Virtual Dementia Tour Helps Caregivers Further Understand the Disease

KAUZ.com

KAUZ News

Tens of millions of Americans suffer from Alzheimer's and millions more from dementia, and understanding what they go through is crucial. Most Alzheimer's patients live at home where family and friends care for them. Today, those caregivers had a chance to experience dementia by taking a virtual dementia tour. Doctors say learning to create a positive environment for those who suffer from dementia can only come from attempting to walk in their shoes.

Because of the difficult behaviors and symptoms of Alzheimer's, many caregivers suffer from burnout and depression. Studies show these caregivers are not formally trained to provide the support needed for those living with dementia.

"We wanted to let people see what........read the whole story

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Lewy Body Dementia Webinar

Alzheimer's and Dementia Weekly

This live discussion on Monday, 15 June 2009, from 12 noon to 1 p.m. EST will be carried out in Webinar format and will feature short slide presentations by Ian McKeith, Brit Mollenhauer, James Galvin, James Leverenz, and Walter Schulz-Schaeffer, with audio provided via a telephone line. Lewy Body Webimar.

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB)—a disorder at the interface of AD and PD—competes with vascular dementia for second spot (after AD itself) on the list of most common causes of dementia among the elderly. If you just said “Huh!” to yourself, you are not alone. Most people wouldn’t know how frequent DLB is, judging by the vastly smaller amount of attention it receives across the board, from neurologists, psychiatrists, scientists, and funders. But this may be changing. Twenty years after DLB came to be recognized as a clinical and pathological category in its own right, a growing number of researchers from both the dementia and the movement disorder fields believe that AD and PD—formerly viewed as separate domains—are connected across a spectrum, and that DLB links the two. Investigators who formerly focused on one of the two established diseases at either end of the spectrum are now developing an active interest in this mixed disease. In DLB, patients suffer from various combinations of Alzheimer and Parkinson signs, which are compounded by frustrating fluctuations in symptoms, visual hallucinations, visuospatial impairments, and, in many cases, rapid decline. “DLB may provide a link between AD and PD that will help us understand both disorders better,” said Ian McKeith of Newcastle University, UK.

Since 1995, a series of targeted workshops have focused on DLB, and on its neighbor on the PD end of the spectrum (Parkinson disease dementia, aka PDD). The workshops have sharpened the clinico-pathological picture of these diseases to crisper definitions that are applicable in the clinic. Clinicians know now that DLB and PDD patients respond especially favorably to cholinesterase inhibitors as was predicted from their postmortem neurochemical pathology. This past March, the latest in this series of small meetings, held in the German city of Kassel, broke new ground by proposing working groups that are charged with hammering out a collaborative research agenda for both biomarker development and presymptomatic diagnosis. Another priority the scientists set is molecular pathogenesis research that aims to unravel how the three main proteins known to underlie this disease spectrum—amyloid-β, tau, and α-synuclein—conspire in various ways to drive an individual person’s disease. What’s more, a new player on the DLB/PDD/PD end of the spectrum recently burst on the scene in the form of glucocerebrosidase, an enzyme of lipid metabolism whose gene appears to underlie a significant number of cases, and whose modus operandi in disease urgently needs to be figured out.

The Alzforum this past week began an ongoing series of daily stories that summarize recent advances on this topic. They form the background material for this Webinar discussion. So that you can come armed with questions about the latest and greatest, consider reading the introduction about spectrum neurodegeneration, tau in Parkinson’s, dementia with Lewy bodies, oligomers in DLB, AD, brain imaging markers, fluid α-synuclein markers, fluid progranulin markers, Parkinson’s gene reshuffling (to be published Monday), GBA as DLB and PD gene (Tuesday).

Buoyed by such and other advances, the DLB/PDD scientists hope to disabuse the field at large, as well as physicians who see these patients, of the entrenched but quite possibly outdated notion that DLB is rare (they say it’s not), vague (ditto), of indeterminate relationship to AD and PD (ditto), and complex (yes, but tractable). Join us for slide presentations and subsequent discussion.

