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Inventi Impact: Psychiatry & Neurology

Articles

  • Inventi:hpyn/29883/19
    Early Recognition and Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms to Improve Quality of Life in Early Alzheimerâ??s Disease: Protocol of the BEAT-IT Study
    Research 2019 : October - December
    Willem S Eikelboom, Ellen Singleton, Esther van den Berg, Michiel Coesmans, Francesco Mattace Raso, Rozemarijn L van Bruchem, Jeannette A Goudzwaard, Frank Jan de Jong, Marc Koopmanschap, Tom den Heijer, Jan J M Driesen, Lilian J H M Vroegindeweij, Elsbeth C Thomeer, Susanne E Hoogers, Anke A Dijkstra, Sytse U Zuidema, Yolande A L Pijnenburg, Philip Scheltens, John C van Swieten, Rik Ossenkoppele, Janne M Papma

    Background: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are very common in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI)\nand Alzheimerâ??s disease (AD) dementia and are associated with various disadvantageous clinical outcomes including a\nnegative impact on quality of life, caregiver burden, and accelerated disease progression. Despite growing evidence of\nthe efficacy of (non)pharmacological interventions to reduce these symptoms, NPS remain underrecognized and\nundertreated in memory clinics. The BEhavioural symptoms in Alzheimerâ??s disease Towards early Identification and\nTreatment (BEAT-IT) study is developed to (1) investigate the neurobiological etiology of NPS in AD and (2) study the\neffectiveness of the Describe, Investigate, Create, Evaluate (DICE) approach to structure and standardize the current care\nof NPS in AD. By means of the DICE method, we aim to improve the quality of life of AD patients with NPS and their\ncaregivers who visit the memory clinic. This paper describes the protocol for the intervention study that incorporates\nthe latter aim.\nMethods: We aim to enroll a total of 150 community-dwelling patients with MCI or AD and their caregivers in two\nwaves. First, we will recruit a control group who will receive care as usual. Next, the second wave of participants will\nundergo the DICE method. This approach consists of the following steps: (1) describe the context in which NPS occur, (2)\ninvestigate the possible causes, (3) create and implement a treatment plan, and (4) evaluate whether these interventions\nare effective. Primary outcomes are the quality of life of patients and their caregivers. Secondary outcomes include NPS\nchange, caregiver burden, caregiversâ?? confidence managing NPS, psychotropic medication use, the experiences\nof patients and caregivers who underwent the DICE method, and the cost-effectiveness of the intervention.\nConclusions: This paper describes the protocol of an intervention study that is part of the BEAT-IT study and\naims to improve current recognition and treatment of NPS in AD by structuring and standardizing the detection\nand treatment of NPS in AD using the DICE approach.

    How to Cite this Article
    Attribution/ CC Compliant Citation: Eikelboom, Willem S., et al. \"Early recognition and treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms\nto improve quality of life in early Alzheimer's disease: protocol of the BEAT-IT study.\" Alzheimer's research & therapy 11.1\n(2019): 48.\nhttps://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-019-0503-2\nhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/\n\nSome formatting elements, header, footer, logos, dates and pagination were modified while adapting this article.
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