Alzheimer's Takes Its Toll on Caregivers

Liz Palka
WCAV TV
Charlottesville, Va

In many ways we lose our loved ones twice. Because as they're losing their memory, we're losing the connections we have with them," said Sue Friedman, President and CEO of the Alzheimer's Association.

What would it be like for a loved one to still be with you, but they can't remember you? When all you have are the old memories and you can't make any new ones.

"It is the burden of being apart. Being married, but yet separated. Unable to realize what's going on, what's happening or how long this could go on," said Ward Campbell, whose wife has Alzheimer's.

Caring for someone with Alzheimer's takes a tremendous toll on a person. Ward's wife Peggy was 65 when she was diagnosed with the disease. A year and a half ago, he made the difficult decision to place her in assisted living.

"I thought it was bad when I was taking care of her. It was tough, but she was....read the whole story

Living with Alzheimer's

By Gail Wood | The Olympian •
One family fights disease with patience, understanding and love
Wayne Donaldson fiddled with the domino in his hand, puzzling over his next move.

What is it?

Alzheimer's disease is a brain disorder named for German physician Alois Alzheimer, who first described it in 1906. It is:

• A progressive and fatal brain disease affecting about 5 million in the United States. It destroys brain cells, causing problems with memory, thinking and behavior. It is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States.

• The most common form of dementia, a general term for the loss of memory and other intellectual abilities. Vascular dementia, another common type of dementia, is caused by reduced blood flow to parts of the brain. In mixed dementia, Alzheimer's and vascular dementia occur together.

• Not curable. Treatment for symptoms, combined with services and support, can make life better for patients and families.

Warning signs

•Memory loss and forgetting recently learned information

•Difficulty performing familiar tasks, such as preparing a meal, making a phone call or playing a game

•Trouble using language effectively

•Disorientation to time and place

•Poor or decreased judgment

•Problems with abstract thinking

•Misplacing things

•Rapid changes in mood or behavior

•Changes in personality

•Loss of initiative

Local resources

To learn more about Alzheimer's and related dementias, go to the Western and Central Washington Alzheimer's Association Web site at www.alzwa.org. Or call 866-ALZ-4199.

Lewis–Mason-Thurston Area Agency on Aging publishes a Senior Resource Directory that has resources for Alzheimer's patients and their loved ones. Go to www.limtaaa.org. Get a paper copy by calling 360-664-3162.

A dozen special care centers for dementia patients exist in South Sound, as well as several adult day care centers that take high-functioning Alzheimer's patients. Seniors age 60 or older who have questions about services for Alzheimer's patients can contact June Moore at 360-664-3162, ext. 133, or via e-mail at mooreje2@dshs.wa.gov.

If an unpaid family member is caring for an Alzheimer's patient, the agency's Family Caregiver Support Program can help the caregiver maintain his or her own mental, physical and emotional health. Contact John Rodgers at 360-664-3162, ext. 106, or via e-mail at rodgejh@dshs.wa.gov.

South Sound Alzheimer's Council provides support, education and advocacy for patients, their families and caregivers. It meets at 3:30 p.m. the third Wednesday of every month at the Olympia Center, 222 Columbia St. N.W., Olympia. The council's annual fundraising walk is at 10 a.m. Sept. 20 at Marathon Park on Capitol Lake. Go to www.southsoundalzheimerscouncil.org or write to PMB 159, 3430 Pacific Ave. S.E., No. A-6, Olympia, WA 98506.

Eventually, he needed prompting, reminders on the rules of a children's game. Julie, Wayne's wife, grew increasingly frustrated....read the whole story
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Cognitive Rehabilitation for those with Alzheimer's and other dementias

Tangled Neuron
Preliminary results of a large trial of cognitive rehabilitation for people with Alzheimer's are encouraging. Cognitive rehabilitation could help keep people with mild Alzheimer's functioning in the community and at home.

