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A
Parent's Wish
A touching and poignant slideshow of a parents' wish during
their old age. Recommended viewing for children whose parents
suffer from old age diseases (Parkinsons, Alzheimers, Dementia,
etc.).
Alzheimer
News 3/24/2009
Total healthcare costs are more than three times higher for
people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias than for
other people age 65 and older, according to the Alzheimer’s
Association.
Alzheimer's:
Understand and Control Wandering (Mayo Clinic)
Alzheimer's causes disorientation, which can lead to wandering.
Here's how to curb or prevent wandering, as well as ensure
a safe return if your loved one is lost.
Alzheimer's
Behind the Wheel: A Medical Test to Determine if People with
the Disease Should be Driving (Scientific American - 2/9/09)
Giving Alzheimer's patients a battery of cognitive tests may
help predict whether it's safe for them (and us) to get behind
the wheel, according to a new study.
Alzheimer's,
Dementia & Driving (Hartford)
This is a booklet on Alzheimer's disease and dementia, and
how such degenerative diseases affect older person's ability
to drive. Also includes a "contract" for the elderly
person to complete with his/her family on driving.
Antipsychotic
Drugs Double Risk Of Death Among Alzheimer's Patients
(Science Daily - 1/11/09)
New research into the effects of antipsychotic drugs commonly
prescribed to Alzheimer’s patients concludes that the
medication nearly doubles risk of death over three years.
Are
Memory Loss and Dementia the Same Thing? (Michigan
Dementia Coalition)
This article, other related topics and FAQs.
Be
Proactive: Plan for Long-Term Care (L.A. Watts Times -
8/6/09)
It’s not a certainty but odds are high that Alzheimer’s
disease could affect you or a loved one at some point in the
future. And should that happen, a recent study shows that
the cost of long-term care associated with that disease could
be staggering.
Brain
Study Indicates Why Some Memories Persist (NPR
- 1/29/09)
A new study appears to explain why people with Alzheimer's
disease often remember events from the distant past —
but not things that happened recently.
Brooke
Astor's Lasting Legacy (NY Times - 10/7/09)
Remember the Astor trial? The ongoing case raised questions
about whether noted philanthropist Brooke Astor, diagnosed
with Alzheimer’s disease, understood what she was doing
when she changed her will in 2004, diverting millions that
had long been promised to charities to her son, Anthony Marshall.
Counseling
and Support Benefits Alzheimer's Caregivers Worldwide
(Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation - 11/19/08)
A first-of-its-kind international trial of caregivers has
shown that counseling and support services can benefit those
who are caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease when
that person is also taking a medication for the disease.
Dementia
Increasing Among the 'Oldest Old' (Caring.com - 7/13/09)
Scientists tend to think that dementia and Alzheimer's disease
taper off in the oldest, but a new study finds that people
over 90 have the highest rates.
Finding
Alzheimer's Before a Mind Fails (New York Times -
Dec. 26, 2007)
An ambitious new scientific effort to find ways to detect
Alzheimer’s disease at the earliest possible moment.
Guidelines
Proposed for Early Detection of Alzheimer's Disease (Lamson
& Cutner - 7/26/10)
For the first time in 25 years experts in Alzheimer’s
disease have proposed new guidelines regarding the criteria
used for diagnosing the disease. The new guidelines would
allow special tests that use brain scans, biomarkers and other
new technologies to clinically diagnose the disease even before
any symptoms appear. These tests would replace the way Alzheimer’s
is currently diagnosed, which is based solely on the detection
of symptoms.
How
People With Dementia Behave When They Get Lost (About.com)
People with Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia,
can wander away from their home and the prevalence of such
wandering incidents is expected to grow as aging populations
increase.
Is
Dad at the Shelter? (Rick Law's Elder Law Blog)
Recently I was sitting down with some very good friends when
a cell phone rang. A look of worry shot across my friend’s
brow as he looked at me and apologized, “I’ve got
to take this call… my Dad’s missing! He’s gone
wandering…”
Keeping
Those With Alzheimer's Engaged (New York Times - 3/12/09)
The Museum of Modern Art has started the MoMA Alzheimer’s
Project, an initiative to help other museums and professional
caregivers develop their own programs for people living with
dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Medical
Treatment of Dementia Patients at the End of Life: Can the
Law Accommodate the Personal Identity and Welfare Problems?
