“Spotting the Early Signs and Supporting Your Patients” – Oryon Develop webinar

Dr Emer MacSweeney presented an Oryon Develop webinar on “Alzheimer’s – Spotting the Early Signs and Supporting Your Patients” targeted at healthcare practitioners.

The comprehensive presentation explored the importance of an early diagnosis with respect to how this can positively influence the individuals’ choices and outcome.

Early symptoms which can signify cognitive impairment include:

• Problems with short term memory
• Difficulty with calculations
• Problems with executive function – planning, judgement, inhibitory control, problem solving
• Issues with speech and language
• Difficulty concentrating
• Delay in thought processing
• Decline in visuo-spatial skills
• Poor judgement

It’s important to consult a medical specialist if experiencing one or more of these symptoms; an early diagnosis will open the door to a better provision for care and treatment options, including new generation treatments, available today in clinical trials. These treatments, unlike currently prescribed, treatments are  designed specifically to slow down, or ideally halt the progression of Alzheimer’s.

Dr MacSweeney also explained the important, behavioural modifications that help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s by 33%. These should be life time habits and  include:

Good Diet – limit the amount of artificial and refined sugars; the brain does not like sugar!

Cardiovascular exercise – studies have indicated that exercise (40 mins 3x per week) will help to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and can downregulate the genotypic propensity to Alzheimer’s

Limit Alcohol – alcohol is detrimental to brain cells and will have an enhanced effect on those with Alzheimer’s

Exercise your brain – brain training, learning new skills and reading help to keep the brain strong and active

Sleep – helps clear away toxins including the harmful amyloid protein which causes Alzheimer’s

Reduce stress – excessive prolonged stress will affect cognition and compromise brain function

Socialising – studies have shown than being social can reduce anxiety, depression and improve cognitive sharpness and performance at every stage of life

Watch clips from the presentation here:

To access the full on demand course, visit: https://oryon.co.uk/develop/course/2021-2-16/Webinar-Alzheimers–Spotting-The-Early-Signs–Supporting-Your-Patients/