With an aging population dementia (such as Alzheimer’s disease) are becoming more common.
So we felt it would be useful to share this useful infographic on the early signs and symptoms of dementia.
From Visually.
Acupuncture
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Acupuncture is a treatment derived from ancient Chinese medicine in which fine needles are inserted at certain sites in the body for therapeutic or preventative purposes.
It is often seen as a form of complementary or alternative medicine (CAM), although it is used in many NHS general practices, as well as the majority of pain clinics and hospices in the UK.
Western medical acupuncture is the use of acupuncture after a proper medical diagnosis. It is based on scientific evidence that shows the treatment can stimulate nerves under the skin and in muscle tissue.
This results in the body producing pain-relieving substances, such as endorphins. It is likely these substances are responsible for any beneficial effects seen with this form of acupuncture.
Traditional acupuncture is based on the belief that an energy, or “life force”, flows through the body in channels called meridians. This life force is known as Qi (pronounced “chee”).
Practitioners who adhere to traditional beliefs about acupuncture believe that when Qi does not flow freely through the body, this can cause illness. They also believe acupuncture can restore the flow of Qi, and so restore health.
Read more about what happens during acupuncture.
Acupuncture practitioners – sometimes called acupuncturists – use acupuncture to treat a wide range of health conditions.
It is often used to treat pain conditions such as headache, lower back pain and osteoarthritis, but is also sometimes used in an attempt to help people with conditions ranging from infertility to anxiety and asthma.
Acupuncture is occasionally available on the NHS, although access is limited. Most acupuncture patients pay for private treatment.
Read more about the common uses of acupuncture.
Currently, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) only recommends considering acupuncture as a treatment option for chronic lower back pain, chronic tension-type headaches and migraines. NICE makes these recommendations on the basis of scientific evidence.
There is also some evidence that acupuncture works for a small number of other problems, including neck pain and post-chemotherapy nausea and vomiting.
Acupuncture is sometimes used for a variety of other conditions as well, but the evidence is not conclusive for many of these uses.
Read more about the evidence for and against acupuncture.
When it is carried out by a qualified practitioner, acupuncture is generally very safe. Some people experience side effects such as feeling drowsy or dizzy, but these are usually mild and short-lived.
If you choose to have acupuncture, make sure your acupuncture practitioner is either a regulated healthcare professional or a member of a recognised national acupuncture organisation.
Read more about acupuncture safety and regulation.
There is some scientific evidence acupuncture has a beneficial effect for a number of health conditions.
However, there is less clear scientific evidence about the benefits of acupuncture in the majority of conditions it is often used for.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) only recommends considering acupuncture as a treatment option for chronic lower back pain, chronic tension-type headaches and migraine.
One of the best ways researchers can assess the evidence behind a particular treatment is by carrying out a systematic review. This is a “study of studies” that combines findings from separate but similar studies to come up with an overall conclusion.
Systematic reviews are an important part of health research because they can identify findings that might otherwise be missed in individual studies. They can also help distinguish the effects of treatment from the effects of chance.
It is important to remember that when we use a treatment and feel better, this can be because of a phenomenon called the placebo effect and not because of the treatment itself. Systematic reviews can help reduce the potential influence of the placebo effect.
While systematic reviews cannot always determine conclusively whether a treatment does or does not work, they can be useful in assessing how a particular treatment (such as acupuncture) compares to another (such as “sham” acupuncture or medication).
However, even this can be challenging – both acupuncture and placebo treatments can stimulate the release of natural painkilling substances called endorphins, which can make it difficult to distinguish between them.
One of the largest and most respected organisations that carries out and publishes systematic reviews into the effectiveness of medical treatments is The Cochrane Collaboration.
A number of systematic reviews into the effectiveness of acupuncture have been published by The Cochrane Collaboration, and the basic results are summarised below.
Systematic reviews carried out by The Cochrane Collaboration have found there is some evidence acupuncture may have a beneficial effect on the following conditions:
However, because of disagreements over the way acupuncture trials should be carried out and over what their results mean, the existence of some positive evidence does not mean acupuncture definitely works for these conditions.
In many cases, the evidence appears contradictory. For example, some high-quality studies may suggest acupuncture is no better than “sham” acupuncture, whereas some lower-quality studies may suggest acupuncture is better than an established medical treatment.
The issue is sometimes also further complicated by the fact some “sham interventions” include active needling and are therefore not true placebos.
