How many people suffering from Alzheimer's go missing each day?...
By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

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How many person with Alzheimer's wander each day? I have never seen this number reported.

An educated guess -- around 125,000 in a year. However, as far as I can tell, there are only about 30,000 reported cases in a year. So the range in any given day is between 82 and 342. A sobering thought.

Current statistics indicate that about 60 percent of persons suffering from Alzheimer's will wander. This makes the potential pool around 3,000,000 individuals.

It is likely that only a small fraction of those that do wander get reported.

My guess is that many who wander don't get far. As a result, they are found quickly and only locale residents get involved.

But what about those that don't get found quickly?

• Of...

Alzheimer's Reading Room

“Anti-amyloid therapeutic drugs represent a valid approach to treating Alzheimer’s disease, but their inability to accumulate in the brain has limited their usefulness,” says Greengard, who is head of the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience.

“The development of compounds that work like Gleevec, but have the ability to pass the blood-brain barrier and target GSAP, could revolutionize the treatment of this disease.”
A version of the cancer drug Gleevec could form the basis of a new class of drugs that block the development of brain-damaging plaques in Alzheimer's disease.

The latest study shows ?-secretase activating protein (GSAP) increases the production of beta amyloid. Blocking the protein in genetically engineered mice kept Alzheimer's brain plaques from developing.

In Alzheimer’s disease, the problem is amyloid-?, a protein that accumulates in the brain and causes nerve cells...

Lori La Bey of Alzheimer’s Speaks is one of the Authors in the new book “Life Choices”.    The title of  Lori’s story is  
A Caregiver’s Nightmare:  Mirror Image 
 The formal book launch will take place in Las Vegas October 30th.  If you are going to be in Vegas at that time we would love to see you.  More details to come in the future.
 

 
 
Lori La Bey
of Alzheimer’s Speaks
and Senior Lifestyle Trends
 
 
 
                    
...

By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading
Room

This research interests me. First, my mother's triglycerides have been high for at least 20 years.

Of all the doctors we had, not a single one has ever suggested medication. In addition, my sister has diabetes. On top of the that, my mother's mother had diabetes and died at a young age.

I have also mentioned previously how my mother started scraping her feet on the ground about ten years ago. Next, she started walking slower and slower.

Finally, when I first came to Delray Beach my mother was falling down often. Once she fell and broke her finger. Another time I found her lying in the parking lot and she was unable to get up. She was shaking like a leaf.

Older adults with diabetes who have high blood pressure, walk slowly or lose their balance, or believe they're in bad health, are significantly more likely to have weaker memory and slower, more rigid cognitive...

Let’s just have a nice cup of tea: The story of a community working together to raise awareness about dementia and funding for much-needed support services....By Cass Alexander
Alzheimers New Zealand

In the midst of a hectic conference, where I was seen with a mobile phone in each ear, organising television crews and frantically answering journalists’ questions about a new dementia drug subsidy, I was approached by the calm-looking president of Alzheimers Marlborough.

Diane Johnson grabbed me, while I grabbed an on-the-run muffin and a cup of coffee and said, “Cass, we’ve got something big we think would do wonders for publicity during Awareness and Appeal Week. Something really big.”

She promised to fly me across the Cook Straight (the stretch of the Pacific Ocean which divides New Zealand’s North and South islands) to tell me more about this ‘something big,’ at a later date.

I think I caught her say something about...

By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

Yesterday I wrote -- Dotty Says, Bobby Says.

You might have noticed that since early May Dotty has not had a lot to say. When you see Dotty Says in the title box it means that Dotty is more engaged. More connected to the world.

For those of you that have been here, you know that when Dotty was in the 6-18 week period during the Dimebon clinical trial she became very engaged. The more I think about it and compare that period to the last six plus years the more it astounds me.

To be clear, during that period Dotty's memory did not come back. Bits and pieces of her personality did come back. Because she was more lively and "more there", there was a very subtle improvement in her memory. For me. Well, I thought I had the old Dotty back during that period. Not all of her, but enough that she seemed...

By Barbara Pursley

Memory loss is the first symptom we think about when it comes to the disease of Alzheimer’s; however, there is also a range of behavioral problems, too.

Damage to the frontal lobe is primarily responsible for behavioral changes such as loss of inhibitions. This can be distressing and embarrassing for the caregiver and the patient when the behavior is socially inappropriate, such as lack of modesty, sexual advances, and inappropriate touch. Mom became very uninhibited once the onset of Alzheimer’s began its course.

One early morning while drinking my coffee, the phone rang and I answered, “Hello.” The lady asked, “May I speak to Ms Pursley?” and I answered, “Speaking.”

I took a deep breath knowing it was the nursing home and anytime they called there had to be a problem.

After identifying herself, she said, “Your mother is adjusting to the nursing home, but she is having inappropriate sexual behavior...

Much has been made of the recent findings indicating that Alzheimer’s disease is partially genetically linked. Family members of those who suffer with dementia are faced with the possibility that they might also fall prey to the disorder as they age.

Luckily, preventative measures have been identified. Some people with the genetic proclivity to have Alzheimer’s disease never manifest the disease. Here are the environmental factors that contribute to Alzheimer’s disease and the steps a currently healthy individual can take to reduce their odds of developing dementia

Mom, with a steady flow of intravenous fluids and now heavy duty antibiotics, is finally showing improvement. • Her kidney function is at a 2.2, down from 4.8 so she officially is out of renal failure. • Her white blood count is almost normal.• Neurology consulted and Mom had a CT scan. She did not have a seizure. Instead, since her blood pressure was so low, her brain did not receive enough blood and her body went into “tremors.” • Her blood pressure is normal.• She still has diarrhea and this is the main concern. Infectious Diseases consulted and she is now on Vancomycin, the strongest antibiotic for this type of infection. If this doesn’t work, she would need surgery. But everyone is hopeful the antibiotic will kill the c.diff.Mom is highly susceptible to dehydration and this is going to be the main concern going forward. Anyone with a parent or loved one in a nursing facility knows that keeping a resident/patient hydrated in that environment is a huge issue.Before Mom...

By Carole B. Larkin
Alzheimer's Reading Room

Previously I wrote -- Alzheimer's Caregiving Avoiding the Urinary Tract Infection (Part Four).

Now let's move on to Incontinence.

Incontinence is usually a part of Alzheimer’s and other dementias because many times in the diseases the portion of the brain that controls our “muscle memory” gets damaged and slowly dies.

When that portion of the brain gets damaged, the brain can no longer send the signals needed to make muscles work as they are supposed to. That includes the muscles serving the bladder and the sphincter.

If the brain doesn’t send the message to contract and hold urine and feces in then you have a problem that takes special attention and consideration.

Incontinence is a process (usually), not an overnight change. The results of periodic...

Here are a few tips/tricks that may help you avoid the dreaded UTI -- Urinary Tract Infection.....By Carole B. Larkin
Alzheimer's Reading Room

First, I am not a doctor, nor am I a nurse. I am an experienced Geriatric Care Manager and a woman. Over the years, I had more conversations with urologists and their nurses about urinary tract infections (UTIs) than I care to remember.

Right out of the starting block I want to say that Bob is spot on (oops, there I go again- sorry!) about E. Coli and cranberry juice.

E. Coli is one of the bacteria and/or viruses that cause UTI’s. There are others. Lucky us! Cranberry juice is the elixir of the gods when it comes to helping prevent or minimize the effects of a UTI.

For those like Dottie who find it poison, cranberry extract comes in pills; you’ll find them near the vitamins at your local pharmacy.

I was told that one reason cranberry works well is that it changes the PH...