Essays on Dementia

Alzheimer's disease (AD) or dementia of Alzheimer's type (DAT) is one of the most common pathologies of the central nervous system and psyche. It usually affects persons in the old age and today an estimated of 500,000 Canadians suffer from Alzheimer’s or related dementia, over 70,000 being under 65 and 50,000 under 60. Neurodegenerative process is accompanied by progressive loss of memory and cognitive abilities decline. AD inevitably leads to death of the patient, and there are still no drugs to prevent or cure this disease. Incidence increases parallel with an increase in life expectancy. Continue reading...

Question 1

Alzheimer is a disease that mainly affects the elderly. Individuals who suffer from this ailment usually experience irreversible and progressive brain function impairment. This leads to reduced intellectual ability.
Several signs and symptoms may occur in an individual, and these may lead to a probable diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. The most common of these include changes in behavior, mood and memory loss. Apart from there are several other occurrences that may lead to a probable diagnosis. Most of the are cognitive disturbances and include things such as failure to identify and recognize common objects, disturbances in planning, sequencing, Continue reading...

Introduction

Ginkgo Biloba is known to be one of the oldest unique species of tree. It is known for its contributions in medicine and is also used as a food source with nutritional benefits. It is popularly touted as a “brain herb” as it is moderately effective in improving cognition in dementia patients and has the potential of helping to keep an individual’s memory sharp. Dementia is a loss of brain function that occurs with certain diseases. It is also used as a remedy for blood disorder since it is an anticoagulant. Alzheimer’s disease is one form of Continue reading...

Dementia and Delirium are perplexing conditions both to differentiate and experience. Dementia is a progressive intellectual function and other cognitive skills decline condition, which results to a decline in an individual’s performance of their daily activities. Unlike dementia, delirium also known as acute confusional state is an acute medical condition which results in confusion and other disruptions in how a person thinks and behaves including attention, activity level and perception. It is very important to distinguish between the two conditions because, delirium can be found in a person that already has dementia. A study done by Fick and Continue reading...

Aging affects episodic memory, which is memory pertaining to the specific events and experiences occurring with time. Even though most older adults hold he belief that such memories regarding remote occurrences are good as compared to their memories (recent events), it is possible that the older memories become semantic. This results to retaining the integral information even though it lacks finer details, precisely temporal and spatial contexts. The older memories in this case join the scope of things, which people ‘know’. The problematic issues of older adults include the remembrance of contexts and subsequent source information. In cases of Continue reading...

In Tasmania, there are a range of services provided for dementia care. Considering there are just over half a million people on the island, the extent of services is high. This may be, in part, because of the age of the population. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2013), the median age on the island is 40, as compared to 37 in Australia. The website, Dementiatas is well-known and utilized among the population of Tasmania. The site offers a wealth of information about dementia with particular relevance to family support. Complementary information is located on the government website. Continue reading...

Introduction The increasing technological advancement, changing healthcare policies and progression of some illness calls for evidence-based research in heath care. The need to adapting to new techniques in the contemporary nursing has led to researchers coming up with a large volume of literature. Decision in healthcare has then turned out very complex. It requires a systematic search and analysis of every article and document by caregivers to get the appropriate evidence-based information. The use of a systematic review in managing large volumes of research evidence involves the process of documenting the methods before starting any search to identify different Continue reading...

Introduction

The current essay involves a critical review of the research process and development of two research reports on nursing care and shared care services and evidence based practice in the nursing profession. Understanding the research process and development may furnish important insights on how evidence based practice be implemented effectively in aid of better patient care in both traditional hospital nursing care and shared care services involving nurses as useful members in the healthcare staff.
Parameters for the research process critique involve important aspects in a research report: research approach or design, sampling method, methods of data collection, validity Continue reading...

