Aromatherapy In Dementia

Literature Review: The Effectiveness of the use of Sensory Therapy for Elderly Adults Diagnosed with Dementia.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia that generally initiates the lost memory, problem of critical thinking and behavior problems for the elderly patients. It’s not a normal part of aging but the large number of elderly people reached 65 and older are at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The most common early symptoms are struggle in remembering recent events or short term memory. As the disease advance more symptoms begin to show up like problems in speaking and language, disorientation like getting lost and cease to remember the present activity that they are supposed to do. Mood swings go from happy to sad for no reason. Not managing their self, personal hygiene

We carried out an extensive review of the literature on non-pharmacological treatments for dementia using Medline and other related searches, but this is not intended to be a formal systematic review.

Writing a research paper is very difficult. Picking a topic is even harder. The topic I have chose to write about is dementia. Dementia is a chronic or persistent disorder of the mental processes cause by brain disease or injury and marked by memory disorders, or personalities. This is a very personal topic for me. Researching this topic made me understand something that happen to me recently. My great-grandmother passed away May 21st, 2011. After ninety four years of a wonderful life she passed away. She was diagnosed with dementia two months before she died. You would never even think that she would have dementia. She never showed any signs of dementia besides the final days of her life. I feel like doing research on this topic

With the growing number of people becoming diagnosed, and experiencing symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, we must begin to take precautions and somehow attempt to gain knowledge of how the disease can be better treated, and ultimately prevented.

Dementia is an extremely common disease among the elderly, with 4 million Americans currently suffering from the Alzheimer’s type alone. Figures show that 3% of people between the ages of 65-74 suffer from the disease, rapidly increasing to 19% for the 75-84 age bracket, and as high as 47% for the over 85s. Therefore, it is easy to see why Dementia is such a large part of many people’s lives, whether they are suffering from the condition themselves, or have an elderly relative who requires full time care just to undertake simple day to day tasks. The disease can be extremely traumatic for the patient and their families, as the person, who may have been extremely lively and bright throughout their

Some non-pharmacological therapies (such as music therapy, aromatherapy, pet therapy, and massage) may be beneficial to people with dementia. However, a lack of research prevents us from determining the effectiveness of many alternative treatments. The Alzheimer Society is funding projects in these areas in order to identify beneficial therapies for people with the disease. (Resource Notes

In long term care homes in Canada, the Alzheimer Society states that there are more than 500,000 people who have been diagnosed with dementia. (Alzheimer, 2012, p,1) This is a disease that affects one’s brain and is characterized by “changes in the cognitive, psychomotor, emotional and behavioural domains” (Cruz, Marques, Barbosa, Figueiredo, & Sousa, 2011, p.282) of the brain. There has been research done more recently that suggests that a new technology called multi-sensory therapy or Snoezelen therapy may be able to maintain or improve some of the remaining abilities in a patient suffering from dementia such as self-care or communication. Multi-sensory, or interchangeably Snoezelen therapy was developed in the 1970’s by therapists working to find treatments for those with mental illness. “Their intention was to provide people who had sensory and learning disabilities the opportunity for relaxation and leisure experience.” (Burns, Cox, & Plant, 2000, p.120) The concept of Snoezelen aims to stimulate senses without the need for one to take part in intellectual activity. It also offers patients a ‘failure-free’ approach suggesting that there is no pressure to achieve or succeed. (Burns, et al., 2000, p. 120) To stimulate the senses, Snoezelen uses mixtures of light, smells, taste, and touch accessed through one’s sensory organs being the mouth, nose, eyes, ears, and skin. With the introduction of Snoezelen into the realm of long-term care and dementia, the aim is to

A recent study has found that blueberries may be the magical fruit to help fight Alzheimer's disease. According to researchers, this super fruit has healthful antioxidants that may help prevent the terrible effects of this common type of dementia. Blueberries beneficial effects could also be because of the flavonoids, which have been shown to improve an animals' cognition.

Rosemary has been used for centuries as a pain reliever and cooking supplement. But through time rosemary has been not only a name, but adapted to modern day medicine. Rosemary may even be the future aid to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. It could be the medicine of the future.

During my first clinical rotation as a nursing student, I was assigned to care for several older adults suffering from dementia. Although all of my patients ranged in severity from mild to severe progression of dementia, they all experienced moments of agitation, anxiety, or disturbed behaviors related to their disease. It occurred to me after careful review of several patient charts that despite often being prescribed pharmaceutical regimes for other comorbidities, these patients were rarely prescribed medications, besides those to control anxiety, specifically targeted at treating their progressing dementia. Through some research I discovered that the significant number of individuals affected with dementia is a growing public health concern in part due to the current limited ability of pharmaceutical treatments to treat the disease (Samson, Clement, Narme, Schiaratura, & Ehrle, 2015). This revelation began my interest in current nonpharmacological treatments being implemented in controlling adverse behaviors and feelings in patients diagnosed with dementia.

39 male and female early-stage Alzheimer’s patients over the age of 55 were the participants in a study in which Shinto et al. (2014) investigated omega-3 fatty acid supplementation’s effect on cognitive decline, as well as oxidative stress, an indicator of Alzheimer’s disease. For 12 months, randomized participants received either a placebo, an omega-3 fish oil supplement, or omega-3 fish oil with the antioxidant lipoic acid.5 In addition to measuring lipid oxidation, researchers assessed performance on three cognitive tests: the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Activities of Daily Living [t]est, and the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale.5 Compared to placebo, the participants receiving both omega-3 fish oil and lipoic acid showed a higher reduction in oxidative measures and a deceleration in cognitive decline, indicating that combining omega-3 with lipoic acid may slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s patients.5 However, this study was limited by a small sample size and short trial period of only 12 months.5

Alzheimer’s disease affects 1 out of every 8 people in the United States. It is a long and debilitating disease that affects every aspect of a person’s life from the way they preform daily tasks, to the physical and mental abilities that are diminishing. Along with the lifestyle changes that Alzheimer’s disease presents, it also affects one’s psychological perspective as well their view on what they can offer their family and society. There are some ways to maintain a level of independence with a disease of this magnitude but there are also factors in lifestyle choices that can make it worse. Alzheimer cannot be cured, it cannot be slowed, but there are ways to keep the effected person at a certain level of comfort, independence and safety

Many would love to believe that fish oil is a long sought after cure for Alzheimer’s Disease, but thus far there is no scientific evidence to support this theory. Studies have in fact shown that patients who began to supplement their diets with fish oil prior to the on-set of Alzheimer’s, have shown a decreased risk in developing the disease. Studies have also shown, those who continuously eat a healthy diet rich in fish, especially those containing high levels of fatty acids, are also less likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease.

Dementia is a progressive process, with the symptoms and decline in function often worsening, sometimes rapidly, overtime. Although the elderly population are most frequently affected, many younger patients can also be affected. Currently, no cure, be it medical or behavioural, has been isolated, however certain treatments have proved beneficial in delaying the onset or staying off further rapid deterioration. In addition to pharmaceutical treatment modalities, other support and managerial techniques may enable n enhanced quality of life.