Clipmarks | BobbyDelray's 'alzheimer's' clips

Tell the next U.S. President to make Alzheimer's a priority

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 02:16:10 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: alzheimersreadingroom.blogspot.com

On January 20, 2009 - just a little more than five months from now - a new President of the United States will take office.

No matter who you want to win the election, as supporters of the Alzheimer's Association, there is one thing on which we all agree: the next president must make the United States the world leader in Alzheimer care and research!

That's why, as part of our advocacy and awareness initiatives for World Alzheimer's Day, we're asking caring and compassionate individuals like you to sign the Alzheimer's Association Proclamation to the next President! Make your voice heard in support of more Alzheimer care and research!

We need at least 50,000 signatures to be delivered to the new president in January!

Please sign the Proclamation to the Next President now.

Sign the Alzheimer's Association Proclamation to the next President!

SIGN NOW

Diverse Approaches to Alzheimer's Therapies Continue to Show Progress at ICAD

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:51:22 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: alzheimersreadingroom.blogspot.com

A lot of good and encouraging news continues to come out of this week's Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease 2008.

--18-Month Data from an Extension of a Pivotal Trial of Dimebon in Alzheimer's

--First U.S. Double-Blind Phase II Clinical Trial of IVIg (Immunotherapy) in Alzheimer's

--Phase II Immunotherapy Trial with LY2062430 in Mild to Moderate Alzheimer's

--Antidementia Drugs Contribute to Longer Life in People with Alzheimer's

Tags: alzheimer's

GRAPE SEED EXTRACT MAY REDUCE COGNITIVE DECLINE ASSOCIATED WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:00:19 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: www.sfn.org

A compound found in grape seed extract reduces plaque formation and resulting cognitive impairment in an animal model of Alzheimer’s disease, new research shows. The study appears in the June 18 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

The researchers tested a grape seed polyphenolic extract product sold as MegaNatural-AZ, made by Polyphenolics, which in part supported the study. Polyphenolic compounds are antioxidants naturally found in wine, tea, chocolate, and some fruits and vegetables. To determine whether the extract could mitigate the effects of Alzheimer’s disease, the researchers used mice genetically modified to develop a condition similar to Alzheimer’s disease. They exposed pre-symptomatic “Alzheimer’s mice” to the extract or placebo daily for five months. The daily dose of the polyphenolic extract was equivalent to the average amount of polyphenolics consumed by a person on a daily basis.

Tags: alzheimer's

I broke down on live TV over my dad's Alzheimer's

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:32:52 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: 'Alzheimer's is such a cruel disease because that vibrant person is taken away from you. They are still there in body but it's like the shell. The person you remember has gone.'

Clip Source: alzheimersreadingroom.blogspot.com

The article on the following page is important and uplifting. I remember during those first few months of caring for my mother how sad and frustrated I was feeling. Then, I met a young couple in the gym that had gone through the entire experience from beginning to end with their mother who suffered and died from Alzheimer's disease.

I remember as I related my own experience to them how they shook their heads up and down indicating they knew exactly what I was experiencing. They recounted their similar experiences and always with a smile on their face. I remember feeling immediately "I was not alone". The feelings of frustration, fear and sadness dissipated and I now find myself thinking, "I can do it".

Tags: alzheimer's, disease, caring, elder care

Alzheimer's disease supersedes diabetes as sixth-leading cause of death in the United States

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:53:15 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: www.actionalz.org

Alzheimer's disease is now the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics. The CDC estimates that 72,914 Americans died of Alzheimer's disease in 2006. With an unprecedented historic population shift of 78 million aging baby boomers in the country and this disease poised to strike 10 million boomers - it is clear this escalating epidemic must be addressed now.

"The CDC's announcement that Alzheimer's disease jumped from the seventh to the sixth-leading cause of death should serve as a wake-up call to the nation," said William Thies, Ph.D., vice president of Medical and Scientific Relations at the Alzheimer's Association. "The fact that there are no effective treatments for Alzheimer's has allowed the disease to pass diabetes. It is vitally important that we increase Alzheimer's research funding to slow or stop the progression of this devastating disease."

Wii Fit

Sat, 17 May 2008 18:44:07 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: This is an excellent article about the new fitness module for Wii.

