New dementia study underway at Augusta University
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - One professor’s assistant at Augusta University is making it her mission to improve the lives of people living with dementia.
Dementia is known as the longest goodbye.
According to Georgia’s Department of Public Health, over 130,000 Georgians are estimated to have dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. They expect that number to go up about 46 percent in the next decade.
Now, $25,000 is on the way to help patients live a more normal life.
“What this study is aiming to do, is improve the quality of life among these individuals,” said Dr. Deborah Jehu, assistant professor at AU.
The study focuses on 42 mild to moderate dementia patients at Georgia War Veterans Nursing Home over six months. Half get usual care, and the others get their normal care and are starting simple exercise programs.
Dr. Lufei Young, associate professor, College of Nursing AU said: “It reduces the stress, reduces the load so they can be capable.”
There is no cure for the preventable disease, but Young felt inspired by Jehu’s study. She’s moved 1700 miles away from her home in Nebraska--where her husband cares for her mother-in-law with dementia.
“I feel like my mind and body are always separate. When I’m here, I’m worried about them, but with using this four ‘M’ model, it’s still chaos, but it is organized,” she said.
The model includes: What matters, mobility, medication, and mentation.
What Matters?
“She told me ‘I just want a hotdog. I just want to go to the hairdresser every other day’,” said Young.
Mobility
“I told her ‘Peggy you can stop moving when you’re dead as long as you’re alive you move’ because she knows everyday movement mobility is a big deal,” said Young.
Medication
They’ve stopped giving her so much because it had negative side effects. The three M’s combined lead to the last and most important, improved mentation
“I thought dementia is terminal. It’s just progressively worse, it’s not getting better,” said Young.
She’s already seeing the impact of Jehu’s study. The women believe the study will help change the health care paradigm for patients living with dementia.
For more information on the study, visit GAIT Lab.
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