Search results for ‘Subject term:"alzheimers disease"’ Sort:
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Frequency of behavioural symptoms characterizes agitation in Alzheimer's disease
- Authors:
- TRACTENBERG Rochelle E., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 16(9), September 2001, pp.886-891.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study describes two well-characterized groups of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients with similar levels of cognitive functioning, but with different overall behavioural disturbance levels. Seeks to determine the nature of this difference - whether AD patients with higher levels of behavioural disturbance differ from less disturbed AD patients in terms of the range of symptoms exhibited; the frequency of occurrence of these symptoms; or both of these. Results found that differences occurred in the frequency of 10 out of 21 behaviours, rather than in a variety of endorsed behaviours. These 10 behaviours, observed at different frequencies in both groups, may be useful for monitoring change in studies of drugs or behavioural interventions for behavioural disturbance in persons with AD.
Death rates from dementias and neurodegenerative disorders in England and Wales and the USA 1993-97
- Authors:
- LEHMANN Petra, MAJEED Azeem, HOYERT Donna
- Journal article citation:
- Health Statistics Quarterly, 6, Summer 2000, pp.26-31.
- Publisher:
- Office for National Statistics
Examines death rates from dementias and neurodegenerative disorders in people aged 15 years and over in England and Wales and the USA from 1993 to 1997. Examination found that the increase in all dementias and neurodegenerative disorders was mainly due to an increase in rates among the elderly.
The effects of visual barriers on exiting behavior in a dementia care unit
- Authors:
- DICKINSON Joan Ivers, McLAIN-KARK Joan, MARSHALL-BAKER Anna
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 35(1), February 1995, pp.127-130.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Exiting due to wandering was a problem for caregivers in the dementia care unit. Previous attempts to control exiting by wanderers proved ineffective. Describes how the use of visual barriers reduced exiting.
Topographical disorientation in community-residing patients with Alzheimer's disease
- Authors:
- PAI Ming-Chyi, JACOBS W. Jake
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 19(3), March 2004, pp.250-255.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Based on the hypothesis that declarative memory and navigation ability depend on hippocampal integrity, and the fact that declarative memory declines early in Alzheimer's disease (AD), the authors suggest that topographical disorientation (TD) will be an early manifestation of AD. Patients diagnosed with AD based on DSM-IV criteria, residing at home, were studied in a clinic at a 1000-bed referral medical center. Patient characteristics, disease condition, performance on neuropsychological tests, and navigation function were compared between patients with and without current TD. Information regarding the extent and duration of TD and the level of current navigational function were collected during a clinical interview. 112 patients (61 males and 51 females) with mean age of 74 years and disease duration of 37 months completed the study. Among them, 61 currently experienced TD, 20 had required an escort to their home by others, and 28 had TD as an incipient symptom. Those with current TD tended to have a longer disease duration, required an escort to their home by others, and reported a history of repeated change of residence, TD as an incipient symptom, a restricted spatial range within which they felt comfortable (safety range), and disorientation when they were out of familiar territory. In addition, care-givers reported a high level of concern for the safety of those with TD when he or she traveled alone. TD in community-dwelling AD patient is common. Caregivers should pay attention to those with longer disease duration and try to avoid changing residence. Developing a brief and valid test for topographical orientation will be helpful for the early detection of TD.
Role of behavioural disturbance in the loss of autonomy for activities of daily living in Alzheimer patients
- Author:
- LECHOWSKI L.