I am considering getting this for my mother who suffers from Alzheimer's. Along with this I hope to get friends to come over and bowl with here.

This would satisfy two important needs: exercise and social interaction.

I'll let you know.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Exercising with Wii Fit is like having a Bob Harper or a Denise Austin who talks back — gently cajoling you through exercises, praising, nudging, even reminding you to eat a banana once in a while. It also lets you see how you stack up against friends or family members; each user creates a cartoony avatar called a “Mii.”

Tags: wii, fit, fitness, exercise

Etanercept (Enbrel) in Action, see Alzheimer's patient's memory come alive (Video)

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:00:51 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: alzheimersreadingroom.blogspot.com

To watch the video on how this works with Alzheimer's patients click here The Institute for Neurological Research

To read about the on going research study click here Arthritis Drug Success With Alzheimer's Prompts Calls For More Investment In Research

To read my previous detailed post on this topic click this link 'Instant' Alzheimer's Drug Claim, Enbrel (Etanercept)

Read more about Alzheimer's at The Alzheimer's Reading Room

One of the videos shows how the treatment affected 82-year old Marvin Miller. Miller can be seen muttering incoherently in response to questions from a nurse. He can't name objects like a pencil or a bracelet.

Miller is then given his first etanercept injection, and according to the video, five minutes later he recognizes and embraces his wife when she comes up to him. Mrs Miller said he had not done this for years, because until that moment he did not know who she was. She appears visibly shocked by her husband's improvement.

Who should MDs let die in a pandemic? Report offers answers

Mon, 05 May 2008 16:02:38 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: Tip, don't get old or sick.

They include the very elderly, seriously hurt trauma victims, severely burned patients and those with severe dementia.

Clip Source: hosted.ap.org

Doctors know some patients needing lifesaving care won't get it in a flu pandemic or other disaster. The gut-wrenching dilemma will be deciding who to let die.

Now, an influential group of physicians has drafted a grimly specific list of recommendations for which patients wouldn't be treated. They include the very elderly, seriously hurt trauma victims, severely burned patients and those with severe dementia

The proposed guidelines are designed to be a blueprint for hospitals "so that everybody will be thinking in the same way" when pandemic flu or another widespread health care disaster hits, said Dr. Asha Devereaux. She is a critical care specialist in San Diego and lead writer of the task force report.

But the recommendations get much more specific, and include

Those with severe mental impairment, which could include advanced Alzheimer's disease.

People older than 85

CHEST: http://www.chestjournal.org

U.S. Govt.: http://www.pandemicflu.gov

New Book: The Alzheimer's Action Plan

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:09:04 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: alzheimersreadingroom.blogspot.com

“Most of us will either get Alzheimer’s or care for a loved one who has"

The Alzheimer's Action Plan: The Experts' Guide to the Best Diagnosis and Treatment for Memory Problems

PET scan can aid dementia diagnosis

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:22:44 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: www.hometownannapolis.com

DEAR MARY: At one of your seminars you mentioned a test for Alzheimer's disease that can be done when all other tests have been exhausted. I am in need of that information for my mother. She lives in Charles County and is being released from a nursing and rehabilitation facility very soon. It is obvious she has dementia and I need to know how to have her evaluated. What tests should I request for her?

DEAR READER: The test I mentioned was the PET scan. It is the most precise diagnostic tool available, but still not 100 percent accurate.

Your mother should be evaluated by a neurologist skilled in diagnosing dementia

She needs a thorough neurological work-up that includes personal and family history, cognitive testing, a CAT scan of the brain and blood work to rule out any medical cause of her symptoms.

The Beginning of Good-bye

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:23:14 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: This blog reveals the personal travails of an Alzheimer's caregiver and her mother.

If you go back in time and read the posts you will be moved by the heartfelt writing. so real, so personal.

For those of us walking down the same path, the writing on this blog is both educational and heart wrenching.

For me it has done two important things, it has let me know what I am facing and that I am not alone.

This writing has often brought tears to my eyes but never more then at this moment.

Clip Source: yellowwallpaper.net

I am slowly allowing myself to realize that this will be my mother’s last infirmity. I kept playing devil’s advocate with myself as she’s failed over the past couple of weeks–how on earth could she fail so quickly?–but this is one of the ways it happens. It boils down, I think, to an injury of her spirit. Something within her is saying, “It’s time to go.”