Here is a great resource dementia for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

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Alzheimer's Disease - Garden Grove CA (Clinical Trial 5582)

Clinical Connection

We are currently conducting a year long research study for participants diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Visits are typically once a month with compensation for qualified participants. Visits typically include meeting with neurologist, vitals, ecg, and possible laboratory panel.
Qualified participants must: • Be at least 50 years of age or older
• Have a caregiver (someone who sees the patient on a daily basis)
• Be currently taking Donepezil (Aricept) 10mg for at least 4 months
Participants will receive: Compensation for travel and participation, transportation to and from office (if needed), and medical attention and care.
Study is available at: CNS Network, Inc.
12772 Valley View St. #3
Garden Grove, CA 92845

If you meet the above criteria and live within 50 miles of this clinic please enter your information below and click “I Am Interested In This Study” to be contacted by the study coordinator.

Here is a great resource dementia for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

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Is there a program to pay me for taking care of a family member?

Caring.com

by Joseph L. Matthews a Caring.com senior editor, an attorney, and the author of Long-Term Care: How to Plan & Pay for It and Social Security, Medicare, & Government Pensions: Get the Most Out of Your Retirement & Medical Benefits.
It's possible to get regular payments for providing care for a housebound family member, depending on the family member's income and assets, need for care, and the state he or she lives in. Public assistance programs in many states can provide payment directly to a low-income person who is determined to need in-home care. The person who receives this payment may use it to pay a relative, or anyone else of that person's choosing, to provide care. The care can be provided in the home of either the caregiver or the person who needs care.

This type of direct payment for in-home care comes from a program often called Cash and Counseling (though it has different names in different states). It is usually run through the state's Medicaid program. If your housebound family member has low income and few assets other than a home, he or she might qualify for Medicaid coverage of in-home care.

Normally, Medicaid would provide that kind of care through a certified home care agency. But these special programs instead directly pay the person needing care -- the payment is same amount Medicaid would pay an aide from a home care agency. The person receiving this payment may turn around and use it to pay a family member, or anyone else, to provide the in-home care. In many programs, the money may also be used to make home improvements for safety or comfort, or to buy personal care items


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Exelon Patch: Less is Better

Alzheimer's and Dementia Weekly

Sometimes less is more: Lower doses of an Alzheimer’s drug delivered via skin patches improve cognition with fewer serious side effects than higher doses, researchers have found in an updated review.

The drug is rivastigmine, known in the U.S. by its brand name, Exelon.

“Is there any advantage of giving patients higher doses of rivastigmine? There doesn’t seem to be any,” said lead review author Jacqueline Birks, senior medical statistician for the University of Oxford, in England.

Previous studies had shown that high daily doses of rivastigmine (also known by its brand name, Exelon) of between 6 and 12 milligrams improved cognitive functions, such as memory, language and ability to perform simple daily living tasks, in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.

However, adverse events often.......read the whole story


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Still hope for those with Alzheimer's

Huntsville Times

In one of today's most famous love stories, "The Notebook," author Nicholas Sparks portrays a love between Allie and Noah that withstands her parents' disapproval, her engagement to another man and even later her Alzheimer's disease.

When my great-aunt was diagnosed with Alzheimer's two years ago, I watched her inevitable downward spiral into oblivion with helplessness and confusion, much as Noah must have watched his beloved wife gradually relinquish her abilities to perform simple tasks such as cooking, cleaning and dressing.

My great-aunt began brewing coffee at 2 a.m., pacing aimlessly around her house and panicking at the first sign of sundown. Her attention span diminished to that of a young child, and she no longer had the patience to sit and watch her beloved Alabama football games on television. My aunt was eventually moved into a facility with trained nurses.

