Memory Decline: Exercise May Help Slow or Reverse the Process
The common view about memory loss is that nothing can be done to stop the decline or improve symptoms. Researchers are beginning to prove that this type of thinking is outdated. A study of people with vascular cognitive impairment, published in the journal of the American Academy of Neurology and led by Teresa Liu-Ambrose, P.T., Ph.D., of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada provides some hope. This type of cognitive impairment can lead to full-fledged vascular dementia, the second most common cause of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Read full article on HealthCentral about how exercise ...
Source: Minding Our Elders - April 13, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Ageism: How Unrealistic Portrayals of Aging Affect Senior Health
How are older people portrayed in movies and on TV? Are they consistently cranky and the target of jokes or are they realistic in their variations and strengths? Are stereotypical portrayals harmful to their health? Possibly so. New research from the University of Southern California Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, in partnership with Humana, Inc. sheds light on both the expected conclusion that older people, if represented at all in film and on television, are often typecast negatively, but also on the unexpected fact that these portrayals seem to affect the overall health of our aging populations....
Source: Minding Our Elders - April 12, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Moving Parent from Assisted Living to Memory Care May Require Creativity
Dear Carol: My mom has been in assisted living for six years and she’s loved it. Unfortunately, while she’s relatively healthy, her short-term memory has nearly disappeared and her ability to make decisions is negligible. The doctor says that she is ready for a memory care unit, and there’s one in the same facility, but she’s resisting. I know that we have to move her, but I don’t know how to do it without upsetting her. Do we just tell Mom that this is what she needs to do and then simply move her? I’m terrified that she’ll give up and start failing. Jen
Read full column on Inforum about moving ...
Source: Minding Our Elders - April 11, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
How Humor Helps Provide Armor for Caregivers to Survive
One of the positive parts of being a family caregiver is the opportunity for emotional growth. We can develop increased compassion, patience, and tolerance, as well as humor. Yes, we often shed tears over our loved one’s illness and often over our feelings of powerlessness. But humor may be the saving grace that keeps us from drowning in sorrow. Some situations, of course, leave no room for laughter. But some tough times can offer moments of levity if we choose to recognize them. My sister, Beth, and I experienced what to some people may be a rather macabre situation during the three days our mother was goin...
Source: Minding Our Elders - April 10, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Optimistic Thinking May Help Preserve Memory and Judgement
It should come as no surprise that optimistic thinking is, for the most part, better for one’s health than negative thinking. In fact, negative thinking has been connected to poor health for some time. A recent study confirms what was previously suspected, linking optimistic thinking to the preservation of memory and good judgement. Both of those traits bode well for staving off, if not preventing, Alzheimer’s disease. Research conducted by the University of Michigan has linked an optimistic outlook to taking better care of ourselves overall, which may explain the effect that optimism has on Alzheimer’s risk.
R...
Source: Minding Our Elders - April 9, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Family Caregivers are the Heart of Alzheimer's Care
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, in 2015 nearly 16 million family and other unpaid caregivers for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias provided an estimated 18.1 billion hours of unpaid care, a contribution to the nation valued at $221.3 billion. This is with caregiving being valued at only $12.25 per hour. Similar statistics are posted by the International Alliance of Carer Organizations, which tracks caregiving in countries around the world. These statistics should make it glaringly obvious that family caregivers are indispensable to our nation as well as to the rest of the world. Withou...
Source: Minding Our Elders - April 8, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Long-term Testing May Speed Early Treatment of Alzheimer ’s Disease
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Cognitive and Neural Systems have found evidence that long-term testing starting well before any signs of Alzheimer’s symptoms are evident could be a valuable tool in detecting which people will need intervention with therapeutic drugs that are now in clinical trials. This type of intervention could possibly halt or even reverse cognitive damage while the patient is still symptom-free. The long-term testing would be done in conjunction with brain scans.
Read full article on HealthCentral about the value of long-term testing:
Support a caregiver or jump start discus...
Source: Minding Our Elders - April 7, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Memory: Is Forgetfulness A Precursor of Alzheimer ’s?
Millions of aging boomers wonder if their memory lapses are from normal aging, or a sign that they are developing Alzheimer’s. There’s some basis for the worry. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 5 million people in the U.S. are living with it. One in three seniors will die with Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia.
