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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the leading causes of dependency among older adults and of institutionalization in Europe. The number of people with AD is estimated in 10 million people and the cost of the disease has been recently estimated in 100.000 million of euros per year in the European Union (European Brain Council, 2011). There is nowadays no effective treatment of the disease.

Purpose/Objectives: To explore linkages among empathic responding by informal caregivers with the physical symptom experiences and psychological distress of patients with ovarian cancer. Design: Preliminary, descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional. Setting: Psychosocial oncology support group in Canada. Sample: Convenience sample of 13 women with stage I-IV ovarian cancer with the majority diagnosed with disease recurrence. Methods: Data were collected on a single telephone call using the Hospital A

Little is known about those employed to support family carers of disabled people or those with longterm care needs. The term ‘carer’ is used in England to refer to family members and others who provide unpaid regular and substantial support to adults with disabilities, including older people and others unable to live independently. Among the wider social care workforce some staff are employed to provide support for these carers, but little is known about the composition and characteristics of this group of staff.

Informal carers of people with Alzheimer's disease require access to high-quality information, which may be available through the Internet. Tools that have been developed to evaluate the contents of health-related web sites tend to be generic and not specific for diseases or patient groups. The aim of this study was to develop a tool that was specifically designed to evaluate web sites that provide information about Alzheimer's disease for informal carers of people with the disease. The tool was used to evaluate a sample of 15 web sites.

This study explored professional views about the needs of young carers of adults with mental health problems. Sixty five participants were interviewed and included professionals from the health, social care and voluntary sectors. Respondents were asked to comment on their understanding of the needs of young carers and appropriate methods or interventions to address these needs. Findings include: young carers'perceived isolation, restricted opportunities and stigma; fears involving child protection and family separation; and examples of good professional practice upon which to build.

This cohort study, aims to explore formal care provision to stroke survivors and their informal carers in the community in the UK. An initial cohort of 105 cohabitant carers of first-time stroke patients was recruited while the stroke patient was in hospital. Structured face-to-face interviews were carried out with carers prior to discharge of the stroke patient home, at 6 weeks after discharge, and 15 months after stroke.

Background: Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia in older people. One of the aims of therapy is to inhibit the breakdown of a chemical neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, by blocking the relevant enzyme. This can be done by a group of chemicals known as cholinesterase inhibitors. Objectives: The objective of this review is to assess whether donepezil improves the well-being of patients with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease.

Until recently, the carer's perspective has dominated research on families who include someone with a learning disability and recent legislation has underlined the carer's rights. Previous research has found that some more able people with learning disabilities were very aware of their parents' growing needs, and were taking on responsibilities within the family to help and support their carer/parents. However, recent legislation still dichotomizes family members into carers and cared-for people.