Dementia
In dementia cases, the instinct to look after and nurture something or someone can be among the last things to leave a person. People with the neurodegenerative condition may hold dolls while in care, for example, as their brain recognises them as objects requiring their care and attention.
While pets can also help to satisfy this need, taking care of them may be too much responsibility for many with the disease. A new solution is emerging, however, in the form of robotic animals.
An online calculator has been created which empowers older people to better understand their brain health and how they can reduce their risk of being diagnosed with dementia in the next five years.
The calculator, built and validated by Canadian researchers, enables individuals aged 55 and over to assess themselves using the online tool at projectbiglife.ca. Dementia is the biggest cause of death in the UK and there are currently around 850,000 people living with the disease. This figure is projected to rise to 1.6million by 2040. While there is no cure for dementia, around a third of dementia cases may be preventable through lifestyle factors like physical activity, healthy eating, reducing alcohol and tobacco use, and managing conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure.
A specialist neurological care provider which has supported people for over 25 years is moving into dementia care with the opening of a dedicated unit on its site.
Chase Park Neuro Centre has opened The Villa, an 11-bed residential dementia care facility, as the latest phase of investment in its offering to people with neurological conditions from across the North of England. The Villa has been repurposed as a dedicated dementia unit, having previously been a nursing suite on the site in Whickham, near Newcastle, with the first admissions expected in July. Recruitment is ongoing for new dementia care and therapy staff to add to its 90-strong team, with the addition of Paul Smith as Chase Park operations director a particularly significant move in helping to shape its dementia provision.
More than 50,000 people have signed a petition to ask the UK government to double its funding for dementia research and keep the promises it made two years ago. Boris Johnson initially said there would be £160 million invested into the sector in the 2019 Conservative manifesto, but there has been a lack of movement in this area since. This has spurred the Alzheimer’s Research UK charity to launch the petition, calling on Number Ten to help fund possible treatments for dementia. The pandemic has been particularly hard for those with the disease, with a quarter of COVID-related deaths coming from this group.
Researchers remain perplexed as to what causes dementia and how to treat and reverse the cognitive decline seen in patients.
In a first-of-its-kind study, however, researchers have discovered that cis P-tau, a toxic, non-degradable version of a healthy brain protein, is an early marker of vascular dementia (VaD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD).Their results define the molecular mechanism that causes an accumulation of this toxic protein.Furthermore, they showed that a monoclonal antibody (mAb) that targets this toxic protein was able to prevent disease pathology and memory loss in AD- and VaD-like preclinical models.
Increasing evidence shows that physical activity and exercise training may delay or prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD).
In older people, aerobic exercise training increases grey and white matter volume, enhances blood flow, and improves memory function.The ability to measure the effects of exercise on systemic biomarkers associated with risk for AD and relating them to key metabolomic alterations may further prevention, monitoring, and treatment efforts. However, systemic biomarkers that can measure exercise effects on brain function and that link to relevant metabolic responses are lacking.
The first new treatment for Alzheimer's disease for nearly 20 years has been approved by regulators in the United States.
Aducanumab targets the underlying cause of Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia, rather than its symptoms. An estimated 850,000 people live with dementia in the UK - around 100,000 of whom with early stage dementia could benefit from the drug - with the US approval of aducanumab giving hope that it could next be approved here. Aducanumab - which has had a controversial trial period to date - targets amyloid, a protein that forms abnormal clumps in the brains of people with Alzheimer's that can damage cells and trigger dementia, including memory and thinking problems and communication issues. In March 2019, late-stage international trials of aducanumab, involving about 3,000 patients, were halted when analysis showed it was no better, given as a monthly infusion, at slowing the deterioration of memory and thinking problems than a dummy drug.
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unique challenges for people living with dementia, as well as for those who support them. Tracey Carter, senior quality manager (dementia care) at Exemplar Health Care, shares how colleagues across the company have found innovative ways to support people living with dementia to stay safe and well, and uphold the principles of person-centred care
It’s vital that health and social care workers, other professionals and family carers continue to take a person-centred approach to care during the pandemic, to support people with dementia to maintain, and enhance, their health and wellbeing. Putting people first There are currently around 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK, each with their own unique personalities and life stories. Everyone will experience the pandemic and its effects differently, which is why it’s important to maintain a person-centred approach.
An innovative serious play technology system is supporting people living with dementia with their mental wellbeing and self-confidence.
The Tovertafel is a first-of-its-kind interactive light game system, which enables people with cognitive challenges to play and socialise. It has proved hugely valuable in care home surroundings, encouraging socialisation and enabling those living with dementia to interact through play. With the Tovertafel - which means ‘Magic Table’ in Dutch - people living with dementia can enjoy the myriad of fun and easy-to-play games the system offers, centred around universally-accessible themes like music, art, sport, animals and nature.
In the ongoing battle against dementia, pre-dementia symptoms can now be detected more quickly and cost-efficiently than ever before through the development of AI-led technology. NR Times speaks to Dr Sina Habibi, CEO of Cognetivity, about their groundbreaking work and how the pandemic has helped in the acceptance of remote-use technology
Through the development of pioneering AI-led technology has come the power to reinvent dementia detection. Following years of R&D, successful clinical trials and medical approval, Cognetivity Neurosciences is now being used in both primary and secondary care to find pre-dementia symptoms through a simple test in a quicker time and at a lower cost than ever before.
