Search results for ‘Subject term:"alzheimers disease"’ Sort:
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Investigation into the care and treatment of Mrs T
- Author:
- MENTAL WELFARE COMMISSION FOR SCOTLAND
- Publisher:
- Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland
- Publication year:
- 2007
- Pagination:
- 6p.
- Place of publication:
- Edinburgh
Mrs T was an elderly woman who was cared for by her son (Mr F) from 1997 until her admission to hospital in September 2005. The Mental Welfare Commission’s concerns relate to events between the two hospital admissions, but particularly to the 9 month period from December 2004 until September 2005. These concerns originated from our scrutiny of the guardianship papers which we received from the Office of the Public Guardian. There was a continuous assumption by social work staff that Mrs T retained capacity, despite the referrals to the department, which indicated the contrary.
Alzheimer's from inside out
- Author:
- TAYLOR Richard
- Publisher:
- Health Professions Press
- Publication year:
- 2007
- Pagination:
- 255p.
- Place of publication:
- Baltimore, MD
This collection of essays offers a rare glimpse into the often incomprehensible world of individuals living with Alzheimer's disease. Diagnosed at age 58, psychologist Richard Taylor shares a courageous account of his slow transformation and deterioration, and of the growing divide between his reality and the reality of others. With candor, and humour, Taylor addresses the complexity and emotions surrounding issues such as the loss of independence and personhood, unwanted personality shifts, the struggle to communicate, changing relationships with loved ones and friends, continuous declines in ability to perform familiar tasks, and never-ending uncertainty about the future.
Quality of life in dementia: a 2-year follow-up study
- Authors:
- MISSOTTEN Pierre, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22(12), December 2007, pp.1201-1207.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Examines the evolution of quality of life (QOL) in demented subjects at base-line, one and 2 years later and to determine clinical variables associated with QOL. A Longitudinal study was made of a cohort of 127 subjects living at home or in a long-term care institution. A QOL measure (Alzheimer Disease Related Quality of Life; ADRQL) was administered three times. In addition, several clinical instruments (MMSE, IADL, ADL and CDR/M) were also administered. ADRQL data analysis did not reveal significant modifications of QOL over the 2-year period, whereas results from clinical instruments showed a significant deterioration. On the group, the variations of ADRQL scores were limited, with some improvement after the first year followed by some deterioration after the second year. On the other hand, ADRQL scores fluctuated every year by at least 10 points for more than 50% of subjects. With dementia evolution, it was observed that the clinical variables were more strongly correlated with ADRQL scores and were more significant predictors. This varied from 5.9% (MMSE) in 2002 to 40.01% in 2004 (MMSE and CDR/M). QOL did not develop in a strictly linear manner following the deterioration of clinical state. This suggests that the evolution of QOL is also determined by other variables relating to the physical and social environment of the patients. Their role seems particularly important for the mild to moderate stages of dementia.
`Making mistakes': using Co-Constructed Inquiry to illuminate meaning and relationships in the early adjustment to Alzheimer's disease: a single case study approach
- Authors:
- KEADY John, WLLIAMS Sion, HUGHES-ROBRTS John
- Journal article citation:
- Dementia: the International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 6(3), August 2007, pp.343-364.
- Publisher:
- Sage
This paper outlines the use of a new qualitative research approach, Co-Constructed Inquiry, to develop a personal theory of the experience of living and adjusting to an early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. The personal theory was developed over a 21-month period (March 2004—December 2005) between Sarah, a person with Alzheimer's disease, and a clinical nurse specialist at a memory clinic in North Wales, John Hughes-Roberts. The resulting work suggested that Sarah co-constructed her experience of living with the onset of Alzheimer's disease as a process of `making mistakes' and that her life story was a powerful influence in mediating and enhancing her coping behaviour. Moreover, a sequence of `balancing' acts, i.e. losing balance - finding balance - keeping balance, which Sarah visualised as the `up and down' motion of a see-saw, both conceptualised and diagrammed her early adjustment experience. Sarah's personal theory has implications for practice and research development.
