In the News

Acupressure Calms Dementia Patients, Their Caregivers

Acupressure, a mainstay of traditional Chinese medicine, may have applications for improving the quality of life of dementia patients and their caregivers, according to a new study done by Dr. Li-Chan Lin at National Yang-Ming University in Taipei, Taiwan. Agitation is one of the most common symptoms of dementia, and its effects (from yelling to wandering to undressing) can be maddening for caregivers and dangerous to the patients themselves.

The technique is based on the same principles as acupuncture, but practitioners use their fingers, rather than needles, to stimulate key "acupoints" on the skin. Dr. Lin and his team did a 31-patient study that compared 15-minute-a-day acupressure sessions with 15-minute-a-day talk sessions. Overall, the study found that acupressure eased patients' agitation much more readily than talking, with fewer episodes of aggression over the four-week treatment period. The study comes at a time when researchers are beginning to accept that various kinds of touch therapy and massage can calm dementia patients anxiety and agitation. Dr. Lin even speculated that the therapy's similarity to Western-style massage may aid its eventual acceptance as dementia therapy in the West. Read More

Study Finds Communication Gap Between Physicians and Elderly Patients

Caregivers know the importance of dealing with problems with prescription medications. But according to survey results published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, many seniors do not talk to their physicians about problems they are having with their medications, such as unwelcome side-effects, affordability, or perceived efficacy.

The study, which was a partnership between Tufts-New England Medical Center, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Commonwealth Fund, found a large communication gap between physicians and elderly patients. Twenty-seven percent of seniors who skipped doses or stopped taking a medication because of side-effects or lack of perceived efficacy did not report it to their physicians. Nearly 40 percent of those who stopped taking or took less of their medication because they could not afford it did not discuss the issue with their doctor. This is particularly tragic, because patients who did talk to their doctor about affordability problems were more likely to be switched to lower-cost alternatives. Read More

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