Dementia blood tests could be available on the NHS in five years, Alzheimer’s Society claims, after launching the next phase of its Blood Biomarker Challenge, a £5 million award for the research team judged most likely to deliver. Applications for the challenge, a collaboration with Alzheimer’s Research UK and the National Institute for Health and…
The Power of Music Fund, a scheme to promote social prescribing for people with dementia and their families, opened on 22nd November for new grant applications. Musical initiatives for carers and people with dementia, such as dementia choirs, can apply for multi-year grants of either £1,000 or £2,000 annually, depending on the size and scope…
An easier way to administer an established treatment for Alzheimer’s disease has been developed by Luye Pharma. The twice weekly Zeyzelf rivastigmine transdermal patch is said by the company to be simpler than the daily rivastigmine patches already in circulation. It is also 52% less expensive than some other patches, the company says. Rivastigmine reduce…
Research priorities Research programmes have tended to focus on finding a disease-modifying treatment for Alzheimer’s, but how can we channel more funding into research to improve care and quality of life? Read More Work with local communities Former Department of Health (DH) civil servant Ruth Eley – now chair of the carer involvement group tide…
Belong Chester offers dementia care with a distinct difference, in that it is part of an intergenerational community in which there is a 25-place nursery alongside independent living apartments, day care and 24 hour support “households”. “There’s a real sense of community in Belong villages and the impact of the Chester nursery is just incredible,”…
Alive is a Bristol-based charity working creatively in care settings to develop person-centred activities and CEO Isobel Jones described the Wishing Washing Line project as an example. “It supports older people to fulfil their dreams, big or small,” she told UKDC. “The dream of one 104-year-old lady was to be arrested, so we arranged for…
There is a direct correlation between person-centred care and the use of a care home’s garden, according to garden designer Debbie Carroll from Step Change Design. “Fearful attitudes to risk effectively cap the use of outside spaces in care homes, while advanced care culture practices and truly active engagement outside go hand in hand,” she…
Hearing loss has been identified as a major modifiable risk factor for dementia with a Lancet study suggesting that 8% of dementia cases could be prevented with proper hearing loss management. Care UK’s Hear Well project aimed to find out whether residents with hearing problems, who account for 20.4% of all those living in the…
Sleep is a significant problem for people with Lewy body dementia – 40% of people with Alzheimer’s have sleep problems, compared with 90% of those with Lewy body dementia. So said Rachel Thompson, who presented with her colleague Rachael Webb, both Admiral Nurses specialising in the Lewy body variant of the condition. Changes in the…
The power of non-pharmacological interventions to improve wellbeing was illustrated by a project to find out the causes of distressed behaviours and respond accordingly. Clinical psychologist Joanna Marshall and OT Susannah Thwaites spoke about their project to prescribe music, robotic pets and sensory items instead of anti-psychotic medications. Marshall and Thwaites are part of the…