Evaluation of non-Parkinsonian carriers of the LRRK2 mutation associated with Parkinson's disease supports a model of pre-motor symptomatology, including impaired color discrimination and constipation, that could be related to pathology developing prior to that in the substantia nigra.
Symptoms of muscle pain and discomfort are common with statin use, but weakness and creatine kinase elevation are unusual.
Gabapentin enacarbil is effective for sleep disturbance in moderate-to-severe primary restless legs syndrome, but frequently causes sleepiness and dizzinesss.
What do robots and iPads have in common? Both are tools used successfully by hospices to improve communications with patients who have dementia.
Paid caregivers make it possible for seniors to remain living in their homes. The problem, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study, is that more than one-third of caregivers had difficulty reading and understanding health-related information and directions. Sixty percent made errors when sorting medications into pillboxes.
A study published recently in Health Affairs shows that hospitalization costs for patients with certain terminal or serious chronic illnesses are significantly lower when palliative care is provided. In fact, the study of four hospitals in New York State showed an average cost of admission that was $6,900 lower for these patients.
Cost and time constraints limit the amount of advanced care planning that a primary care physician can provide to patients, but when patients received educational information prior to meeting with their doctors, the number of advanced medical directives completed increases by more than 17%.
Elders who ate sorbet before a meal ate more of the rest of their meal.
The Hospice Foundation of America has developed "Hospice Volunteers: Recruiting, Retaining, Rewarding," a free on-line webinar that examines the important role that volunteers play in hospice, and explores creative ways that hospices can recruit and retain volunteers.
