Effective communication strategies to help patients and caregivers cope with moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's disease.

As the number of people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) increases, clinicians must learn to educate patients and their caregivers about the communication problems associated with different stages of illness. Patients with AD will experience varying degrees of language impairments, concentration problems, and difficulty expressing themselves. Caregivers can learn to avoid common communication mistakes, such as correcting, reasoning with, and arguing with the person with AD.

Not your grandmother's Alzheimer's disease. New priorities for research and care.

Thus, in terms of having non-pharmacological care recognized to be as important as pharmacological interventions and biomedical research, we must begin to consider the longer term effects of those interventions. It no longer seems appropriate to simply report on care recipient comfort and mood, decreased use of psychotropic medications, weight, and satisfaction. Studying care recipients in nursing homes is no longer enough.

Seven steps to improving the hospice benefit in dementia.

Hospice care provides an excellent opportunity to improve comfort and quality of life for patients who will die of this disease and to assist family caregivers. By employing the elements that have been discussed, the hospice benefit can be tailored to meet the unique needs of a growing number of people in our communities who need hospice care, and to provide a more satisfying experience for the hospice provider.

What's new in Alzheimer's disease?

Major changes in the care and treatment of dementia of the Alzheimer's type have been made, and more are looming on the horizon. This article presents current information regarding pathology, diagnosis, causes, and treatment options. Additionally, the newest medications and alternative approaches to this prevalent disease are discussed.