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 18(11), November 2003, pp.977-982.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Cognitive impairment is associated with functional impairment in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Behavioural disturbance is very common in these patients. Nevertheless, there has been very little research into the relations between behavioural disturbance and functional status in AD. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between behavioural disturbance and functional status after taking account of cognitive impairment. 579 patients were prospectively evaluated at 16 French hospitals, all referents for AD, and were diagnosed with possible or probable AD. These patients were assessed with NeuroPsychiatric Inventory (NPI), cognitive subscales of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS-cog), Clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scale (IADL). The number of men with available data for IADL total score was too small to make any analysis. Group A gathered 256 women for whom the relation between autonomy for Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and the other variables were determined. Group B, pooled 85 women for whom relations found were verified. Linear regression was used for the analysis. With age, cognitive impairment allows us to explain best (38%) the loss of autonomy for ADL. The role of behavioural disturbances in the loss of autonomy for ADL was not determinant in our study, whereas cognitive impairment and age were better able to determine the loss of autonomy for ADL. Further study is needed to explain the decline of functional status in AD patients
Negative symptoms in Alzheimer's disease: a confirmatory factor analysis
- Authors:
- DE JONGHE Jos F. M., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 18(8), August 2003, pp.748-753.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Negative symptoms are a prominent clinical feature of Alzheimer's disease and they are related to memory impairment but not to mood disturbances. Methods employed in this research included Nurses' Behavioural observation scale for psychogeriatric inpatients (GIP). Global clinical ratings of severity of dementia and depression based on the Cambridge Examination for Mental Disorders of the Elderly-Dutch version (CAMDEX-N). A unidimensional model of dementia fitted the data poorly. Multidimensional models produced better results. In two- and three-factor models negative symptoms were separated from cognitive impairment and mood disturbances. The more severe the memory impairment, the more socially withdrawn patients were. In this sense negative symptoms may have been secondary to cognitive decline. However, no association was found between negative symptoms and mood disturbances.
Caregiver burden in mobile and non-mobile demented patients: a comparative study
- Authors:
- MIYAMOTO Yuki, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 17(8), August 2002, pp.765-773.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The purpose of this article is to identify the impact of behavior disturbances on subjective burden of caregivers in demented patients attending day care services. It was found that the caregivers of the mobile demented patients reported greater caregiver burden compared to those of the non-mobile demented patients. The frequency of behavior disturbance was significantly higher in the mobile patients than the non-mobile patients. For the mobile patient caregivers, wandering, interfering, aggression and repetition were the predictors of caregiver burden. For the non-mobile patient caregivers, repeating same questions and/or clinging was the only predictor of caregiver burden. The caregivers of the mobile demented patients reported higher burden due to the patients' behavior disturbance compared to those of the non-mobile patients. These findings indicate a need for further development of interventions to prevent behavior disturbances that are especially burdensome for caregivers.
Relationship of behavioral and psychological symptoms to cognitive impairment and functional status in Alzheimer's disease
- Authors:
- HARWOOD Dylan G., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 15(5), May 2000, pp.393-400.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This cross-sectional study examined the relationship of behavioural and psychological symptoms to cognitive and functional impairment in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The results suggest that some non-cognitive symptoms may be related to the neurobiologic mechanisms underlying the increased cognitive dysfunction in AD. Specific symptoms of behavioural pathology may also impact a patient's ability to perform important self-maintenance behaviours.
Behaviour changes in dementia 1: point of entry data of a prospective study
- Authors:
- HOPE Tony, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 12(11), November 1997, pp.1062-1073.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Analyses behaviour changes in dementia at the point of entry to a longitudinal study. At four-monthly intervals, the carers were interviewed and the subjects with dementia were assessed cognitively. Subjects' behaviour was assessed using the Present Behavioural Examination. The types of behaviour change reported by carers at the point of entry to this long-term study were analysed. Few correlations were found between behaviour and age, gender and time since onset of dementia. Some types of behaviour were significantly more prevalent in those with greater cognitive impairment. Concludes that many of these changes create problems for carers, for example increased aggressive behaviour, wandering, wakefulness at night, incontinence, and persecutory ideas. In general, they are more prevalent in people with more severe dementia.
Typology of disruptive vocalizations in older persons suffering from dementia
- Authors:
- COHEN-MANSFIELD Jiska, WERNER Perla
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 12(11), November 1997, pp.1079-1091.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Verbal and vocal disruptive behaviours (VDB) are important clinical features in dementia because they frequently signal discomfort experienced by an elderly person and because they are disturbing to caregivers; thereby affecting the care of elderly persons manifesting them. This article describes a typology of VDB, the Typology of Vocalisations - TOV. The article reports interrater reliability of the typology and validates it against Ryan's classification of verbal and vocal disruptive behaviours. Critical dimensions of the typology are examined and used for its refinement. Finally, use of the TOV for matching individuals to the most effective intervention is demonstrated.