Tag Archives: dementia
Dementia patients given right to say on end-of-life care
People in the early stages of dementia are to be given a right to have a say in how and where they want to die under guidelines for medical staff and social workers.
By John Bingham, Social Affairs Editor
7:00AM BST 16 Aug 2012
New draft guidelines drawn up by the NHS watchdog Nice will require local authorities and health trusts to give people diagnosed with dementia an opportunity to discuss options for care at the end of their life as early as possible while they still have the capacity.
It follows research showing that only a tiny minority of people have communicated their wishes for how they would like to be treated if they were terminally ill.
Dealing with Dementia: 'My dad was treated like lost luggage on a carousel'
Special report: When her father was diagnosed with dementia, Arifa Akbar embarked upon a journey through an abusive and negligent care system. In the first of a four-part series on the illness, she asks why, if we’re all living longer, we still treat long-term sufferers as though they were the living dead
My father turned 81 in May, but in a weary mood he will insist he is anywhere between 85 and 150. Sometimes he thinks he is living in a submarine off the shores of Norway, other times in Shimla, India, where he was born, or Lahore, where he was raised.
In reflective moments, he looks up to the ceiling and says it’s going to rain, as if he can see storm clouds gathering there. He tells me his father is watching him from the other side of the room, pointing to the small shaving mirror, at his own reflection. When he’s agitated, he shouts for hours at a time.
There are periods when he is lucid and warm; he’ll tell me that I need to eat more, get more sleep. “What’s the name of the newspaper you work for?” he’ll ask. Then, as I’m about to leave, he’ll say, “Am I dead? Did you bring my death certificate?”
Cup of cocoa a day may help memory in elderly: study
Drinking a cup of hot chocolate before bed may stave off memory problems in the elderly, research has suggested.
By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor
7:20AM BST 14 Aug 2012
A study has found that people who were given cocoa drinks had better working memories, higher scores in reasoning tests and improved blood sugar control than those who did not have them.
Cocoa contains high levels of flavonols which are also found in tea, grapes, red wine and apples which are thought to protect brain cells from damage.
