Alzheimer's Disease

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  • Scientists Can't Replicate Surprising Finding on Alzheimer's Treatment

    MedicineNet Alzheimer's General
    24 May 2013 | 12:00 am
    Title: Scientists Can't Replicate Surprising Finding on Alzheimer's TreatmentCategory: Health NewsCreated: 5/23/2013 2:35:00 PMLast Editorial Review: 5/24/2013 12:00:00 AM

  • Should You Choose Palliative Care or Hospice for a Loved One with Advanced Dementia?

    About.com Alzheimers Disease
    19 May 2013 | 3:47 pm
    As Alzheimer's and other dementias progress into the later stages, some people opt for additional support and care through home health care, a facility such as a nursing home, or hospice care. However, another less known choice also exists: palliative care....Read Full Post

  • You Can't Leave a Person with Alzheimer's Alone

    Alzheimer's Reading Room
    Bob DeMarco
    24 May 2013 | 8:22 am
    Yes, you will be required to make an enormous sacrifice if you decide to keep the person who is deeply forgetful at home. By Bob DeMarco +Alzheimer's Reading Room Blackfin66 left this interesting comment and question under the article, When Alzheimer's Patients Say Mean Things, Make an Inventory Bob, I'd especially like to hear how you dealt with the bad reaction to leaving the house for a while. I understand that my wife does not like to be left alone, and I think I understand why. But there are occasions when I do it anyway. To be honest, I feel that I have already greatly limited my…

  • Finally, Therapies Targeting Huntingtin Poised for Clinic

    Alzforum News
    23 May 2013 | 10:00 pm
    Twenty years after the identification of the mutant gene that causes Huntington’s disease, scientists are ready to take therapies that target it into human trials...

  • Stick N Find Bluetooth Location device

    "Had a Dad" Alzheimer's Blog
    GBP })i({
    8 May 2013 | 7:39 am
    I just found this product through a post on, of all places, the I Can Has Cheezburger (LOL cats) site. If my dad was still alive and at home, I'd be Fry from Futurama: shut up and take my money. Basically, the StickNFind is a tiny round sticker that you can place anywhere.  You use your i-phone or Android phone to track the location of the sticker.  If you lose your keys, for instance.  Or you can put it on your pet's collar, stuck to a tag.   Or your wandering dementia-ridden dad.  When you are within 100 feet your phone can find it.  If your phone can't…
 
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    About.com Alzheimers Disease

  • Should You Choose Palliative Care or Hospice for a Loved One with Advanced Dementia?

    19 May 2013 | 3:47 pm
    As Alzheimer's and other dementias progress into the later stages, some people opt for additional support and care through home health care, a facility such as a nursing home, or hospice care. However, another less known choice also exists: palliative care....Read Full Post

  • How to Respond to Grandma's Hurtful Comments When She Has Alzheimer's

    9 May 2013 | 11:23 pm
    Recently in our Alzheimer's About.com forum, a reader described hurtful comments made by his or her Grandma who has Alzheimer's disease. The question asked was, "How should I respond to Grandma?"...Read Full Post

  • How Can Video Games Be Good for Your Brain?

    5 May 2013 | 12:48 pm
    If you were a fly on the wall of my house, chances are you'd hear, "Too much tv and video games will rot your brains!" Turns out, I may have to revise that opinion....Read Full Post

  • Feeling Guilt or Grief After Placing Someone in a Nursing Home?

    28 Apr 2013 | 1:44 pm
    Have you ever heard someone say, "I can't wait for the time when I can't care for myself so I get to live in a nursing home!"? Nah, me either. Yet, that's the reality for many....Read Full Post

  • Does Alzheimer's Disease Affect Personality?

