Review

. 2020 Nov;16(11):1571-1581.

doi: 10.1002/alz.12143. Epub 2020 Aug 12.

Tackling challenges in care of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias amid the COVID-19 pandemic, now and in the future

Vincent C T Mok^{1

2

3}, Sarah Pendlebury^{4

5

6}, Adrian Wong^{1

2}, Suvarna Alladi⁷, Lisa Au^{1

2}, Philip M Bath⁸, Geert Jan Biessels⁹, Christopher Chen¹⁰, Charlotte Cordonnier¹¹, Martin Dichgans^{12

13

14}, Jacqueline Dominguez¹⁵, Philip B Gorelick^{16

17

18}, SangYun Kim¹⁹, Timothy Kwok²⁰, Steven M Greenberg²¹, Jianping Jia²², Rajesh Kalaria²³, Miia Kivipelto^{24

25

26}, Kandiah Naegandran²⁷, Linda C W Lam²⁸, Bonnie Yin Ka Lam^{1

2}, Allen T C Lee²⁸, Hugh S Markus²⁹, John O'Brien³⁰, Ming-Chyi Pai³¹, Leonardo Pantoni³², Perminder Sachdev³³, Ingmar Skoog³⁴, Eric E Smith³⁵, Velandai Srikanth³⁶, Guk-Hee Suh³⁷, Joanna Wardlaw³⁸, Ho Ko^{1

2

3}, Sandra E Black³⁹, Philip Scheltens⁴⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
² Gerald Choa Neuroscience Centre, Margaret K. L. Cheung Research Centre for Management of Parkinsonism, Therese Pei Fong Chow Research Centre for Prevention of Dementia, Lui Che Woo Institute of Innovative Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
³ Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
⁴ NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, The Joint Research Office, Oxford, UK.
⁵ Departments of Acute General Medicine and Geratology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.
⁶ Centre for Prevention of Stroke and Dementia, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
⁷ Department of Neurology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India.
⁸ Stroke Trials Unit, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, School of Medicine, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
⁹ Department of Neurology, UMC Utrecht Brain Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
¹⁰ Department of Pharmacology, Memory Aging and Cognition Centre, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
¹¹ Univ. Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, U1172 - LilNCog - Lille Neuroscience & Cognition, Lille, France.
¹² Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD), University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
¹³ German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE, Munich), Munich, Germany.
¹⁴ Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy), Munich, Germany.
¹⁵ Memory Center, International Institute for Neurosciences, St. Luke's Medical Center, Manila, Philippines.
¹⁶ The Ken & Ruth Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
¹⁷ Division of Cerebrovascular Disease and Neurocritical Care, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
¹⁸ Department of Translational Neuroscience, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA.
¹⁹ Department of Neurology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Clinical Neuroscience Center, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul, South Korea.
²⁰ Division of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
²¹ Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
²² Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
²³ Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
²⁴ Karolinska Institutet, Dept NVS, Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Center for Alzheimer Research and Karolinska University Hospital, Theme Aging, Stockholm, Sweden.
²⁵ Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
²⁶ Ageing and Epidemiology (AGE) Research Unit, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.
²⁷ Department of Neurology, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore.
²⁸ Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
²⁹ Stroke Research Group, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
³⁰ Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
³¹ Division of Behavioral Neurology, Department of Neurology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
³² Stroke and Dementia Lab, "Luigi Sacco" Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
³³ Neuropsychiatric Institute, School of Psychiatry, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
³⁴ Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
³⁵ Division of Neurology, Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
³⁶ Department of Geriatric Medicine Peninsula Health, Peninsula Clinical School, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
³⁷ Department of Psychiatry, Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
³⁸ Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, Edinburgh Imaging and UK Dementia Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
³⁹ Department of Medicine (Neurology), Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Research Program, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
⁴⁰ Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, University Medical Centers, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

PMID: 32789951
PMCID: PMC7436526
DOI: 10.1002/alz.12143

Review

Tackling challenges in care of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias amid the COVID-19 pandemic, now and in the future

Vincent C T Mok et al. Alzheimers Dement. 2020 Nov.