Her communication skills disappeared much too quickly, and when her lips no longer formed words, she found other methods of expression. My family refused to give up on her. Whenever I visit, we piece together puzzles she loves, and I encourage her to play songs on the piano from memory.

My aunt still remembers her baptism, smiles at the mention of her famous red velvet cake and kisses us when we visit.

One of her deepest desires in life was to have..........read the whole story

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Alzheimer's, dementia day care works to improve memory, skills

Nashua Telegraph

It's estimated that as many as 5.2 million people in the U.S., mostly 65 or older, have Alzheimer's.

The disease is the most common form of dementia, a term used to describe a group of brain disorders that cause memory loss and make it harder to carry out daily tasks, according to AlzheimersRx Treatment.com.

The Mailbag is hoping to make daily tasks easier for patients, as well as for some dedicated day-care volunteers.

Plugging in to help



"I volunteer at a day-care program....read the whole article

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The blessing path

Sharon K. Brothers
from OPrah.com
Practical coping strategies

As I interviewed people who are known in demographics as "unpaid caregivers," I thought I'd hear a few logistical hints. But that turned out to be like seeking just a few general rules on "how to heal sickness" or "controlling bad emotions."

Every aging-parent scenario is unique, and there are precious few generalities that apply. One thing I can say is that you'll have fun with the responsibilities of eldercare if you enjoy running the high hurdles while juggling angry badgers. If not, you might try these techniques.

Trust your intuition about how much care is needed.

"There are hundreds of lines between being a little daffy and needing constant supervision," says Polly, describing her father's Alzheimer's. "At first my dad wasn't totally out to lunch; he was just...snacking. Then he definitely went out to lunch, then breakfast, then dinner. I've had to trust my instincts to increase care as he crossed each new line." Oprah.com: How to trust your gut

Denial is potent and seductive when it comes to dealing with aging. No one wants to acknowledge that a family member is in permanent decline.

But when your parent gets really sick, or begins, um, lunching out, you'll feel an uneasy warning from your gut. Pay attention. The sooner you acknowledge the truth -- "I must intercede" -- the sooner you can begin exploring care options. And there's a mess of exploring to do.

Prepare for a logistical wilderness.

There's no rule book to guide you through the morass of eldercare tasks and demands. Your best source of information is the Internet, where you can e-mail friends and family and research everything from buying walkers to curing constipation.

If you're a caregiver and you don't like computers, get over it. Buy a laptop -- it will cost far less than the mistakes it will help you avoid -- and make some 8-year-old teach you to cruise the Web. Everyone I interviewed, even the technophobes, told me that the Internet was a lifeline in negotiating eldercare obligations.

Online information can prepare you -- sort of -- for the pragmatic tasks you may encounter: filling out medical paperwork, hiring a care nurse, wrestling the car keys out of a beloved parent's desperate clutches.

Many of these duties will be indescribably difficult. But if instincts and information tell you to take a step, take it firmly, without second-guessing, the way you'd lead a frightened horse out of a burning barn. And don't try to manage everything alone.

Create your own village.

The Navajo and other traditional cultures understand that there's nothing more soulful than supporting people at the margins of life, those who can't walk fast or talk sense or remember how to use a toilet. They also know that this takes a village.

It really does.

Most eldercare providers in our village-less society end up jury-rigging systems of helpers. The common refrain I heard from people in the trenches? Take notes. Write down every bit of advice you get, from every person who interacts with your family member: doctors, pharmacists, neighbors, hairstylists. Write down these people's contact information. For good or evil, they're your village. Oprah.com: Do you have a hard time asking for help?

Jennifer has 45 people on her call list should her elderly parents encounter a crisis. Polly rallied support from her parents' church congregation. Not everyone in the village will help care for an elderly person, but a long list gives you multiple possibilities for support.

"No one can tell you what to expect," Anne said to me. "You have to live like a firefighter, ready to call other firefighters to solve whatever problem arises."

