“The biggest message is that exercise is much more effective than medication in slowing the decline once you have dementia, or in delaying its onset. It’s one of the 12 modifiable risk factors ,” she explains. In 2012, the NHMRC awarded her $25 million for the Cognitive Decline Partnership Centre, which funded 32 projects across the country which looked at care for people with dementia. “We developed the clinical practice guidelines for management of dementia, which were the first ones ever done in Australia,” she says. Frailty The frailty intervention trial (2011 to 2013) involved 241 frail Hornsby residents. One group received exercise and nutrition interventions, while other received normal care. The experimental group saw numerous benefits. “We turned frailty around,” she says, adding that the research is now being implemented in hospitals throughout Northern Sydney, with another frailty study soon to be published. Clinical trials can last up to five years, and older patients often bring a relative along. Sue and her colleagues, including clinical trials research coordinator Roseanne Hogarth and clinical nurse specialist Bronwyn Cook have developed close relationships, knowing their families, pets, and even sharing coffee outings. “They are like family,” says Sue. “The advantage of working in a smaller hospital is we really get to know our patients.”
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