by Boomer to Boomer Online:

As I left my mom in the bedroom to take her clothes to the laundry room, she was sitting peacefully on the bed. It had been a good morning with her being responsive and helpful. I was relieved because these types of mornings had started to become more scarce as her Alzheimer’s disease progressed.

Walking downstairs, I suddenly heard a shriek coming from mom’s room. Then a crash! What in the world? I dropped the laundry and rushed up the stairs to her bedroom.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” I cried as I entered, seeing her jewelry box laying on the floor, fallen open, with her staring at the mirror looking terrified. She shrieked again and pointed at the mirror. Looking at the reflection, she put her hands on her face and then threw a hairbrush at the mirror.

by Tami Doyle for Marion Star:

“If it weren’t for our friend who is a crop duster, we would never have found mom huddled in the middle of the bean field. One minute she was there, the next we had no idea what direction she went since her house is surrounded by corn fields.”

This is the true story of a Marion family who has a mother with dementia. Their mother wandered off when no one was looking and couldn’t remember how to get back.

No cure for Alzheimer’s: There is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s disease or for most other causes of dementia. Researchers still do not know how to prevent the disease from occurring, how to stop its progression or how to reverse its effects. Hopefully, more research will make a cure possible. There are a number of drug treatments that can help some people.

by Bon S. Cabiles for Rappler:

“She’s not really there, even when she’s here.”

These were the words of Donna as she recounted longing for her mom during her darkest moments. Talking to her mom at one time, she was met with a blank stare and at some point, had to repeat the same conversation thrice for 5 minutes.

Madonna “Donna” B. Sanchez is a mother of two, a business woman and is dealing with her mother’s Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Donna’s mom, Alicia B. Sanchez, is 82 years old and was diagnosed with dementia 8 years ago. Now, she is in the early stages of AD.

Alzheimer’s Disease, according to doctor Joel G. Eleazar, is the 4^th most common cause of death. According to the World Health Organization, the prevalence of AD has reached 18 million and is expected to double by 2025. Statistics also show that 50% of people with AD reside in developing countries.

Eleazar, an adult and geriatric psychiatrist, said that exercise is the best way to reduce the risk of contracting AD. He also stressed the importance of socializing. He suggested activities like mahjong, ballroom dancing, and golf.

by Crystal Phend for MedPage Today:

Alzheimer’s disease patients with adult child or other nonspouse caregivers appear to be underrepresented in clinical trials, which may influence results, researchers found.

Across six cooperative group trials, 67% of participants had spouses as their study partner compared with 26% enrolled with their adult child and 7% with a different relationship to their caregiver, Joshua D. Grill, PhD, of the Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research at UCLA, and colleagues reported.

By comparison, national figures suggest the opposite proportions, with 68% of Alzheimer’s caregivers being adult children, children-in-law, or grandchildren.

“We observed several relevant differences that could affect trial conduct, results, and interpretations,” the group wrote online inNeurology.

by Gary Leblanc for The Tampa Tribune:

Not knowing the correct and pragmatic way to approach a person who has Alzheimer’s disease or dementia has caused many family members and old friends to refrain from visiting the ones they love. This is tragic!

It is heartbreaking to watch as loved ones fade away right in front of our very eyes, but in my opinion, not seeing them at all is much worse. I’ve had so many different caregivers tell me that their sons or daughters won’t visit a parent because they just can’t handle seeing them the way they’ve become; because they’re not the same person they used to be.

I believe that once these neglected loved ones are gone, there will remain a certain ruefulness in the heart of the one left behind that may never go away. It would obviously be best to avoid such a sad state of affairs, so here are some great tips on how to meet and greet these folks.

by Jennifer Roberts for Community Care:

Our behaviour – good, bad or indifferent – is a clear expression of our feelings and needs. It is a form of communication and is demonstrated in a myriad ways. Memory, concentration, communication and the ability to reason things out or make sense of what is happening are often impaired in people with dementia.

There are many forms of behaviour that can challenge you when caring for a person with dementia. They may repeat things, push you away, or become irritable, agitated or aggressive while you are trying to provide care or support. You may feel uncomfortable if their mood changes and they start shouting or swearing at you or appear to have no interest in themselves or their care. They may pace around or wander off. Some people with dementia experience hallucinations. This can be difficult behaviour to understand, especially if time with a person with dementia is limited.

by Elizabeth Ojeda Gomez for Huffington Post:

Cognitive stimulation is a therapy that uses techniques and strategies that have proven beneficial effects on memory, helping people to become more skilled and thereby contributing to their learning ability. Recent research has demonstrated its benefits by using it in Alzheimer patients in the earliest and moderate disease stages as stated in the Science Daily Feb. 14, 2012 (“Cognitive Stimulation Beneficial in Dementia”).

This is why cognitive stimulation is fundamental: because even though you cannot measure it in healing terms, it does allow the diagnosed patient to preserve his/her cognitive functions, delay degenerative processes, develop new learning strategies, prolong autonomy, continue social interaction by reducing apathy and depressive symptoms and provide a better quality of life.

by Marie Marley for Huffington Post:

People with Alzheimer’s can remember and experience strong emotions related to a past event even if they can’t remember the facts surrounding the occasion. Here’s a true story that illustrates that fact.

I had a beautiful, relaxed drive to visit Ed, my beloved Romanian soul mate of 30 years, at the nursing home one lazy Sunday afternoon. I wandered into his room and found he was in the bathroom, so I sat in the rocker and waited. My eyes were drawn, as was often the case, to his stuffed animal collection, which had grown quite large. He loved stuffed animals.

by Alzheimer’s Society

Dealing with aggressive behaviour

By Alzheimer’s Association

1. Denial about the disease and its effect on the person who’s been diagnosed.
I know Mom is going to get better.

2. Anger at the person with Alzheimer’s or others, anger that no cure exists or that people don’t understand what’s happening.
If he asks me that one more time I’ll scream!

3. Social withdrawal from friends and activities that once brought pleasure.
I don’t care about getting together with the neighbors anymore.