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I haven’t written recently about the rigors of providing care to a sick loved one, a subject that needs much attention.
But in the past week or two, I’ve been reminded of my omission by a pair of excellent articles on the subject.
The first, by Dr. Dhruv Khullar of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, appeared in the New York Times online version. The second, by Robin Hamon of the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging at the University of Kentucky, appeared in the Herald-Leader.
Alzheimer's disease afflicts mostly those in advanced age. Many believe that Alzheimer's disease starts late in life. A study though shows that Alzheimer's roots may go all the way back to the womb.
The study has found that Alzheimer's disease might start very early on for babies who do not have enough Vitamin A while still inside the womb. The findings have been based after experiments were done on lab mice. The study has been made by Dr. Weihong Song. Song is a professor of Psychiatry and Canada Research Chair in Alzheimer's disease.
It's been 10 years since my grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In that time, music has become more important than ever.
Music is tied to so many memories of my 87-year-old maternal grandmother, Rosemarie Earle.
As a little girl, my mom Suzanne would put on mini concerts for the kids in her neighbourhood and perform old show tunes my grandmother had taught her. For my dad Fred, it was compulsory that he dance with my grandma at weddings and parties whenever Tony Orlando's "Knock Three Times" would play over the speakers. "Come on, Freddy," she'd say, pulling him up out of his seat.
Getting older will undoubtedly make you slow down a little, but that’s no excuse to stop moving altogether. In fact, being sedentary could advance your biological age by as much as eight years.
In a recent study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, researchers studied cell function and sedentary time in 1,481 women with an average age of 79. Specifically, they looked at the length of their telomeres, which are sequences of DNA at the end of chromosomes that help protect them from deterioration. (Think of them like the plastic casing on the end of a shoelace.)
Alzheimer’s disease and good news? Somehow these two terms don’t fit.
After all, more than five million Americans are afflicted with Alzheimer's disease, the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., which kills more of us than breast and prostate cancer combined. Some experts estimate that as many as 16 million could be afflicted by 2050.
In 2016 alone, Alzheimer’s and other related dementias have cost America an estimated $236 billion. While that figure is staggering, the real cost to families and caregivers is immeasurable.
Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease is a balancing act. You keep your loved one safe and comfortable, keep track of his medications and doctor’s appointments, and give him your love and support. But your life matters, too. It’s just as important to keep up with your work, family, and social life.
In your role as a caregiver, do what you can to bewell informed and prepared, and ask for help and support when you need it.
I should have put his socks back on.
The thought kept nagging me as I finished my clinic notes, replaying the afternoon in my head. My final patient of the day — a man with dementia — was a late addition to the schedule, after his daughter, herself a patient of mine, called to report he hadn’t been himself lately. We scheduled him for the last appointment, so she could join after finishing work across town.
Clutching a railing for balance, 89-year-old Alan Epstein searched the hospital waiting rooms for families in distress. He paused when he came across a young woman standing alone in the hallway, making a phone call about her grandfather's faltering health.
"Are you aware of the caregiver support center?" Epstein asked when she got off the phone. Just around the corner from the sterile waiting room, he told her, there's a refuge with hot coffee, soft chairs and pleasant company.
In the New Year, because your loved one’s situation hasn’t changed, you might think that nothing can improve your own situation. But if you are open to change, you may find that the symbolism of the New Year does offer opportunities to make your life better. Resolve to improve your life through better self-care.
Researchers at Tohoku University have found a promising treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, by noticing a similarity in the way insulin signaling works in the brain and in the pancreas of diabetic patients.
“In the pancreas, the Kir6.2 channel blockade increases the insulin signaling, and insulin signaling decreases the blood glucose levels,” says Dr. Shigeki Moriguchi. “In the brain, insulin signaling increases the acquisition of memory through CaM kinase II activation by Kir6.2 channel blockade.”
The research group, led by Dr. Moriguchi and Professor Kohji Fukunaga of the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, thus concluded that Alzheimer’s disease can be described as a diabetic disorder of the brain.
One in five workers today are caring for aging, disabled, or chronically ill loved ones, according to the AARP. That's some 26 million people, many of whom are distracted at work, have high rates of absenteeism, and often end up quitting their jobs because they simply can’t do it all. To put that into perspective, there were roughly 4 million babies born in the U.S. in 2015, so even if each child had two working parents, that adds up to no more than 8 million adult parents juggling child care with work duties.
Specialized care is needed at different stages of dementia. Frequently, the only way to provide that kind of care is to move the person to either a memory unit or a family home, while supplementing care provided by family members with paid in-home caregivers. In many cases, it’s simply unrealistic to expect to never have to relocate someone who has dementia. At the same time, frequently moving someone with dementia around can be problematic. While it can be a challenge for anyone, it becomes even more difficult for a person with dementia, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.