Sunday FM: Music Therapy Comes to Life in Documentary

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A new documentary coming to theatres around the US over the next few months explores Dan Cohen's Music and Memory program and its emotional...

Turns out Action Video Games Really can Harm Your Brain

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From Global News: According to a recent Montreal study, habitually playing action video games can lead to grey matter loss in the hippocampus, which is...

$1 Billion J&J Settlement Rejected as Insufficient

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Federal prosecutors have rejected as insufficient the $1 billion settlement reached two months ago between Johnson & Johnson and prosecutors in Philadelphia to resolve...

Can Cultural Engagement Protect Against Depression?

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A new study examines the preventative effects of cultural engagement has on depression among older adults.

Benzos Raise Dementia Risk 50%

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A 15-year prospective study, in the British Medical Journal this week, of 1063 subjects by researchers from the University of Bordeaux and Harvard University...

SSRIs Significantly Increase Falls in Dementia, Even at Low Doses

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Researchers in the Netherlands followed 248 nursing home residents with dementia for two years, finding that even 25% of the defined daily dose of...

Antipsychotic Use in Nursing Homes Causing Many Adverse Effects in Elderly

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A literature review found that the extensive off-label use of antipsychotic medications in nursing homes is causing many adverse effects and providing limited benefits.

“This Nursing Home Calms Troubling Behavior Without Risky Drugs”

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NPR Shots explores a nursing home where "residents can always find something to do," and where use of antipsychotic drugs has dropped dramatically. This Nursing...

“Coming Out of the Fog”

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"For the past eight years, Vicki Dyer has been the program director of the dementia ward at Lakewood, a continuing care centre in Waterville, Me.,...

First Aid for Emotional Trauma

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Handout by Will Hall, offered on the Icarus Project website, on what emotional trauma is and how to work to heal it. Go to "First...

Dementia Patients at Risk of Injury or Death Due to Antipsychotics

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From The Independent: Thousands of people with Lewy Body Dementia are being prescribed antipsychotic drugs, increasing their risk of death fourfold. "These medicines, prescribed to around...

Common Alzheimer’s Drug Linked to Potentially Life-threatening Conditions

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A popular Alzheimer's and dementia drug has been linked to two potentially fatal conditions.

Care Homes Over-Prescribing Drugs for Residents with Dementia

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From The Guardian: According to a new Human Rights Watch report, U.S. nursing homes are inappropriately prescribing antipsychotics to an estimated 179,000 residents with dementia each...

Veterans with both PTSD and Dementia More Likely to be Prescribed Antipsychotics

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Researchers found that veterans with both conditions had higher odds of being prescribed second-generation antipsychotics than those presenting with just PTSD.

Policies to Reduce Antipsychotic use Among Elderly are Failing

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Research reveals that rates of antipsychotic prescribing to the elderly in the UK have not dropped despite national recommendations.

Risk of Death in the Elderly Trebled With Antipsychotics

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In a nine-year study of all 2,224 residents of Leppävirta, Finland who were 65 years old or older, researchers found that the 332 residents...

Almost No Nursing Homes Meet Federal Standards for Antipsychotic Use

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The Office of the Inspector General finds that 99.5% of nursing facilities in the United States are non-compliant regarding federal regulations concerning antipsychotic use....

Fewer Antipsychotics, More Nurses Will Improve Care and Save Money in Nursing Homes

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The Center for Medicare Advocacy advised yesterday that nursing facilities could realize huge savings by eliminating "inappropriate and life-threatening" antipsychotic drugs. The statement added...

“Their Brains had the Telltale Signs of Alzheimer’s. So why did They Still Have...

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Sharon Begley for the STAT examines new research which raises “doubts about conventional approaches to diagnosing and finding treatments for Alzheimer’s.” Article →

Anticholinergic Medications Linked to Dementia Similar to Early Alzheimer’s

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A new study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, investigates the effects of anticholinergic medications, such as antidepressants and antipsychotics, on cognition in older adults diagnosed with schizophrenia.

For-Profit Medicine Incentivizes Overmedicating Our Elderly

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From NBC: According to human rights investigators, anti-psychotic drugs are often administered to nursing home residents to address behavioral issues. Our nation's lack of funding...

The Hidden Costs of Paying Physicians More to Diagnose Dementia

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A plan from the British government to pay doctors for every diagnosis of dementia that they make is an act of "folly," writes physician...

Antidepressant Use May Increase Risk of Hip Fractures in Older Adults

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Study finds antidepressant use is linked to increase in hip fractures in community-dwelling older adults with and without Alzheimer’s disease.

Inappropriate Use of Antipsychotics on Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

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One-third of adults with an intellectual or developmental disability are dispensed antipsychotics, despite having no existing psychiatric diagnosis.

New Medications Fail to Show Efficacy for Alzheimer’s Disease

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Three phase III clinical trials assessing the efficacy of Lundbeck’s investigational drug idalopirdine for Alzheimer’s disease have failed