Introduction to Blog and Cross-cultural component
Renee Henriques
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Scientists have yet to discover the cause of
Alzheimer’s disease, but it is suspected that an individual’s risk of
developing the disease is determined by multiple factors, including genetic and
personal components. The current belief is that there is not one single cause
of AD, but that an individual’s risk is determined by the influences of
multiple factors, including demographic, socio-economic, and cultural, and
personal factors. Age is the most important known risk factor with the risk of
developing Alzheimer’s disease doubling every 5 years after the age of 65 (http://www.alz.org/research/science/alzheimers_disease_causes.asp#age)
Research is currently
underway to study the influence of family history, gender, education-level, and
diet/nutrition for their influence on the development of AD http://www.cdc.gov/aging/aginginfo/alzheimers.htm.
Although progress is being made in the identification of risk factors, there
remain many important questions to be answered in order to understand the
underlying causes of AD, and to develop effective treatments. There is
currently no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but there are some treatments that
have yielded positive results for individuals diagnosed with AD, including
medications as well as non-drug therapy. Common medications to treat the psychiatric
and behavioral symptoms include antidepressants, anxiolytics, and anti-
psychotics. For a complete list of these medications, visit: http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_standard_prescriptions.asp
The FDA has approved the use of five drugs to specifically treat symptoms of AD. Four of these medications are cholinesterase inhibitors – which treat cognitive symptom such as memory, language, judgment, and other cognitive processes. http://www.alz.org/national/documents/topicsheet_treatments.pdf
Global rises in morbidity and mortality due to this disease have led to increases in research that examine the presentation and progression of AD from an etiologic perspective. There are differences across ethnic groups, cultures, and geographic regions in the recognition, diagnosis, progression and treatment of AD (Gibbons et al., 2002; Hu et al., 2012)Age and family history are known risks, but cross-cultural studies have demonstrated significant differences in the recognition and treatment of AD (Karim et al., 2011; Chandra., 1996; Mangone., Shaji et al., 1996; Hendrie, 1999; Guo et al,. 2000) A study in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry found significant differences in affective symptoms, personality changes, and the ability to perform every day activities between Pakistani and Caucasian patients diagnosed with AD (Karim et al., 2011). The findings from these studies can provide important insights into the underlying causes of this complex, and lethal disease.
Cross-cultural comparisons of Alzheimer’s disease can be challenging for several reasons. Although several studies suggest differences between different cohorts, there are doubts regarding the reliability of techniques used to conduct this research across cultures. One of the challenges inherent in cross-cultural research arises due to a lack of culturally-sensitive instruments, which can threaten a study’s reliability and validity. A primary concern of researches conducting cross-cultural studies is to minimize the effects of translation on test items. Some tests have been found to be fairly reliable across different cohorts, such as the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) http://www.utmb.edu/psychology/Folstein%20Mini.pdf (Folstein et al., 1975), and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment MoCA-C http://www.mocatest.org/ (Nastreddine et al., 2005).
The FDA has approved the use of five drugs to specifically treat symptoms of AD. Four of these medications are cholinesterase inhibitors – which treat cognitive symptom such as memory, language, judgment, and other cognitive processes. http://www.alz.org/national/documents/topicsheet_treatments.pdf
Global rises in morbidity and mortality due to this disease have led to increases in research that examine the presentation and progression of AD from an etiologic perspective. There are differences across ethnic groups, cultures, and geographic regions in the recognition, diagnosis, progression and treatment of AD (Gibbons et al., 2002; Hu et al., 2012)Age and family history are known risks, but cross-cultural studies have demonstrated significant differences in the recognition and treatment of AD (Karim et al., 2011; Chandra., 1996; Mangone., Shaji et al., 1996; Hendrie, 1999; Guo et al,. 2000) A study in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry found significant differences in affective symptoms, personality changes, and the ability to perform every day activities between Pakistani and Caucasian patients diagnosed with AD (Karim et al., 2011). The findings from these studies can provide important insights into the underlying causes of this complex, and lethal disease.
Cross-cultural comparisons of Alzheimer’s disease can be challenging for several reasons. Although several studies suggest differences between different cohorts, there are doubts regarding the reliability of techniques used to conduct this research across cultures. One of the challenges inherent in cross-cultural research arises due to a lack of culturally-sensitive instruments, which can threaten a study’s reliability and validity. A primary concern of researches conducting cross-cultural studies is to minimize the effects of translation on test items. Some tests have been found to be fairly reliable across different cohorts, such as the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) http://www.utmb.edu/psychology/Folstein%20Mini.pdf (Folstein et al., 1975), and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment MoCA-C http://www.mocatest.org/ (Nastreddine et al., 2005).
Works
Cited
1) Karim,
S. et al (2011). The Symptomology of Alzheimer’s disease: a cross-cultural
study. International Journal of Geriatric
Psychiatry, 2011; 26: 415-422
2) Gibbons,
L. et al (2002). Cross-cultural comparison of the mini-mental state examination
in United Kingdom and United States participants with Alzheimer’s disease. International Journal of Geriatric
Psychiatry,2002; 17: 723-728
3) Hu,
J.B et al, 2012. Cross-cultural difference and validation of the Chinese
version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment in older adults residing in Eastern
China: preliminary findings. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 2013; 56:
38-43
4) Chandra,
V. (1996). Cross-cultural perspectives India: behavioral and psychological sign
and symptoms of dementia: implications for research and treatment.
International Psychogeriatrics
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