Health News for You
People living with dementia have said they are worried about leaving home, because weeks of the lockdown have had a profound impact on their confidence and abilities. Teresa Davies, 66, from Flintshire, was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease when she was 59. She lives alone and has found lockdown has affected her ability to carry […]
A cancer scanner could be used to identify some of the earliest and most difficult to diagnose forms of dementia, scientists have said. Doctors at University Hospital of Wales (UHW) in Cardiff said its PET scanner could show signs of the condition in people who are not showing symptoms. About 47% of people in Wales […]
Dementia patients are being dumped in hospitals in England because of a lack of community care, a charity says. The Alzheimer’s Society called for action, highlighting data showing one in 10 dementia patients spends over a month in hospital after being admitted. The figures also suggested the overall number of emergency admissions among people with […]
A former Wales and Norwich City footballer has agreed to brain tests for the rest of his life as part of a study into early signs of dementia. Iwan Roberts, 51, who played more than 800 games, is urging other male and female ex-players to sign up. Recent research found they had a higher risk […]
TV repeats and familiar festive songs can help people with dementia by stimulating memories and keeping the brain active. Christmas can be an unsettling time for those with dementia. But experts say singing along to songs like White Christmas can stimulate “emotional memories”. And while people with dementia might not remember the exact details of […]
Media playback is unsupported on your device The Conservatives have pledged to put an extra £83m a year into dementia research over the next decade if they form the next government. The investment, which would double current funding, was described by the party as the “largest boost to dementia research ever” in the UK. Around […]
A US drug company says it has created the first therapy that could slow Alzheimer’s disease, and it is now ready to bring it to market. Currently, there are no drugs that can do this – existing ones only help with symptoms. Biogen says it will soon seek regulatory approval in the US for the […]
Former professional footballers are three and a half times more likely to die of dementia than people of the same age range in the general population, according to new research. Experts at Glasgow University have been investigating fears that heading the ball could be linked to brain injuries. The study began after claims that former […]
Dame Barbara Windsor has called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “sort out” care for people who have dementia. The former EastEnders star, who has Alzheimer’s, launched an open letter with her husband Scott Mitchell to coincide with their appointment as ambassadors for Alzheimer’s Society. Ministers in England have been promising to publish plans on […]
Nearly everyone can lower their risk of dementia, even if it runs in the family, by living a healthy lifestyle, research suggests. The study of nearly 200,000 people showed the risk fell by up to a third. The team at the University of Exeter said the results were exciting, empowering and showed people were not […]
Dementia is the greatest health challenge of our time, the charity Alzheimer’s Research UK has warned. Dementia was first described by the German doctor Alois Alzheimer in 1906 after he performed an autopsy on a woman with profound memory loss. What he found was a dramatically shrunken brain and abnormalities in and around nerve cells. […]
Millions of elderly people have a form of dementia that has been misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s disease, according to researchers. One expert called it the most important dementia finding in years. The condition, limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, or Late, shares similar symptoms to Alzheimer’s, but it is a distinct disease, the journal Brain reports. It may […]
Sensors small enough to fit in the ear, robotic devices and sleep monitors could all become standard technology in the homes of people with dementia, scientists say. The idea is to keep people safe and independent in their own homes, rather than needing to go to hospital. Scientists, engineers and doctors are working to develop […]
Half of UK adults cannot identify any key risk factors for dementia, according to a study by Alzheimer’s Research UK. The charity surveyed 2,361 people and found that only 1% were able to name the seven known risk or protective factors for dementia. The six risk factors are heavy drinking, genetics, smoking, high blood pressure, […]
By Jordan Rau They found Bonnie Walker’s body floating in a pond behind her assisted living facility in South Carolina. There were puncture wounds on her ear, temple, jaw and cheeks. But her right forearm and pacemaker were missing. Later, they were found inside one of the alligators in the pond. Like 4 in 10 […]