Alzheimer's disease is the 6th most major reason for deaths in the United States where approximately 500,000 people fall victims to death by this disease each year. The estimate for people living in the grips of this illness was around 5.4 million in 2014. With the confounding increase in the cases of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, it has become crucial that we analyze the possible causes. The factors that lead to the onset of dementia include vitamin B12 deficiency, heavy metal poisoning, side effects of medicine or drug interactions, and some brain tumors, chronic cases of alcoholism, and Continue reading...

Dementia is a condition caused by brain disease. It is typically chronic or unremitting in nature. It disturbs several functions including memory, thinking, calculation, judgment, language as well as learning capacity. However, consciousness is still clear. The function abnormality comes with worsening in social manners, inspiration or emotional direction. Dementia happens in a great number of disturbing the brain (WHO, 7).
The most common form of dementia is the Alzheimer’s disease that comprises the sixty to seventy percent of dementia cases. Other forms of dementia are vascular dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies. Dementia also occurs in mixed Continue reading...

Dementia Care Mapping (DCM) is a systematic observational tool developed by two nurses: Bredin and Kitwood in the United Kingdom. They did this in the year 1992 (Mansah et al., 2014). Nurses use this tool in order to improve the care that they give to individuals who live with dementia. Through observation, the nurse knows how to deal with the patient. The nurses understand that the dementia affects the psychosocial skills of the patient. It also affects their physical and cognitive abilities.
Only a few studies that address the efficacy of DCM and its subsequent implementation are available. The Continue reading...

Dementia is among the most common universal age-related disease where an individual gets to experience progressive and irreversible cognitive decline. The aspect of genetics greatly influences the age-related disease of dementia. Genetics may influence the probability of one suffering from dementia because they may be having the genetic market linked to Alzheimer's disease. This is also linked to the experience that comes with seeing a family member suffering from the same condition (Belsky, 2010).
The three principles of age-related disease development state that developing a chronic disease is classified as normal aging only at its extreme, will an individual Continue reading...

Human body has complex physiological mechanisms that keep the vital functions in a well orchestrated manner. Depending on the needs of the body, a precise balance of essential internal communications, pathways or networks and secretions is maintained. A deviation from the normal state due to genetically, biochemical and environmental effects could negatively impact the integrated body machinery. In addition, the impact of age could also become additive in precipitating the ill effects. Age is the most important factor that determines the severity of a given condition. A precise management of such condition is possible only through appropriate investigations. The Continue reading...

Introduction:

“Dementia” defines a clinical syndrome exemplified by long-term decline in mental functional ability, such as waning intellectual abilities, in a conscious individual. The primary symptoms of dementia include loss of memory, decline in cognitive abilities such as learning and comprehension, judgment, communication, and loss of attention and orientation to oneself and time aspects. In addition, the patient may present hallucinations and delusions in form of paranoia in advanced stages (Raydin & Katzen, 2013).
The syndrome is a progressive condition that worsens with time. The experiences of the condition among patients may vary, just like the several causes that trigger the Continue reading...

Dementia is a group of brain syndromes that leads to gradual mental retardation and usually occurs in people older than 65 years of age. The health care and nursing of dementia patients is largely dependent on the medical practitioners. Dementia may be accompanied by symptoms like senescent forgetfulness, loss of language function termed as aphasia, delirium or confusion, apraxia or difficulty in performing deliberate movements . Some diseases that can manifest as dementia are Alzheimer’s disease, Creutzfeld-Jacob’s disease, Wilson disease, Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease, Neurosyphilis and cerebral tumors. The care provided to the dementia sufferers Continue reading...

Epidemiology of Alzheimer’s in Malta

Dementia refers to a variety of medical disorders characterized by loss of memory, weakening of humans’ organization, and planning skills. Dementia is a major predictor of morbidity and mortality among the aged in the society. According to a recent study, the global prevalence of dementia double every 20-year period. The calculations in various reports only detail the estimate of people with dementia in the Maltese islands. In reality, the number of the patients is higher. The EURODEM report detail that the number of individual with dementia is 4072 and is likely to double by 2030. Alzheimer prevalence accounts mostly Continue reading...