. 2020 Nov;16(11):1571-1581.

doi: 10.1002/alz.12143. Epub 2020 Aug 12.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
² Gerald Choa Neuroscience Centre, Margaret K. L. Cheung Research Centre for Management of Parkinsonism, Therese Pei Fong Chow Research Centre for Prevention of Dementia, Lui Che Woo Institute of Innovative Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
³ Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
⁴ NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, The Joint Research Office, Oxford, UK.
⁵ Departments of Acute General Medicine and Geratology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.
⁶ Centre for Prevention of Stroke and Dementia, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
⁷ Department of Neurology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India.
⁸ Stroke Trials Unit, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, School of Medicine, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
⁹ Department of Neurology, UMC Utrecht Brain Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
¹⁰ Department of Pharmacology, Memory Aging and Cognition Centre, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
¹¹ Univ. Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, U1172 - LilNCog - Lille Neuroscience & Cognition, Lille, France.
¹² Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD), University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
¹³ German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE, Munich), Munich, Germany.
¹⁴ Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy), Munich, Germany.
¹⁵ Memory Center, International Institute for Neurosciences, St. Luke's Medical Center, Manila, Philippines.
¹⁶ The Ken & Ruth Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
¹⁷ Division of Cerebrovascular Disease and Neurocritical Care, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
¹⁸ Department of Translational Neuroscience, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA.
¹⁹ Department of Neurology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Clinical Neuroscience Center, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul, South Korea.
²⁰ Division of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
²¹ Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
²² Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
²³ Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
²⁴ Karolinska Institutet, Dept NVS, Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Center for Alzheimer Research and Karolinska University Hospital, Theme Aging, Stockholm, Sweden.
²⁵ Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
²⁶ Ageing and Epidemiology (AGE) Research Unit, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.
²⁷ Department of Neurology, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore.
²⁸ Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
²⁹ Stroke Research Group, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
³⁰ Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
³¹ Division of Behavioral Neurology, Department of Neurology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
³² Stroke and Dementia Lab, "Luigi Sacco" Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
³³ Neuropsychiatric Institute, School of Psychiatry, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
³⁴ Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
³⁵ Division of Neurology, Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
³⁶ Department of Geriatric Medicine Peninsula Health, Peninsula Clinical School, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
³⁷ Department of Psychiatry, Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
³⁸ Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, Edinburgh Imaging and UK Dementia Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
³⁹ Department of Medicine (Neurology), Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Research Program, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
⁴⁰ Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, University Medical Centers, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

PMID: 32789951
PMCID: PMC7436526
DOI: 10.1002/alz.12143

Erratum in

Erratum.
Mok VCT, Pendlebury S, Wong A, Alladi S, Au L, Bath PM, Biessels GJ, Chen C, Cordonnier C, Dichgans M, Dominguez J, Gorelick PB, Kim S, Kwok T, Greenberg SM, Jia J, Kalaria R, Kivipelto M, Naegandran K, Lam LCW, Lam BYK, Lee ATC, Markus HS, O'Brien J, Pai MC, Pantoni L, Sachdev P, Senanarong V, Skoog I, Smith EE, Srikanth V, Suh GH, Wardlaw J, Ko H, Black SE, Scheltens P. Mok VCT, et al. Alzheimers Dement. 2021 May;17(5):906-907. doi: 10.1002/alz.12307. Epub 2021 Apr 7. Alzheimers Dement. 2021. PMID: 33979036 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract

We have provided an overview on the profound impact of COVID-19 upon older people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias and the challenges encountered in our management of dementia in different health-care settings, including hospital, out-patient, care homes, and the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have also proposed a conceptual framework and practical suggestions for health-care providers in tackling these challenges, which can also apply to the care of older people in general, with or without other neurological diseases, such as stroke or parkinsonism. We believe this review will provide strategic directions and set standards for health-care leaders in dementia, including governmental bodies around the world in coordinating emergency response plans for protecting and caring for older people with dementia amid the COIVD-19 outbreak, which is likely to continue at varying severity in different regions around the world in the medium term.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; COVID-19; dementia; older people.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Philip B. Gorelick, MD, MPH, serves on a Data Monitoring Board for Novartis for a LCZ 696 trial which includes the study of cognitive outcomes in heart failure. Other authors have no conflicts of interest relevant to this article.

Figures

**FIGURE 1**
Conceptual framework of home‐based care strategies amid the COVID‐19 pandemic. It will be ideal if a case manager can help coordinate care across the continuum of community‐based services and partner with persons from the social support network, with special focus in managing the following key areas: implementing infection control measures at home, care for basic needs, tackling behavioral problems, maintaining brain‐healthy life‐style activities, managing medical/cognitive problems, showing concern for and appreciation to caregivers. Although user‐friendly telehealth technologies can facilitate better care delivery in many ways, making simple phone calls may sometime serve a similar purpose

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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1. Zhou F, Yu T, Du R, et al. Clinical course and risk factors for mortality of adult inpatients with COVID‐19 in Wuhan, China: a retrospective cohort study. Lancet. 2020;395:1054‐1062. - PMC - PubMed
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Tackling challenges in care of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias amid the COVID-19 pandemic, now and in the future

Affiliations

Tackling challenges in care of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias amid the COVID-19 pandemic, now and in the future

Authors

Affiliations

Erratum in

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical