Effect Of Dementia Severity Research Articles

Study on hyponatremia in patients with severe dementia

Objective To investigate the incidence and outcome of hyponatremia in patients with severe dementia. Methods Dementia patients were retrospectively analyzed in 80 cases, including 45 patients with severe dementia complicating 30 cases of hyponatremia, and 35 patients with mild and moderate dementia complicating 5 cases of hyponatremia.The incidence rate of dementia patients complicating hyponatremia and its fatality rate were analyzed by χ2 tests.The effect of dementia severity on hyponatremia and fatality rate was studied. Results The incidence rate of hyponatremia was higher in severe dementia patients(30 cases, 66.7%)than in mild-moderate dementia patients(5 cases, 14.3%)(χ2=21.95, P 0.05). Conclusions Hyponatremia is more likely to occur in patients with severe dementia.However, hyponatremia does not affect survival time in the severe dementia patients. Key words: Dementia; Hyponatremia

The use of facial expressions for pain assessment purposes in dementia: a narrative review.

Facial expressions convey reliable nonverbal signals about pain and thus are very useful for assessing pain in patients with limited communicative ability, such as patients with dementia. In this review, we present an overview of the available pain observation tools and how they make use of facial expressions. Utility and reliability of facial expressions to measure pain in dementia are discussed, together with the effect of dementia severity on these facial expressions. Next, we present how behavioral alterations may overlap with facial expressions of pain, and may even influence the extent to which pain is facially expressed. The main focus is on disinhibition, apathy and emotional changes. Finally, an overview of theoretical considerations and practical implications is presented for assessing pain using facial expressions in clinical settings.

Effects of Spaced Retrieval Training on Semantic Memory in Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review

This article reports on a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of spaced retrieval training (SRT) on semantic memory in people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or related disorder. An initial systematic database search identified 454 potential studies. After screening and de-duplication, 35 studies that used SRT with the population of interest remained. The authors used an appraisal point system to evaluate the quality of the studies. Twelve of the 35 studies met inclusion and exclusion criteria and passed the appraisal point system cutoff. The 12 studies were classified as Level I and II evidence. Although the 12 studies varied in terms of design, methodology, and quality, SRT was shown to have important positive effects on learning semantic information across the included studies. The findings indicate that SRT is an effective semantic memory training technique for people with AD, and consequently, recommendations are suggested for implementing SRT in practice settings. Continued research in this domain is also warranted to address limitations and gaps in the current body of research evidence, including variability in SRT protocols, effects of dementia severity on learning outcomes, maintenance effects, generalization, and the role of explicit and implicit learning in SRT.