    21 Apr 2013 | 4:50 pm
    Alzheimer's disease can affect memory (both short-term and long-term), word-finding abilities, and the decision-making ability of the person with the disease. But, does Alzheimer's change someone's basic personality? The answer? Sometimes. In some cases, the person who has always been easy-going, gentle and caring remains so, even as Alzheimer's progresses into the middle and later stages....Read Full Post
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    Alzheimer's Reading Room

  • You Can't Leave a Person with Alzheimer's Alone

    Bob DeMarco
    24 May 2013 | 8:22 am
    Yes, you will be required to make an enormous sacrifice if you decide to keep the person who is deeply forgetful at home. By Bob DeMarco +Alzheimer's Reading Room Blackfin66 left this interesting comment and question under the article, When Alzheimer's Patients Say Mean Things, Make an Inventory Bob, I'd especially like to hear how you dealt with the bad reaction to leaving the house for a while. I understand that my wife does not like to be left alone, and I think I understand why. But there are occasions when I do it anyway. To be honest, I feel that I have already greatly limited my…

  • Alzheimer's Miracle Drug Bexarotene Doesn't Work as Reported

    Bob DeMarco
    23 May 2013 | 7:46 pm
    Bexarotene, a cancer drug touted as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, may not be the blockbuster remedy that scientist were hoping for in 2012. By +Bob DeMarco +Alzheimer's Reading Room  Co-authors Karthikeyan Veeraraghavalu and Sangram Sisodia of the University of Chicago Three teams of highly respected Alzheimer’s researchers failed to replicate what appeared to be breakthrough results for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease using existing cancer drug Targretin® (brand name Bexarotene) (see below). The original results, presented online Feb. 9, 2012, suggested…

  • Bob DeMarco My Alzheimer's Metamorphosis

    Bob DeMarco
    23 May 2013 | 8:29 am
    Did you ever wonder how the Alzheimer's Reading Room came into being? Or, what I was thinking and feeling during those early days of caring for Dotty? By Bob DeMarco +Alzheimer's Reading Room  This interview (podcast) really gets into my own metamorphosis as an Alzheimer's caregiver, and lots about Dotty. The interview was conducted by Chris Curran and Kristen Totaro of Business Beat Radio. This turned out to be a really great experience for me, and I think many of the readers here will find this interview of great interest. Among other things I discuss how the Alzheimer's Reading Room…

  • Does Vitamin B Prevent Alzheimer's, and How Vitamin B Saved Us over $8,000

    Bob DeMarco
    22 May 2013 | 8:17 am
    Yes, after reading about Vitamin B in 2007 I asked our doctor to give Dotty a monthly B12 shot. He agreed. Did it help? I believe it did. One thing for certain, it saved us over $8,000. By Bob DeMarco +Alzheimer's Reading Room  A couple of days ago a story with this headline appeared in The Telegraph - Vitamin B could stave off Alzheimers. It appears this has triggered off the usual media copy cat frenzy, the latest story in a long list of copy cat stories coming from MSN. The bottom line here is simple and straightforward - it appears Vitamin B may protect against brain shrinkage. We…

  • Rewiring My Brain and Stepping into Alzheimer's World

    Bob DeMarco
    21 May 2013 | 7:18 am
    Once you start to understand how things work in Alzheimer's World you get calm and comfortable. Once you get calm and comfortable you give off a better "vibe" to someone that has Alzheimer's. By +Bob DeMarco  +Alzheimer's Reading Room  I would find a new way to communicate with my mother who was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. I wrote that on my da Vinci pad in 2004. This was at the same time I was coming to another conclusion, something had to change and that something was me. I did not perceived the changes in communication as being difficult. After all, I had been…
 
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    "Had a Dad" Alzheimer's Blog

  • Stick N Find Bluetooth Location device

    GBP })i({
    8 May 2013 | 7:39 am
    I just found this product through a post on, of all places, the I Can Has Cheezburger (LOL cats) site. If my dad was still alive and at home, I'd be Fry from Futurama: shut up and take my money. Basically, the StickNFind is a tiny round sticker that you can place anywhere.  You use your i-phone or Android phone to track the location of the sticker.  If you lose your keys, for instance.  Or you can put it on your pet's collar, stuck to a tag.   Or your wandering dementia-ridden dad.  When you are within 100 feet your phone can find it.  If your phone can't…

