AlzHub

Medical University Of Ohio And Dementia Care Training For Students

The Medical University of Ohio is giving its medical students the chance to spend some time with Alzheimer's patients and caregivers.

I think this is a great idea and long overdue. Book learning only goes so far. Real world experience and exposure to what patients and caregivers go through will be invaluable to everyone.

School is probably the best and last opportunity students will get for something like this.

Read the article here:

MUO course strives to develop compassionate dementia care - by Luke Shockman, staff writer - Toledo Blade.

Technorati Tags: Medical University of Ohio, MUO

Vigilance Of Alzheimer's Care Homes

Here’s a tip that you can only learn by going through it.

If you’ve reached the point where you’ve had to put your loved one in a home (assisted living or one that specializes in Alzheimer’s patients), visit as often as you can. The obvious reason is because they are your loved ones. But there is another important and overlooked reason.

No matter how good the home was when you first went there to look around, or when your loved one moved in, things can and do change. The only way you will know if problems arise is if you are there enough to notice it yourself. Trust me, if problems come up, they are not going to call you or send you a letter letting you know.

When mom moved into the home she lived in, it had a reputation as one of the best in the area. There were a couple of problems, but they were quickly corrected. I felt good about the care she was receiving. Your comfort level about the home cannot be overstated.

Then the Executive Director left and a new one arrived. From day one, things went quickly and dramatically downhill. To the point that they were found guilty of neglect by the California Department of Social Services. Problems weren’t corrected. Just a lot of empty promises.

If you visit once a month or every couple of weeks for a couple of hours, you’d never notice anything was wrong. Take an active part in your loved ones care. Are they getting the right medication? Is it being dispensed properly? Is there adequate supervision on group outings? Are maintenance and repairs handled in an appropriate time frame? Is the staff following your doctors orders? Is your loved one getting the quality of care they should be?

You don’t need to be aggressive or demanding. Just take an active part so that they know you will notice if they don’t take their responsibilities seriously.

In case you were wondering, the problem Executive Director did get replaced.

Technorati Tags: assisted living, caretaker

An Great Article On Alzheimer's By Norma Sherry

Here's an article that, to me, captures the frustrations and sums up the state of Alzheimer's knowledge very well.

The conflicting research studies, ideas, opinions and theories. How so little is known for sure about Alzheimer's even though it's been around for so long. Despite all the reported studies and discoveries, very little is available at the patient and caregiver level (the front lines) that helps.

Click the link below to read the article:

The Big "A" As in Alzheimer's by Norma Sherry from OpEdNews.com.

Technorati Tags: Norma Sherry

Memory Book

Mom always liked reminiscing about things she remembered from years ago, especially her parents, sisters and the house my sister and I grew up in.

Like most Alzheimer’s patients, mom’s long term memory was pretty good while her short term memory was very bad.  But sometimes even the people, places and events from long ago would get mixed up. 

One day, while looking at online photo printing services, I saw that one of the products they offered was a photo book.  What a great idea.  I could get some photos together and make mom what I called a Memory Book.

I went through all our family photo’s and picked out some of her parents, her sisters, dad, their wedding day, relatives that we saw all the time, our old house, pets, etc. and put them all together in the book and labeled them so she could always read who and what they were even if she couldn’t remember.  I even put them in chronological order as a guide to when things happened even though I wasn’t sure she’d notice.  I thought maybe on some level that would help. 

The book was a hit.  When mom asked about someone or something that was in the book, I could bring it out and we’d look through it.  It never failed to bring a smile to her face.  Being able to see the photo’s really helped her memory too.  When she saw the photo's she remembered names of people that I had forgotten.

Of course, when she put the book away in a drawer, she’d forget about it.  Out of sight, out of mind.  But I was always able to find it pretty quick.  We were able to spend a lot of time looking through that book together.

--I made and purchased my book (typically called photobooks on the websites) through Shutterfly.com.  The quality was very good.  Now that mom’s gone, that book means a lot to me.  There are several other online photo printing services that have something very similar such as:  KodakGallery.com, Photoworks.com and Snapfish.com.

Technorati Tags: Reminisce, photo book, memory book, photos, photography

Donate To Alzheimer's Research On Your Tax Form

Now that tax time is in full swing, this is just a gentle reminder that here in California, you can make a donation towards Alzheimer’s research right on your state tax form – line #53 to be exact. 

I don’t believe California is the only state to do this.  If anyone knows of other states that have a donation to Alzheimer’s option right on the tax form, leave a comment or email me we can pass the information along.