Abstract

This paper defines long-term care (LTC) and the challenges the LTC industry currently faces. Areas covered include a shortfall in funding needed to provide LTC of an acceptable quality, the fact that more and more people are requiring care over a longer period due to an increase of average life expectancy, a significant increased incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia variants, an infrastructure that is lagging the demand, and a shrinking workforce in the industry coinciding with an increased demand for its services. The paper concludes that the funding shortfall is probably the major challenge, because without Continue reading...

Abstract

Ginkgo Biloba extract is widely used by older adults as a cognitive enhancer although efficacy studies show inconsistent results. A review was done of three quantitative studies with the hypothesis that once-daily use of Ginkgo Biloba does not help improve the memory of adults aged 50 years or older. One article was a clinical trial on the differences in electrical activity in the brain when Ginkgo Biloba or placebo is used during a working memory test. The second article is also a clinical trial that determined the efficacy of Ginkgo Biloba in reducing cognitive and therefore memory decline in Continue reading...

- Introduction
Dementia is not a particular type of disease rather it is caused by multiple symptoms render the person to even carry out normal daily activities like Talking, dressing, walking etc. Brain function is lowered, affecting decision making, learning, memory and language. It can be mistaken with normal memory loss and deterioration of the normal brain activity with age. Dementia mostly occurs after the age of 60 and complexes increase not treated in earlier stages.
- Body
- Organ System: The Central Nervous System
The central nervous system plays an important role in bodily function and is part Continue reading...

- Situation Acceptance
Injuries and accidents among the old have been increasing in the current decade (Curie, 2008). The main cause has been associated with dementia and arthritis which leads to weakening of old people’s joint.
- Arthritis
The question on whether arthritis is a big menace to old people has been ringing minds of technologists and scientist because they have been thinking of how they can improve lives of old people especially when they climb staircases. Arthritis is a dangerous disease that has affected lives of many old people in almost all parts of the world (Arthritis Continue reading...

The movie “The Notebook” presents Noah and Allie as an old couple, experiencing passionate moments of love throughout their life and reaching the latest phase of their life, which finds Allie in an elder institute, being treated of dementia, and Noah her shadow-friend, telling her a beautiful love story over and over again, until she remembers that it is in fact their own story that the man is telling, recognizing him for a moment and then going back into the state of obliteration (Cassavetes, “The Notebook”). In this movie there are exposed two different characters and two approaches to Continue reading...

Abstract

Objective-To study under treatment of pain in dementia patients living in assisted care and nursing homes.
Design-Randomized controlled trial. Dementia patients with a pain related diagnosis once identified, ten random patients among them identified to be subjected to the study
Setting- A home for assisted living hosting dementia patients picked at random and the required study population among the patients chosen
Participants-Ten residents who have pain related diagnosis such as arthritis picked at random using the randomized controlled trial method of sampling.
Intervention- Qualify patients on a mild pain reliever dose routinely for two weeks. After the expiry of Continue reading...

An unintended result of recent criminal justice sentencing policies has been a significant increase in the number of prison inmates suffering from dementia. Due to increased average age and the common presence of other dementia risk factors in the inmate population, this issue is expected to only grow over time. Dealing with this prison health concern is important, especially given the greatly inflated cost of housing and treating inmates with this disease. Coupled with the shrinking prison budgets due to governmental deficits, this is a problem that needs immediate attention. Essentially, there are two methods of dealing with any Continue reading...

Part 5: Final Draft

This paper has several sections. First, it gives an analysis of a psychological report which was published in popular media. The second part documents the original research cited in the psychological report in section one. The third step gives a comparison between the first and second report.

Analysis of a Psychological Report

The title of the report was Silent Cerebral Emboli May Hasten the Progression of Dementia (Journal Watch, 2012). The author notes that the findings of the report were drawn from two groups: patients with dementia (loss of cognitive ability particularly, memory, attention, and language) and patients with Alzheimer disease. The author begins Continue reading...

