Aging or Alzheimer's?
Illustrating the difference between normal aging and the signs of cognitive decline, or Alzheimer’s/Dementia onset. Included are a short list of preventative care for cognitive decline, and what signs a person and their family should 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 get lost, because young people get lost. It's not OK when you get lost and you can't assemble a plan to get back to where you should be. If you make a date on the phone to pick them up for lunch the next day, someone with normal memory problems is aware of their memory problem and will find a way to keep their schedule by taking notes. Someone with Alzheimer's disease will open the door and be angry and say, "What do you mean we spoke on the phone? You're crazy."
They also display difficulty in utilizing a familiar object which they would have previously recognized and difficulty in using things. A person who can no longer figure out how to operate the microwave or set their alarm clock even though it's the same device they used to be able to manipulate appropriately is a sign of a real problem.
Alzcare in Texas. Caring help for Alzheimer’s patients in home settings.
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Update on Dotty
Bob DeMarco from Alzheimer’s Reading Room writes an update on his mother, Dotty’s, condition.
She is talking and asking a lot of questions. Most of her sentences are still starting with the word, Bobby.
It is hard for me to say she is getting better. She is definitely much improved versus last Friday and Saturday. On the other hand, she is much worse then last Monday, May 17.
Keep in mind on May 10, she was "there". Now, "not there".On May 10, she was able to walk around the clinical trial office, see the neurologist, move from room to room, and took a serious of tests that included verbal interviews. She walked from the parking lot and into the doctor's office while I held her hand. She walking into and out of the doctor's office that day.
Compare this to last Thursday and Friday when I had to use a wheelchair to get her to the doctor and home.
What a difference two weeks has made. Dotty has never acted like this before. Not even close. By the way, she is not acting mean.I believe she does know there is something wrong and knows that she is not feeling well.
We head back to the doctor's office this afternoon.
Read More at Alzheimer’s Reading Room
AlzCare in Texas. Compassionate treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease in comfortable, home settings. Alzcare facilities are located near San Antonio and in New Braunfels, Waco, Victoria, and San Marcos.
| | | | | Caregivers Risk of Illness
A story about the Coskie family, and the effects on Dixie Coskie, while taking care of her son, Paul Coskie. Their story illustrates the common effects of caregiving on the caregiver. Emotional, mental, and physical. The second half of the article goes into coping with the emotions, stress, and guilt that go along with caregiving.
More than 65 million people -- nearly a third of the U.S. population, provide care for a friend or family member during any given year, according to the National Family Caregivers Association.
In an editorial in the May issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, psychologist Peter Vitaliano explains that many of these people suffer just as Coskie did.
"Thousands of articles have reported greater psychological and physical health problems in caregivers than in non caregivers," writes Vitaliano, a professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
In the same issue, a team led by researchers at the University of Utah studied 1,221 elderly married couples and found someone was six times more likely to develop dementia if his or her spouse had dementia.
It's not entirely clear why caregiving can make you sick, but researchers believe depression and chronically high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, both of which often accompany caregiving, take a toll on the body's immune and cardiovascular systems.
Coskie says she never dreamed stress could wreak such havoc on her body, but in retrospect it makes sense.
AlzCare in Texas. Quality Alzheimer’s treatment in a home setting. San Antonio, New Braunfels, San Marcos, Waco, Fredericksburg, Victoria.
| | | | | Gene Testing
Bob DeMarco with Alzheimer’s Reading Room writes his opinion on Alzheimer’s Gene Testing. DeMarco gets emails fairly frequently asking about Gene Testing, and if their symptoms indicate that they should get tested. Forty percent of people who have late onset Alzheimer’s have the gene. This test is fairly expensive, and there are considerations to think on before deciding to take a test.
Blood tests are available that can identify which APOE alleles a person has, but it is not yet possible to predict who will or will not develop AD. APOE ?4 is only a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, the blood test cannot predict for sure whether a person will develop AD or not.
What you want to know before you take a saliva test for DNA, however, is if the test can the detect the APOE ?4 gene (allele). If it can, you need to ask about the accuracy of the test. These are important considerations before spending money on a gene or DNA test.
You can expect to pay around $400 for a high quality test.
If you don't have the APOE ?4 gene you are still at risk for Alzheimer's disease. Why? If you read the paragraph above only forty percent of the people that develop late onset Alzheimer's have the gene. The other sixty percent don't.
People want to know my opinion on gene testing for Alzheimer's disease.
If you think it will help, I am for it. I am not opposed in anyway to a person learning more about their genetic make up and what diseases they might be predisposed to by birth. One positive of a genetic test is that it might convince the person to start living a healthier lifestyle. To really focus on nutrition. The test could be the catalyst.
Read more at Alzheimer’s Reading Room
AlzCare – Quality Alzheimer’s treatment in Texas, New Braunfels, Victoria, Waco, and San Marcos
| | | | | Depression linked to low vitamin D levels in senior adults
New research is showing that senior citizens with low levels of vitamin D are more prone to depression.
Many studies have been published recently on the potential health benefits of vitamin D, and the potential risks of deficiency. Low vitamin D levels have been linked to heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and more severe asthma.
In older people, insufficient vitamin D is quite common, and has been linked to fractures, worse physical function, greater frailty, and a wide variety of chronic illness.
AlzCare in Texas. Treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease in comfortable, familiar home settings. New Braunfels, San Antonio, Victoria, Waco, San Marcos, Victoria.
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