Tag Archives: carers

Aromatherapy soothes people with dementia

Lemon Balm extract as a lotion

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Lemon balm extract is effective in reducing symptoms of agitation in people with dementia, say researchers in the UK.
Agitation – a mixture of restlessness, anxiety and aggression – is all too common among people suffering from dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. Often agitation is treated with anti-psychotic drugs, but these have severe side effects. They may, for instance, accelerate mental decline and also make the patient withdrawn.

In a new study, researchers at Newcastle General Hospital in England, have looked at the effect of lemon balm on agitation. They used either a lotion containing lemon balm or a placebo lotion to a group of 72 patients with dementia. The lotion was applied twice a day for four weeks.

Can setting up a charity help families deal with loss?

It helped us get through 10 years – it made us stronger”

Georgia Williams with parents Steve and Lynnette Steve Williams said it had been heartwarming to see people getting involved with the Georgia Williams Trust
Every year charitable trusts are set up in memory of people who have met violent or tragic deaths.

Some go on to become major charities – the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, established after the racially aggravated murder of the teenager, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Others flourish briefly and then fold.

But how does setting up a charity or trust help the families at the heart of the tragedy?

The Williams family, from Wellington, Shropshire, lost their teenage daughter in May.

The body of the 17-year-old was found off the Nant-y-Garth pass, near Wrexham, days after she had gone missing from home.

£10m for mental health research in East of England

Projects to improve the care of people with mental health conditions in the East of England have been given a boost of nearly £10m.

National Institute of Health Research has awarded the grant to Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, which is carrying out the research.

It will support projects that make a “difference to people’s lives”.

Two areas it is looking at are dementia and patient safety.

The trust plans to work with the Universities of Cambridge University and the University of East Anglia in Norwich.