Protection for Nursing Home Residents: Will New Rules Remain?
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New rules for the protection of nursing home residents have been implemented as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Many of these rules provide answers to concerns that have troubled families with loved ones living in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), generally called nursing homes. I emailed Medicare expert Ginalisa Monterroso for an update on these rules and what they mean for nursing home residents and their... (Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts)
Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts - February 9, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack, Minding Our Elders Source Type: blogs
Celebrating Love: Dementia Caregivers Speak Up
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Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, and birthdays have traditionally been celebrated with balloons, gifts, cards, parties, and food. Sadly, when dementia enters into the picture, such general mayhem may overwhelm a person already confused by his or her surroundings. Even attempting to celebrate love can become a challenge. The choice about whether or not to mark special days is often fraught with pain for the... (Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts)
Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts - February 6, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack, Minding Our Elders Source Type: blogs
Alzheimer ’ s Documentary Sparks Controversy Over What Some See as Negativity
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According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 5 million people in the U.S. live with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and the price tag for the disease in 2016 was over $236 billion. Therefore, it isn’t surprising that the disease is often featured on news broadcasts and as a topic of documentaries.
PBS has been particularly attentive to the issues of AD. In 2012, PBS aired a moving... (Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts)
Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts - January 31, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack, Minding Our Elders Source Type: blogs
Using Physical Therapy to Achieve the Best Version of You
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As people age, they are likely to find that balance issues, arthritis, neurological diseases, and other health problems become a threat to their quality of life. People facing these problems often find that being evaluated and treated by a physical therapist can be a significant step toward improvement in safety and mobility, or at least stabilization.
Caroline DeGroot, Master of Physical Therapy (MPT), is a... (Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts)
Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts - January 16, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack, Minding Our Elders Source Type: blogs
Midlife Exercise May Have Beneficial Effects on Brain Later in Life
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Once you’ve reach your 70s, will you look back and thank your middle-aged self for spending another hour each day on social media rather than jogging around your neighborhood? According to new research, the answer is no: you’re more likely to wish that you’d had more self-discipline.
A long-term study of more than 3,000 twins by researchers at the University of Helsinki found that midlife,... (Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts)
Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts - January 10, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack, Minding Our Elders Source Type: blogs
Do You Need a Specialist for a Dementia Diagnosis?
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For many adult children and spouses, it’s difficult to convince a parent or mate to stay current with the medical appointments needed for checkups and medication renewals. If specialists are required, that generally means more waiting, more testing, and more visits. All of these appointments are time-consuming and frequently frustrating, which all too often leads to delaying the appointments... (Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts)
Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts - January 4, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack, Minding Our Elders Source Type: blogs
Needs of 'Elder Orphans' a Growing Concern in Aging Population
Credit: Thinkstock " Elder orphan " is a term used by medical professionals to describe individuals living alone with little to no support system. In a research article published in Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research, in July 2016, " Elder Orphans Hiding in Plain Sight: A Growing Vulnerable Population, " Maria T. Carney, M.D., and her colleagues, sought to help clinicians identify adults with multiple chronic diseases who... (Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts)
Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts - December 20, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack, Minding Our Elders Source Type: blogs
Alzheimer's: What Is Really in Your Control?
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When it comes to Alzheimer's Disease (AD), the sad reality is that there is no cure. But a significant number of people have an increased risk due to genetics, and everyone has an increased risk as they age.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, of the more than five million Americans with Alzheimer's, approximately 200,000 individuals develop the disease before age 65 (younger-onset Alzheimer's... (Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts)
Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts - December 13, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack, Minding Our Elders Source Type: blogs
Is Our Youth-Obsessed Culture Making You Old Before Your Time?
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Look young! Feel young! Think young! The constant barrage of information about how being forever young is the only desirable way to live is enough to make even a young person feel old. Now researchers have shown that this ageism is potentially harmful to one's cognitive abilities over the long term.
A study led by Becca R. Levy, PhD of Yale University and her colleagues has shown that our memory is actually... (Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts)
Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts - December 5, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack, Minding Our Elders Source Type: blogs
Caffeine May Lower Risk for Cognitive Decline, Study Suggests
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Throughout the last several decades, caffeine has been alternately touted as hero or villain. For a time, caffeine was blamed for birth defects in children, and healthy eating, in general, meant eliminating food or beverages containing caffeine. Still, one of the most explosive new trends we’ve seen over the last dozen years has been designer coffee shops and kiosks, which show that people will not... (Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts)
Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts - November 15, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack, Minding Our Elders Source Type: blogs
You Are Not Alone: Caregivers Share Their Experiences and Insights
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Long-term caregiving can be isolating and lonely, which is why peer support is so vital to a caregiver’s mental, emotional, and physical health. More than a decade ago, I searched for other caregivers with whom I could share my journey and discovered that connecting was difficult. This experience led me to write “Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share their Personal Stories.”
Thankfully,... (Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts)
Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts - November 7, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack, Minding Our Elders Source Type: blogs
Gene Therapy Delivered by Modified Virus Provides Hope for Cure Prior to Symptoms
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According to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2016 figures, five million American’s are living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S. Additionally, this year Alzheimer’s and other dementias will cost the U.S. $236 billion, not to mention the over $18 billion of unpaid care provided by unpaid family caregivers (2015... (Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts)
Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts - November 2, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack, Minding Our Elders Source Type: blogs
Reversing Alzheimer ’ s: Lifestyle Plan Shows Promise
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It’s been said that once you know one person with Alzheimer’s, you know one person with Alzheimer’s. In other words: people are unique, and not everyone will respond to a particular treatment. This truth was highlighted in a study based on the combined efforts of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and UCLA Easton Laboratories for Neurodegenerative Disease Research.
In the study,... (Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts)
Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts - October 19, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack, Minding Our Elders Source Type: blogs
Alzheimer's: Leaky Blood-Brain Barrier One More Step in Understanding Development of Disease
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The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a collection of cells and cellular components that line the walls of blood vessels in the brain. This barrier is an important part of brain health because it separates the brain from circulating blood. A study led by Walter H. Backes, Ph.D., a professor in medical physics at Maastricht University Medical Center in the Netherlands, has found that the blood-brain... (Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts)
Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts - October 4, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack, Minding Our Elders Source Type: blogs
Long-term Testing May Speed Early Treatment of Alzheimer ’ s Disease
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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... (Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts)
Source: Carol Bradley Bursack's SharePosts - September 22, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack, Minding Our Elders Source Type: blogs
