The Dementia Caregiver's Toolbox

Dementia Caregivers May Not See Pain Symptoms

A recent study by the University of North Carolina found that residents in long term care facilities who were cognitively impaired or had dementia were less likely to receive regular doses of pain medication or to get pain medication at all.

This comes as no surprise to many of us who work with dementia residents every day.

Model Home Helps With Dementia Independence

A new model home, specifically designed for use by persons with dementia, was recently established in Japan to showcase new technologies that support independence.

Dementia Caregivers Make Sacrifices

A recent study from the National Alliance For Caregiving gave some shocking statistics on the burdens of caregiving, including caregiving to those who have dementia.

Men As Dementia Caregivers

A few years ago, I heard someone speak about the unique challenges that men have as dementia caregivers.  I hadn't thought of it before but it made sense.  Recently, I was glad to see more articles and discussion about this topic.

Dementia Caregivers Use Digital Scrapbook

The Alzheimer's Society of UK has found that making a digital scrapbook can help in stimulating memories.

Dementia Behaviors May Be Helped By Acupressure

A recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing in the UK says that using a technique called acupressure can significantly reduce agitated behavior in persons with dementia.

Dementia Early Detection Device

Mild Cognitive Impairment or MCI, is often noted as an early stage of dementia.  Early detection and diagnosis of MCI or dementia is needed to increase quality of life.

The Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University have devised an easy test that can be administered yearly to check for reaction time and memory functions.  The researchers named the test "DETECT".

Dementia "Fact Splicing" As Part Of Memory Loss

I recently read about the term, "fact splicing" to perfectly describe something we see so often in someone with dementia who begins to struggle with memory loss.

Dementia & Parkinson's Disease

April begins Parkinson's Disease Awareness month so it seemed natural that we should look at how this disease and dementia relate to each other.

Dementia Risk Increases With Belly Fat

Every day the media bombards us with news about risks for dementia and other interventions that may help to decrease the risk.  I find most of it overwhelming but today's headlines caught my eye and I wanted to be sure you saw this.

In today's issue of Neurology, published by The American Academy of Neurology, the findings were published that people in their 40's who also have larger stomachs/abdomens, show a greater risk for developing dementia when they reach their 70's.