International psychogeriatrics
-
There is uncertainty regarding the optimal use of pharmacological strategies in delirium particularly regarding preferred agents, duration of treatment and effectiveness in different populations. ⋯ Attitudes towards key aspects of delirium pharmacotherapy vary considerably and relate to concerns regarding side effect potential more than perceived mechanism of action. Educational interventions can impact positively upon attitudes.
-
The Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (RBMT) assesses everyday memory by means of tasks which mimic daily challenges. The objective was to examine the validity of the Brazilian version of the RBMT to detect cognitive decline. ⋯ The Brazilian version of the RBMT seems to be an appropriate instrument to identify memory decline in Brazilian older adults.
-
Comparative Study
Geriatric psychiatry education in Canada: the pathway to subspecialty recognition.
This paper outlines the evolution of the training of Canadian physicians and other professionals in the mental health care needs of older adults over the past 2 decades, which has culminated in long-awaited subspecialty recognition by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC). Despite the fact that Canada has more than 4000 psychiatrists officially recognized by RCPSC, and a national body of more than 200 members who practice primarily in geriatric psychiatry, the status of geriatric psychiatry as a subspecialty of psychiatry in Canada remained "unofficial" until 2009. ⋯ The developments of the past 20 years have paved the way for a subspecialty geriatric psychiatry curriculum that will be well-aligned with a new general psychiatry curriculum, and ready to complement the existing mental health work force with subspecialized skills aimed at caring for the most complex elderly patients.
-
Deposition of amyloid beta in senile plaques and in cerebral blood vessels is one hallmark of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The ability of several matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) to degrade amyloid precursor protein leading to aggregation of amyloid beta, as well as the increased expression of MMPs in post mortem brain tissue of Alzheimer's patients, indicate that MMPs play an important role in the pathogenesis of AD. ⋯ These findings constitute further evidence for the important role of MMPs in the pathogenesis of AD.