  • bad burn for my mom :(

    GBP })i({
    10 Apr 2013 | 3:09 pm
    I took my mom out yesterday for her birthday and she mentioned that her internet connection was down.  Which of course was my fault because I was tinkering with her Wifi on Sunday (which isn't the connection she uses for her computer--she uses a wire right from the modem).  So I felt bad, which was her intent, and today I stopped by in the midst of errand running to see if I could figure out what was wrong.  Turns out I did nothing wrong and it was the modem and I had to call AT&T to get talked through fixing it. While I'm on speaker phone, my mom casually says, "Hey look…

  • my cat and my dad

    GBP })i({
    21 Feb 2013 | 9:30 am
    My rescue cat, Romeo, was doing something today.  I don't even remember what it was--begging for food probably because he's on a diet.  But for some reason I thought about my dad and tried to remember what my dad had to say about Romeo.  Then I realized, he never met this cat. And that made me feel really, really sad. I got Romeo almost 2 years ago shortly after his 9th birthday.  He had had, as well as I can tell, 5 homes in the last year (before that, 1 home).  He was afraid of everything, with severe PTSD to the point where he had to be sedated for six months or…

  • Alzheimer's Aunt falls down

    GBP })i({
    14 Feb 2013 | 3:38 pm
    The view from my font window; beyond the fence is a sidewalk and on the other side of the tree is the street. Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that we in New England just got walloped with a huge snowstorm.  My town got 38 inches of snow in one day and at one point supposedly snow was falling at 6 inches per hour.  Lotta snow. If you want to watch it in action, there is an awesome video (less than a minute) in time-lapse.  So you can imagine what it was like to shovel out of this insane mess, even with a snowblower. After 3 days, I finally got my car out. …

  • alternate universes, or the "maybe" game

    GBP })i({
    4 Feb 2013 | 10:39 am
    For some reason I started thinking about alternate universes today.  Forgive my lack of scientific words, but there is a theory (not science fiction or fantasy, but a real actual scientific idea) called a Multiverse, that posits that everything that ever could have happened, did happen, just in some other world that lies parallel to ours.  That makes me wonder if that place (those places) are the afterlife we dream of and hope for.  In some of those worlds: My dad is still alive and clear-minded and we visit Aunt Bert every Friday because she is also alive and clear-minded at…
 
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    alzheimers-disease « WordPress.com Tag Feed

  • Cranky Old Man? God certainly works in strange and mysterious ways

    fzabierek
    19 May 2013 | 5:06 pm
    Author of, “Cranky Old Man” poem (After reading through this poem, what does it tell you about people afflicted with Autism, Alzheimer’s, or some other mental illness? How easy is it to write these people off as being, mentally incompetent YET do we really have a clue on what these people are actually thinking about when we’re interacting with them? As for myself, this gave me a whole new perspective on dealing with people in this situation. Even on my best day, I just can’t see myself writing a poem this touching and meaningful about my life, or things in general. This poem…

  • Through all the Changes Life Brings, Mother is the "Glue"

    Catherine
    19 May 2013 | 2:19 pm
    Kerry Luksic had a great relationship with her mother. Her mother had always been the strong, capable, “sharp dynamo who raised thirteen kids.” Then her mother got Alzheimer’s and their roles began to reverse. In Journeys to Mother Love Kerry shares her journey of accepting the changes in her mother and realizing that her mother’s love for her hadn’t changed. Her story, “Finding the Blessings in Alzheimer’s,” takes us on the emotional roller coaster of a daughter dealing with Alzheimer’s disease in her mother. Then she concludes:…

  • So When Do You Leave....?

