidence Review for a Clinical Practice Guideline Annals of Internal Medicine, 4 March 2008 | Volume 148 Issue 5 | Pages 379-397
Background: The effectiveness of the 5 U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved pharmacologic therapies for dementias in achieving clinically relevant improvements is unclear. Purpose: To review [...]

OT & Occupation - Experiences of People with Alzheimer’s Disease

   Awareness through interaction in everyday occupations: Experiences of people with Alzheimer’s disease, Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, Volume 15, Issue  2008 , pages 43 - 51
Abstract: The aim of this study was to explore and describe the characteristics of awareness of the consequences of having Alzheimer’s disease on everyday life occupations. Six community-dwelling participants [...]

Alzheimers’s Disease - Plaque complement activation and cognitive loss in Alzheimer’s disease

     Plaque complement activation and cognitive loss in Alzheimer’s disease, Journal of Neuroinflammation 2008, 5:9
Full-text, click on above link
Abstract:
Background
Complement activation is increased in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but its significance is unclear. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between complement activation and cognition during the development of AD.
Methods
iC3b, C9, Bielschowsky, and [...]

Personality Disorder in Older People: How common is it and what can be done?

  Personality disorder in older people: how common is it and what can be done? Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, Jan 2008; 14: 71 - 77.

Abstract:There has been little systematic study of personality disorders in older people s(65 years of age and above). However, with an ageing population worldwide we should expect to find increased numbers [...]

New Dementia Strategy

   National Dementia Strategy, 10th March 2008, Department of Health
National Dementia Strategy
The objectives of the project are to develop a national dementia strategy and implementation plan for publication in October 2008. The strategy will address three key themes – raising awareness, early diagnosis and intervention and improving the quality of care.
Improving services and support for [...]

Information for Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist, Speech & Language Therapist, Nurses, GP’s - The professional’s guide to Parkinson’s Disease

   The professional’s guide to Parkinson’s Disease
The guide is written by experts from different professionals groups and is divided into eight sections, each tailored to the relevant discipline:
 dietician
 GP
 nurse
 occupational therapist
 pharmacist
 physiotherapist
 social worker
 speech and language therapist

Alzheimer’s Society - Putting Care Right: Your guide to choosing a care home

    Putting Care Right: Your guide to choosing a care home, 6th February 2008, Alzheimer’s Society
Alzheimer’s Society’s Putting Care Right - your guide to choosing a care home  features the essential issues to consider when deciding on a care home for a person with dementia. It lists questions families can put to care home staff [...]

NICE Guidance: Alzheimer’s disease - donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine (review) and memantine

    NICE Guidance: Alzheimer’s disease - donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine (review) and memantine
Abstract: Following the outcome of a judicial review in August 2007, NICE has amended and reissued this guidance.  The amended guidance clarifies the steps healthcare professionals should take when assessing whether Alzheimer’s disease is of moderate severity and highlights that clinicians should be mindful [...]

Healthcare Commission - National Audit of Violence 2006-7 Final Report Older Peoples Services

    Healthcare Commission - National Audit of Violence 2006-7 Final Report Older Peoples Services February 2008
Abstract

This is the second time that the Healthcare Commission and Royal College of Psychiatrists have joined forces to examine the needs of patients and staff with regard to violence in inpatient mental health services. For this audit, the focus has been [...]

BMJ February 2008 - Dementia Articles

      Murna Downs and Barbara Bowers
Caring for people with dementia
BMJ, Feb 2008; 336: 225 - 226 ; doi:10.1136/bmj.39429.434907.80
Abstract: In the accompanying prospective cohort study, Xie and colleagues show that people can live for several years after being diagnosed as having dementia and many are already frail at the time of diagnosis.1 The authors estimated survival [...]

Survival Times for Dementia - 14 Year Follow-Up

      Survival times inpeople with dementia: analysis from population based cohort study with 14 year follow-up,  BMJ, Feb 2008; 336: 258 - 262
Authors: Jing Xie, Carol Brayne, Fiona E Matthews and the Medical Research Council Cognitive Function and Ageing Study collaborators
Abstract
Objectives To provide estimates of survival after onset of dementia by age, sex, self reported [...]