Psychological coping strategies

Once you've adopted this firefighting mentality about your parent's needs, you'll need a whole new set of strategies like the ones below to deal with the emotional wreckage that piles up along the way.

Surrender to the emotional grinder.

"The thing that galls me most about caring for my mother," one woman told me, "is that she's the only one who gets a morphine drip."

The emotional pain suffered by caregivers is intense -- and unlike the elderly, caregivers are expected to live through it. With every new issue your elderly relative develops, you'll head into the emotional grinder called the grief process: bargaining, anger, sadness, acceptance, repeat.

Grieving, like physical caretaking, differs from case to case. If you had a troubled relationship with an aging parent, expect to spend lots of time in the anger stage. Use this time to clean your emotional closet. Explore the anger with a therapist. Journal it. Process it with friends. Clean the wounds. Oprah.com: 4 healthy ways to grieve

On the other hand, if your declining parent was your main source of emotional support, you'll find yourself spending lots of time in sadness. You'll feel as though it's killing you. It won't.

As Naomi Shihab Nye wrote, "Before you know kindness / as the deepest thing inside, / you must know sorrow / as the other deepest thing.... / Then it is only kindness / that makes sense anymore...."

As the grieving process scrapes along, you'll learn to offer kindness to everyone: your aging relative, the people of your village, yourself. When you snap under stress and begin to rail at Nana, God, yourself, and the cat, you'll learn to be kind to yourself anyway. At that point, you'll find relief and an unexpected gift: laughter.

Nourish a sick sense of humor.

A morbid sense of humor isn't listed in any official guides to eldercare, but to the caregivers.......read the whole article

DID YOU KNOW?
Many long term care insurances will cover the cost of caregiver training. Many will also help pay for in-home caregiving provided by Certified Caregivers. Our Caregiver Certification Course is approved by most insurance companies - check it out! Here is an offer you and your caregivers the training you need - 100% online. For training details and sample course modules, click here

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The Tricky Question of Competence

New York Times
By Paula Span
Socialite Brooke Astor was losing ground cognitively, a procession of friends testified last week in a Manhattan courtroom. She no longer recognized people she’d been close to for decades. She wandered. Hosting a dinner party for the former secretary general of the United Nations, she had to ask another guest — Henry Kissinger, as it happened — who “that man” Kofi Annan was. She was unable to draw a clock face accurately, according to the geriatrician who diagnosed her Alzheimer’s disease.

But was the elegant philanthropist competent to make significant changes to her will at age 101? Her son Anthony D. Marshall, 84, and estate lawyer Francis X. Morrissey Jr., 66, stand accused of diverting tens of millions of dollars from her estate, and that legal question lies at the heart of their fraud and conspiracy trial. Questions of competence, however, are not always simple to answer, even after a dementia diagnosis, experts say.

“If the prosecutor can show that when she signed these codicils, she didn’t have capacity, then it’s over,” said Craig Reaves, president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. But, he added, “Capacity is........read the whole story

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"I Promised My Parents I'd Never Put Them In a Nursing Home"

Never make this promise
Aging Care
by Carol Bradley Bursack

Our parents cared for us and now, as they age, it’s natural that we want to care for them. At first, we figure we’ll stop over at their home and do what they need us to do. That can work for while, when all that’s needed is some help with errands, the lawn or fixing a meal now and then. It’s kind of a pleasant way to help out and show our love for our parents.

However as care needs increase, we are faced with more decisions. Many of us promised in good faith, back when our parents were healthy, that we wouldn’t ever put them in a nursing home. That would be abandoning them. We aim to care for them ourselves until they die.

Admirable thinking. However, as years go by and care needs mount, we find ourselves faced with the fact that we can’t raise our families, work our jobs and run to Mom and Dad’s condo three times a day.

So, with some guilt, we start looking at other options. For some people, this means having your parents move in with you. If there is enough room so everyone has privacy and the personalities blend, this can work. However, before making such a move, make sure your head is as engaged as your heart. While you are considering this option, you also may want to read “Living With Elderly Parents: Do You Regret the Decision?”