Legal approaches to decision-making in the area of the medical
care of incompetent persons are generally based on respect
for the patient’s autonomy, or protection of her welfare,
or some combination of the two. Advance decision-making and
the substituted judgment test are the two examples of autonomy-based
legal approaches to incompetent individuals. If the incompetent
individual was previously competent, her earlier autonomous
decisions regarding medical treatment can be projected into
the future once she becomes incompetent.
Meet
Max Wallack, Age 13. Max is a Caregiver to a Wide World of
Alzheimer's and Dementia Victims. You Can Help Him.
PuzzlesToRemember
is a section 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that collects
puzzles and distributes them to facilities that care for Alzheimer’s
and dementia patients. Max founded this organization after
the death of his great-grandmother, who suffered from dementia.
Needs
of Alzheimer Population Addressed in Healthcare Reform Legislation
(Alzheimer's Assn.)
While the Association did not endorse any specific healthcare
reform legislation, the Association did work to ensure that
all bills under consideration contained the strongest provisions
possible to address the particular challenges and concerns
of the more than 5 million Americans with Alzheimer’s.
Several provisions in the final measure would deliver substantial
benefits to those with Alzheimer’s and other dementias
and to their caregivers.
Nutrient
Cocktail Helps Improve Brain Function in Those With Early-stage
Alzheimer's
During clinical trials, a three-nutrient cocktail of B vitamins,
phosopholipids and antioxidants was found to promote the growth
of certain brain synapse connections that typically erode
during the early stages of Alzheimer's, according to the MIT
report.
O'Connor,
Gingrich, Satcher Discuss Alzheimer's (NPR - 3/25/09)
Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, former Speaker
of the House Newt Gingrich and former Surgeon General David
Satcher discuss efforts to combat Alzheimer's disease. They're
on a task force studying the disease, which may overwhelm
the U.S. health care system as baby boomers age.
O'Connor's
Husband, Afflicted with Alzheimer's, Has New Love (ABA
Journal - Nov. 13, 2007)
Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor visits
her husband at a Phoenix Alzheimer’s facility even though
he no longer remembers her and has fallen in love with another
woman.
Practice
Guideline for Treatment of Alzheimer's and Other Dementias
(APA)
Developed by psychiatrists who are in active clinical practice.
Rapid
Cognitive Improvement in Alzheimer's Disease (Journal
of Neuroinflammation - Jan. 9, 2008)
This report details rapid cognitive improvement, beginning
within minutes, using this same anti-TNF treatment modality,
in a patient with late-onset Alzheimer's disease.
The
Changes of Aging (Discover Magazine - 2/12/10)
If you ask people over 60 what they dread most, dementia is
almost always in the top three on their list of health concerns.
After all, it is memory that makes us who we are; without
it we are forever trapped in the moment, with no window on
the past or the future.
The
Expensive Cost of Caring for Alzheimer's Patients (Newsday
- 10/8/09)
The costs of long-term care for Alzheimer's patients can easily
deplete even the deepest bank account. Because the disease
lasts so long - anywhere from two to 20 years, depending on
the stage at diagnosis - and because the type of care needed
often falls beyond the scope of government health care programs,
families find themselves scrambling to find the money needed
to maintain care for their loved one.
The
Nun Study
Like some 4 million Americans, Sister Ada (not her real name)
is suffering from Alzheimer's disease; as the years go by,
she'll gradually lose her memory, her personality and finally
all cognitive function. Also see more
info from the University of Minnesota.
When
the Mind Falters, is Sex a Choice? (Washington Post
- 9/09)
Some organic brain changes of old age are characterized by
increasingly sexualized behavior. The disability rights community
has grappled with issues of consent and intimacy. But issues
relating to sex in old age, whether consensual intimacy, or
sexual assault, or the nettlesome netherworld in between,
receive scant attention.
Will
Alzheimer's Be Tomorrow's Top Long Term Care Insurance Claim?
(Emax Health)
Every 72 seconds someone in the United States develops Alzheimer's
and an estimated 5.1 million Americans suffer from the disease.
Zen
and the Art of Coping with Alzheimer's (New York Times
- April 4, 2008)
The number of alzheimer's patients is expected to increase
dramatically in coming years, straining the health care system.
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