This article, the first of two parts, introduces the difficulties facing nurses working with injecting drug users with skin problems. Drug abuse is increasing globally, and has huge implications for healthcare practitioners. Increasing numbers of tissue viability nurses are also encountering drug injection-induced wounds in their practice, but there is a lack of evidence for management of chronic skin problems in this patient group. Together with rising numbers of injecting drug users, there are increased health implications such as bacteraemia, septicaemia, amputation and skin breakdown. Abscesses and chronic wounds as well as prolonged leg ulceration are common. Drug users may demonstrate chaotic lifestyles, which may inhibit access to usual healthcare provision. Issues relating to healing of these wounds are explored. The second part, which will appear in the next Tissue Viability Supplement, will describe the development of a specialist wound care clinic for homeless drug users.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2002.11.Sup1.12246 | DOI Listing |
Alzheimers Dement
December 2024
University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park, MD, USA.
Background: Escalating drug costs are likely to disproportionately burden individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) as they often have multiple chronic conditions (MCC). This study aimed to estimate the incremental total and out-of-pocket (OOP) drug costs associated with ADRD and MCC across the drug cost distributions.
Method: The study used a nationally representative cross-sectional dataset from 2003 to 2021 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
Background: Cannabis use has increased substantially in recent years, for both recreational and medicinal purposes. While the deleterious effects of cannabis use during adolescence on brain health are well acknowledged, long-term implications of cannabis use on brains of older adults remain unknown. We explored the associations between past and current cannabis use and volumetric brain MRI measures in older participants of the UK biobank.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlzheimers Dement
December 2024
Brighton & Sussex Medical School, Brighton, United Kingdom.
Background: Reported effects of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) on late-life neurodegenerative disease are inconsistent. Variability in the timing and formulation of HRT, plus whether an individual carries an Apolipoprotein (APOE) e4 genetic risk variant for Alzheimer's Disease (AD), likely contribute to conflicting results. Additionally, whilst many studies have focused exclusively on the effects of exogenous oestrogen, the inclusion of testosterone in HRT appears protective against AD pathology, specifically in APOE e4 carriers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Over half of ambulatory older adults are prescribed at least one anticholinergic medication to address a myriad of conditions, including incontinence, allergies, anxiety and insomnia. Longitudinal studies suggest an association between anticholinergic exposure and risk of dementia. Prior studies often rely on crude exposure measures (use vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlzheimers Dement
December 2024
Center for Biomedical Semantics and Data Intelligence (CBSDI), University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
Background: Findings regarding the protective effect of Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) against Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) and cognitive decline have been inconclusive.
Method: A total of 6,390,826 hypertensive individuals were included in this study from Optum's de-identified Clinformatics® Data Mart. We identified antihypertensive medication (AHM) drug classes and subclassified ARBs by blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability.
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