Designing a multimedia conversation aid for reminiscence therapy in dementia care environments

As world populations grow older the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other dementia related illnesses increases (approximately 18 million sufferers worldwide). One particularly devastating effect of AD is the loss of short-term memory, which radically impairs the sufferer’s ability to communicate. People with dementia, however, often retain a facility for long-term memory that can function strongly given appropriate stimulation.

Project CIRCA (Computer Interactive Reminiscence and Conversation Aid), utilizes interactive multimedia (including audio, video, animation and QuickTime VR environments) to stimulate long-term memory to prompt verbal and non-verbal communication.

Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Beyond Lasik

New advances have increased the number of surgical options for patients who want to get rid of their eyeglasses. Here’s a rundown of the most popular.

Now, driven as much by consumer demand to find more alternatives as well as a desire to push that corneal envelope, doctors are offering an array of treatments to reduce, or completely eliminate, patients’ dependence on glasses or contacts. These new techniques not only enhance procedures like Lasik, but also provide choices for patients for whom Lasik was never an option.

By Joan Raymond
Newsweek
Updated: 8:43 a.m. ET June 7, 2005

Itching for Some Allergy Relief?

Pollen grains from trees, grasses and weeds can float through the air in spring, summer or fall. But along with staying on mission to fertilize plants and tree flowers, pollen particles often end up in our noses, eyes, ears and mouths. The result can be sneezing spells, watery eyes, congestion and an itchy throat.

Pollen allergy, commonly known as hay fever, affects about 1 out of 10 Americans, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). For some, symptoms can be controlled with occasional over-the-counter (OTC) medicine. Others have reactions that may more seriously disrupt the quality of their lives. Allergies can trigger or worsen asthma and lead to other health problems such as sinusitis and ear infections in children.

“You can distinguish allergy symptoms from a cold because a cold tends to be short-lived, results in thicker nasal secretions, and is usually associated with sore throat, hoarseness, malaise, and fever,” says Badrul Chowdhury, M.D., Ph.D., an allergist and immunologist in the FDA’s Division of Pulmonary and Allergy Drug Products. Many people with seasonal allergic rhinitis notice a seasonal pattern with their symptoms, but others may need a doctor’s help to find out for sure that pollen is the source of their misery. If these symptoms crop up year-round, dust mites, pet dander or another indoor allergen could be the culprit. This is known as perennial allergic rhinitis.

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Elderly, poor find coping with heat especially difficult

Living without air conditioning because of cost is a common theme. This month’s heat and humidity, however, pose a health risk for those with chronic conditions and for the elderly. The body’s cooling system becomes less efficient with age, according to the Illinois Department on Aging.

Gwen Karr delivers meals to seniors in their homes through the Decatur-Macon County Opportunities Corp. Elderly Services. When visiting seniors without air conditioning, she reminds them it’s important to eat. Drinking plenty of water and eating light meals, especially fresh fruit, can help them stay cool and hydrated.

By BETHANY CARSON – H&R Staff Writer
Herald Review
June 11, 2005

Something to Consider Before You All Shout, ‘Surprise, Grandma!’

The chest pain began just as Carmen Spindler emerged from church after her father-in-law’s funeral service, and it lasted during the drive to the cemetery. At first Mrs. Spindler thought it was nothing to worry about, just a case of nerves.

But when the pain did not let up, and she began feeling weak and shaky, her family insisted on calling an ambulance.

By DENISE GRADY
New York Times
Published: June 5, 2005

For Some Patients, Shingles Is Just the Beginning

For William Thompson, a retired builder from Hampton, N.H., the problem began with a rash that appeared on his back one Sunday morning about two years ago. “I thought it was from soap or detergent or something,” he recalled.

But his back began to pain him, and soon he was in agony almost all the time. “I could not sit down, I could not stand up,” Mr. Thompson, 68, said in an interview. “I had pain everywhere, just everywhere.”

By CORNELIA DEAN
New York Times
Published: June 7, 2005

Researchers Say Intelligence and Diseases May Be Linked in Ashkenazic Genes

A team of scientists at the University of Utah has proposed that the unusual pattern of genetic diseases seen among Jews of central or northern European origin, or Ashkenazim, is the result of natural selection for enhanced intellectual ability.

The selective force was the restriction of Ashkenazim in medieval Europe to occupations that required more than usual mental agility, the researchers say in a paper that has been accepted by the Journal of Biosocial Science, published by Cambridge University Press in England.

By NICHOLAS WADE
New York Times
Published: June 3, 2005

Elderly ‘moved from hospital beds’ for Kylie op

Elderly heart patients were moved from their beds to clear the way for Australian pop star Kylie Minogue as she underwent breast cancer surgery, it was reported today.

Minogue was given eight out of 18 rooms in the hospital’s cardiac ward, apparently chosen because it was the most secluded area of the building, The Herald Sun newspaper said.

Irish Examiner
June 1, 2005

‘Artificial heart saved my life’

Peter Houghton was just weeks away from certain death when doctors offered him a radical new treatment – would he like the world’s first permanent mechanical heart?

His own was failing fast. Each day was such agony that Peter had become reconciled to the prospect of death.

BBC News
By Jane Elliott
June 2, 2005

Heart Device Sold Despite Flaw, Data Shows

When the Guidant Corporation told doctors last week that a popular implantable heart defibrillator had failed in a small number of cases because of an electrical flaw, it also said that it had fixed the flaw in devices produced after mid-2002.
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But now data provided by Guidant to a Minnesota hospital suggests that the company continued to sell the potentially flawed devices for months after it changed the way it made the device and had begun selling the new ones.

By BARRY MEIER
New York Times
Published: June 2, 2005