Alzheimer's--Feeling Abandoned?

You should consider asking your parent(s)if they are lonely. See how lonely seniors answered on the next page.



FEELING ABANDONED?

New research suggests lonely people are at greater risk of developing dementia. Seniors who scored high on the loneliness quiz agreed with three or more of the following scenarios:

• I experience a general sense of emptiness.

• I miss having people around.

• I feel like I don't have enough friends.

• I often feel abandoned.

• I miss having really good friends.

Source: Robert Wilson at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago

Also CareGiver: The Book: Alzheimer's--Feeling Abandoned?

Study links seniors' loneliness to higher risk of dementia

Loneliness may put people at risk of an Alzheimer's-like dementia, a study reported Monday.
"People who described themselves as lonely were twice as likely to develop dementia," says researcher Robert Wilson of the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.



Source USA Today

By Kathleen Fackelmann, USA TODAY


Loneliness may put people at risk of an Alzheimer's-like dementia, a study reported Monday.
"People who described themselves as lonely were twice as likely to develop dementia," says researcher Robert Wilson of the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Other studies have found that people who are unmarried and socially isolated are at higher risk for dementia, including Alzheimer's. But this study is one of the first to show a link between loneliness — or the feelings of disconnection from other people — and a higher risk of developing dementia late in life, says Laurel Coleman, a spokeswoman for the Alzheimer's Association and a geriatrician in Portland, Maine.

Wilson and his colleagues studied 823 people who were about 80 years old and had no sign of dementia at the start of the study. The team gave the recruits a loneliness quiz and tested them annually for signs of memory loss and confusion, two key signs of dementia and Alzheimer's.

During the four-year study, 76 people developed an Alzheimer's-like dementia, Wilson says. The risk of developing dementia increased about 51% for each one-point increase on the loneliness scale. People with the highest scores had 2.1 times the risk of developing dementia, a group of conditions that destroy brain cells and lead to mental confusion. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia.

Autopsies were performed on 90 people who died during the study. The researchers found no link between loneliness and the development of the abnormal brain deposits that are the hallmark of Alzheimer's.

That finding suggests loneliness might be triggering dementia through a novel mechanism — one that doesn't lead to a brain riddled with deposits, Wilson says.

One theory is that people who are lonely over long periods of time might have higher levels of damaging stress hormones. The elevated stress hormones might lead to an accelerated aging of the brain — and perhaps to dementia, Wilson says.

Other research suggests lonely people are at risk of other health problems such as cancer and high blood pressure, says John Cacioppo of the University of Chicago. Still, he says, the new finding, which appears in February's Archives of General Psychiatry, must be verified by additional research.

The findings didn't change much when the team factored in markers of social isolation, such as infrequent participation in social events. That means that people who have a small number of good friends might be better off than those with a busy social schedule but chronic feelings of loneliness, Wilson says.

But lonely people often benefit from signing up for a new class or activity, Coleman says. Research shows that such activities might protect aging brain cells. And seniors who are out and about are more likely to make new friends, which might lessen feelings of loneliness, she says.

Also, The Alzheimer's Reading Room Weblog: Study links seniors' loneliness to higher risk of dementia

New Drug (Alzhemed) Stops Alzheimer's In Tracks

The drug -- called Alzhemed -- attacks Amyloid Peptide - the molecule that causes Alzheimer's.

Paul Aisen, M.D.: "I think it is tremendously significant."

An early study showed Alzhemed stabilized the disease in nearly half of patients. Now, more than 1,000 are being followed.



Source ABC7


Nearly five-million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease. Drugs on the market can treat the symptoms -- but not one goes after what causes it. Now, researchers are on the brink of a huge breakthrough with a drug that targets the cause and could stop the disease in its tracks.

Frances Goldstein: "I like to paint -- a lot."

Jacobo, her husband of 45 years, loves watching her mind at work. Frances has Alzheimer's disease -- diagnosed eight years ago at age 56.

Jacobo Goldstein, Wife has Alzheimer's: "For the first nine months, I couldn't tell her the word Alzheimer's because I was afraid, you know, that she might go into tremendous shock."

Instead, Frances fought back. For three years, she's been in a study testing a drug that could change her prognosis. Current Alzheimer's drugs target the symptoms of the disease...like memory loss and emotional problems. Well this new drug is taking a more direct approach.

Paul Aisen, M.D., Alzheimer's Specialist: "This drug is attacking the cause of Alzheimer's disease. If it works, it will change the course of the disease and that will represent a real breakthrough."