As if on cue, a bed opened up in the skilled nursing unit at Garden Manor, and she’ll be moving back there soon. Her doctor mentioned something about a feeding tube and I said NO NO NO. She’s 86 years old (yesterday was her birthday) and the past few years have been difficult for her. I will have Hospice attend to her. Right now she is halfway there, I think–she sleeps a lot and mumbles about her teaching days. She doesn’t seem to be in any great pain or distress (unless someone lifts her the wrong way). I don’t want any more CT scans or x-rays or stretchers. She will go gently.

Big belly in middle age triples risk of dementia

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 04:28:50 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: iamanalzheimerscaregiver.blogspot.com

My mother has visceral fat. At her age it could be life threatening. There is no doubt this is a contributing factor to her Alzheimer's

Having a large belly in middle age nearly triples the risk of developing dementia

Researchers measured the abdominal fat of 6,583 people age 40 to 45 in northern California and some 36 years later 16 percent had developed dementia

Those who were overweight or obese but did not have a pot belly had an 80 percent increase in the risk of dementia compared to people with a normal body weight and abdominal fat level

The risk increase jumped to 230 percent among overweight people with a large belly and 360 percent among the obese with large abdomens.

"Where one carries the weight -- especially in midlife -- appears to be an important predictor for dementia risk," Whitmer said.

"These findings imply that the dangerous effects of abdominal obesity on the brain may start long before the signs of dementia appear."

Tags: belly, fat, alzheimer's

Pratchett Funds Alzheimer's Research

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 04:27:48 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: www.forbes.com

Terry Pratchett said Thursday he is donating $1 million for research into Alzheimer's

The best-selling fantasy writer said it's "a shock and a shame" that less money was spent on Alzheimer's research than on fighting cancer.

He said Alzheimer's was "a nasty disease, surrounded by shadows and small, largely unseen tragedies."

The 59-year-old writer said he had reacted to his diagnosis with "a sense of loss and abandonment (and a) violently coherent fury that made the Miltonic Lucifer's rage against heaven seem a bit miffed by comparison."

His donation will go to the Alzheimer's Research Trust, a British charity.

Pratchett, best known for his satirical "Discworld" fantasy saga, has sold more than 55 million copies of his books worldwide.

'Instant' Alzheimer's Drug Claim

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 15:14:15 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: iamanalzheimerscaregiver.blogspot.com

Ten minutes after the injection, the researchers reported that the patient was calmer, less frustrated and more attentive. He could correctly identify California as his home state, but incorrectly identified the current year. At two hours, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment had improved from seven out of a possible 30 to 15. The man's wife and son confirmed the improvements.

A drug used for arthritis can reverse the symptoms of Alzheimer's 'in minutes'", the Daily Mail reported. Several newspapers covered the story of how an 81-year-old man with Alzheimer's disease improved within 10 minutes of being injected with a new drug, etanercept. The BBC reported that his wife described the effect on her husband as being "put back to where he was". His son said, "This was the single most remarkable thing I've seen".

Tags: alzheimer's, enbrel, etanercept

I missed the early signs of Dementia (Alzheimer's) in my mother, will You?

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:19:14 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: iamanalzheimerscaregiver.blogspot.com

Looking back, there is little doubt in my mind I should have realized my mother was suffering from dementia sooner. Sadly, I didn't have the proper education, information, or frame of reference.

Most people tend to ignore the early symptoms of the disease believing they are simply signs of "old age"

Anyone who ends up in my shoes knows and understands that a person in the early stages of Alzheimer’s can function normally

even drive a car

Behavior changes slowly in the elderly

as they begin to suffer cognitive impairment these changes are hard to detect

If my mother had been enrolled in any of the studies listed below, I feel certain she would have been diagnosed sooner. This would have allowed me to get her in an exercise program, get her proper nutrition, and insured that she was taking her medication as prescribed

I learned in the last four years how important these factors are in the quality of her life

The woman in the picture is my 91 year old mother

She suffers from Alzheimer’s disease

Tags: alzheimer's, dementia, early signs