In the world of dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease, stress, depression and anxiety make an already difficult situation nearly impossible to cope with. Dementia patients can become agitated, making it difficult to physically care for them. Long term caregivers, whether family members or professionals, can suffer from burnout. It seems that there is no end to [...]
A group of researchers at Southampton University have made an important discovery about the relationship between brain inflammation and Alzheimer’s Disease. Through careful study and comparison of healthy human brains and human brains with Alzheimer’s Disease, they discovered that immune cells called microglia are present in higher numbers with Alzheimer’s Disease than they are in [...]
The sense of smell is very important to enjoying life - the scent of roses, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, the mouthwatering smell of a freshly prepared dinner add an important dimension to every day. Now it seems that smell may allow scientists to detect Alzheimer’s Disease. Granted, the indicative smell is not quite [...]
As the population in Holland ages, the Dutch are searching for ways to care for the elderly in spite of a shortage of professional caregivers. Dementia is on the rise as well, with predictions that point to a 60 percent increase in the number of elderly that require specialized care for memory loss over the [...]
“Honey” and “Dear” are terms of endearment when used properly- by the right person in the right relationship. However, extract those words from the proper context and you have maddening terms of condescension. It’s tough enough for middle aged adults to ignore the over-familiarity of these terms; it’s nearly impossible for the elderly. A recent [...]
A popular bumper sticker encourages us to “practice random acts of kindness”. It’s not just a platitude; it’s a powerful tool that can bring unexpected joy to a friend or stranger who may be hunched under a heavy load of stress. Such is often the plight of caregivers. A recent report published by nextavenuesm, a [...]
Alzheimer’s Disease falls just below heart disease and cancer as a cause of death in America, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s more dangerous than Influenza, Pneumonia, Nephritis, and kills nearly twice as many people each year as suicide. It has a place on the top 10 causes of death, [...]
Dementia, Alzheimer’s and other memory diseases steal memory, cognition and the ability to recognize loved ones. They reduce the patient’s life to a series of moments that can’t accumulate; linear events that are forgotten the instant they end. It’s not an overstatement to say that these medical findings embody the horror of dementia. They are [...]
The first signs of Alzheimer’s Disease are not as sudden or as clear as one might believe. In fact, Alzheimer’s Disease is easiest to detect in the “rear view mirror” as it were- when comparing today’s daily function with that of months ago. The difficulty for loved ones in detecting the early stages of Alzheimer’s [...]
In the recently released award-winning drama, “Still Alice” Julianne Moore plays an accomplished linguistics professor who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease. During a speech she gives in the course of the movie, she says: “The poet Elizabeth Bishoponce wrote: 'the Art of Losing isn't hard to master: so many things seem filled with the [...]