When working as a travel nursing professional, it is likely that you will be in contact with patients who have been diagnosed with dementia. A new study conducted by doctors at Northwestern University has found a possible sign for a patients at risk of the disease. Research indicated that a person's inability to recognize famous faces – like Albert Einstein or Bill Gates – may be an early sign of dementia.
A breakdown of the research
Healthcare professionals compared results from the Northwestern University Famous Faces Test as completed by 27 control patients and 30 individuals suffering from primary progressive aphasia (PPA). Those who participated ranged 40 to 65 in age, with a median age of 62.
Doctors found that those with PPA displayed significant impairment on the test, which they believe indicates that one's inability to identify well-known faces points toward the very beginning stages of dementia. Specifically, those with early-onset dementia recognized the faces 79 percent of the time and were only able to come up with the appropriate names associated with them 46 percent of the time. This is a significant decrease from the control group, which was able to recognize 97 percent of the faces and name 93 percent of them.
"These tests also differentiate between recognizing a face and actually naming it, which can help identify the specific type of cognitive impairment a person has," Dr. Tamar, who led the study, said in a statement according to Nurse.com.
The individuals who were unable to associate names with faces may be struggling due to a loss of brain tissue in the left temporal lobe. Those patients who were unable to recognize the faces had experienced loss of tissue on both sides of the temporal lobe. There are a number of things that can cause this type of deterioration that leads to dementia.
Know what symptoms to look for
As you are working with patients on travel nursing jobs, you may see early signs that are associated with the onset of dementia. In these cases, you will want to inform their primary healthcare provider of their status so that further actions may be taken. According to WebMD, some of the warning signs you can look for include:
- Getting lost in familiar settings
- Repeatedly asking the same question
- Counting on others to answer for them
- Retelling a story multiple times