Controversial Alzheimer’s drug under TGA review ‘should not be approved’ Patients will be put at risk and taxpayers will face a significant economic burden if aducanumab receives regulatory approval, experts say.
Study links mental disorders early in life to dementia Mental health disorders are often an underappreciated category of modifiable risk factors for dementia, new research suggests.
Subsidised scan seeks to ensure more accurate Alzheimer’s diagnosis Positron emission tomography scans have been added to the MBS, but GP Professor Dimity Pond says further guidance is needed.
AIHW releases first dementia ‘compendium’ report in nine years The comprehensive review includes the latest information on how dementia is affecting Australians and what the future may hold.
Entering aged care with new GP linked to medication increase In particular, people with dementia are likely to be prescribed more antipsychotics, benzodiazepines and antidepressants if they change their GP.
Blood pressure variability linked to dementia risk The findings may help identify people at increased risk of major cognitive impairment and inform new areas for research.
Could a routine blood test improve dementia outcomes? Researchers are hoping a simple blood protein point-of-care test will aid early detection of cognitive impairment.
Media fails to cover harms of early diagnostic testing: study Researchers fear a lack of risk–benefit analysis may be contributing to overdiagnosis.
New paper predicts one million Australians will have dementia by 2056 But there are preventive steps people can take, and GPs have been described as the ‘clinical spearhead’ who can lead the charge.
COVID vaccine consent for aged care residents It’s ethically tricky, says Dr Xavier Symons, but there are ways to get it right.