Another option you might start with, though there is some guilt attached, is getting some in-home agency help. Why the guilt? Because you are now sharing the caregiving with someone else. Someone who is not a family member. You are hiring help for your parents. That isn’t what you had in mind for them, but they are not safe alone all day, and you can’t be there all the time. You have to do something.

The same guilty feelings are often attached to adult day care. Adult day care can be a wonderful choice for many seniors, as they get care and supervision, plus peer interaction and activities more stimulating than watching TV all day. But, this too means you are turning over some of the care to strangers. You were going to handle it all yourself. You told them you would. And now? You can’t. You need help.

Then the day comes where in-home care can’t handle all of their needs. Adult day care can’t take care of them. Only one choice remains, and that is a nursing home.

Cheryl E. Woodson, MD (and caregiving daughter) wrote a wonderful book titled “To Survive Caregiving.” One of the most important things Woodson says is that, while you may have to “break your promise” – you know, the one you should never have made – and put your parent in a nursing home, you have still honored the spirit of the promise.

I loved the way she put that. None of us knows the future. Our healthy parents have visions of nursing homes decades ago, and the very idea of living in one is unthinkable to them. You tend to agree. Yet, now the day has come where Mom is incontinent, confused and paranoid. She has wondered away from home twice, and once you had to call the police. Dad had a stroke and needs a lift to get him out of bed and two strong people to get him into his wheelchair. You’ve run up against a brick wall. There is no choice but a nursing home.

When the guilt starts to overwhelm you, stop it. Adjust your attitude. You have done all you can. You have honored the spirit of your promise. People live longer now, in far worse condition, than they did in the past. You know that both of your parents would be dead, had this been the 1970s. Because of medical advances, their hearts are still ticking. However, they are in such frail health that there is no way you can care for them alone. No one could have foreseen this way back when they were younger and healthy.

There are still some bad nursing homes. So, be proactive and tour the ones in your parent’s area long before the need arises. Be realistic but be aware. Find the best one you can. Hang around and you’re likely to find family members visiting their loved ones. Ask them what they think of the home.

Then, if it’s good, get your parents names on the list. The good homes are often full and hard to get into. You can always say no if they call with a room and you aren’t ready. But when you hit that brick wall of reality and know you must, for your elders’ safety and your health and sanity, put them in a nursing home, you have done your best. You cared for them in every way possible before turning to this last option. You have found the best home available. Now, you are ready to really share the care.

Even when your elders are in a nursing home, you are still a caregiver. I had a time when I had three people in a home (plus two others in separate apartments) and I was at everyone’s place every day. It wasn’t a cakewalk, by any means. I was still a caregiver.

If you put your parents in a nursing home, they still need you, the primary caregiver. They need you as an advocate. They need you to put the personal touches on their rooms and to be visible to the home staff and the other residents. They need you to help them settle in and make friends. The best part of this, if you will let the guilt go and think for a moment, is that you now can enjoy them again. You aren’t tied to doing everything for them, so when you visit, you can do extra little things. You aren’t too worn out to be pleasant. You can surprise them by bringing the children. You can bring their favorite chocolates or wine. You can make this their new home, and be the person who visits, without all of the exhaustion that used to make you crabby. And you can do it without guilt.

Caregivers can be dedicated, but that dedication can turn into martyrdom, and frankly, martyrs aren’t good caregivers. Using the help of a good facility, while keeping an eye on things and continuing to care for your elders in this new role, allows you to take off your martyr hat. You can do it without guilt because you have done your best. You are still doing your best. You are providing them with the best care humanly possible. Accept your humanity without guilt. Honor the spirit of your promises by being the best caregiver you can be. Be a caregiver who knows when to say when.

