Study Concludes: Dementia Patients Better Off Knowing Their Diagnosis

March 14, 2008

(Long Island, N.Y.) University of Washington medical researchers in St. Louis proved in a recently conducted study among patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of Dementia that the respondents with such fearing diseases in their body prefers to be knowledgeable of the situation rather than kept in the dark of their current condition.

The research shows that patients with this disease can do better and are more equipped mentally in coping and fighting their condition if they are aware to the full extent of their medical status rather than the anxiety and uncertainty the patient experiences without proper diagnosis by a qualified physician.

“It’s not good news. No one is pleased to find out they have dementia,” said Brian Carpenter who served as a co-investigator and associate professor of psychology at Washington University and was a big part of the research project. “But some people find comfort in getting resolution to their anxiety and concerns, and knowing that people can help them.”

The study involved measuring the depression status of a patient two days before and after the patient receives prognosis from a physician of their condition. The research was conducted due to the alarming rate which currently stands at 50 percent of doctors who fear to divulge full details of their findings to their patients.

“This study is interesting, because it shows a lot of the paternalistic fears are not supported by the data.” said Scott Roberts who is an Alzheimer’s disease researcher at the University of Michigan but was not involved in the research itself.

Dementia is a condition in which a patient suffers a progressive decline in cognitive function due to damage in the brain beyond what might be expected from normal aging. The disease can cross all age barriers upon adulthood and it affects the person’s memory, attention, language and their problem solving skills. There are several forms of dementia broken down into two main categories called cortical and subcortical dementia which includes Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Vitamin B12 deficiency, Subdural hematoma, etc.,

Posted by News LI Editor · Edited by Brianna - Filed Under Health