While these statistics are scary, you shouldn't let them cloud the reality that many of us will age normally and will not develop AD, or any other type of dementia. Certainly, we will have some memory changes as we age. Improvements in our lifestyle may help mitigate some of those....
Source: Minding Our Elders - April 6, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Warning from AARP Fraud Watch: Don't Get Scammed Over New Medicare Cards
To my readers: All of AARP's Fraud Watch posts are terrific and I suggest that you sign up for the updates. That being said, occasionally I feel the need to make certain that as many of my own followers as possible see a posting so I pass it on. This is one of those times. Please read this for your own protection or that of your loved one:
Special Alert: Medicare Card Changes Means Opportunities for Scams
Congress passed a law in 2015 that requires the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to remove Social Security numbers from all Medicare cards, which they will start doing in April 2018. New beneficiaries wi...
Source: Minding Our Elders - April 5, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
April is Parkinson's Awareness Month: How Informed Are You?
There are many neurological diseases that can affect people as they age. Alzheimer’s, of course, is one of the most feared because it is so well known. However, while not as common, Parkinson's disease is also prevalent. This neurological disorder affects an estimated 2 percent of people older than 65. Like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s is progressive and it involves changes in the brain that can become debilitating. The National Parkinson Foundation estimates that one million Americans have the disease. Of those who develop Parkinson’s disease, 50 to 80 percent will eventually experience Parkinson's disea...
Source: Minding Our Elders - April 4, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Why Your Ill Loved One Fools the Doctor and What to do About It
A frequent problem expressed among adult children is that their parents aren't truthful with their doctors. While the parent may complain at home of pain, exhibit memory problems and accuse the family of theft when he or she can't locate a commonly used item, the moment the parent faces their doctor a change occurs. Like an actor on stage, the person sitting in front of the doctor becomes animated and charming. My mom was a supreme example.
Read full article on Agingcare about why your ill loved one may fool the doctor:
Support a caregiver or jump start discussion in support groups with real stories - for...
Source: Minding Our Elders - April 3, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
“The Inheritance” Follows ND Family as Genetic Alzheimer’s becomes Legacy
Dear Readers: For most people, finding out that they have received an inheritance is a positive experience. Not so when that inheritance is early onset familial Alzheimer’s disease (eFAD). This type of inheritance involves a gene which each family member has a 50 percent chance of inheriting. For those who inherit this gene, their chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease by middle age, if not younger, is 100 percent. In her engrossing new book “The Inheritance,” Niki Kapsambelis presents the story of a North Dakota family facing such a reality.
Read full review of "The Inheritance" on Inforum:
Purchase Mindin...
Source: Minding Our Elders - April 2, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Think Carefully About Long-Term Issues before Cohabitating with Your Elders
You're close with your parents and you see them needing help. You've watched their decline, but so far you've handled it and they've stayed in their home. You've hired out the yard work and much of the housework. But it's time now for something different. Dad's often confused and Mom's diabetes isn't being cared for properly. You are wondering, should they move in with you? Years back, having one or both parents move in with the family was relatively common. My grandmother moved in with our family when my brother and I were teens and our little sister was a toddler. My parents built a ne...
Source: Minding Our Elders - April 1, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Reversing Memory Loss: Non-Drug Approach Shows Promise
A small study at UCLA has shown evidence that a strict protocol concentrating on lifestyle changes can reverse Alzheimer’s symptoms. We frequently hear about some promising new potential drug breakthrough, yet there is at this time no medical cure and it’s not likely that there will be one anytime soon. Thus, the interest in exercise, diet, vitamin and herbal remedies and brain challenges.
Read full on HealthCentral article on how UCLA has shown promising results in reversing AD by lifestyle changes:
Support a caregiver or jump start discussion in support groups with real stories - for bulk orders of Mindin...
Source: Minding Our Elders - March 31, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
MIND Diet Recommended for Alzheimer's Prevention
Part of a healthy lifestyle, one that may prevent heart disease, Alzheimer’s and other diseases, involves consuming a nourishing diet. According to a recent study, one way to obtain these nutrients is through the MIND diet. This berry-heavy diet, which was created by nutritional epidemiologist Martha Clare Morris, PhD and colleagues at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL, is a tweaked combination of the Mediterranean and the DASH diets. The acronym MIND stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay.
Read full article on HealthCentral about how our diets might improve our chances of avoi...
Source: Minding Our Elders - March 30, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
