Millions failing to take free health checks that could spot dementia

NHS England is urging people over the age of 40 to make a New Year’s resolution to take up a free health check.

Fewer than half of eligible people in England have taken up the offer over the last five years, despite it being free for people between 40 and 74-years-old.

The 20-minute assessment, carried out by a GP or nurse, involves testing blood pressure, weight and height and could stop people developing physical conditions as well as dementia.

Alistair Burns, national clinical director for dementia and older people’s mental health for NHS England said: “Heart disease and dementia are two of the biggest health risks facing people in our country and the national health check will help stop both.

“Attending a free NHS health check is a great opportunity to discuss existing health conditions, and to work out how to reduce the risk of developing dementia and other illness in the future.”

According to NHS England, identifying people with an irregular heartbeat or high blood pressure and giving them treatment would help to prevent dangerous blood clots which could lead to strokes.

Similarly, if more people went for their health check, the number of people having a stroke or other heart problems would reduce, potentially preventing thousands of cases of vascular dementia.

Laura Phipps, head of communications at Alzheimer's Research UK said: “There is good evidence to suggest that what's good for the heart is also good for the brain, but while 77 per cent people believe they can reduce their risk of heart disease, only 34 per cent of people know they can reduce their risk of dementia.

“Research shows that midlife is a crucial time to take action that will help maintain a healthy brain into later life. With dementia now the UK's leading cause of death, we must encourage everyone to take positive steps to maintain good brain health throughout life and into older age.”

NHS health checks are offered to all individuals aged between 40 and 74 with no pre-existing health conditions. They are provided every five years.

For more information go to: www.nhs.uk

Leymar Healthcare provide Homecare Services in Ashfield and 24 Hour Live in Care in the UK to vulnerable adults in their community.

Please contact our office on 01623 360 193 or email us at info@leymarltd.co.uk.

Alternatively, you can use our Contact Form on our website:- www.leymarhealthcare.co.uk/contact us/

Driving with dementia: New guidelines advise when it's time to stop

New guidelines have been published to help doctors and health care professionals assess when people living with dementia should stop driving.

'Driving with Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment' - created by Newcastle University and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) - helps medical teams with the appropriate assessment and management of people living with the condition.

Dr. John-Paul Taylor, clinical senior lecturer at Newcastle University, said: "This can be a difficult conversation for anyone to have, whether you're a family member or doctor, because losing the ability to drive can have a significant impact on someone's independence and well-being."

"However, someone who is no longer safe to drive can be a source of concern for families and loved ones and may also put the driver and others at risk."

The guidance should give greater clarity to people with dementia and those supporting them as to what to expect when being assessed for fitness to drive.

Changes in driving that indicate it is becoming unsafe include:

- Unable to hold a steady course in a defined lane—difficulty in following subtle changes in the course of the road

- Repeated failure to respond in busy environments such as junctions or crossings

- Seeming 'overwhelmed' in everyday driving situations

- Decline in ability to make independent decisions when driving

- Verbal prompt required by passenger

- Over-correction or erratic correction to changes in road direction or the environment

- Failing to release the handbrake

- Failing to check for hazards before moving off

- Trouble changing gears or missed gear changes

- Heightened passenger vigilance

For more information visit: https://research.ncl.ac.uk/driving-and-dementia/consensusguidelinesforclinicians/

 

Leymar Healthcare provide Homecare Services in Ashfield and 24 Hour Live in Care in the UK to vulnerable adults in their community. Please contact our office on 01623 360 193 or email us at info@leymarltd.co.uk.

Alternatively, you can use our Contact Form on our website:- www.leymarhealthcare.co.uk/contact us/

Welsh farmer produces 'natural' dementia drug by ditching sheep for daffodils

A sheep farmer in the Welsh Black Mountains has turned his farm into fields of yellow daffodils, after a drug derived from the flower was found to be effective in slowing the progress of dementia.

Certain varieties of daffodils produce galantamine, and their ability to do this increases when they are grown at higher altitudes and in harsher weather, causing them to flower later.

Galantamine works by inhibiting an enzyme that leads to the cognitive impairment found in people with Alzheimer’s.

Kevin Stephens started up Agroceutical Products on the family farm in Powys, after reading about how daffodils can produce natural galantamine.

Mr Stephens is motivated by a desire to give people with dementia a better future and also to give his family an additional sustainable farming income.

