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Pets can provide many positive benefits for people with dementia. They can be soothing and provide company and activity for them.
You will need to make sure the pet is being properly cared for. Are they being fed? Is the cage or gate kept closed?
You can find out more by reading the Alzheimer's Australia help sheet about dementia and pets.
Last reviewed: November 2016
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Found 22 results
Pets are an important part of the life of many people. This Help Sheet discusses some of the benefits of pets for people with dementia.
Read more on Alzheimer's Australia website
Fleas are wingless insects which have an irritating bite and are common pests on domestic cats and dogs and other animals.
Read more on SA Health website
Developing better and more accurate methods of diagnosis is an important research focus. Currently there is no single test that can accurately diagnose dementia. General diagnosis information Information about different types of brain scan Laboratory & memory testing Genes & genetic testing
Read more on Alzheimer's Australia website
What is younger onset dementia? Dementia is the term used to describe the symptoms of a large group of illnesses which cause a progressive decline in a persons mental functioning. It is a broad term which describes symptoms such as loss of memory, intellect, rationality, social skills and normal emotional reactions. The term younger onset dementia is usually used to describe any form of dementia diagnosed in people under the age of 65.
Read more on Alzheimer's Australia website
Each day there are many things that provide us with purpose and pleasure. For a person with dementia, the need for a good quality of life is not diminished. However, without some assistance from family and carers, their ability to achieve purpose and pleasure is much more difficult. Ideally, activities should:
Read more on Alzheimer's Australia website
Assessment The first step towards a diagnosis is to talk to your doctor about your concerns. It is a good idea to take a close family member or friend along to help provide the doctor with all the information they need. It is also a good idea to take along a list of the memory and thinking changes that have been concerning you, including when you first noticed them and how often you notice them. You should also take a list of the medications you are taking or take your medications with you.
Read more on Alzheimer's Australia website
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. Find out all you need to know, including what causes it and whether it can be prevented.
Read more on myDr website
Anxiety and depression are common in old age, they may coexist and they may be associated with neurological diseases such as stroke, dementia and Parkinsons disease. Anxiety and depression can significantly affect a resident's quality of life and wellbeing.
Read more on CareSearch website
Each person with dementia is unique and so is the situation in which they find themselves. While most people live with a partner or in some type of family situation, increasingly many people live alone. This may be by choice, or by circumstance. Whatever the reason, it creates a particular challenge for people who care for someone with dementia who lives on their own.
Read more on Alzheimer's Australia website
What is sundowning? People with dementia may become more confused, restless or insecure late in the afternoon or early evening. It can be worse after a move or a change in their routine. They may become more demanding, restless, upset, suspicious, disoriented and even see, hear or believe things that arent real, especially at night. Attention span and concentration can become even more limited. Some people may become more impulsive, responding to their own ideas of reality that may place them at risk.
Read more on Alzheimer's Australia website
Found 16 results
This Best Practice information sheet has been derived from a systematic review published in 2011 in the JBI Library of Systematic Reviews.
Read more on Joanna Briggs Institute website
F-FDG PET scan for early prediction of developing Alzheimers disease or other dementia in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI)
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
11C-PIB-PET scan for early prediction of developing Alzheimers disease or other dementia in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI)
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
This pathway provides guidance on the imaging investigation of adult patients with cognitive decline, once systemic causes have been excluded.
Read more on Diagnostic Imaging Pathways website
Developing better and more accurate methods of diagnosis is an important research focus. Currently there is no single test that can accurately diagnose dementia. A detailed medical history, memory and thinking tests (called neuropsychological or cognitive tests), laboratory tests and brain scans are typically used in the diagnosis process.
Read more on Alzheimer's Australia website
Proteins in blood and cerebrospinal fluids for early prediction of developing Alzheimers disease or other dementia in people with cognitive problems
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is one of the more common causes of dementia in old age. At present, it is diagnosed on the basis of the presence of characteristic symptoms, of which the most important are visual hallucinations, fluctuations in cognition, and Parkinsonism (movement symptoms like those seen in Parkinson's disease). However, many people who have DLB do not have all of these symptoms, and it can be hard to distinguish from other causes of dementia, especially Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is important to diagnose it accurately because people with DLB can have particularly severe side effects if given antipsychotic medication and, in the long term, so that treatments can be improved. Diagnosis of DLB using clinical symptoms alone has proven in some studies not to be very sensitive, that is cases of DLB are often missed.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Behavioural and psychological symptoms are perhaps the commonest complication of dementia syndromes.
Read more on Australian Prescriber website
Vitamin E should not be used for the treatment of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's dementia (AD)
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Neuroblastoma is a childhood tumour that can be visualized by a specific nuclear imaging compound, called metaiodobenzylguanidine (I -MIBG). I-MIBG-imaging is not only important for the diagnosis of neuroblastoma, but also for localization of metastases (spread of the disease to other organs). Sometimes, the neuroblastoma does not take up I-MIBG and as a result the neuroblastoma is not visible on the scan. In that case, another type of nuclear imaging might be useful to visualize the neuroblastoma: fluoro-deoxy-glucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG-PET)-imaging.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
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