    Cat Selman
    19 May 2013 | 11:47 am
    I LOVE elephants!! Do you know why? Well, the first reason is that my best friend has collected elephants (not the real ones, of course…) all of her life, and I have grown to love them and have learned an awful lot about them as a result. Elephants are such a loving family unit…and “the Aunts” are heavily involved in helping and assisting with the development, growth, and care of all the new babies that are born into their family unit. You see, I REALLY like that part, because I AM an “Aunt” – many times over! In fact, I am a GREAT Aunt (literally and…

  • Sum It Up: A Thousand and Ninety-Eight Victories, a Couple of Irrelevant Losses, and a Life in Perspective

    the librarian
    19 May 2013 | 10:51 am
    Written by Pat Summitt & Sally Jenkins Published March 2013 You do not need to know basketball to enjoy this memoir about the NCAA coach Pat Summitt.  Before this book made the New York Times bestseller list I had never heard of her, but with each passing week seeing her book on that list I put a request in for my library’s copy.  Pat Summitt was born to a large, poor and supportive family in Tennessee.  Growing up with three older brother’s Pat loved playing basketball in her free time with her family and later played for high school (her parents had to move to a town that…

  • The early stages part II - obsession, weight loss and the beginning of a diagnosis

    01wayticket
    19 May 2013 | 9:53 am
    As time went on, the signs grew more blatant and we began to have to do more and more to help my gran cope. Following on from the notes on household applicances, came notes reminding her of her weekly haircut and set, doctor appointments and lunch dates with her grandchildren. As with most of the solutions, slowly this became worthless as the association between date and writing became meaningless. Often she would panic and call my mum asking when her next doctors appointment was. “Going and get your diary mum”, my mum would say. “ Turn to the 18th of June. There you go,…
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    The Myth of Alzheimers

  • “In the driving seat”

    Peter Gordon
    13 May 2013 | 7:59 am
    This was written with my wife, a General Practitioner in Scotland. We refer to United Kingdom policy on dementia. We wrote it as we are not sure who is indeed in the ‘driving seat’ of policy? A commentary on recent BMJ rapid-response submissions by Burns et al on the subject of dementia. 3rd April 2013 [...]

  • The ‘diseased’ world of our elderly

    Peter Gordon
    13 May 2013 | 7:36 am
    A submission that I made to the British medical Journal as a ‘rapid-response’: As a psychiatrist for older adults I have noticed not just a scientific but also a cultural change in our appreciation of memory function as we age. Ten years ago those waiting for my clinic had a range of reasons for presenting [...]

  • Truth telling and dementia

    Peter Gordon
    13 May 2013 | 7:12 am
    This is a copy of a recent submission that I made to the British Medical Journal: Alistair Burns, National Clinical Director for Dementia, has arranged a meeting for the 5th June 2013 to discuss the diagnosis of dementia as much debated of late in the BMJ. The title will be welcome to all: “Timely diagnosis [...]

  • It was the singing

    Peter Gordon
    13 May 2013 | 7:03 am
    I am grateful to Peter and Danny for allowing me the opportunity to contribute to this blog. I work as a Consultant in Psychiatry for older adults in Scotland. I work for the National Health Service, but in this blog I will offer only my personal views. To place me, you need to know that [...]

  • Communities- where the action is and should be (especially now that we are above 400 ppm CO2)

    Peter Whitehouse
    12 May 2013 | 8:11 am
    When I published my first blog in our reborn site a few days ago, a number of commentators pointed out that Richard Taylor and many others have been focusing on the quality of community life for people with dementia for some time. I and others have also been pointing out that dementia-friendly communities are also age-friendly, [...]
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    Alzheimers Care Blog

