Silver, napkins and some choice morsels of Cochrane evidence

Last week I gave you jellyfish, so don’t let it be said that I only go for the big health issues here! There’s a feast of new evidence in The Cochrane Library and this week, from an extensive menu, I’ve picked out a few tidbits on some more common health problems, plus some great dementia resources and a beautiful project that I want to highlight.

Many older people with dementia could come off antipsychotic drugs finds new review

Key message: This review suggests that many older people with dementia and neuropsychiatric symptoms who have been taking antispychotic medicines for three months or more can be taken off them without negative effects on their behaviour

Older people with dementia are surely amongst the most vulnerable in our society. For those looking after such individuals, either as health professionals or as spouses and children perhaps, how best to care for them can be the subject of uncertainty and debate. The use of antipsychotic drugs to help control difficult behaviour (which generally tends to come and go) is one of these areas of uncertainty.

Vitamin E should not be used to treat Alzheimer’s dementia or mild cognitive impairment: updated Cochrane evidence

There is evidence that free radicals may contribute to the processes of cognitive impairment and so there has been considerable interest in recent years in whether vitamin E with its potential to protect against the damaging effects of free radicals might be useful in the treatment of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s dementia (AD). The Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group has updated its review exploring this approach, which now includes two randomized trials involving people with AD and one with people with MCI, comparing vitamin E with placebo.