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A community‐based exercise program to improve cognitive function in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease: Feasibility and safety study
Author(s) -
Vreugdenhil A.,
Cannell J.,
Davies A.,
Razay G.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2009.05.286
Subject(s) - dementia , physical therapy , medicine , cognition , gerontology , disease , psychology , psychiatry , pathology
in future research and facilitate reporting on service performance issues. This project will be undertaken over the next 12 months. Results: There are likely to be a number of benefits flowing from this project for clinical staff and researchers interested in aged care and dementia. These include the convenience of a single point of access to comprehensive data describing service performance, patients’ clinical information including assessment results and summary information for specific clinical research projects. This information may be provided in routine reports and on an ‘‘on demand’’ basis to appropriate staff. Conclusions: This exciting project will place these clinical services and WDREC researchers in a position to be able to conduct a variety of valuable clinical research projects that are likely to enhance service provision and improve the care of older adults in the future. Background: Canine Cognitive Dysfunction (CCD) is a progressive disorder that affects senior dogs and includes deficits in learning and memory, development of b-amyloid plaques and deficits in dopamine and acetylcholine levels. There is, however, no consensus on a method for formal diagnosis for CCD in community-dwelling animals, and how CCD differs from normal canine ageing has yet to established. Methods: Owners of dogs 8 years were asked to complete an 83 item survey, designed to quantify the frequency and change in behaviors related to general health, eating and drinking, activity, instrumental behaviors, continence, fears, phobias and aggression over a 6 month period. An online version was distributed to veterinary schools internationally. A hard copy of the survey was also distributed through Dogs Life magazine. Results: 957 responses were received, of which 18 dogs were reported by owners to have a veterinary diagnosis of dementia (DEM). 10 behaviours were found to significantly distinguish DEM dogs after correction for age. An algorithmic diagnosis of query CCD (qCCD) was developed that agreed with veterinary diagnosis with an overall diagnostic accuracy of 90%. CCD based on this definition increased exponentially with age after 10 years. Conclusions: A formal scale for diagnosis and assessment of CCD is presented with clinical, cross sectional and longitudinal validity. Its use will aid diagnosis and management of canine ‘dementia’ and will also aid translational research between transgenic rodent models and human clinical trials.