In addition, it can be difficult to make sure the patients involved in acupuncture studies are unaware of the specific treatment they are receiving (known as “blinding”).
This is because it is obvious whether you are receiving a conventional medical treatment such as medication or if you are receiving acupuncture, for example. This is a problem as it means the preconceptions of the person being treated may influence the result.
Some systematic reviews, however, have demonstrated the effects of acupuncture over sham treatment in studies where patients are unaware whether they are having real acupuncture or sham treatment.
For example, one large meta-analysis (a type of systematic review) not carried out by The Cochrane Collaboration included data from more than 17,000 patients. It compared acupuncture to sham acupuncture or no acupuncture without patients being aware of whether they had received real or sham treatment.
This review found acupuncture to be superior to both sham and no treatment for headaches, osteoarthritis, back pain and neck pain.
In many conditions where acupuncture is used, there is not enough good quality evidence to draw any clear conclusions over its relative effectiveness compared with other treatments.
For example, systematic reviews published by The Cochrane Collaboration have suggested more research is needed to assess whether acupuncture is effective for: asthma, glaucoma, schizophrenia, depression, shoulder, pain, elbow, pain, rheumatoid arthritis, Bell’s palsy, restless legs syndrome, insomnia vascular ,dementia, stroke, stroke rehabilitation and swallowing problems caused by stroke
More research is needed to establish whether acupuncture is better or worse than best standard treatments for these conditions.
If you want to find out more about studies into acupuncture, you can search for high-quality research using the NHS Evidence and Cochrane Library websites.
As many of you know we try to cover condition like dementia (in particular Alzheimer’s disease) as a part of the mission of this blog.
You can read up on previous posts on signs , symptoms and treatments of dementia here , here and here.
So we thought you might be interested in this excellent infographic “Living with the Repetitive Symptoms of Dementia “.
Please do feel free to share with any friends and family who many find it of use.
Many thanks.
With an aging population around the globe know the tell tale signs of Alzheimer’s and dementia have become much more important.
We have been blogging about dementia for some time but felt that this was an excellent introductory infographic.
And yes please do share because people need to know.
From Visually.
Alzheimer and Causes
It is, also, the most common cause of dementia that is defined as a group of brain disorders that result in loss of social and intellectual skills. Scientists aren’t quite sure what causes Alzheimer’s disease which is why there’s no specific treatment that could stop it. Furthermore, scientists from different parts of the world are constantly working on studies and researches whose primary aim is to find out something new about this disease. Findings of these studies are used to modify treatments, prevent or delay its occurrence or slow down its progress. The most recent study identified nine risk factors for this disease.
Factors that put you at risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease
This particular study was conducted by team of researches led by Wei Xu from Department of Neurology, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, School of Medicine, Qingdao University in China.
For the purpose of this research, scientists systematically searched PubMed and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews from inception to July 2014. They analyzed more than 300 studies and references they included. In total, about 16,906 articles were identified of which 323 with 93 factors met the inclusion criteria for meta-analysis.
The results of this study were published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. Researchers discovered the following Alzheimer’s disease risk factors:
The team of researchers pointed out that study is strictly observational but they also assume that findings could help medical professionals prescribe specific lifestyle changes to the Alzheimer’s disease patients. Scientists also discovered that some hormones, drugs for high blood pressure, vitamins etc. can help lowering the risk of this disease while homocysteine and depression are associated with heightened risk.
Alzheimer’s disease in numbers
FACT: Alzheimer’s disease is most common in Western Europe with North America close behind. The disease is least prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Protecting cognitive health
Although Alzheimer’s disease can’t be prevented or cured, you can still make some lifestyle adjustments that would slow down its progress. Plus, protecting your cognitive health is of crucial importance for your overall health as well. Here are some things you can do:
Conclusion
Alzheimer’s disease is a subject of a wide array of studies nowadays. Results of this study can be considered as a new breakthrough which can help doctors prescribe specific lifestyle changes to slow down progress of this disease. Hopefully, in the near future, we can expect more studies that would provide a new insight into this disease.
References
http://www.thesleuthjournal.com/relation-dementia-alzheimers-sleep/
Author Bio
Willo Conner – a freelancer, online article editor, eBook author for health and fitness. He has designed and taught health programs on the topics of health disorders, body image and self-acceptance, beauty tips for women, exercise for seniors. He writes for many online publications.
