In the United States, the number of older adults with dementia is forecast to more than double over the next 40 years.
Caring for these individuals will have a significant impact on caregivers as well as the health care system and its workforce. In a paper published in the April issue of the peer-reviewed journal Health Affairs, Regenstrief Institute investigator Christopher M. Callahan, M.D., founding director of the Indiana University Center for Aging Research, reviews two new dementia care models that seek to decrease stress for caregivers, reduce health care costs and improve quality of care for older adults.
Risk Factors for Alzheimers Disease
Cognitively normal adults exhibiting atrophy of their temporal lobe or damage to blood vessels in the brain are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease.
Advertisement
Among the most significant features of both of these care models, Dr. Callahan said, are caregivers' close involvement with the medical team and an underlying understanding that decisions should be based on attaining agreed upon goals -- goals that may rule out burdensome treatments for the older adult with dementia.
"To date, the development of a cure for Alzheimer's disease remains elusive. We need to devote more resources to providing humane, high-touch, less costly care today and for many years to come for the large number of individuals who are and will be affected," said Dr. Callahan, the Cornelius and Yvonne Pettinga Professor in Aging Research at the IU School of Medicine. "It's time to think about going back to the basics to improve the quality of life for both the patient and the caregivers."
![German Company Shows Off New Drug Discovery Tool for Alzheimer]( "German Company Shows Off New Drug Discovery Tool for Alzheimer")
Researchers at Sirenade Pharmaceuticals AG in Munich, Germany, have discovered a new drug discovery tool for Alzheimer's disease.
Dr. Callahan is a geriatrician whose own research has focused on depression in older adults and on the care of older adults by primary care physicians. He and co-authors reviewed two care models that offer promise for implementation on a national scale: Optimizing Patient Transfers, Impacting Medical Quality and Improving Symptoms: Transforming Institutional Care, known as OPTIMISTIC; and the Healthy Aging Brain Center. Both care models were developed by Regenstrief and IU clinician-researchers with support from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation and in collaboration with Eskenazi Health.
Features of both care models profiled in the review article -- such as a team-based approach to care; a focus on the caregiver, who may be a family member or a paid health care worker; and the long-term management of symptoms -- are not easily applied within the current structure of primary care. Thus, these new models require a redesign of the health care system and changes in the workforce. And, significantly, the models run counter to financial incentives in the current health care delivery system.
Each model is being implemented on a broad scale, with the goal of demonstrating improved dementia care quality and outcomes, accompanied by cost savings, in both community-based and institutional care settings.
"The larger question, however, is what the United States is willing to pay for this care -- and researchers, health care systems, payers, and the American public all need to address that question," the paper concluded. "Achieving the goals of better outcomes and lower costs will require leadership from academe, industry, government, and advocacy groups to advance the debate about what is the optimal approach to care for older adults with dementia who are nearing the end of life."
Source: Eurekalert
German Company Shows Off New Drug Discovery Tool for Alzheimer's Disease
Researchers at Sirenade Pharmaceuticals AG in Munich, Germany, have discovered a new drug discovery tool for Alzheimer's disease.
Advertisement
Dr. Callahan is a geriatrician whose own research has focused on depression in older adults and on the care of older adults by primary care physicians. He and co-authors reviewed two care models that offer promise for implementation on a national scale: Optimizing Patient Transfers, Impacting Medical Quality and Improving Symptoms: Transforming Institutional Care, known as OPTIMISTIC; and the Healthy Aging Brain Center. Both care models were developed by Regenstrief and IU clinician-researchers with support from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation and in collaboration with Eskenazi Health.
Features of both care models profiled in the review article -- such as a team-based approach to care; a focus on the caregiver, who may be a family member or a paid health care worker; and the long-term management of symptoms -- are not easily applied within the current structure of primary care. Thus, these new models require a redesign of the health care system and changes in the workforce. And, significantly, the models run counter to financial incentives in the current health care delivery system.
Each model is being implemented on a broad scale, with the goal of demonstrating improved dementia care quality and outcomes, accompanied by cost savings, in both community-based and institutional care settings.
"The larger question, however, is what the United States is willing to pay for this care -- and researchers, health care systems, payers, and the American public all need to address that question," the paper concluded. "Achieving the goals of better outcomes and lower costs will require leadership from academe, industry, government, and advocacy groups to advance the debate about what is the optimal approach to care for older adults with dementia who are nearing the end of life."
Source: Eurekalert
Does Obesity in Old Age Cause Memory Problems?
The American Academy of Neurology have confirmed that being overweight in old age does not lead to memory problems but contributes to high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.
Advertisement
 Smokers are at Risk of Alzheimer's DiseasePeople who smoke are at a greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. | Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Reading
Latest Research News
Tobacco smoke contains toxic chemicals which damage lungs, weaken the immune system and cause tuberculosis.
Identifying an unappreciated relationship between brain shape and activity overturns the century-old paradigm emphasizing the importance of complex brain connectivity.
Decoding the eight factors affecting Black adults' life expectancy.
Sobering truth about foot travel in the United States emerges from international statistics, highlighting the prevalence of walking on the Blacksburg campus.
Unveiling a hidden mechanism, proteins within brain cells exhibit newfound abilities at synapses, reinforcing Darwin's theory of adaptation and diversity in the natural world.