Alzheimer’s Research UK has launched a global initiative to revolutionise the early detection of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.
The project will be trialled by a million people in the UK and includes wearing a smartwatch style device to detect early signs of dementia by using artificial intelligence to monitor more than 30 indicators, such as speech, gait, fine motor skills and sleep.
President of Alzheimer’s Research UK, David Cameron said: “I strongly believe we are on the cusp of a revolution in how we detect the brain diseases that cause dementia and radically improve the lives of the millions on families facing these heart-breaking diseases.
“Early and accurate diagnosis will give future treatments the head-start they need to succeed. Early Detection of Neurodegenerative diseases (EDoN) brings together those at the forefront of this early diagnosis movement”.
Carers can help the person with feelings of depression and anxiety with tips from the Alzheimer’s Society.
Someone who is feeling depressed or anxious will often find the following helpful:
Talking about their feelings – if someone is feeling depressed or anxious, or something very upsetting or traumatic has happened to them, they may find it helpful to talk to someone close to them about it. (Patience and understanding will be more helpful than trying to get the person to ‘cheer up’.)
Support to help them maintain social contact with other people – this will help them to feel less isolated.
Persevering with treatment – those close to the person should encourage them to keep taking their medication or seeing their therapist even if improvement feels slow at the start.
Keeping active – physical exercise is good for relieving feelings of anxiety and depression, and can also help people with sleep problems and apathy. Supporting the person to do other activities that they enjoy will often also help.
Eating a healthy diet – a poor diet can contribute to feelings of anxiety and depression, as can alcohol and caffeine. It is therefore a good idea to try to eat a healthy diet and not drink too much alcohol or caffeinated drinks.
Recent news headlines have reported dementia is the leading cause of death in the UK. Dr Clare Walton from the Alzheimer’s Society research team looked at the reasons why deaths from dementia are on the rise and how the numbers compare with deaths due to other major diseases.
The latest death statistics for England and Wales, released by The Office for National Statistics (ONS), showed the number of people dying of dementia is steadily increasing year on year.
In contrast, the number of people dying from heart disease and stroke has been declining. In 2015, dementia overtook heart disease and stroke as the UK’s biggest cause of death.
The percentage of all UK deaths from the top four leading causes in 2017 were dementia, heart disease, stroke and lung cancer.
Check out Karolina Gerlich story – a care worker and chief executive of the National Association of Care & Support Workers…..
In the decade I’ve worked in frontline social care, I’ve lost count of the number of people who’ve told me that anyone can do this job because it’s so easy. I explain to them that care workers are highly skilled professionals and that the job is hard, but extremely rewarding.
I strongly believe that professionalisation – registration, better training standards and development opportunities – is essential to ensure good quality care. If we want happy people receiving social care, we must professionalise and invest in the workforce.
When I heard that the all party parliamentary group (APPG) on social care is to look at professionalising the workforce, I felt a seed of hope being planted. I wondered whether the issue will start being treated seriously in England. Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales each have different levels of care worker registration, so why is England behind?
Registration of care workers is the driving mission of the National Association of Care & Support Workers. We have submitted written evidence to the APPG, focusing on registration as a route to professionalisation which, supported by good training and professional development opportunities and together with better pay and working conditions, should improve the quality of care.
To read more about this story visit the Guardian website OR if you would like to find out more about becoming a care worker call us today.
