Health experts are learning about how the coronavirus has been especially dangerous for people with underlying medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and respiratory problems but a study from the U.K. found that another pre-existing condition leading to death was dementia.
Dr. Damon Salzman with the Cleveland Clinic Weston said there are multiple factors affecting the grim outlook for people with dementia who become infected with the virus.
“People with dementia often require additional services, additional social communications, the require special assistance and either because of concerns about infecting people who are elderly with dementia or infection in general and many of these services have been extremely limited or even closed,” he said.
Salzman said the isolation and lack of access to services means that complications can develop but are not addressed until the situation becomes dire.
He said the key to protecting these vulnerable patients is contact, either in person or virtually, several times a day.
Also in recent health news, there’s much talk about an anti-parasitic drug called Ivermectin that’s being used off-label to treat COVID-19.
When researchers in Australia found it could inhibit the virus in cell cultures, the findings were quickly circulated and doctors began using it off-label even though it has not be studied in humans.
Researchers caution against using medications without solid study-backed data, although Ivermectin has been used to treat other viruses including Zika and Dengue.