Question

Based on the core ethical principals we've examined, what would be the major concerns surrounding the below study? Are there particular modifications or clarifications that might alleviate concerns?

Individuals who are responsible for the care-giving of another individual with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) experience high levels of mental stress. A group wishes to study the most effective form of respite or short-term day-care services for caregivers of persons with AD. The study involves use of three groups - two treatment and one control.

One treatment group will be provided 4 hours of "day care" for the AD person, five days per week, giving the caregiver 4 non-care-giving hours on these days. The second treatment group will be provided three 8-hour "day care" sessions per week for the AD person, plus a support group for the caregiver. Caregivers in the control group will not have access to either respite service, but will simply be interviewed every month for the 3-month period of the study to measure stress and coping. Part of the data collection also involves some baseline assessment of each caregiver's AD ward, using mental status tests and obtaining information from medical records.

Answer 1

The most common form of dementia can seen in Alzheimers disease,will become even more prevalent by midcentury constituting a major global health concerns with huge implications for individuals and the community.AD is a complex disorder while the vast majority of AD cases are sporadic it affects the individuals older than 60 years of age,this disease maily characterized by progressive cognitive impairment,the disease progress start non cognitiive symptoms like imparement of appetite and sleep,neuropathic alterations,metabolic disorders etc,AD holds a complex pathology ,Alterd peripheral metabolis with hyperglyccemia and hyperinsulinemia whichh are major features of type 2 DM were recently found positively correlate with development of AD.