  • Spanish Study Shows Olive Oil and Nuts Pack a Brain Healthy Punch

    Kim Smith
    21 May 2013 | 1:49 pm
    In honor of Mediterranean Diet Month I’d like to highlight an exciting study on the Mediterranean Diet that has been getting lots of press conference recently. For years we’ve known that the basic Mediterranean Diet (lots of salad, fresh fruit, vegetables, lean meat, fish, olives, and a small amount of cheese and wine) has been good for heart and brain health and proven to reduce deaths from heart attacks and strokes and lower cholesterol, among other health benefits. Now, researchers in Spain have discovered that adding two healthy fats to the basic “Mediterranean Diet” each day will…

  • Honoring Mom: Real Stories by Real People – Haiku Letter to Mom

    Bob Larkin
    10 May 2013 | 9:02 am
    In honor of Mother’s Day we asked our blog readers to submit their stories by moms and about moms, real stories of love, life and caregiving. This first submission is a poem sent to us by Nancy K. whose mother resides at in Concord Park’s Compass Memory Support Neighborhood in Concord, MA.   Haiku Letter to Mom, April 5th 1 Memory Support. Old Blue Eyes croons “Night and Day” You dance in your chair. While I wish I knew answers to questions unasked while there was still time You teach me volumes about gratitude and awe and relationship. We laugh ‘til breathless about…

  • Are You Ready to Get Spicy?

    Kim Smith
    1 May 2013 | 6:29 am
    DON’T FALL FOR THE OTHER CINNAMON CHALLENGE! Take our word for it – it’s an extremely uncomfortable experience to try to swallow a teaspoon of cinnamon plain! Too dry, too hot, too searing in your throat! After last year’s social media swarm around the cinnamon challenge, a study was conducted and has been released that tells of the horrors of trying to ingest a spoonful of cinnamon – from temporary asphyxiation and hospitalization to long-term breathing problems including asthma. But don’t let this craze dim the light on the spice itself. Cinnamon, in…

  • Testamentary Capacity: The Concept of ‘Sound Mind’ Is Not a Black-and-White Matter

    Todd C. Ratner, Esq.
    24 Apr 2013 | 10:31 am
    At the turn of the 20th century, the average life expectancy was a mere 49 years, and dementia was a rare phenomenon. Today’s average life expectancy exceeds 77 years. As lifespans increase, estate-planning attorneys confront the growing challenge of representing older clients who may have started to suffer capacity-related health issues such as Alzheimer’s disease. So how is mental capacity determined with regard to legal matters? As a threshold, when a client initially meets with an attorney, the attorney must determine whether or not the client has the requisite mental capacity…

  • The Importance of Research Participation

    Bob Larkin
    17 Apr 2013 | 11:07 am
    A common goal for anyone reading this is the eventual cure and eradication of Alzheimer’s disease.  Every 69 seconds another individual develops this devastating brain disease.  Currently, over 5.4 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease and, because of the aging Baby Boomer generation (turning age 60 at a rate of 330 every hour!), this number is expected to be over 7 million by 2030 and 16 million by 2050. One in eight persons age 65 and older currently has Alzheimer’s disease and almost 1 in 2 (or 50 percent) age 85 and older has it.  And, it doesn’t just affect those…
 
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    Minding Our Elders&reg

  • Vitamins B12, B6 and Folic Acid Shown to Slow Alzheimer’s in Study

    Carol Bradley Bursack
    23 May 2013 | 11:01 pm
    Could a combination of the vitamins B12, B6 and folic acid be first effective “drug” to slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease? The concept looks promising. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences recently published information about a study on aging volunteers that has demonstrated how this combination of B vitamins has, in their trials, slowed atrophy of gray matter in brain areas affected by Alzheimer’s disease. In the words of senior study author A. David Smith, professor emeritus of pharmacology at Oxford University in England, “It’s a big effect, much…

  • Adult Grandchildren Often Pick Up the Role of Caregiver

    Carol Bradley Bursack
    22 May 2013 | 11:01 pm
    Few people who have fulfilled the caregiver role to an elder would say it's an easy job. However, most caregivers are either adult children who have at least matured into their 40s or 50s, or else they are mature spouses of the ill person. These caregivers have a few decades of living behind them and hopefully have been able to enjoy some young years where their responsibilities, at the most, were to take care of themselves, a spouse and their children. Read more about grandchildren caring for grandparents: Purchase Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories –…

