Archive for the ‘lifestyle’ Category

It’s tough to be an Alzheimer’s Caregiver

Nov 22nd, 11 / 0 Comments







Alzheimer’s caregivers face some pretty difficult situations but sometimes there’s a glimmer of humor in the mix.

You have to understand my mom isn’t a violent person nor is her friend. They sit beside each other in the sunroom and both have similar levels of Alzheimer’s disease.

A few months ago, I got a call from the nursing staff saying the two of them had had a disagreement and my mom slapped the other lady.

Now there are two things you have to know here. The first is that people do change under the influence of Alzheimer’s and some do indeed become violent. The second is that whether this is caused by the disease or not, slapping somebody else is a criminal offense and mom could be charged. (Theoretically this could see her put in a psychiatric facility and medicated heavily)

The nurse told me the other family would not be pressing charges and I took a deep breath of relief. Apparently, there was no mark and 2 minutes after the slap, they both had forgotten it and were chatting again.

A month after that, I got yet another call about a slap. Again, my stomach dropped somewhere to my knees.

But this time, the friend had done the slapping. Mom was on the receiving end with no mark and two minutes later chatting and forgetting.

I confess I giggled (partially with relief) and told the nurse that “What goes around, comes around.” We both had a little chuckle about it all (in a most professional way of course) :-) in our mutual humanity and understanding that these things do happen but are not part of the common behavior for either one.

But what do you do if you’re a caregiver at home? Where’s the line? While we can’t tolerate abuse towards our loved ones – how much do we take from our loved ones?

Tough questions indeed and not as easily answered as the other family and I were able to make.

lifestyle, support

Alzheimers Treatment Research

Nov 7th, 11 / 0 Comments








The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association has just published a study evaluating the behavior of 686 patients after they were diagnosed with Alzheimers and put on medications to slow down the effects of the disease.

Every patient in this Alzheimer’s treatment research was tested to begin and then tested twice a year to chart the progress of the disease. Researchers were trying to determine how fast the onset of the disease was and the effects of standard of care over a 4 year period.

Over 90% of patients used standard medications over the 4 years but each lost an average of 2.4 points per year on the Mini-Mental Status Examination and gained 4.5 points on the ADAS-cog tests. In other words, they lost the healthy memory points and gained the illness points.

7.4% of patients died during the 4 years whlie 13.4% were institutionalized.

But 17% did not experience a “major event” defined as functional disability or neuropsychiatric symptoms. In other words, 17% of those diagnosed and treated did not deteriorate significantly over the 4 years of the study.

This was considered surprising (it sure as heck surprised me) and treatment teams are going to have to take another look at the deterioration rates and prognosis for patients diagnosed with this disease.

The one thing that wasn’t clear from the journal was if there were any behaviors the 17% did that they other groups did not. In other words, could exercise, music, stimulation or ?? be a factor here? In my mind (and for my peace of mind) :-) I’d surely like to know about this aspect of Alzheimer’s treatment research

diagnosis, lifestyle, medications, research, symptoms

Gardening Can Reduce Stress for the Elderly

Nov 1st, 11 / 0 Comments







You’d think stress reduction would be because of the physical exercise but apparently not. U.K. researchers surveyed almost 100 people between 50 and 88 years old. Surveys were done on two groups – those that participated in exercise programs and those that did not participate in exercise but did garden.

The gardening group reported the least amount of stress (to a significant level apparently) Both groups reported equal amounts of social support so it wasn’t the “help” they were getting but the environment.

The researchers speculate that the anti-stress benefits of gardening might be due to “engagement with nature” resulting in “cognitive restoration” when individuals feel that they are getting away from the routine of daily life.

Or, it could just be that gardening is good for you. :-)

Reference: Jemma L. Hawkins (Cardiff School of Health Sci- ences, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, Wales CF5 2YB, UNITED KINGDOM), Kathryn J. Thirlaway, Karianne Backx, and Deborah A. Clayton, “Allotment Gardening and Other Leisure Activities for Stress Reduction and Healthy Aging,” Hort-Technology 21(5), October 2011, 577-585. (American Society for Horticultural Science, 1018 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314.)

lifestyle

Music and Alzheimers

May 17th, 10 / 0 Comments







Boston University neuroscientist Brandon Ally reports that he and some colleagues tested a small group diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s and 14 healthy adults to compare how they recognized song lyrics. All participants were shown the lyrics on a computer screen but in half the group, a woman “sang” the words and in the other half, she “spoke” the words.

The early Alzheimers patients recognized 40% of the sung words versus 28% of spoken words. The control group didn’t show that much of a difference recognizing 77% of sung versus 74% of spoken.