Abstract

Senile dementia, Alzheimer dementia and Parkinson’s dementia are all forms of progressive mental illnesses. Therefore, they contain similar cognitive issues. Among the main one is mental capability. Learning and availability of lewy bodies in the brain are also other cognitive issues. The three cognitive aspects differ in the three diseases. This has affected the work of physical therapy assistants, and how they offer treatment. Physical therapists are now forced to learn extensively in the new aspects in their fields of interest.

Key words; dementia, senile, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson's, cognitive, physical therapists, mental

Introduction
There are quite a number of dementias that have been identified to date. Although they may Continue reading...

Introduction

As people grow old, they are highly likely to develop conditions which predispose them to intermittent acute pain or importunate pain states. In reference to Cunningham et al. (2010) the impact of dementia on processing of pain is different in different types of pain and the stage of dementia. Cunningham et al. (2010) conclude that there is a high possibility of under-detection of pain among individuals with dementia more so to those who have limited verbal communication. The assessment of cognitive status of individuals with dementia is critical in determining the pain assessment to use. The paper intends to Continue reading...

First of all, the idea of using non-pharmacological approaches to deal with cases of dementia is noble. However, the assertions that are made in this article are based on inadequate research. There is limited literature coverage regarding the topic because minimal research has been done in the area. This means that this article is based on limited data and data analysis. For any research methodology to be credible, researchers have to widely analyze patterns and trends using large amounts of data. The presence of limited literature coverage over the success of reminiscence therapy creates makes the research more vulnerable Continue reading...

Pain management in elderly patients is a challenge, and when elderly patients suffer from dementia, pain treatment becomes even more difficult because of the communication problems with such patients. Almost 50 percent of the elderly patients admitted to hospitals complain of pain, and of these 20 percent complain of severe pain (Monroe and Mion, 2012). However, research has documented the under-detection and under-treatment of pain in patients with dementia (Cunningham, McClean, and Kelly, 2010). It has also been found that systematic use of analgesics in elderly dementia patients can reduce their level of agitation within acute care settings (Hirsch, Continue reading...

Abstract

In order to understand the effect of hemoglobin count or iron metabolism on Alzheimer’s disease is one of the purposes of this study. The other purpose is to see if these differences in the way iron is metabolized or the difference in hemoglobin count among ethnic groups effect the way they acquire Alzheimer’s over time. The most common effect of AD is dementia which is one of the most common effects of Alzheimer’s disease and tis is the loss of the ability to mentally process normal day to day activities. Dementia can last for a long Continue reading...

Psychological disorder is a complex and intricate term to define. The term is often used interchangeably used with mental disorder. It is a disorder or disruption in the normal functioning of brain, involving thoughts, behavior, moods and emotions that causes stress. The patient’s language and communication get affected. They lose ability to focus and pay attention. A significant amount of stress can cause disability of thoughts and actions. In the extreme case, the individual who is suffering from the symptoms of psychological illness is unable to meet their personal needs on their own and can also cause harm Continue reading...

Nursing Older People: Dementia

The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision (ICD-10) defines dementia as (1) a syndrome that is caused by a chronic or progressive disease of the brain, that (2) causes multiple disturbances of higher cortical functions, and (3) is characterized by impairment in memory without impairment in consciousness. Dementia affects all areas of the brain and can occur at any age but is more common in people over 65 years of age, affecting 20% of those aged over 80 (Gulland, 2012).
A clinical diagnosis of dementia is made when a patient develops cognitive impairment severe Continue reading...

Worldwide mental retardation (MR) is one of the most common conditions affecting 1 to 3% of the general population. Clinically the symptoms differ from one individual to the other as it depends on the severity of the condition (Mental Retardation, 2010; Intellectual Disability (Mental Retardation), 2011; Intellectual disability, 2013). However, few common symptoms associated with MR are as follows:
- The intellectual developing milestones are not meet as expected.
- Common features shown by the individuals with MR includes unable to do the routine activities independently, impetuous, passive, causing injury to self, inconvincible, rude behavior, frustrated and suffering from Continue reading...

