Money problems 'signal dementia' 财务技能下降或成老年痴呆前
文章来源:未知 文章作者:meng 发布时间:2009-09-23 06:24 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
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Declining financial skills are detectable1 in patients in the year before they develop Alzheimer's, according to US researchers.

美国研究人员发现,阿尔茨海默病人前几年的财务技能被发现有明显下降。

The ability to manage financial matters is critical to independent living
The ability to manage financial matters is critical to independent living

The researchers say this could be a useful indicator2 for doctors supporting people with memory problems.

Previous studies have shown that problems with daily activities often precede(在……之前) the onset3(攻击,进攻) of Alzheimer's.

But charities said most people having trouble working out figures should not be alarmed by the study.

Financial skills

The research from the University of Alabama in Birmingham is published in the journal, Neurology.

The researchers studied 87 people with mild cognitive4 impairment(轻度认识障碍) (MCI), 25 of whom developed Alzheimer-type dementia during the study period, and 62 who did not.

They compared them with 76 healthy people with no memory problems.

They used a tool called the Financial Capacity Instrument (FCI) to measure their skills over a period of a year.

The FCI looks at skills including understanding a bank statement, balancing a cheque book, paying bills, preparing bills and counting coins and currency.

Tested at the start of the study and then a year later, the overall FCI scores for the 25 patients who progressed to Alzheimer's disease, showed a 6% decline.

Their skills in managing a cheque book dropped by 9%.

The control group and the 62 people with MCI who did not progress to Alzheimer's maintained the level of their FCI scores throughout the year.

Useful indicator

Professor Daniel Marson, who led the study, said: "Declining financial skills are detectable in patients with mild cognitive impairment in the year before their conversion5(转变,换位) to Alzheimer's disease.

"This indicates that physicians and health-care providers need to watch patients with MCI closely for declining financial skills and advice families and caregivers to take steps to avoid negative financial events."

Dr Susanne Sorenson, head of research at the Alzheimer's Society, agreed that this could be a useful indicator for doctors.

She said: "Everyone struggles now and then to divide a restaurant bill or tot up a cheque book.

"However, this study suggests that if you already experience significant memory problems and start to notice a decline in your financial skills it could be a sign of developing dementia."

Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said it was important to stress that the study only focussed on people with pre-existing memory conditions.

She said: "People who miscalculate a restaurant bill or add up their change wrong should not necessarily be concerned.

"The findings do suggest that a decrease in specific money skills could indicate a progression towards Alzheimer's, and this is something doctors could take into account when monitoring patients."



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1 detectable tuXzmd     
adj.可发觉的;可查明的
参考例句:
  • The noise is barely detectable by the human ear.人的耳朵几乎是察觉不到这种噪音的。
  • The inflection point at this PH is barely detectable.在此PH值下,拐点不易发现。
2 indicator i8NxM     
n.指标;指示物,指示者;指示器
参考例句:
  • Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
  • His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。
3 onset bICxF     
n.进攻,袭击,开始,突然开始
参考例句:
  • The drug must be taken from the onset of the infection.这种药必须在感染的最初期就开始服用。
  • Our troops withstood the onset of the enemy.我们的部队抵挡住了敌人的进攻。
4 cognitive Uqwz0     
adj.认知的,认识的,有感知的
参考例句:
  • As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大,他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
  • The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。
5 conversion UZPyI     
n.转化,转换,转变
参考例句:
  • He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
  • Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。
TAG标签: dementia skill Alzheimer
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