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A very dear friend of mine recently lost her 90-something mother who had suffered in her final days with dementia. She told me that visiting her mum at her care home involved three buses and would take an hour and a half on a good day. Of course, it goes without saying that she was happy to make this trip several times a week. But what distressed her was that her mother seemed indifferent to whether she came or not and often just switched off after a few minutes, which felt like a slap in the face, given the effort she was making.
Indifference and a lack of empathy is known to be a symptom of frontotemporal dementia, which accounts for about 5% of all dementia sufferers. And new research has shown how areas of the brain associated with empathy respond differently in people with frontotemporal dementia. This may help improve diagnosis and may lead to new ways to treat this devastating disease.
It’ll come as no surprise to readers of these newsletters that I’m a big fan of small dogs, and being able to stroke, talk to and laugh at our slightly daft dachshund, Dixie, is one of the things that keeps me sane. Therapy cats? Not so much. But I’m told they are popular for use in prisons, schools, hospices, care homes and hospitals to help with loneliness or stress. Research suggests their efficacy very much depends on whether you are a dog person or a cat lover – it’s very much horses for courses (equine therapy is also popular, but you need rather more space, clearly).
It’s been another depressing week on the international news desk as the killing continues in Ukraine, while we seem to get no closer to any kind of deal to stop or even pause the fighting. Donald Trump’s inability to decide on who to blame hasn’t helped, but going on what appear to be the offers currently on the table, there seems no prospect of the slaughter ending any time soon. I sincerely hope I’m wrong.
My social media feeds have recently been full of people arguing about the UK Supreme Court’s recent gender ruling. From what I’ve seen, many people on both sides would benefit from reading this explanation of what it actually means in practice by a legal expert whose research focus has been on gender and sexuality.
With one eye on the local elections next week, our polling expert has been assessing a recent poll that suggests Reform would win the most seats in a general election if it were held today. Here’s why he thinks you should treat this forecast with a degree of scepticism.
Our coverage of the death of Pope Francis I has been very strong over the past week. Among the very many good things he did during his papacy, here are three ways in which he influenced the climate debate.
There’s nothing quite like pulling a muscle in your back (which I did earlier this week) for ensuring an involuntary grunt every time you bend over. In which vein, an exercise regime as simple as sitting down and standing up could ensure you remain limber into your senior years – or so our expert says. Continuing your regular health round-up: this week, why you shouldn’t worry that brown rice contains more arsenic than white rice,
and why you should be wary of the latest herbal remedy being pushed by influencers like Gwyneth Paltrow and Meghan Markle.
As ever, try to make time to listen to our podcast, The Conversation Weekly. The latest episode takes an in-depth look at how charlatans are preying on the gullible in Brazil to monetise the anti-vax movement.
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