Use of the Brief Smell Identification Test for olfactory deficit in a Norwegian population with Alzheimer's disease
- Authors:
- KJELVIK Grete, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22(10), October 2007, pp.1021-1024.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Several studies have shown that Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with hyposmia. Olfactory identification may be a cheap and simple additional test in the assessment of early cognitive changes. The sense of smell is influenced by factors such as experience and culture and the aim of the present study was to assess the validity of the Brief Smell Identification Test (B-SIT) in distinguishing patients with AD from healthy gender and age-matched controls in a Norwegian population. The study included 39 patients with a diagnosis of probable AD, and 52 gender and age-matched controls. Olfactory function was assessed with B-SIT, and a non-standardized olfactory identification task (freshly ground coffee). The difference in olfactory performance between patients and controls was highly significant, both for the whole AD patient group and the subgroup of patients with MMSE 24. Receiver operating curve (ROC) analyses indicated that B-SIT distinguished patients from controls with high sensitivity and specificity. All the odours in B-SIT with the exception of turpentine showed highly significant differences between patients and controls. AD-associated memory impairment did not seem to affect the answers given for B-SIT in this population. For patients with AD, the Brief Smell Identification Test (B-SIT) appears to be well-suited for detecting a deficit in olfactory identification in a Norwegian population.
Lending a hand to write letters
- Author:
- GRIFFIN Mary
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Dementia Care, 15(5), September 2007, p.13.
- Publisher:
- Hawker
The author describes how one resident with Alzheimer's disease rekindled old friendships through support with letter-writing.
Utility of the Algase Wandering Scale in an outpatient Alzheimer's disease sample
- Authors:
- MARCUS Jacqueline F., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22(8), August 2007, pp.801-805.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Wandering represents a major problem in the management of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). This American study examined the utility of the Algase Wandering Scale (AWS), a newly developed psychometric instrument that asks caregivers to assess the likelihood of wandering behaviour. The AWS was administered to the caregivers of 40 AD patients and total and subscale scores were examined in relation to measures of mental and functional status, depressive symptoms and medication usage. AWS scores were comparable, though slightly lower, than those normative values previously published. Higher scores were associated with more severe dementia. The Negative Outcome subscale showed a significant increase in reported falls or injuries in association with anti-depressant use. These data provide some construct validation for the AWS as a potentially useful scale to assess wandering behaviours in AD.
Reliability and validity of a short form of the Severe Impairment Battery in Korean Alzheimer's disease patients
- Authors:
- AHN Inn-Sook, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22(7), July 2007, pp.682-687.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of a short form of the Severe Impairment Battery (SIB) for a Korean population. Eighty-four Alzheimer's disease patients with Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) stages 2 (n = 32) or 3 (n = 52) and scores of less than 15 on the Korean version-Mini Mental State Examination (K-MMSE) participated in this study. Seventeen of the patients were men and 67 were women, and the mean age was 75 (SD = 10.4). Cronbach's coefficient alpha of the shortened SIB (SIB-S) was 0.93, and the item-total correlation was significant. Test-retest correlation for the total SIB-S score and subscale scores was significant, with the exception of the orienting to name subscale. Construct validity was confirmed by evaluating the correlation between the SIB-S and the SIB, K-MMSE, CDR, and S-ADL; Spearman correlation coefficients were 0.96, 0.88, -0.67, and -0.63, respectively, which were found to be significant. The difference in the total SIB-S score and its subscale scores between the CDR 2 and CDR 3 groups was significant, except for the orienting to name subscale. More severely demented patients also showed a wide range of the SIB-S score. Finally, the diagnostic accuracy of the SIB-S was high in the differentiation of the CDR 2 and 3 patients. The sensitivity and specificity of the SIB-S were 91% and 80%, respectively, when the cut-off score was 32.5. The results indicate that the SIB-S is a reliable and valid instrument for evaluating patients with severe dementia in the Korean population.
Dementia UK: a report into the prevalence and cost of dementia
- Authors:
- PERSONAL SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH UNIT, INSTITUTE OF PSYCHIATRY
- Publisher:
- Alzheimer's Society
- Publication year:
- 2007
- Pagination:
- 82p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
Report to the Alzheimer's Society on the prevalence and economic cost of dementia in the UK produced by King's College London and London School of Economics.
Subjectively reported sleep quality and excessive daytime somnolence in Parkinson's disease with and without dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer's disease
- Authors:
- BODDY Frauke, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22(6), June 2007, pp.529-535.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The authors compared subjective sleep quality and excessive daytime somnolence (EDS) in controls, Parkinson's disease with (PDD) and without dementia (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). The study investigated whether sleep dysfunction and EDS associate with motor phenotype in PD, PDD and DLB. Assessments included the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). EDS was more frequent in PD, DLB and PDD patients than in AD. PDD, PD and DLB patients also had worse sleep quality when compared with AD and controls. Baseline postural instability-gait difficulty (PIGD) motor phenotype in PDD was associated with a higher ESS score and frequency of EDS, but this association was lost at two years. PSQI scores did not differ between PIGD dominant and non-dominant PD, PDD and DLB patients. EDS and poor sleep quality are greater in PD, PDD and DLB, compared with AD. The dissociation of EDS and motor phenotype suggests their pathophysiology is anatomically and/or temporally distinct.