The drug -- called Alzhemed -- attacks Amyloid Peptide - the molecule that causes Alzheimer's. In mice, watch as the drug clears the molecule from the brain.

Paul Aisen, M.D.: "I think it is tremendously significant."

An early study showed Alzhemed stabilized the disease in nearly half of patients. Now, more than 1,000 are being followed.

Paul Aisen, M.D.: "If the phase three study confirms that the drug is effective, we will have a way of slowing the progression of Alzheimer's disease for the first time."

Frances takes Alzhemed twice a day.

Jacobo Goldstein: "I don't know where we would be if it wasn't for this. We have no idea. I know what she does now. If we can stay the way we are, we would be forever grateful."

With hope in hand, Frances continues to make every day and every painting count.

To date, more than 600 patients have completed one year of treatment on the medication. The study is scheduled to be complete soon. More than 70 centers across the United States and Canada are taking part. Side effects of the drug have been minimal and primarily include mild gastrointestinal symptoms.

Copyright 2007, ABC7/KGO-TV/DT.

Caring for the caregivers

Group meetings help those coping with dementia in a loved one.



Caring for the caregivers


By Elizabeth Cooney
TELEGRAM & GAZETTE
ecooney@telegram.com

WORCESTER— You came to the right place, the group told the silver-haired woman who had just joined them.

She took her seat on one of the 14 armchairs fanning out from the fireplace at Dodge Park Rest Home. Twice a month, people caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease meet to share supper, stories, strategies and support. Across the hall, their relatives can have a meal and take part in an activity while the two-hour session unfolds.

The new arrival, who didn’t want her name used in the newspaper, told the group why she came.


“I don’t think I know how to handle the situation with dementia,” she said about her husband’s disease, diagnosed 10 years ago. “I lose my temper a lot and I get exasperated. I know I’m not handling things well, not for him and not for myself.”

Everyone in the room struggles with anger, frustration, fear and sorrow, said Deanne Weissflog, who was sitting next to her. While the men and women were all caring for relatives in different stages of dementia or Alzheimer’s, they all know the difficult road they are traveling.

And that includes Nafie Saba-Shapazian, executive director of Dodge Park and its Day Club, and Don Kemp, who helps her lead the sessions for caregivers.

Ms. Saba-Shapazian, a registered nurse, is responsible for Dodge Park’s 60 residents. Mr. Kemp, a rehabilitation counselor, took care of his father when he had Alzheimer’s.

They all know dementia and Alzheimer’s are insidious diseases, stealing up on people and their families. Only after the fact do bizarre behaviors and odd lapses make sense, sometimes after working lives and financial security are in a shambles. Alzheimer’s affects about 4.5 million Americans. There are some medications that stall the chronic, progressive disease, but there is no cure.

At the meeting, Betty Belevick read from an article in a business magazine about drugs in the pipeline. It might be too late for their loved ones in the grips of Alzheimer’s, but maybe it could help their children, Donna Haran said. There has been progress, not just in medications, Jeanette Rosa-Brady, support group coordinator of the Alzheimer’s Association’s Massachusetts chapter, said in an interview. She is not involved with the Dodge Park group.When she started training support group leaders in 1992, not as much was known about the disease, she said.

“People are able to access information much more readily now with the Internet,” she said. “That wasn’t there when I started. There weren’t medications to treat Alzheimer’s and there wasn’t a lot we knew from research about how to manage home safety or understand what someone with Alzheimer’s perceives.”

The Dodge Park group members talked about how to stay in the moment with the patients. For Ms. Haran, that meant not fighting with her husband when he headed for the snow blower at the first flake. Instead, she told him it was out of gas.

Distraction can work, as can humor.

The worst can be those moments of lucidity when Alzheimer’s patients recognize their plight.

Barbara Gould said her husband retired when he couldn’t face going to work once he knew he wasn’t doing it properly.

“All of a sudden he couldn’t count the money in his pocket,” she said. “That was humiliating for such a proud man. He was quick with numbers, like a calculator.”

One woman who, like many in the room, is caring for not one but two relatives — a parent and a spouse — with Alzheimer’s, said putting her husband in a nursing home was harder for her to get through than his death. Another woman said she had promised her aunt to keep her at home as long a she possibly could. Because her relatives disagree with her vow, she said, they don’t help her with the care.

Some of the people the caregivers spoke about were elderly, but some were just in their 50s when they began to fail. Many of the caregivers in the group are still working full time, fraying when demands tear them apart.

