TY - JOUR
T1 - Are joint contractures in patients with alzheimer's disease preventable?
AU - Jamshed, Namirah
AU - Schneider, Edward L.
PY - 2010/8
Y1 - 2010/8
N2 - Joint contractures impair quality of life and lead to further complications and disability. In severe dementia, many patients are seen in a fetal position. This position causes flexion of the muscles at joints, causing the muscles to undergo shortening, resulting in degenerative tissue changes, and then leading to potential irreversible deformity. The authors discuss the development of joint contractures in Alzheimer's disease (AD), where it is thought that the natural progression of AD terminates with patients in the fetal position. It has been postulated that this fetal position causes the high incidence of contractures seen in end-stage AD. However, in many situations it is the absence of adequate prevention strategies that produces contractures.
AB - Joint contractures impair quality of life and lead to further complications and disability. In severe dementia, many patients are seen in a fetal position. This position causes flexion of the muscles at joints, causing the muscles to undergo shortening, resulting in degenerative tissue changes, and then leading to potential irreversible deformity. The authors discuss the development of joint contractures in Alzheimer's disease (AD), where it is thought that the natural progression of AD terminates with patients in the fetal position. It has been postulated that this fetal position causes the high incidence of contractures seen in end-stage AD. However, in many situations it is the absence of adequate prevention strategies that produces contractures.
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M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:77956931692
SN - 1524-7929
VL - 18
SP - 26
EP - 33
JO - Annals of Long-Term Care
JF - Annals of Long-Term Care
IS - 8
ER -