Research Proposal

Erin Jackson
Independent Research II GT
2016-2017

Title: Animals are the Answer: How to Best Treat Vascular Dementia

Overview of Research:
I plan to conduct a meta analysis of different studies for my primary research, and will collect
studies from various journals such as Stroke by the American Heart Association, to include them
in my chart. My chart will compare the different types of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic
therapies. I will be evaluating the different therapies based on their effectiveness rates and the
occurrence of adverse effects. I plan to collect data from these studies to find the safest and most
effective therapy for vascular dementia (VaD).

Background and History of the Issue

VaD is a disorder where patients suffer a permanent, debilitating, and gradual loss of memory
and cognitive function. VaD differs from the other types of dementia because of the cause.
Blocked blood vessels prevent blood flow to affected areas of the brain causing brain cells to die,
and the lack of regeneration of these cells causes a loss of cognitive function. People can develop
VaD in a variety of ways. The first is called stroke related dementia and it occurs when blood
vessels narrow and become blocked by a blood clot. Another subtype is post-stroke dementia
where the blood vessels are permanently blocked. I am going to focus my research on post-stroke
dementia.

VaD can affect people in many ways. Symptoms include memory loss, loss of social skills, loss
of cognitive function, loss of language skills as well as many other symptoms. VaD is a relatively
newly discovered type of dementia, so there are no pharmacologic treatments specifically
designed for VaD. As a result, doctors use medicines for other types of dementia, such as those
for Alzheimers disease, to treat VaD. Some medications, like dopaminergic agents do work for
VaD, but new medicines need to be developed. One type of experimental option is stem cell
therapy which could help treat VaD.

Problem Statement and Rationale

VaD is a terminal illness that affects many people and their families. The patients loved ones has
to watch him or her deteriorate. Finding a way to make VaD patients as comfortable as possible
is a top priority. However, after years of research, there is not a consensus on which therapy is
best for treating VaD. In addition, there are many ways to support patients, but I have not found a
go-to initial method. I think finding practices and medicines to start with will be very
important in effectively treating VaD.
Primary Research Methodology
Research Question and Hypothesis
What is the most effective treatment option for vascular dementia in older adults?
Older adults with vascular dementia will be treated most effectively through pet
therapy.

Basis of Hypothesis
At first, I wanted to focus on prevention and did not find controversy in this area, so I
decided to research how to best treat VaD. I thought the medicines and other therapies
used to treat VaD would be very interesting and controversial. Through my research, I
learned that traditional medicine is not particularly effective when treating VaD. I also
discovered that there are no medicines specifically for VaD, so doctors use other
medicines designed for treating other illnesses, such as those for Parkinsons disease and
Alzheimers disease. I also learned about many different therapies being used to treat
VaD. I researched pet therapy, stem cell therapy, acupuncture, aromatherapy and music
therapy being used to treat VaD. I think pet therapy will be effective because it will cause
positive emotions in the patient. It will also bring back long term memories and increase
brain activity. It will also be beneficial because there are not many adverse effects
associated with this type of therapy.

Operational Definitions
Effective: A medicine that alleviates symptoms of VaD the most and makes patients the
most comfortable.
Older Adults: Adults aged sixty-five or older.
Pet Therapy: A type of therapy known as Animal-assisted therapy which involves using
animals to improve a patients social, emotional, and cognitive skills.

Research Design
For my research, I will conduct a meta analysis of previously recorded data. I feel it
would be helpful to conduct both quantitative and qualitative research. I would like to
compare the management of symptoms and patients experiences. Since conducting my
own experiment is unrealistic, I think collecting data of recent real world studies would
be very beneficial. I will be comparing the medicines based on what symptoms they
treated, their success rate, and their adverse effects. I will be analyzing both
pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapies including memantine, cholinesterase
inhibitors, pet therapy, acupuncture, aromatherapy, and music therapy to evaluate their
effectiveness in treating VaD.

Product Overview
For my final product, I will be creating a website to educate the Reservoir community and their
families about VaD. One of my goals is to make them more aware of the issue. I want to share
with my website with a science class or a psychology class at Reservoir. I will write about the
background of VaD. I will also share the results of my primary research, my conclusion and my
call to action.

Logistical Considerations
My project will have special considerations. One problem I might have is finding enough studies
to conduct a completely reliable and valid meta-analysis. I will also not be able to run the
statistics on my meta analysis to determine how valid and reliable my results are. I will also have
to find a class to present my website to and audience that will find my topic interesting.