So the question posed by this study is whether music can help Alzheimer’s patients with memory retention?

In my mother’s case, one of the few things she still remembers are the words to songs. She doesn’t recognize the grandchildren, but she does remember the words to songs from 70 years ago with almost perfect recall. And she can be found in the front row of the sing-songs in the nursing home belting them out with her amazingly clear voice.

Bottom Line

Nothing scientific (although a good question) here for you to do but something to keep in mind about making things rhyme or humming instructions in humorous ways if the information may be important. It may help ….

lifestyle, research

Sleep Apnea and Alzheimers

May 10th, 10 / 0 Comments







In an interesting way, a treatment for Sleep Apnea may be a treatment for Alzheimers as well.

The Details

A report in the Journal of the Geriatrics Society reports that a study being done on seniors with sleep apnea, improved the cognitive function of those with Alzheimers.

Sleep apne treatments involve opening up the airways into the lungs with positive air pressure during sleep. This forces extra oxygen into the lungs in a non-invasive way.

The sleeper simply wears a small oxygen mask while sleeping.

Sleep apnea happens when the airways become blocked during sleep periods, cutting off breathing and the major symptom is extremely loud snoring,

Bottom Line

Seniors with sleep apnea should clearly be treated with positive air pressure systems and that improvements in the Alzheimer’s were seen after only 3 weeks of oxygen treatment.

No effect was seen on the placebo group in this treatment for Alzheimers Disease

lifestyle, research, treatment

Alzheimers and Diabetes

May 6th, 10 / 0 Comments







Here’s a quick note about alzheimers and diabetes to make your dieting even more important.

Scientists now think there’s a correlation between having diabetes and getting Alzheimers. In fact, not only getting Alzheimer’s but a faster decline once you have it.

Diabetes apparently damages blood vessels leading to the brain and has been known to cause a vascular dementia where the brain slows down functioning because of a lack of blood flow.

Now apparently the distinction between this vascular dementia and full blown Alzheimer’s is diminishing.

Bottom line:

Get your weight under control and watch the sugar intakes. Get that old regular checkup and let your doctor know what you’re trying to do.

Because the real bottom line here is that if the docs can’t tell the difference between the two problems – then neither can you or your family.

lifestyle, research

Alzheimers and Smoking

May 6th, 10 / 0 Comments







When it comes to relating Alzheimers and smoking – it turns out that passive smoking – getting your lungs filled with smoke from spouses, co-workers or that idiot next to you has been tied into a greater chance of developing Alzheimers

Researchers at Cambridge University and Peninsula Medical School looked at the research results from a survey of approximately 5000 adults (50 years and older).

While it has been known for some time that smokers have a greater than average chance of getting Alzheimers, it now appears that non-smokers also have a greater than average chance if they inhale enough smoke. So the the workplace is as big a risk as the home in the study.

Bottom Line

So if your spouse, family member or workplace isn’t smoke free yet, you
are at risk of developing Alzheimer’s as a result.

causes, lifestyle

Cure for Alzheimers?

May 6th, 10 / 0 Comments








If you’re looking for a magic cure for Alzheimers, or at least the early prevention of this problem, then look no further.

You’re really looking at yet another reason to exercise.

Oh yeah (and try to contain your enthusiasm for this if you can)

The Details

More and more research is pointing to the benefits of exercise on aging. Reduce the problems associated with Alzheimer’s-causing problems and the disease is pushed way back. So exercise to reduce blood pressure, cholesterol, depression (all associated with Alzheimer’s symptoms)

Research trials on Alzheimer’s strains of mice have shown exercise increases brain blood flow, stimulate nerve cell growth in regions associated with memory and reduce the pathological changes associated with the onset of Alzheimers.

Aerobic exercise improves cognitive abilities in studies.

Research just goes on an on about how physical activity either decreases the risk, decreases the incidence or helps mask symptoms pushing active lifestyles further out before the onset of the problem. A 2008 study at the University of Australia showed that patients with mild impairment benefited from exercise and that this was an ongoing effect even after a year following the end of the study. Bottom line, thinking was improved in many areas of testing in the exercise group over the control (sit-on-your-butt) group.

Bottom Line

In all these trials, there is no conclusive proof that exercise is a cure for Alzheimers but all the trends and conclusions point to the fact that a healthy lifestyle (or walking at least an hour a day) is going to push it back.

My take on all this of course is I’m good with a cure for Alzheimers and that I’ll exercise more if I move south for the winter so…







lifestyle, research, treatment