Over the years I have been regularly approached by people with dementia, their carers or people affiliated with them, to know how they can get involved in research. It highlights that many people are keen to help research but do not know how to get involved and make this happen. Time to change that. In … Continue reading How to get involved in research
My recent entry on the scientific evidence behind reminiscence therapy has generated interesting comments and feedback. In a way, this should have not been a surprise, since the science behind reminiscence therapy is – so far- pretty weak, despite it being so commonly used. Two points raised by some of my Twitter followers, in particular, … Continue reading The individual vs the science
Reminiscence therapy has become increasingly popular in dementia over the last two decades. Many care homes or dementia groups offer reminiscence therapy as part of their activities and ‘non-pharmacological’ treatments. Despite the wide use of this form of therapy, the actual benefit for people with dementia is not as clear as one would think. So, … Continue reading Reminiscence therapy in dementia
Changes in sleep patterns are very common in dementia. Once the disease advances these changes can develop into more severe sleep disturbances, with people having either problem falling asleep, waking up multiple times in the night or having increased daytime sleepiness. Sleep medication is often prescribed by clinicians in those cases, however, recent evidence suggests … Continue reading Sleep medication in dementia and its hidden risks
The current post originated from two questions by my Twitter follower @juliagapowell: What is the evidence for mindfulness improving wellbeing of people living with dementia? What stage of dementia can be best supported by mindfulness? Great questions. Thank you. Non-pharmacological interventions, those that do not rely on medication, have become increasingly popular in dementia over … Continue reading What’s on your mind? – Mindfulness in dementia
Animal therapy has become increasingly popular in dementia, as it shows positive effects in the behaviour, mood and quality of life in people with dementia. This has been recently extended to robotic animals which seemingly show similar positive effects in people with dementia. But what is the scientific evidence for the effectiveness of such animal … Continue reading Animals versus robots – Do robotic animals help as much as living animals in dementia therapy?
A healthy lifestyle has been shown to be good for our brain health and can reduce our risk of dementia. A key component of a healthy lifestyle is a healthy diet, with scientific evidence showing that the healthier our diet the lower our risk for dementia. However, the picture has been less clear for dietary … Continue reading Dietary supplements – Do they make a difference in dementia prevention?
Everyone associates dementia and Alzheimer’s disease with memory problems but the other common problem – spatial disorientation is far less known, despite it having potentially fatal consequences. A new study sheds light on why people with dementia get lost and points towards new solutions. Memory problems are the key symptom of Alzheimer’s disease, even in … Continue reading Getting lost in dementia – An overlooked danger?
We all know that exercise is an excellent way to improve our brain health and can even delay or prevent the onset of dementia. However, much less is known as to whether exercise makes a difference when we have dementia. Is it still worth it doing exercise then and what impact does it have on … Continue reading Exercise in dementia – Is it worth it?
Informal carers are the key providers for the care of people with dementia. Most of those care aspects are often attributed to negative associations, such as increased burden and stress. But there is also anecdotal evidence that carers report positive aspects for caring with someone with dementia. A recent study investigated the carer perceptions of … Continue reading The good and bad in dementia care – Which factors determine the informal care experience?
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