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Free program offered for caregivers

The Mercury
POTTSTOWN — The TriCounty Community Network is providing a free event for anyone caring for the ill or disabled, of all ages and in all types of settings. The program is being held on Saturday, May 16, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Parkhouse Providence Pointe, 1600 Black Rock Road, Royersford.

"With nearly 1 out of 12 Pennsylvania residents currently caring for a loved one, finding supportive community resources, such as financial and emotional services, is a priceless gift. Today the typical caregiver is a woman over the age of 45, working full or part time, raising children and/or teens, while caring for a loved one (e.g. an elderly parent, a disabled child). The majority of caregivers simply do not have the time or money to find the support they truly need," said Mandy Blake-German, executive director of TriCounty Community Network. "This free event is meant to not only educate caregivers and the professionals who serve them, but provide a full day to be supported and nurtured."

Participants will start off the day with an interactive drumming circle facilitated by John Seitz, who has a master's degree in music therapy and regularly holds drumming activates with residents at assisted-living and nursing care facilities.

Afterwards there will be a variety of workshops to attend and professionals will be available to talk about available services in surrounding communities. Workshops will cover topics on aromatherapy, dementia care, ethical issues of older adults, pet therapy, reflections of hope, waiver funding, elder law issues, how to identify when someone is ready for hospice and much more.

The event will provide.....read the whole article

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What to do if your loved one with dementia refuses to bath?

Caregivers of those with dementia,
the problem of not bathing is more common than you think
Aging Care
by Carol Bradley Bursack
“How can I get Dad to shower and change his clothes?”

The issue of elders who were once reasonably clean adults refusing to take showers and wear fresh clothes is one that is far more common than most people think.

Sometimes the issue is depression. If we have a parent who no longer takes an interest in staying clean or wearing clean clothes, it’s wise to look at depression first. A checkup with a doctor is a good idea, especially if low energy is also part of it, or if they just don’t care about anything at all. Depression isn’t always obvious to an observer.

Another factor is control. As people age, they lose more and more control over their lives. But one thing they generally can control is dressing and showers. The more they are nagged, the more they resist. “This younger generation is trying to take over everything. Well, they aren’t telling me when to shower, that’s for sure. Besides, I’m just fine!”

A third issue is a decreased sense of site and smell. What your nose picks up as old sweat, they don’t even notice. Not on themselves. Not on their mate. Their senses are not as acute as yours, or as theirs once were.

A fourth cause is memory. The days go by. They aren’t marked with tons of activities as they were when they were young. If there isn’t something special about Wednesday, well – it could be Tuesday or Thursday. They simply lose track of time and don’t realize how long it’s been since they showered.

Also, working in with memory is the fact that many of our elders didn’t bathe or shower every day when they grew up. We now take daily bathing for granted in this country, but when our parents were young, a weekly bath was likely more the norm. They may have gotten into a more frequent bathing habit in their last decades, but their brain is taking them into the past. Once a week, it’s bath time. Then, they forget what day it is, or even forget when they last took a bath or changed clothes. Time just slides by.

Another big issue can be.......read the whole article

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Alcoholic dementia often overlooked

Connecticut Post Staff

Q: "What is alcoholic dementia? What are its signs and symptoms? How different is it from other forms of dementia? Does it progress in symptoms? Does it continue if a person stops drinking?"
A: The above are all questions asked during my recent public dementia lecture.

Alcoholic dementia is often an overlooked type of memory dysfunction. It is estimated that about 8 percent of people in the U.S. over age 65 may have an alcohol abuse problem. Sixty percent of the elderly drink and 5 to 10 percent are binge drinkers. It may be hard to believe, but Medicare, which is the major insurance for patients over 65, spends more on alcohol-related problems than on treatment for heart attacks. Unfortunately, doctors fail to recognize this type of dementia more than 60 percent of the time. Families and spouses also do not seek medical attention as frequently as with other forms of dementia.

