Category Archives: Aged care

BDNF from CSF linked to Cog Impairment in late life depression

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Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) has been linked to cognitive impairment in people with late life depression. The study conducted by Breno Diniz and team from Federal University, Brazil, and published this month in The Journal of Gerontology Series B, is the first study to link BDNF from cerebrospinal fluid with cognitive impairment (CI) and late life depression (LLD). Other studies have found inconclusive links but this study uses CSF which because of its close relationship with the brain tissue indicates a clear relationship with cognitive impairment. The study used three groups of participants who each had a spinal tap (ouch) to obtain the CSF. One group was a Control and the other two groups were those with Late Life Depression and No Cognitive Impairment and the third group had Late Life Depression and Cognitive Impairment. The Control group had the highest level of BSNF, the LLD No Cognitive Impairment group had next lowest and the LLD Cognitive Impairment group had the lowest levels of BDNF.

The meaning of this is that it indicates that BDNF is not only present in lower quantities in those with cognitive impairment but that late life depression works as an intermediary, causing a vulnerability to cognitive impairment. This is suggested to be due to reducing the number of active neurons, thus creating the vulnerability to diseases such as Alzheimer’s etc..

BDNF is known for its link with exercise and cognitive function, ie it is released following vigorous exercise and memory and other cognitive funcitons improve. It is clearly an important factor in overall functioning.

So if you exercise you will improve your mood and your cognitive function! Simple huh?

New questionnaire to identify best dementia carers

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We are developing a new instrument to help identify those people who are best suited to caring for people living with dementia.

CLICK HERE TO BEGIN

 

It is a special role and requires particular abilities. Family members do not get a choice about caring for their loved one but people who choose to work in long-term care or home care must be the most suitable people we can have for people who are most vulnerable.

This questionnaire is Step 1 in the process. It is a large questionnaire which we will shorten to about 40-60 statements in the next step.

It is anonymous and all details that identify individuals will be separated from the grouped information.

CLICK HERE TO BEGIN

Can you help us by taking about 30 minutes of your time to respond to the questions and statements? There are also some photos of faces with various emotional expressions. See if you can pick which emotion is displayed on each face.

Your participation in this first step will be a significant contribution to ensuring people with dementia are cared for by the most suitable people.

Please pass this request on to as many people as you can think of that might be interested and have 30 minutes to spare.

CLICK HERE TO BEGIN

Thank you so much for considering this request. If you have any questions please contact Bernie McCarthy at bernie@mccarthypsychology.com.au

 

New Diploma of Dementia Care Leadership

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“Today was an eye opener, although I work in this industry for the last 9 years, it was quite overwhelming to be confronted with the feelings I experienced today.I am looking forward to the next 12 months, hoping to bring a lot of confidence into work and make changes that really matter to the lives of our residents.” – student of our diploma intake September 2014 about our Dementia Experience on Day One.

This new nationally recognised qualification is for dementia care leaders to build skills for leadership in modern dementia care and to learn contemporary knowledge of dementia.

To find out more about this unique learning experience go to www.mccarthylearning.com for our course information brochure for our March 2015 intake. Places limited to 15.

New Diploma of Dementia Care Leadership

Posted on by

“Today was an eye opener, although I work in this industry for the last 9 years, it was quite overwhelming to be confronted with the feelings I experienced today.I am looking forward to the next 12 months, hoping to bring a lot of confidence into work and make changes that really matter to the lives of our residents.” – student of our diploma intake September 2014 about our Dementia Experience on Day One.

This new nationally recognised qualification is for dementia care leaders to build skills for leadership in modern dementia care and to learn contemporary knowledge of dementia.

To find out more about this unique learning experience go to www.mccarthylearning.com for our course information brochure for our March 2015 intake. Places limited to 15.

Open to Australian and international students

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers with dementia in Australia today

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Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers with dementia in Australia today who are anxious about their children, who believe they have to be home with their children, who cannot remember their children’s names or faces anymore, who cannot remember their husband’s name, who become upset when they are reminded that they are mothers because they realise they have forgotten, who are anxious because they think there is something they have forgotten to do, who think they are young and need  their own mothers.

Happy Mother’s Day to you and to those wonderful people who care for you.

SOFI2 used for direct observation of residents in Australian aged care homes

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SOFI2 is now being used by the Australian Aged Care Accreditation Agency to directly observe residents during their accreditation visits.

This is a marvellous step forward as it introduces evidence of resident wellbeing (or otherwise) and staff care behaviour into the mix when they are considering compliance. And isn’t the very reason you provide care so that the resident experiences a life worth living, i.e., wellbeing?

SOFI2 is a scaled down version of Dementia Care Mapping and has been designed by the University of Bradford Dementia Group in the UK. If you wish your staff to be familiar with the observations that are to be used by the assessors and the way they are interpreting their direct observations it may be helpful to have some of your staff trained in Dementia Care Mapping. DCM courses are available throughout Australia with McCarthy Psychology Services. Contact us to discuss your needs.