Are Alzheimer's Caregivers the Forgotten Audio

By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Front Row

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FDA Facilitates Research on Earlier Stages of Alzheimer's Disease

Research has shown that there is a lag of many years between the beginning of changes in a patient’s brain and the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms.

Alzheimer’s disease is a nightmare haunting many Americans.

Despite years of intensive efforts by scientists to develop new safe and effective treatments for Alzheimer’s, options remain limited. In the last 20 years, FDA has approved five drugs for the disease—the most recent one in 2003. Although the drugs can provide some benefit, more needs to be done.

Memory Tests

Those Lucid Dementia Moments

Lucid moments occur when persons living with dementia display flashes of their old selves. These moments can  be surprising to dementia caergivers.

Sudden recognition of family members or friends, and old memory, attempts at humor, and even an an insightful remark about a situation can bring joy to those that care.

As Alzheimer's Worsens, Conversations About How To Die

Alzheimer's Front Row

In this installment of NPR's series Inside Alzheimer's, we hear from Greg O'Brien about his decision to forgo treatment for another life-threatening illness. A longtime journalist in Cape Cod, Mass., O'Brien was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease in 2009.

The Best Alzheimer's Blogs of 2015

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Answers to Your Questions About Alzheimer's and Dementia

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The Connection Between UTI and Dementia

Study results show that people who got an infection had twice the rate of memory loss as people without infections.

Infections in dementia patients, including UTIs, can lead to hallucinations, agitation, aggression, and memory loss.

Worse yet, urinary tract infections are common in dementia patients, frequently go undetecting, and often lead to visits to the emergency room.

Brains of Retired NFL Players Who Suffered Concussions

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, CTE, is thought to cause memory loss, confusion, progressive dementia, depression, suicidal behavior, personality changes and abnormal gaits and tremor.

Alzheimer's Front Row

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes (and others) with a history of repetitive brain trauma, including symptomatic concussions as well as asymptomatic subconcussive hits to the head. CTE has been known to affect boxers since the 1920s.

What’s the Difference Between Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia?

Forgotten How to Swallow

Readers searching Google using the following keywords

Forgotten How to Swallow

were directed to this article in the Alzheimer's Reading Room.

How Do Alzheimer's Patients Die?

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The Last 25 Articles on the Alzheimer's Reading Room

16 Ways to Get a Dementia Patient to Eat More Food

Learn More About the Difference Between Dementia and Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's Front Row

What is the Difference Between Alzheimer's and Dementia?

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Dementia and Obsession over Money

Alzheimer's caregivers often experience problems with money, checkbooks, and scams being perpetrated on persons living with Alzheimer's disease.

Pamela R. Kelley and Max Wallack discuss the problems with money, and how to handle the problem with the checkbook.

Alzheimer's, Money, and the Checkbook

Dementia
Caring.com
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Answers to Your Questions About Alzheimer's and Dementia

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7 Tips on How to Cut Alzheimer's Risk

Alzheimer's disease affects memory, thinking, concentration, and judgment, and ultimately impedes a person’s ability to perform normal daily activities.

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Get the Answers to Your Questions About Alzheimer's and Dementia

• What is the Difference Between Alzheimer’s and Dementia
• Test Your Memory for Alzheimer's (5 Best Tests)
• Problems with Balance, Walking, Falling an Early Sign of Dementia
• How Do Alzheimer's Patients Die?
• Alzheimer's Disease Risk Factors

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The Montessori Method for Dementia Care

The Montessori Method teaches us to work with the whole person, the intellectual, physical and spiritual components of the individual.

Alzheimer's Front Row

Excerpt from the article in the Alzheimer's Reading Room

Dr. Montessori believed devoutly (as do we) that every person deserves to be treated with respect and compassion. She encourages us to celebrate each person’s individual gifts.

Continue reading this important and informative article by 
Tom and Karen Brenner -

The Montessori Method for Alzheimer’s Care

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Answers to Your Questions About Alzheimer's and Dementia

Excerpt from -- Communicating in Alzheimer's World

Alzheimer's Front Row

Excerpt from -- Communicating in Alzheimer's World

Welcome to Alzheimer's World.

Don't be afraid or reluctant to step into this new and very different world.

In Alzheimer's World, reality takes on a different shape.

Reality in Alzheimer's World is a reflection of what the person living with Alzheimer's thinks and believes. It is this reality that you must focus on, not the way YOU think things are, or should be.

Acceptance.

I feel confident when I say this -- you won't be able to convince a person who is deeply forgetful that they are wrong, and you won't be able to convince them that your reality is the true reality. They can't remember like you or me, so they really cannot comprehend your point of view.

When you do this you are asking the person who is deeply forgetful to come back into your world. They cannot do this.

Answers and Solutions to the Problems That Caregiver Face Each Day

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2 out of 10 people feel businesses know their rights when it comes to Lasting Power of Attorney

Alzheimer's Front Row

Only 22 per cent of people affected by dementia feel that businesses and organisations understand a person's rights around Lasting Power of Attorney.

The poll by Alzheimer's Society (made up of carers, people with dementia and friends or family of people with dementia was released to mark the launch of Accessing and sharing information: Acting on behalf of a person with dementia booklet.

Read the entire article - Two out of ten people feel businesses know their rights when it comes to Lasting Power of Attorney

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Answers to Your Questions About Alzheimer's and Dementia

Is short-term memory a sign of dementia?

Increasing forgetfulness or mild confusion may be the first symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and memory loss.

A reader searching Bing using the following keywords

is short-term memory a sign of dementia

was directed to the following article in the Alzheimer's Reading Room.

What is Momentia?

What is Momentia?

Momentia is a joyful proclamation. Momentia declares the new dementia story, a story not of fear, isolation, despair, futility and loss, but a story of hope, connection, growth, purpose and courage.

Momentia affirms a story told by the lips and lives of people living with dementia, a story of living fully and boldly in the moment.

Google Search - Is it common for those with Alzheimer's to have periods of being lucid?

If you engage the person living with dementia, keep them socialized, use music, and large doses of bright light along with lots of "real" exercise and a good diet, you just might get more lucid moments.

~ Bob DeMarco, Alzheimer's Reading Room

Symptoms of Mild Alzheimer's Disease

As Alzheimer's disease progresses, memory loss worsens, and changes in other cognitive abilities are evident.

Problems can include:

• getting lost
• trouble handling money and paying bills
• repeating questions
• taking longer to complete normal daily tasks
• poor judgment
• losing things or misplacing them in odd places
• mood and personality changes

Alzheimer's disease is often diagnosed at this stage.

Source: National Institute on Aging

Also see:

Test Your Memory for Alzheimer's (5 Best Memory Tests)

To learn more about Alzheimers and Dementia care visit the Alzheimer's Reading Room Knowledge Base

Reminiscence Therapy and Dementia

Reminiscence Therapy (RT) involves the discussion of past activities, events and experiences with another person or group of people.

Alzheimer's - the long goodbye

You have probably heard this term - the long goodbye - used quite often in relation to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

What if you were the person with dementia?