  • Helping Grandchildren Understand Grandparent's Dementia

    Carol Bradley Bursack
    21 May 2013 | 11:01 pm
    Children can be frightened by the changes in the grandparent who was once gentle and loving, but could now have become cranky and occasionally downright mean and abusive. How we, as parents, handle the changes in our own parents can affect how well our children handle the changes. But each child is different and each set of circumstances is different. So where to you start when it's time to explain? Read more about how to help grandchildren understand changes in grandparents: Purchase Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories – paperback or ebook Related articles…

  • Why Elders Don't Come Clean with the Doctor

    Carol Bradley Bursack
    20 May 2013 | 11:01 pm
    ...My mom was a supreme example. She fell in her apartment—often more than once a week. She had memory problems. She was taken advantage of by telemarketers. She had digestive issues. However, when I took her to her doctor, what I called her "hostess personality" took over. While she may have complained of pain in the car during our drive, the minute she had a chance to tell her doctor how terrible she felt she was perkiness personified. Read more about why parents try to fool the doctor: Purchase Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories – paperback or ebook…

  • Siblings Disagree About Mom Seeking Dementia Evaluation

    Carol Bradley Bursack
    19 May 2013 | 11:01 pm
    Dear Carol: My sister Jean has wanted our mom to see a doctor about memory issues for months but Mom says she’s fine. Jean lives out of town, so she set aside a day to come into town and take Mom to lunch and get Mom’s hair cut. Then, Jean sprung a doctor appointment on Mom and, not surprisingly, Mom refused to go. She and Jean had a fight. I took Mom’s side which probably didn’t help matters. Mom already sees her doctor for osteoporosis and severe arthritis, but she won’t take memory tests even though her memory is slipping a lot. She also has some confusion. Read more about…
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    The Cure for Alzheimers Disease

  • Breaking News in Research- Drug Improves Memory In Mice With Alzheimer’s Disease – J147

    admin
    16 May 2013 | 9:11 am
    A hopeful, up and coming drug in the studies for improving Alzheimer’s Disease called J147 is showing definite improvements in mice studies. The drug has shown to reverse memory deficits and improve brain function in mice with advanced symptoms of AD. This study looks promising, however testing has only included mice thus far. David Schubert, [...]

  • Something New To Do!

    admin
    5 May 2013 | 6:50 pm
    The Longest Day is almost here! Gather your friends, do what you love, it’s time to make a difference! The Longest Day is an event that will take place on June 21, 2013. This is a day for us to honor all who have been affected by Alzheimer’s Disease, those diagnosed along with their caregivers. [...]

  • Urge Your Members of Congress to Co-Sponsor the HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act!

    admin
    18 Apr 2013 | 5:08 am
    I am simply sharing something very important for Alzheimer’s! This is not new, but it is something that we can all do to help make Alzheimer’s a priority in many different areas. This is a disease that does not go away and with everyone’s help, at least we can get some key programs in place [...]

  • Just Thinkin…Aloud, And Yes, VA, I Am Talking To You!

    admin
    5 Mar 2013 | 5:48 am
    So, I haven’t been in to write in a while, and I know I promised I would be doing more of it; life always seems to get in the way. That is all I really have to say about that, but I hope that all of you have been doing well, I hope your family’s [...]

  • Could Melatonin be a Bigger Piece of the Puzzle?

    admin
    11 Feb 2013 | 8:43 am
    Could it be, that something so simple, a natural occuring element found in everyone’s body could possibly play such a significant role in combating some severe Alzheimer’s symptoms, and maybe accomplish even more than that? Many recent studies are now showing Melatonin to be a powerful tool in easing some of the effects of Alzheimer’s, [...]
 
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