He said: “When we started doing this, people thought we were completely nuts. But it is starting to get some credibility and people are taking us seriously now.”

His farm is now producing enough galantamine to treat over 9,000 people with dementia.

Mr Stephens is hoping to encourage other hill farms in Wales to get involved saying it has dual benefits, bringing in a sustainable income for the farming community as well as helping combat a horrible disease, which is now the UK's biggest killer.

 

Leymar Healthcare provide Homecare Services in Ashfield and 24 Hour Live in Care in the UK to vulnerable adults in their community. Please contact our office on 01623 360 193 or email us at info@leymarltd.co.uk.

Alternatively, you can use our Contact Form on our website:- www.leymarhealthcare.co.uk/contact us/

Cancer could soon be detected through a revolutionary breath test, scientists have revealed

The Breath Biopsy device is being trialed in the UK and is designed to analyse molecules that could indicate the presence of cancer at an early stage.

It is the first test of its kind to investigate multiple cancer types and could save thousands of lives.

Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald, lead trial investigator at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre, said: “We urgently need to develop new tools, like this breath test, which could help to detect and diagnose cancer earlier, giving patients the best chance of surviving their disease."

The trial will start with patients with suspected oesophageal and stomach cancers and extend to prostate, kidney, bladder, liver and pancreatic cancers in the coming months.

If the technology proves to accurately identify cancer, the team hope breath biopsies could be used in GP practices.

Almost half of cancers are diagnosed at a late stage in England, highlighting the importance of early detection, particularly for diseases like oesophageal cancer where only 12 per cent of patients survive the disease for 10 years or more.

The trial is a collaboration between the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre and Owlstone Medical and is taking place at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.

 

Leymar Healthcare provide Homecare Services in Ashfield and 24 Hour Live in Care in the UK to vulnerable adults in their community. Please contact our office on 01623 360 193 or email us at info@leymarltd.co.uk.

Alternatively, you can use our Contact Form on our website:- www.leymarhealthcare.co.uk/contact us/

Couple with dementia still hold hands and 'wouldn't cope apart'

A couple in their nineties, who both receive live-in care, are still smitten with each other and “wouldn’t be able to cope if they were apart”.

Marie, aged 96, and her husband Ron, 97, are still very much in love, according to their son Nick Murray, who says: “They would be very upset if they were separated. I don’t think they would cope if they were apart from each other. They wouldn’t be able to understand why they weren’t together. That is why we have live-in care for them, so they can stay together in a familiar environment.”

The pair have never been apart, except seven years ago when Marie had a fall and Ron visited her in hospital every other day.

The couple met during the war in 1943. They first set eyes on each other at a dance in Middlesbrough and carried on their relationship through the war.

Marie was training to be an English teacher and Ron was in the RAF working as an aircraft electrician on Spitfires, Hurricanes and Lancaster bombers.

In 1948, worried that Marie’s mum would disapprove of them marrying, Marie crept out of her house and she and Ron went to the registry office and got married.

Now 71 years later, they have three children, five grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Spending time with the family has always been very important to them, explains Nick. “When we were kids, mum and dad used to take us all on weekly trips to the North York Moors with a picnic. They also really enjoyed doing the garden together and visiting garden centers.”

His mum was the organiser in the family, who paid the bills and booked the holidays whereas his dad liked to tell ‘dad’ jokes.

Marie has a really good laugh, Ron is quieter. They sleep in separate beds in the same room and they always wave to each other when they go to bed at night. They give each other kisses and they still hold hands when they sit next to each other. They will often have a laugh together. They are quite jolly people and Marie still says Ron is handsome.

"They have just celebrated their 71st wedding anniversary. They got a card from the Queen which we have put in a frame. We celebrated with cake, the family came over and my mum kept telling us the story of how they eloped to the registry office.” Adds Nick

Marie and Ron have always had a good relationship, according to their son, who adds: “Of course they have argued now and then but they were only ever disagreements over things like my dad taking too long in the bathroom. But despite their illness they have both retained their great sense of humour, which is why I think they are still together after all these years.”

 

Leymar Healthcare provide Homecare Services in Ashfield and 24 Hour Live in Care in the UK to vulnerable adults in their community. Please contact our office on 01623 360 193 or email us at info@leymarltd.co.uk.

Alternatively, you can use our Contact Form on our website:- www.leymarhealthcare.co.uk/contact us/