Trial and error as an Alzheimer’s caregiver taught me that it’s better to be patient than to be right. That golden rule and the two magic words “OK Mom” rescued my sanity on many a day as advancing Alzheimer’s tightened its grip on my mother Peg. This simple phrase frequently diffused the toxic mix of Alzheimer’s anger, confusion and frustration that Peg could neither understand nor control. Saying “OK Mom,” absent any judgment, lightened both of our moods and lifted some of the sadness I experienced in watching my mother battle a disease that has no cure.
The John A. Hartford Foundation Joins Forces With EHE International to Celebrate and Support Family Caregivers of Older Adults as Modern Day Heroes
A window display at Rockefeller Plaza, donated by EHE International, features The John A. Hartford Foundation during the month of March and will reach almost 250,000 people per day, celebrating the millions of family caregivers of older adults who are Modern Day Heroes.
"Family caregivers are a crucial, yet often under-appreciated, part of the care we provide for older adults," said Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN, FAAN, President of The John A. Hartford Foundation. "We are pleased to collaborate with EHE International and create a very visible vehicle to hail the more than 30 million caregivers who take care of older family members and friends each day."
Busy Brains Delay Alzheimer's Symptoms But Not the Disease
Keeping an active mind with intellectual pursuits in midlife may delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease symptoms, but it does not appear to prevent the physical changes in the brain for most people, a new study finds.
"Studies have shown that it reduces the onset of symptoms," said lead author Prashanthi Vemuri of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
But buildups of amyloid plaque in the brain - a basic symptom of Alzheimer's - do not change based on activity for most people, she told Reuters Health.
Women could be pivotal in unlocking a cure for Alzheimer’s
As modern science continues its search for an Alzheimer’s cure, researchers have noticed that the brain disease hits women harder than it does men. And that’s not only because women have a longer life-expectancy, thereby giving them a greater chance of developing Alzheimer’s during their lifetimes. Scientists conducting a long-term study found that women who develop the disease also decline faster. “Our findings suggest that men and women at risk for Alzheimer’s may be having two very different experiences,” Katherine Lin, a senior at Duke University and lead researcher of a study that followed 400 men and women, said.
The Alzheimer’s Association also believes the disease might impact the genders in different ways, too. Last year, the nonprofit launched the Women’s Alzheimer’s Research Initiative, aimed at getting to the bottom of just that.
We Can Handle the Truth: The Facts on Alzheimer’s
During the time it takes for you to read this piece, try to put your denial impulse aside and take a hard look at the truth about Alzheimer’s. Because the fear that causes you to deny things — like our risk of getting this mind-blowing disease — can actually be the motivator you need to stop ignoring the facts and join me in doing something about it.
How Sleep Can Heal Our Brains
“The thing about sleep that is maddening is we don’t know what it’s for,” Paul Shaw says with a hint of frustration. Rather than truly grasping the role sleep plays in our complicated biology, the neuroscientist has been stuck merely describing it. He’s not alone.
But Shaw doesn’t just want to understand sleep for sleep’s sake. He wants to uncover the mysteries of sleep because he thinks it not only has the potential to keep us healthy, but to fix what’s broken.
Meet the scientist connecting the dots between air pollution and dementia
At first blush, you might not think air quality is related to brain health. But what if the two are connected? Air pollution continues to worsen in the developing world, especially in rapidly developing countries like China and India; at the same time, our global population is aging, and dementia rates are expected to rise accordingly. Increasingly, research suggests a link between air pollution exposure and the risk of diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. How might this relationship be possible, and what might it mean for what the world is — or isn’t — prepared to handle in the coming decades?
‘Ground Zero’ Of Alzheimer’s: Locus Coeruleus Identified As Critical Starting Point Of Disease
A region in the brain called the locus coeruleus, which produces nerepinephrine, may play a crucial role in the development (and potential prevention) of Alzheimer’s, a new study finds. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Southern California, dubs this brain region as the “ground zero” of Alzheimer’s disease.
The locus coerleus is small, but it’s interconnected with a lot of the body’s processes — including the circulatory and cardiovascular systems, attention, memory, cognitive function, and identifying novel information. It’s also involved in the physiological responses to stress and anxiety, and its main function is producing norepinephrine, which plays a role as both a neurotransmitter and hormone during the fight-or-flight response to stress. Norepinephrine can impact heart rate, glucose release, and blood flow as it’s pushed from the locus coerleus to the spinal cord, cerebral cortex, and limbic system.
Loss For Words Could Be Brain Disorder, Not Alzheimer’s
A mysterious brain disorder can be confused with early Alzheimer’s disease although it isn’t robbing patients of their memories but of the words to talk about them.
It’s called primary progressive aphasia, and researchers said Sunday they’re finding better ways to diagnose the little-known syndrome. That will help people whose thoughts are lucid but who are verbally locked in to get the right kind of care.
10 Memory Tips for Individuals With Alzheimer’s Disease
Whether you are in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, you are caring for, or you know someone with this condition, one of the scariest parts of this disease is the memory loss. When memory loss first becomes noticeable it can be frustrating, emotional and overwhelming for everyone involved. Many people take every memory-lapse as a sign that their condition is worsening and it can make handling dementia and Alzheimer’s disease even more challenging. While there are certain treatments that can slow down the progression of dementia, one of the many things that individuals with Alzheimer’s can do is to start implementing a few strategies that will help them with their memory.
Nursing-home staff training on dementia debated
Nursing-home representatives and advocates for people with Alzheimer’s disease squared off Monday over whether the state should require care-facility employees to show they understand how to serve people with dementia.
About 20 lobbyists surrounded three legislators giving an initial review to a bill on the matter. House Study Bill 566 would require training about dementia for new employees and would require that they demonstrate they understand the training. Supporters of the bill said the second part would be its main change.
Alzheimer's preventative drug hope
Scientists have detected a number of drugs which could help protect against Alzheimer's disease, acting like statins for the brain.
In experiments on worms, University of Cambridge researchers identified drugs which prevented the very first step towards brain cell death.
They now want to match up drugs with specific stages of the disease.
Experts said it was important to find out if these drugs could work safely in humans.