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Photograph of 96-year-old man feeding his Alzheimer's stricken wife on a date night after 75 years of marriage goes viral
They say true love never dies and this heartwarming photo is certainly proof of that.
The snap, which is sweeping the internet, shows a 96-year-old man from the US tenderly feeding his wife during their date night.
Everybody experiences a little anxiety from time to time. But caregiving can create a whole lot of anxiety.
Anxiety affects people in different ways. Some people have trouble breathing. For others, their heart races and their muscles tense.
Older adults who started sleeping more than nine hours a night — but had not previously slept so much — were at more than double the risk of developing dementia a decade later than those who slept nine hours or less, researchers report.
The increased risk was not seen in people who had always slept more than nine hours.
“We’re not suggesting you go wake up Grandpa. We think this might be a marker for the risk of dementia, not a cause” of the illness, said Dr. Sudha Seshadri, a professor of neurology at Boston University School of Medicine and the senior author of the study, in Neurology.
Those caring for loved ones who have Alzheimer's disease can attest that the disease costs caregivers more than just their time. Caregiving can be stressful, and this stress can have a negative effect on a caregiver's health, as well as their personal relationships, work and other family members. In 2015, more than 15 million caregivers provided an estimated 18.1 billion hours of unpaid care for someone with Alzheimer's.
This incredibly tough work should not go unnoticed. November has been designated National Family Caregivers Month by the Caregiver Action Network, and it offers a special opportunity to recognize the contributions of those who provide care for their loved ones. Our appreciation, however, doesn't need to be limited to one month of the year.
A dementia diagnosis affects everyone; from the individual diagnosed, to their family and friends. But, it can particularly take a toll on a spouse, making it difficult to strengthen a relationship already going through so much change.
Fortunately, there are things you can do to support a couple with memory loss. Learn more about love and dementia.
Taking care of someone with Alzheimer’s disease is a difficult job, one that can cause caregivers a great amount of stress. However, if you love someone with dementia, you know that the position can also bring joy into your life and be extremely rewarding if you remember a few simple things.
Caring for loved ones who have dementia at home comes with safety concerns. In addition to other health challenges, they may have visual-perceptual and physical coordination problems, as well as difficulty understanding instructions and accurately interpreting the world around them or making reasonable decisions. That means they need help to make their daily life safe.
Q The spouses of two of my friends have Alzheimer’s disease. Unfortunately, they continue to drive despite dents in their cars and periodically getting lost. My friends are doing nothing and are waiting for their doctors to take on the problem. None have done so. To me, it is a moral responsibility to keep our loved ones safe, out of accidents and situations that can cause harm to others. Is this something I can talk with my friends about or do I need to keep biting my tongue?
Despite a 99 percent failure rate and another major setback last month, Alzheimer’s researchers are plowing ahead with hundreds of experiments — and a boost in federal money — to try to a crack a deadly disease that has flummoxed them for decades.
A law passed by Congress in December and signed by President Obama sets aside $3 billion over 10 years to fund research of brain diseases and precision medicine, a shot in the arm for Alzheimer’s research. The law, called the 21st Century Cures Act, also includes prize money to encourage Alzheimer’s experiments.
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.