Technorati Tags: California, taxes, Franchise Tax Board

Alzheimer's, Education Levels And Rate Of Decline

This is a story that I've seen several times in the news the past few days.

A recent study indicates that Alzheimer's disease progresses faster in people with higher education levels.  The researchers studied 312 people for over 5 years and determined that the rate of decline in those with more education was .3 percent greater than those with lower levels of education.

When I first read about this, I thought the news reports had misplaced the decimal point. The .3% must be an overall average.  For an individual, it would seem insignificant.

Let's take a look at this.  The study came up with .3% difference. Being around mom and many different people with Alzheimer's, the declines in each one was different, sometimes radically so.  .3% is stunningly small.

.3% of a year is a little over 1 day.  That's nothing.  Let's say an Alzheimer's
patient lives a nice long 15 years with the disease.  .3% is only about 16.5 days.  Slightly more than 2 weeks over a 15 year period.  Not exactly anything to get worked up about.

The study made a connection between education levels and decline in only two measurable areas: speed of thought processes and memory.  As usual, there are many other possible explanations and possible factors in the decline.

The more we can learn about Alzheimer's the better, and this study helps.  But be careful with statistics and number crunching.  I believe that on an individual basis, the effects from Alzheimer's will vary far more dramatically.  I'm not convinced .3% change in an individual over a year is even measurable accurately.

Links:

Higher Education Levels Tied To Faster Alzheimer's Decline - MedpageToday.com

Alzheimer's Progresses Faster In Educated People (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

USA Today Q&A With Margaret Gatz

This post is a good follow-up to my previous post here.

USA Today's Kathleen Fackelmann asked Margaret Gatz, author of the recent study on the link between genetics and Alzheimer's, some questions related to the study.

The questions expand a little bit beyond just twins to what this means for the rest of us with family members who have or have had Alzheimer's.  I know that these are questions that I had and referred to in my last post.

A couple of the questions:

"If someone has a parent or sibling who has developed Alzheimer's late in life, what is the person's risk of developing the disease?"

"Can people who have a family history of late-onset Alzheimer's reduce their risk?"

Read the rest of the questions and all of the answers in the article here:

Q&A: Late-onset Alzheimer's - USAToday.com.

Technorati Tags: Margaret Gatz

Alzheimer's, Twins and Genetics

A new study out of the University of Southern California indicates that genetics may play a significant role in developing Alzheimer's. 

The researchers studied almost 12,000 Swedish born twins and found that if one twin developed Alzheimer's, the other twin had up to a 79% chance of also developing the disease.  The study supports the theory that Alzheimer's appears to be inheritable.

For all of you who may be panicking right now because you have family members with Alzheimer's disease, it's not quite as dire as the sound bites make it sound.  This really isn't a surprise and only adds support for what was already believed. 

The chances of developing Alzheimer's varied in the study between the various combinations of twins: identical, fraternal, differing genders, etc.  Percentages dropped significantly among the different combinations.  The researchers also stressed the importance that the environment and lifestyle plays in the disease.

I haven't seen anything yet regarding the study about what the genetic link means for people with a father, mother or non-twin sibling with Alzheimer's. 

Bottom line:  Unless you are in that very small number of twins with the highest odds whose environment and lifestyle consists of all the wrong things, relax.  This is nothing new.  For those who think they are safe because their family has not been affected yet, genetics is only one factor.  Stopping Alzheimer's is important to everyone.

Links:

ScienceDaily.com:  Study: Twin's also share Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's Association:  Major twin study:  Genes matter, but don't rule out environment.

Technorati Tags: genetics, twins, Swedish

CIRM Releases "Interim IP Policy for Non-Profit Organizations" Report

The Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee has released a working draft of the CIRM (California Institute for Regenerative Medicine) Intellectual Property Policy for Non-Profit Organizations report.

This is the report that details (among other things) how and if California will share in the revenue generated by its' $3 billion investment.

Read the full draft here.

California Institute For Regenerative Medicine website.

Thanks to the California Stem Cell Report for the heads up.

Technorati Tags: CIRM, stem cell, Alzheimer's, Dementia, California

Alzheimer's Disease 100th Anniversary

2006 marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery / identification of Alzheimer's disease by Dr. Alois Alzheimer.

Unfortunately, Alzheimer's seems to be having a bigger impact on more and more lives every day. Our longer lifetimes increase our chances of being affected by this disease.
Let's do everything we can to stop this now.


Technorati Tags: Alzheimer's, dementia