Another great presentation in the "Psychosocial Issues and Neuropsychology" session at ICAD 2008 was Dr. David Loewenstein's update on a clinical trial of cognitive rehabilitation for people with Alzheimer's. Dr. Loewenstein is Director of Research and Neuropsychology at the Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders, and professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine.

The value of cognitive rehabilitation is well-established for people with brain injuries and for older adults in general, he said. But for people with Alzheimer's, it's a bit more complicated. This is because rehabilitation.....read the whole post

Forgetting: Is It Aging or Alzheimer's?

usnews.com
Planning to Retire
Emily Brandon
Everyone forgets their keys occasionally, gets lost sometimes, or just can't quite remember the name of someone they were introduced to in the past. Young people usually shrug off these temporary bouts of memory loss. But older people may wonder if it could be the beginning of mild cognitive impairment or even Alzheimer's disease. U.S. News asked William Uffner, medical director of the Friends Hospital Older Adult Program in Philadelphia, how to tell when memory loss is a normal sign of aging or something more serious. Excerpts:

How do you know what's normal (like forgetting your keys) and when things are growing more serious?
The brain is unable to recognize when something is wrong with it. People generally are not aware when they have crossed over from a mild memory problem into dementia. More often, it is going to be a family member or an associate or someone else who makes the realization that a person isn't appropriately functioning and managing their affairs anymore. The individual themselves is likely to call the bank and say the bank made a mistake. That's a sign of true cognitive decline.

What signs should family members be on the lookout for?
Most people over the age of 55 will tell you that their memory is not as good as it used to be. Everyone has had the experience of going up the stairs to their bedroom and thinking, "What did I come up here for?" As you age, you may begin to worry more about that. But this does not represent a problem. It's when a person has memory problems that are very severe [that] you need to worry, when they can't make use of information and turn that information into a useful course of actions. Also, when they start to show problems with their judgment and when they repeatedly make mistakes. It's OK to...read the whole post

Patterns: Examining Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias and Weight Loss

New York Times
Health
Vital Signs
By NICHOLAS BAKALAR

Weight loss may be associated with the onset of Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia in women, but not in men, a new study suggests.

There have been conflicting studies on the association between body weight and the risk for dementia, with some suggesting that obesity in middle age is a risk factor and others showing that weight loss precedes dementia’s onset. This study, which appears in a recent issue of Neurology, examined 481 dementia patients, comparing them with a matched, healthy control group.

The researchers found that women....read the whole article

Is hearing loss an early sign of Alzheimers or another dementia?

lundi sept 2008 |Destination Santé
According to an American study, minor memory problems could be associated with an auditive deficit. Does this mean that hearing loss could be one of the first signs of dementia ? For the time being, the authors of the report can’t answer this. They simply state the facts, and recommend that healthcare professionals carry out hearing tests on the elderly as a matter of course.

The researchers studied 313 individuals over the age of 80, all of whom were taking part in a programme to monitor neuro-degenerative diseases, with Alzheimer’s disease at the forefront. Of those studied, 232 showed no memory problems (control group) ; 17 were diagnosed as suffering from dementia ; and 64 had slight memory loss. All participants underwent a hearing assessment. The patients with dementia and memory problems received the......read the whole story

JAMA study

and interscience said....

Click here for info on
deafness and dementia

What if you are deaf and are misdiagnosed with dementia?
Click here to find out

Preventing Alzheimer's by keeping the mind active

ILLINOIS STYLE: Will games help dementia?
By MIKE DANAHEY | The (Aurora) Beacon-News
2:31 AM CDT, September 17, 2008
GENEVA, Ill. - He would drive all the way from DeKalb to Peoria to visit his mother, but sometimes a heartfelt hello would take the back seat to a TV game show.

"If I arrived at the time of Jeopardy, I'd have to wait to talk to her. I figured there must be some strength in the game," said Alan Robinson....read the whole article

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What do do to keep your mind active?
What do you do to keep the mind of someone with Alzheimer's, active?