Visiting a Person Living with Alzheimer's
Many people have told me how difficult they find it to visit friends and family who have Alzheimer ’s and dementia.By Marilyn RaichleAlzheimer's Reading Room“We have nothing to talk about. I don’t know what to say.”“It’s so sad – she is everything she never wanted to be.”“She would hate this so much. This was her worst nightmare.”So the pattern begins...Subscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading RoomEmail:Visiting makes you sad or uncomfortable,so you don ’t visit.Not visiting makes you feel guilty, so you put off visiting again.“She won’t remember it anyway,” you rationalize.Dementia Patients are Peo...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - December 12, 2018 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer s alzheimers care alzheimers caregiving Alzheimers Dementia Alzheimers Disease alzheimers information dementia care health memory memory loss Source Type: blogs
The Estrogen Dilemma and Alzheimer's Disease
This article cuts across a broad spectrum of diseases, but is focused on hormones, estrogen and something called the timing hypothesis.This proposition, that estrogen ’s effects on our minds and our bodies may depend heavily upon when we first start taking it, is a controversial and very big idea. It has a working nickname: “the timing hypothesis.”There are some very interesting hypotheses about the health of the brain and Alzheimer's in the article.If the timing hypothesis proves right and estrogen really does protect brains and hearts as long as we start it "at the right time", the calculation only grows that much ...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - December 11, 2018 Category: Neurology Tags: Alzheimer's disease estrogen facts about estrogen health life news women Source Type: blogs
Swimming Through Change
What do you love about swimming?
For me, I’ve just always loved being in the water and playing games with my friends. Starting from when I was 7 or 8 years old, I walked to our neighborhood pool, met my friends, and we played cards during adult swim, and sharks & minnows when there were enough of us there, and I swam on the swim team until I was 15 years old. The swimming pool was the fabric of my summer existence.
During & after high school, other priorities came up, other sports, other interests, academics and eventually a job. My first job out of college was with Voyageur Outward Bound School where we ...
Source: Mr. Hassle's Long Underpants - December 2, 2018 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Doc Shazam Tags: Life Triathlon Training Source Type: blogs
A New Biology of Alzheimer's disease?
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) describe a unique model for the biology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) which may lead to an entirely novel approach for treating the disease.What is the Difference Between Alzheimer ’s and DementiaBy Alzheimer's Reading RoomSubscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading RoomEmail:Researchers describe new biology of Alzheimer's diseaseScientists have known for a long time that two proteins (amyloid and tau) clump and accumulate in the brains of Alzheimer patients, and this accumulation is thought to cause nerve cell injury that results in dementia.Recent work by these BUSMre...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - October 24, 2018 Category: Neurology Tags: Alzheimer's disease biology brain dementia memory science TIA1 tau Source Type: blogs
3 Questions Every Alzheimer ’s Caregiver Should Ask About Palliative Care
We described palliative care as “aggressive symptom management for maximum quality of life at the present time.”The goal is to treat and remove, or reduce, symptoms that are bothering the person who is deeply forgetful. Symptoms such as pain, or problems like urinary tract infections, are handled in ways that make sense to the person living inAlzheimer ’s World.Learn More -Alzheimer ’s WorldIn the beginning of the journey, when the person is only a little forgetful, diseases and health problems are managed so that the body and mind continue to support each otherFOR MAXIMUM QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE NOW.How to Get Answ...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - October 18, 2018 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimers care alzheimers caregiving dementia help for caregivers end of life care family caregiving help alzheimer's help with dementia care memory care facility nursing home palliative care Source Type: blogs
Psychotropic drug use is common in Alzheimer ’s disease
This study was part of the nationwide register-based MEDALZ study conducted at the University of Eastern Finland. The study included all 70,718 persons diagnosed with Alzheimer ’s disease in Finland during 2005-2011. Researchers from Utrecht University also contributed to this study.The results were published in European Neuropsychopharmacology.CitationKim Orsel, Heidi Taipale, Anna-Maija Tolppanen, Marjaana Koponen, Antti Tanskanen, Jari Tiihonen, Helga Gardarsdottir, Sirpa Hartikainen. "Psychotropic drugs use and psychotropic polypharmacy among persons with Alzheimer's disease".European Neuropsychopharmacology, 2018; D...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - October 2, 2018 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer Alzheimers Dementia alzheimers risks health memory test psychotropic drugs research science sleep Source Type: blogs
