The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · Mar 2002
ReviewCurrent state of research on decision-making competence of cognitively impaired elderly persons.
As the number of cognitively impaired elderly persons increases, the need for evidence-based assessments of their capacity to consent to medical treatment and research participation will grow. The authors conducted an electronic and manual literature search for all English-language articles examining the decision-making capacity of elderly persons with dementia or cognitive impairment, reviewing articles in relation to key areas of methodological, clinical, and policy importance. The 32 relevant studies identified were highly heterogeneous, even in their definitions and measurements of decisional capacity. ⋯ The use of expert judgment-based methods may mitigate the problem of a lack of a criterion standard for competence. Research into the decision-making competence of cognitively impaired elderly persons is a growing field. It is beginning to yield findings with practical implications for preserving the autonomy and welfare of this group of vulnerable elderly patients.
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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · Mar 2002
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialOndansetron in the treatment of cognitive decline in Alzheimer dementia.
The authors performed a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to assess the efficacy and safety of ondansetron (20 microg/day and 100 microg/ day) in treating cognitive decline in 185 patients with Alzheimer disease. Although ondansetron was well tolerated without any serious drug-related side effects, the study failed to demonstrate any significant cognitive improvement.