Deep Brain Stimulation Improves Quality of Life in Parkinson’s Disease

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a surgical treatment that involves the implantation of a brain pacemaker that can send electrical impulses to specific parts of the brain. DBS is an accepted therapy for advanced Parkinson disease, but little is known about how it compares to medical treatment. According to a new study published in the January 7, 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, DBS may be more effective than best medical therapy for advanced Parkinson patients.

Researchers from the Hines VA Hospital in Illinois and their colleagues studied 255 patients with advanced Parkinson disease for six months in order to compare outcomes of DBS versus best medical therapy. They found that patients treated with DBS experienced significant improvements in motor function and quality of life compared to those treated with medical therapy. However, they also found that DBS was associated with an approximately 4-fold increased risk of serious adverse events, most related to the surgical procedure. It was also noted that most of these events resolved during the 6-month follow-up period.

Although this study suggests that DBS is effective in reducing the movement-related symptoms of Parkinson disease, further research is needed to determine the best timing and the best candidates for DBS pacemaker implantation.

Caring for the Elderly

Caring for the elderly is one of the most challenging and rewarding jobs in nursing. Demanding a great deal of tact and care, looking after elderly patients is a trying and testing job, although it is one of the most necessary and most sought after positions in modern times. Elderly patients require care for a number of reasons, and these each carry their own complexities and challenges which must be met by the carer.

For some elderly patients, care is a round the clock affair, and this means you also have to be dedicated to patient’s well being. On top of that, patients require genuine attention, which extends beyond the hours of the job. A carer for the elderly must be a genuinely caring person, willing to commit to a career in people. At times it can be a demoralising and depressing job, but at the end of the day, the difference good care can make to quality of life is substantial.

Amongst other things, elderly patients need human company and companionship, and a good carer should have the ability to listen and interact on many different levels. It is a good idea to come with plenty anecdotes, and a good knowledge of current affairs to keep your patients amused whilst you provide them with essential care to improve the quality of their lives. Additionally, it requires patience. Elderly patients can, at times, be set in their ways, and can find it hard to accept help and treatment from someone younger than themselves. However, it is essential to remember that the patients are people too, with their own opinions and dignity. In nursing the elderly, it is a case of striking a balance between offering care and assistance and understanding the mindset of the patient, and this is arguably one of the most difficult things about the job.

Caring for the elderly is not a job for everyone, but it is a job that many would find appealing. Working with the elderly can be very rewarding, and the loyalty and respect you can expect in return for your help is heart-warming. Furthermore, many patients will adopt you and care for you as their own, creating a uniquely bonded two-way relationship. It is this relationship which makes caring a job that is worth far more than any wage, and is something which can provide the real sense of job satisfaction which can’t be found anywhere.

Alzheimer’s disease to grow

As the population of baby boomers grows, public health experts believe the number of people with Alzheimer‘s disease also will grow.

The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that the state had 17,000 Alzheimer’s cases in 2000. The organization projects that number to be 21,000 by 2025, an increase of 24 percent.

The disease, which most often strikes the elderly, is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States.

By 2050, the Alzheimer’s Association predicts about 14 million people in the nation will be living with the illness.

Alzheimer’s is a progressive brain disease that impairs memory and other cognitive functions.

Patients And Caregivers Unprepared For The Mental And Behavioral Changes Associated With Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease affects 6.3 million people worldwide. While the disease is recognized for its profound effects on movement, up to 40 percent of Parkinson’s disease patients also develop changes in thought, behavior and judgment.

As Parkinson’s disease progresses, patients may experience what is called ‘Parkinson’s Psychosis,’ in which they experience changes in thought, behavior and judgment. In more advanced stages these symptoms include hallucinations where patients see, hear or feel things that aren’t really there, and paranoid delusions where they become distrustful of even their closest friends and family members. The emergence of these symptoms represents a major turning point in the course of the patient’s disease.

“While the physical manifestations of Parkinson’s disease are difficult to deal with, the changes in thought, behavior and judgment strain the bonds between patients and their caregivers and families,” said Dr. Bernard Ravina, Director of the Movement and Inherited Neurological Disorders Unit at the University of Rochester in New York.

According to an on-line survey recently conducted by MediciGlobal, a global patient recruitment and retention specialty firm, over one-third of Parkinson’s caregivers are unaware that changes in thought, behavior, and judgment can accompany the disease. “As a registered nurse, I was prepared for the physical problems with my husband’s Parkinson’s disease but, despite my job as a RN, I was totally unprepared for the psychiatric issues,” said Carol McLain, a caregiver who took the survey.

According to Dr. Ravina, “It’s the non-physical symptoms of the disease that are often most devastating for both the patient and caregiver. As the patient’s mental health deteriorates, the family often has to make the painful and expensive decision of moving the patient into a nursing home.”

There are currently no FDA-approved treatments for these particular non-physical symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Nevertheless, doctors often resort to the use of potent antipsychotic drugs to treat these symptoms even though these drugs sometimes have serious side effects, particularly in the elderly, including worsening of motor skills, excessive sleepiness, increased infections, stroke, and sudden death in some patients. As a result, there is a large unmet medical need for new and improved treatment options.

NO Nursing Homes…In Home Care Instead! Nursing home hit hard by abuse allegations

When an elderly woman with dementia drooled while under the care of two teenage nursing home assistants, one of the young women allegedly spit into her mouth. When residents screamed or hit, the two would clamp a hand over their mouths or poke them in the back or genitals.

At one point, one of the assistants crawled into bed with a Good Samaritan Society resident and simulated having sex with her, according to a criminal complaint.