Before going over the signs and symptoms of alcoholic dementia, let's remind everyone what the acceptable amount of alcohol is for a person over 65. It is actually different for men and women. Women can safely have a four-ounce glass of wine, bottle of beer or one two-ounce drink of hard liquor daily. Men can have double that. Anything more is considered excessive. It is believed that the aging liver cannot process alcohol as effectively as the liver of a younger person.

To diagnose dementia, one has to have memory loss and it has to be severe enough to affect......read the whole story

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HBO's Alzheimer's series aims to push for cure

* Alzheimer's is second most feared illness in America

* Series aims to change how people think of Alzheimer's

* Maria Shriver calls it "epidemic for this generation"

By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) - It's been almost 15 years since former U.S. President Ronald Reagan told the world he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, hoping his disclosure would promote awareness of the heart-breaking brain disorder that slowly destroys memory.

Now, with an estimated 26 million people worldwide living with disease and a predicted 11 million by 2050 in the United States alone, a unique series by cable TV network HBO (TWX.N) aims to change how people think of Alzheimer's so they will put time and money into finding a cure.

The unprecedented multi-platform series runs throughout May and features four documentaries, 15 short films, a book, a community outreach program and a website (www.HBO.com/alzheimers) covering every aspect of Alzheimer's.

"The numbers are growing at a rate that nobody ever fathomed. As babyboomers age, it is coming right at us and we have to do something," said Maria Shriver, wife of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and executive producer of "The Alzheimer's Project."

"This is an epidemic for this generation. A cure is within our reach if we......read the whole article

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Do Feeding Tubes Help or Harm in Advanced Dementia?

NEWSWISE

Family members grappling with the decision to allow a feeding tube for a relative with advanced dementia will find little comfort from a new review of evidence.

Poor food intake is common in individuals with dementia for a variety of reasons. In advanced dementia, health care providers might intervene by feeding patients artificially, usually by inserting a feeding tube through the stomach. This decision is emotional, controversial and influenced by complex ethical issues.

But do feeding tubes actually help people with degenerative dementia? In a new Cochrane review from London, doctors searched for evidence that this intervention was beneficial.

“We found that there is no research evidence that tube feeding prolongs survival or improves the quality of life for people with advanced dementia,” said lead author Elizabeth Sampson, M.D. “In fact, some studies suggest that tube feeding may have an effect opposite to the desired and actually increase mortality, morbidity and reduce quality of life.”

The review appears in the current issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates research in all aspects of health care. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing trials on a topic.

At first glance, it appears counterintuitive that individuals fail to benefit from tube feeding, but.....read the whole article

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Caregivers get no holiday, though friends, family help

USA Today
By Mary Brophy Marcus, USA TODAY
Something about Carol Blackwell is reminiscent of the main character from this year's film Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. Not because she solves her and everyone else's relationship problems in 24 hours. But like Miss Guinevere Pettigrew, Carol focuses intently on the present and in subtle, loving ways makes everyone around her feel all right at the end of the day.
Carol's husband, Bob, 66, a retired CIA executive, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease two years ago. After the initial shock, Carol says, she had no other choice than to keep a firm grip on reality. That meant pursuing health solutions for Bob and keeping family happiness and security thriving.


IN DEPTH: Video, plus what you need to know about Alzheimer's
BETTER LIFE: No carbs, no memory?
BLACKWELL'S BLOG: Personal account of living with the early stages of Alzheimer's

That doesn't mean it always has been...read the whole article

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How to Find the Best, Most Trustworthy Caregivers

This would apply to loved ones with dementia
Aging Parents Authority
Blog article: How to Find the Best, Most Trustworthy Caregivers
By admin

You’re worried sick because you can’t find a good caregiver for your aging parent.

You want to keep your parent home and out of a nursing home as long as possible but your parent needs 24 hour care and you’ve got a job and a family. To make matters worse, you live out of state.

You’ve searched and searched for good caregivers but you’ve only interviewed people that you don’t really trust and you wouldn’t leave with your helpless parent.

What can you do?.......Read the whole article

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