By Hojjat Soofi. The administration of antipsychotic medications to residents with dementia in aged care facilities remains a subject of considerable controversy. A major focus of the controversy has been on the (questionable) influence that non-clinical considerations have on the rate of antipsychotic prescriptions in aged care facilities. Often, the primary beneficiaries of antipsychotic uses […]
Category: Dementia
Getting clear on what counts as dignity-promoting dementia care
By Hojjat Soofi. There are increasing calls to offer more dignity-promoting care to people with dementia, particularly in long-term care settings. In Australia, the recent Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety recommends revising the foundational principles that underpin current care practices in residential aged care facilities (RACFs), which are home to many people […]
Would you or rather not? Affected persons in Germany and Israel have mixed opinions regarding predictive testing and early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease
By Zümrüt Alpinar-Sencan, Silke Schicktanz, Natalie Ulitsa and Perla Werner. The availability of a test that would predict the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in the next ten years is a thrilling possibility. Thanks to the recent advances in biomarkers (biological markers, which are measurable indicators of a biological state or condition) research and […]
FDA approves aducanumab – do not get carried away!
By Erik Gustavsson, Pauline Raaschou, Gerd Lärfars, Lars Sandman, Niklas Juth. In spring 2019 Gerd Lärfars (head of the pharmaceutical division at the Stockholm Region in Sweden) suggested that we put together an interdisciplinary group consisting of clinicians, medical ethicists, and scholars with experience in health care administration. The aim for this group would be […]
What end of life care do we want to give to persons with end-stage dementia?
By Joseph Dimech, Emmanuel Agius, Julian C Hughes and Paul Bartolo. Dementia is a degenerative neurocognitive disorder that leads to a high level of physical and cognitive disability as the disease progresses to its end-stage. Such patients are also at high risk of suffering from co-morbidities, including aspiration pneumonia secondary to swallowing difficulties. Thus, such […]