Objectives: People with life-limiting diseases such as dementia are living longer. How to improve the quality of life of those living with dementia is an important challenge for society. Continuity maintenance in older adulthood is a psychosocial adaptation strategy by searching for preference and familiarity, making a sense of connection, and creating coherence. Continuity maintenance is a useful concept for effective dementia care, which could bring psychosocial benefits. This review investigates effective ways of continuity maintenance for people with dementia (PWD).
Chronological age is a commonly-used time metric, but there may be more relevant time measures in older adulthood. This paper reviews change point modeling, a type of analysis increasingly common in cognitive aging research but with limited application in applied research. Here, we propose a new application of such models for cognitive training studies.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and it is characterized by the deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. However, the complete pathogenesis of the disease is still unknown. High level of serum cholesterol has been found to positively correlate with an increased risk of dementia and some studies have reported a decreased prevalence of AD in patients taking cholesterol-lowering drugs.
Background: Memory for music has attracted much recent interest in Alzheimer's disease but the underlying brain mechanisms have not been defined in patients directly. Here we addressed this issue in an Alzheimer's disease cohort using activation fMRI of two core musical memory systems. Methods: We studied 34 patients with younger onset Alzheimer's disease led either by episodic memory decline (typical Alzheimer's disease)or by visuospatial impairment (posterior cortical atrophy)in relation to 19 age-matched healthy individuals.
RNA binding proteins are critical to the maintenance of the transcriptome via controlled regulation of RNA processing and transport. Alterations of these proteins impact multiple steps of the RNA life cycle resulting in various molecular phenotypes such as aberrant RNA splicing, transport, and stability. Disruption of RNA binding proteins and widespread RNA processing defects are increasingly recognized as critical determinants of neurological diseases.
Dementia can disturb the circadian rhythm more than in normal ageing people. And their biological clock is often not enough stimulated by light. Sleep disturbances form a high burden for informal caregivers and is the main reason for institutionalization. The effect of biodynamic lighting with varying intensity and colour resembling a daylight curve has hardly been objectively researched. In this study, we evaluate the exposure to biodynamic lighting on circadian functioning of 13 patients with dementia admitted to a psychiatric hospital.
The current paper addresses the nature of epistemic injustice as it may be experienced by persons with dementia. We describe how theoretical models of stigma align with the current model of epistemic injustice through a consideration of the concepts of ‘stereotype’ ‘prejudice’ and ‘discrimination’ shared by the two models. We draw on current understandings of dementia-related stigma to expand understandings of the epistemic injustice faced by persons with dementia.
The Alzheimer's disease (AD) was discovered and the pathological hallmarks were revealed more than a century ago. Subsequently, many remarkable discoveries and breakthroughs provided us with mechanistic insights into the pathogenesis of AD. The identification of the molecular underpinning of the disease not only provided the framework of AD pathogenesis but also targets for therapeutic inventions. Despite all the initial successes, no effective treatment for AD has emerged yet as all the late stage of clinical trials have failed.
Microglia are the predominant immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS) that exert key physiological roles required for maintaining CNS homeostasis, notably in response to chronic stress, as well as mediating synaptic plasticity, learning and memory. The repeated exposure to stress confers a higher risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases including sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD).
The importance of stigma in shaping the experiences of people living with dementia and challenging their social citizenship emerges repeatedly as a powerful and negative force. In a recent participatory action research (PAR) study focused on understanding what people with dementia need to know to live well, this link between stigma, discrimination and social citizenship emerged once again. A group of people living with dementia (n = 8) met monthly for 16 months to discuss their experiences and advise on the curriculum of a proposed self-management program.