Alzheimer's The Emotional Roller Coaster Ride
I must remind myself that the hard to comprehend behaviors being expressed by a person living with Alzheimer's are part of the disease, and are not a deliberate bad act on the their part.It is difficult to describe the range of emotions an Alzheimer's caregiver might feel or experience in a single day.Imagine being happy and then sad, caring then angry, focused then frustrated --an almost endless stream of feelings and emotions that conflict.What ’s the Difference Between Alzheimer’s and DementiaBy Bob DeMarcoAlzheimer's Reading RoomThe caregiver often lives an anxiety filled life day-after-day.Alzheimer's Anger, Frust...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - September 13, 2018 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer patient alzheimers help care for alzheimers dementia care dementia help for caregivers help alzheimer's help with dementia care memory care facility Source Type: blogs
New Interactive Video Game Could Help Older Adults Strengthen Their Brains and Bodies
An immersive video game could help older adults maintain physical and cognitive health.A smiling dolphin named Bandit is the star of an interactive video game that could help older adults strengthen their brains and bodies.Michelle Carlson, PhD, MA, a professor in Mental Health, is exploring the game ’s viability as a toolto exercise neural networks that control complex cognition and mobility.Players use a remote control and arm movements to guide Bandit through increasingly challenging game levels, from catching fish to battling a shark.What is the Difference Between Alzheimer ’s and DementiaSubscribe to the Alzheimer...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - September 11, 2018 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimers bandit brain care of dementia patients care of memory elder care health strengthen brain video game Source Type: blogs
Afraid of Making the Wrong Caregiver Moves?
Behind every good caregiving intention is usually a fair amount of love and caring.By Paula Spencer ScottAlzheimer's Reading RoomAre you sometimes nagged by the question,Am I getting this right?What is the Difference Between Alzheimer ’s and DementiaSubscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading RoomEmail:Few of us cast into the role of Alzheimer's caregiver have training or experience in dealing with the many difficult decision we face each day.Should Dad stay on the combination of Aricept and Namenda?Which child's house would be best for him to live in?Is it better for him if we don't bring him on vacation with us?Do we go ahead...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - August 12, 2018 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimers alzheimers quote care of dementia patient caregiving connectalzheimersdementia dementia nursing care health how to senior care Source Type: blogs
Can an existing Alzheimer's drug stop Alzheimer's disease if taken before symptoms develop?
About 50 percent of people who reach the age of 85 will develop Alzheimer's disease.ByAlzheimer's Reading RoomMost Alzheimer's patientswill die about eight years after exhibiting the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.Severememory loss and a precipitous decline in cognitive function are the hallmarks of the disease.But the molecular processes that lead to the disease will have begun many years earlier.What is the Difference Between Alzheimer ’s and DementiaSubscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading RoomEmail:Alzheimer's drug may stop disease if used before symptoms develop, study suggestsCurrently, there are no known ways to prev...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - August 7, 2018 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimers cure alzheimers drug alzheimers research brain care of dementia patients FDA health memantine memory loss preventing alzheimers science Source Type: blogs
Can Aspirin Reduce the Risk of Alzheimer's Disease?
A regimen of low-dose aspirin may reduce plaques in the brain, which will reduce Alzheimer's disease pathology and protect memory, according to neurological researchers at Rush University Medical Center.ByAlzheimer's Reading RoomBuilding on previous studies demonstrating a link between aspirin and reduced risk and prevalence of Alzheimer's disease, researchers were able to show that aspirin decreases amyloid plaque pathology in the brain.Note to readers. I put this up because I started taking one quarter of an aspirin daily about 25 years ago. You might want to consider this and the findings of this research study.Wha...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - July 3, 2018 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer Alzheimers Prevention alzheimers research alzheimers risk alzheimers treatment aspirin brain health memory Source Type: blogs
