I am a student and as my final year project I am going to create a tool/device to aid older people after a loss and older people with dementia that would be used in the home. With the aim of preventing Dementia if possible. If you could complete this short survey it would be much appreciated. I would like to know your views on recent stress and bereavement. Could this be a factor in causing or enhancing Dementia symptoms? and also in your opinion does music help when caring for dementia patients
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/V2X832F
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Not on this site to be a students guinea pig.
Thanks to the forum's Administrator, I did check out your survey, but don't really feel that you're on anything but the edge of potential dementia factors. Assuming you're aware of research, some food substances have been linked to dementia, as well as other causes.
I'm not really sure what kind of device you have in mind, but it seems to include music and some type of in home monitoring system.
Personally, I think your focus is too limited and too shallow and limited. You might want to research some of the existing dementia results and upgrade your survey.
But I also think "hands-on" experience is the best. You might consider volunteering to assist in care homes, or do some work for a care company or the VA as a visitor (after appropriate training of course) to experience and acquaint yourself more with the realities, and the vast scope of manifestations.
But I think people here on the forum tend to expect too much of the students that post here, comments on the forum demonstrate that there are plenty of doctors, nurses and CNAs/PSWs who have worked with older people and dementia that have no clue and seemingly are not interested in learning anything either.
The reason you will (I expect) get a mass of "neither agree nor disagree" answers on your survey is that you have not taken into account that dementia is only an umbrella term for brain disorders caused by dozens of different diseases, sometimes in combination with one another or with other forms of ill health, sometimes with exacerbating social factors such as those you mention, including bereavement, isolation, and stress.
So one size cannot possibly fit all. Take this sentence to heart: "when you've met one person with dementia, you've met one person with dementia."
Aiding older people after a loss... what, by playing them voice recordings of the late lamented? Oy.
What is your degree in, by the way?
As for music, I do believe that it helps patients recall old songs and contributes to their recalling old events. The memory of music seems to stored throughout the brain and can be accessed with the help of generational music. View “Alive Inside”, a video on YouTube which shows the impact of music on an Alzheimer;s patient.
Good luck with your project.
I think though that causes are still under investigation and subject to research, just as other illnesses, plagues and other medical conditions have been.
There's another issue with research and investigation; we only read what's printed in (and sometimes translated to) English. Unless someone comprehends and reads research in other languages, there may be research taking place of which we're completely unaware.
I would suggest the student get a copy of Dr. Breseden's book as a starting point for his project. Dr. Breseden has given a TED talk on the subject and appeared on Dr. Oz. I'm not trying to sell anything, just reporting that the information I have read gives me hope that my wife can stay in her current state, maybe even get better. I'll know more in a year from now, can generate another post.
She doesn’t have dementia but I would like that this wouldn’t be the trigger to set it off. I have a lot of audios of my Granda’s voice that I would use for this project, but hopefully this will be helpful to all elderly after a bereavement. I am not fully certain yet of all this project will do, but talking to people that has experience of caring for people with dementia will help me. I know that there can be many things that cause dementia and Alzheimer’s but maybe now you can understand why I’m focusing on this aspect.
I appreciate all the help and the links to the research, I will look into it. The survey is basic, maybe in the future I will further update it with more detailed questions. But a lot of my research will be from your responses and they have helped a lot so far, so thank you.
In my course I work with microcontrollers and I can program them to do certain things, I will hopefully use some sensors and have a monitoring system. As this project will be used in the home, it will monitor the person if they were home alone, as carers can’t be there 24/7 it will send a text to the carer or family member if there hasn’t been any movement in a long time.
I will also program the audios and music to work with the sensors or the push of a button. They would play at certain times of the day like when they are eating or if the person has been sitting about for a while, to lighten up the mood as they could be sitting lamenting or in a daze. I was thinking of having a personalised casing that is memorable to the person that would also strike a memory. Maybe I will also program it to play an audio reminding the person to take their tablets, at certain times of the day, but this would be personalised to each user, as people take tablets at different times such as morning or evening, or none at all.
Thanks again for the responses
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/do-certain-medications-increase-dementia-risk/
Mulhern16, I applaud you for wanting to discover some way to monitor dementia patients. I hope it becomes a reality. Maybe this can be the beginning of an advocasy for dementia awareness for you. Thanks for what you do.
https://www.bu.edu/articles/2019/football-cte-and-dementia/
In addition, another factor beyond medicines apparently is involved:
"...a hardening of the brain’s small vessels due to cardiovascular disease risk factors like high blood pressure, also contributed to dementia."
Same cite.
Mulhern, I know these causative factors aren't within the parameters of your study, but just thought I'd mention them as medications aren't the only causative factors.