The young women thought of their actions “as a joke,” a co-worker told investigators from the state Department of Health, which produced a report detailing the abuse in numbing detail.

But Brianna Marie Broitzman, 19, and Ashton Michelle Larson, 18, each face up to a year in jail and $3,000 fine if convicted of all the charges against them. Prosecutors say the two inflicted humiliating physical, emotional and sexual abuse on 15 residents suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or both.

“I’ve been in the business for 30 years. I have never seen anything like what we’re dealing with here,” said Renae Peterson, the nursing supervisor at Good Samaritan. “Why would anybody do this? I don’t know.”

Four other teenage girls who worked as aides have been charged in juvenile court with failing to report the abuse.

Broitzman, who faces 11 charges, and Larson, who faces 10, are to be arraigned in Freeborn County District Court on Jan. 21. The charges include assault, abuse of a vulnerable adult by a caregiver, abuse of a vulnerable adult with sexual contact, disorderly conduct and failing to report suspected maltreatment.

Broitzman’s attorney, Larry Maus, said Thursday that neither he nor the Broitzman family would comment.

Larson apparently has not hired an attorney, prosecutors said. Neither she nor her family responded to repeated attempts for comment. Her father, Michael Larson, told NBC’s “Today” show last week that the allegations against his daughter have been distorted by the media.

The abuse allegedly went on for several months in early 2008, until one teenage nursing assistant told a nursing home administrator about it during an exit interview, prosecutors allege. Follow-up interviews by state investigators and local police found that Broitzman and Larson “would talk and laugh about the incidents” with others, including young co-workers who sometimes witnessed incidents.

Prosecutors say Broitzman and Larson considered the abuse “something fun to do at work.” The two were confident they wouldn’t get caught because “residents did not have their minds,” a co-worker told investigators

Patient Falls Down, Nursing Home Fined

A Springfield nursing home has been fined by federal officials who say the facility failed to prevent an elderly patient strapped into a wheelchair from tumbling down a flight of stairs.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services imposed the $3,500 fine against the Capitol Care Center.

Capitol Care Center administrator Cynthia Schaaf says she did not know whether the facility would dispute the fine.

The fine stems from an incident on Sept. 24. Eighty-six-year-old Alfred “Stan” Catherwood was in a wheel chair when fell down eight stairs, breaking bones in his face and neck.

The state report says the 228-bed facility did not provide adequate supervision or maintain a hazard-free environment.

Friday Joke of the Week

The Name is Rose It seems that this old couple are having trouble remembering things, so they sign up for a memory course. The course is wonderful; they come home and tell all their relatives, friends, and neighbors about it. Some months later, a neighbor approaches the man as he tends the garden.

Neighbor asks, “Say, Ed, what was the name of the instructor of that memory course you liked so much?”

Ed replies, “Well, it was…hmmm…let me think a minute… What’s the name of that flower, you know, the one that smells so nice, but has thorns on the stems…?

Neighbor says, “You mean a rose?”

Ed replies, “Yeah, that’s it!…(shouting toward house) Hey, Rose, what was the memory course instructor’s name?

Home Care Versus Nursing Home Care

Most elders would prefer to stay in their own homes, where they know their neighbors and can associate memories with each piece of furniture and object around them, rather than move to an institution as they age.

Things that can make “aging in place” — the current term for staying in one’s own home as one ages — problematic are tasks such as cooking, cleaning, toileting, shopping, doing laundry, and driving, as well as falls, which for frail elders could initiate a downward spiral.

Support systems

• Help could come from family members, friends, or neighbors, who take care of the specific thing the elder has trouble with — such as doing laundry or shopping.
• Or, some elders turn to their religious community, as often there are volunteers willing to enable a senior to age in place.

• Home care agencies can be hired to provide the extra help needed for the senior to be able to age in place. In some cases, expenses will be reimbursed by Medicare, but seniors will need to check with the home care agency to find out about this possibility.

New technology can help seniors

• Electronic devices are now available to help monitor whether or not a senior has taken his or her medication — and if not, to remind the senior — or to determine whether a senior has opened the refrigerator.
• Emergency buttons can be worn around the neck and pressed if a health or other emergency should occur, in which case a person will speak to the senior through the device, assess the situation, and call for appropriate help.
• Cameras can be installed to track a senior’s movements, allowing adult children to monitor the senior and be assured that he or she is functioning well.
• New devices are constantly being invented, and they can make an enormous difference in a senior’s ability to age in place.

With all of these options available, aging in place is an increasingly viable choice. Seniors and their loved ones need to assess whether this alternative is indeed best, the risk being that the senior may become too socially isolated despite being in familiar neighborhoods and homes.

FREE Elder Talk Audio Release Coming Soon!

Grace Home Care will be releasing an audio compact disc covering the important topics of elderly living and aging.  To receive your FREE copy today, please send email, including your name and mailing address to ttgracehomecare@gmail.com.

The compact disc will be available 12.15.2008. The CD’s  will be going FAST, so reserve your copy TODAY!!

For your In Home Care needs, look to Grace Home Care Services  to provide care that cannot be matched.

Grace Home Care Services

308 22nd Ave. South

Seattle, WA 98144

206.328.6251

ttgracehomecare@gmail.com

Grace Home Care Has Great Care Assistants Available For The Holidays.

If you or a loved one is need  of a great Care Assistant for the holidays or beyond, DO NOT hesitate to give Grace Home Care Services a call. We have qualified Care Assistants available for all shifts. Including day, night, 24 hour, or live-in.

If you need help cooking, cleaning, dressing, doing laundry, running errands, care for pets, or any other household chore call Grace Home care TODAY!!

Phone: 206.328.6251