YOYO-ISG 110109 Giving Alzheimer’s Patients Their Way, ...

回覆文章
Kooper
YOYO member
文章: 2725
註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

YOYO-ISG 110109 Giving Alzheimer’s Patients Their Way, ...

文章 Kooper »

Dear ISG members,

Since we can no longer watch Desperate Housewives via PPS, we will put the topic off by one or two weeks. Meanwhile, I'm working on getting a copy of several episodes of the 1st season. I'll help you get one copy if you need.

Instead this week we'll read an particle in the New York Times. Its link is provided below. Please read it and write a summary or essay about it. Also please list one to three words that you think is worth learning.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/01/healt ... 1&_r=1&hpw
Kooper
YOYO member
文章: 2725
註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

Re: YOYO-ISG 110109 Giving Alzheimer’s Patients Their Way, ...

文章 Kooper »

Life with Dignity and Comfort

Chronic diseases, which are prevalent among the elders, are taking a heavy toll on health care systems of many developed countries, as their population is aging steadily. Among all, the most notorious one is probably Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is an incurable illness. Once it is diagnosed, patients have gone beyond the point of no return; their memory and cognition will continually deteriorate. What the best modern medical science can do is to slow down the worsening process, not to stop or even reverse the process. Alzheimer’s itself is not lethal. It lingers until sufferers die of other ailments or accidents, which in turn imposes a crushing burden on a nation’s health care system as well as the patients’ families.

While medical attempts to cure dementia are not going anywhere, breakthroughs have been made in its caregiving. Recent studies showed that the impact of an event on Alzheimer’s patients differ in terms of their memory and emotions. Whereas their memory for the event fade quickly, the evoked emotion last for a much longer time.

Being aware of the latest scientific finds, nursing homes like Beatitudes have started to explore novel measures to treat their residents; flexibility is added to patients’ daily routine. They can sleep, eat or be bathed whenever they want; they’re allowed to indulge in comfort food; false tools are provided for patients to resume their favorite hobbies or activities - in Margaret Nance’s case, it is a baby doll for her to play the mother. All the moves are aimed at generating positive emotional experiences for the patients.

Medications are changed as well. Out went anti-anxiety and antipsychotic drugs, prescribed for hallucination or aggressive behavior but with potentially harmful side effects. In came pain killers and drugs for depression, because scientists believe pain and sadness contribute a lot to negative emotions. Nursing homes also utilize non-meditation measures - making cosmetic changes to rooms and buildings - to alleviate behavior problems.

It is pleasant to see that in the area of medical treatment on the old, especially those who are close to death or have no hope to recover, more measures are now aimed at offering them more dignity and comfort as they walk the last mile in their lives.
頭像
Kat C
Member
文章: 377
註冊時間: 週三 9月 08, 2010 10:31 am

Re: YOYO-ISG 110109 Giving Alzheimer’s Patients Their Way, ...

文章 Kat C »

Hey Kooper,

Very well done indeed! As requested, here's my proofread version:

---------------
Chronic diseases, which are prevalent among the elderly, are taking an increasingly heavy toll on health care systems in many developed countries as their populations age steadily. Among all, the most notorious one is probably Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is an incurable illness. Once it is diagnosed, patients have generally gone beyond the point of no return; their memory and cognition will continue to deteriorate. What the best modern medical science can do is to slow down the worsening process, but it will not be able to reverse or even stop it. Alzheimer’s itself is not lethal. It lingers until sufferers die of other ailments or accidents, which in turn imposes a crushing burden on a nation’s health care system as well as the patients’ families.

While medical attempts to cure dementia are not going anywhere, breakthroughs have been made in its caregiving. Recent studies showed that the impact of an event on Alzheimer’s patients differ between their memory of, and emotional reaction to, the event. Whereas their memory fades quickly, the evoked emotion lasts for a much longer time.

Aware of the latest scientific finds, nursing homes like Beatitudes have started to explore once-novel measures to care for their residents; flexibility is added to patients’ daily routines. They can sleep, eat or be bathed whenever they want; they’re allowed to indulge in comfort foods; Tools are provided for patients to resume their favorite hobbies or activities - in Margaret Nance’s case, it is a baby doll for her to play the mother role with. All of these efforts are aimed at generating positive emotional experiences for the patients.

The approach to medications at these facilities has changed as well. Out went the anti-anxiety and antipsychotic drugs, prescribed for hallucination or aggressive behaviors but with potentially harmful side effects. In came the pain killers and drugs for depression, because scientists believe that pain and sadness contribute a great deal to general negative emotions. Nursing homes also utilize non-medication options – such as making cosmetic changes to rooms and buildings - to alleviate behavior problems.

It is encouraging to see that in the area of caring for the seniors, especially those who are close to the end of their lives or have no hope to recover from their illnesses, more supports are now focused on offering them more dignity and comfort as they walk the last mile in their long journey.

----
Do let me know if you have any questions.

Kat
回覆文章