The word dementia stems from the Latin de meaning “without, absence” and mens meaning “mind”. This disease is characterized by decline of cognitive functions of a person including his or her memory and other mental abilities. It influences the personal ability to perform everyday’s activities. It is a complicated disorder and it can be caused by different factors such as injuries to the brain because of tumors, strokes or head traumas. In this case the dementia is explained by the lack of blood supply. In order to function appropriately brain cells need supply of blood. When injury of Continue reading...

BPSD in dementia patients

Introduction
The management of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia has proven to be a daunting task for healthcare professionals. A mixture of approaches based on behavioral theories and pharmacological interventions have been used to control these neuropsychiatric symptoms with mixed results (de Ven et al., 2012). Dementia-Care mapping (DCM) is a multi-component intervention based on the social-psychological theory of dementia by Kitwood. It was developed in 1992 by the Dementia research group at Bradford University. DCM is posited to provide a holistic person-centered approach to the care of patients with dementia. Kitwood’s theory postulates that neuropsychiatric symptoms Continue reading...

Introduction

Learning and memory constitute a very important aspect of person’s life. They determine the kind of life a person has to live. However, because it is the brain which initiate these processes, then it means that learning and memory is just but a function of the state of the brain. In other words, if the brain were normal, then the learning process would take place normally. Hence, alteration of the normal state of the brain may result in alteration of the learning process (MacLeod, 2010, p.227).
Although several researches concerning the brain have been Continue reading...

Introduction

Learning and memory constitute a very important aspect of person’s life. They determine the kind of life a person has to live. However, because it is the brain which initiate these processes, then it means that learning and memory is just but a function of the state of the brain. In other words, if the brain is normal, then the learning process would take place normally. Hence, alteration of the normal state of the brain may result in alteration of the learning process.
Although several researches concerning the brain have been done, there is no Continue reading...

Introduction

Women as caregivers is a significant issue because it has been hypothesized by many scholars that the stress associated with multiple roles can be conducive to physical and mental health problems. However, this is a controversial topic because they are some experts who contend that benefits are gained with this additional responsibility. There appears to be a myriad of literature that places emphasis on the stress of women engaging in multiple roles.
Women have always been considered responsible for domestic chores. parenting and in some instances caring for elderly parents. A few decades ago women were not required to Continue reading...

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Dementia is rapidly growing worldwide and on each four seconds a new case of dementia is reported. According to the Blom, around 2040 it will turn 90 million people into its victim (Blom, Emmelot-Vonk & Koek, 2013).
Increasing frequency of disease is creating a financial burden on society and caregivers. There are several reasons out of which aging is the foremost reason. Another big cause is vascular risk factors (VRF) that may enhance the susceptibility towards dementia (Blom, Emmelot-Vonk & Koek, 2013; Lopez-Hartmann et al., 2012). Informal caregivers of Continue reading...

Introduction

The limited resources of housing, day programs clinical support and family of the Federal and State government have allot of effects on individuals with cognitive impaired and developmental delay. Developmental delay and cognitive impairment are almost similar in that they both affect how a person acts, thinks and feels. Developmental delay is defined as the condition in which, an individual especially a child who develops at a slower rate compared to others their age. This development can be either physically or mentally. Cognitive impairment can be defined as simply mental retardation in which a person begins to loss their Continue reading...

Is gender (male and female) a factor in memory loss in elderly with Alzheimer’s disease?

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common types of Dementia that cause the death or malfunction of nerve cells in the brain. Eventually, this death or malfunction of brain cells leads to changes in behavior, memory patterns, and affects the thinking abilities among the affected persons. In the case of Alzheimer’s disease, the changes within the brain cells of individuals impairs their abilities to perform normal functions within the body. Alzheimer’s disease accounts for an approximate 60 to 80 per cent of all cases of dementia (Alzheimer’s Association, 2012). Alzheimer’s disease is the Continue reading...