Russ Varney said he hasn’t taken a vacation in the three years since his mother became ill. He lives in Boston, works in Wellesley and takes care of his mother in Worcester. He’s exhausted pretty much all the time.

At 89, she is in perfect health — except for her dementia. She attends a day program most weekdays, as did other relatives of group members. He was cleaning her bathroom one recent weekend when he realized he couldn’t recall the last time he did the bathroom in his own house.

He recommended respite care, just to recharge.

That sounds good, but it’s not so easily done. First, the caregivers have to get over the guilt they feel when they turn their attention to themselves for a change, said Ms. Rosa-Brady of the Alzheimer’s Association. They feel guilt that they didn’t notice the disease sooner, or that they still enjoy things they used to do together, or that they get angry.

“People feel guilty that they are not doing a better job,” she said. “Any support group can dispel that right away. There’s no such thing as a perfect caregiver. You’re a human being.”

And human beings need rest. Ms. Saba-Shapazian tells them they can’t give good care if they don’t take care of themselves.

There’s even a study from the National Institutes of Health published in November that showed caregivers significantly improved their own quality of life and their loved ones’ when they were visited by people trained in stress management and problem-solving techniques and had support groups to call on.

While the Dodge Park group members talked about their trials, they never forgot the patients, saying how painful it must be for them, both in the early stages when they know they are declining and later when they are afraid and can’t be calmed.

Ms. Haran’s husband asked her one morning, when he didn’t know if he should get up, “What life is this, when I don’t know if it’s morning or night?”

Deanne’s mother was frightened, asking her, “What’s going to happen to me?”

Heads nodded as she said that.

“The strength from the people in this room is very encouraging,” Ms. Haran said.

Ms. Rosa-Brady said that’s the constant in support groups.

“You can read about Alzheimer’s on the Internet all you want. You will find information that is useful but all of us need to sit down and talk to other people who are doing the same thing you are,” she said. “You can read all you want, but that’s not going to dispel the feeling that you are the only person in the world this is happening to.”

That’s what the newcomer heard.

“It’s not easy being the ones who are left, trying to keep your head afloat. But here there’s camaraderie, compassion and understanding,” June Shack told her. “This is the right place to be.”

Comment on this story at www.telegram.com. Send an e-mail to Elizabeth Cooney at ecooney@telegram.com.

Free Over the Air High Definition Television

Did you know you can receive high definition TV programing free via a simple antenna? Imagine inviting your friends over and showing them a picture that is often clearer than cable and without the monthly cable bill.


Did you know you can receive high definition TV programing free via a simple antenna? Imagine inviting your friends over and showing them a picture that is often clearer than cable and without the monthly cable bill.

You can obtain the antenna, which hooks up to your high definition television in seconds, at Radio Shack or any reputable electronics store on the Internet. You might pay as much as $70 at Radio Shack but if you take the time to search the Internet you should be able to come away with a good quality antennae for $20. Of course, the advantage of going to Radio Shack includes that they can set you up with the exact indoor antenna you need.

To determine if you can receive the HD transmission in your home go to Antenna Web and enter your zip code into a simple form to get the list of channels available to you. You will also find addition helpful information on the Antenna Web site including: links, FAQs, and antenna information. The section labeled "Digital TV questions" can be very useful.

You'll save enough money using this method that before you know it you'll be able to add a high definition DVD.

Probing Question: Can Alzheimer's disease be prevented?

Most of us have had the experience of forgetting where we've parked our car or have struggled to recall an acquaintance's name. But once we hit our 50s, said James R. Connor, these incidents might cause us to worry that we're showing early signs of Alzheimer's disease.


Read this article at the Alzheimer's Reading Room.

Targeting Tau: Inflammation Study Suggests New Approach For Fighting Alzheimer's

“Abolishing the inflammation caused by the accumulation of the tau protein might be a new therapy for treating neurodegenerative disorders,” says senior author Virginia Lee, PhD, Director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research. “This work points the way to a new class of drugs for these diseases.”

The Alzheimer's Reading Room: Targeting Tau: Inflammation Study Suggests New Approach For Fighting Alzheimer's

Probing Question: Can Alzheimer's disease be prevented?

Most of us have had the experience of forgetting where we've parked our car or have struggled to recall an acquaintance's name. But once we hit our 50s, said James R. Connor, these incidents might cause us to worry that we're showing early signs of Alzheimer's disease.

Read the article in its entirety at I am an Alzheimer's Caregiver

The Senior Reading Room: Loneliness and Alzheimer's Linked

"People who are lonely are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, a large US study has suggested."

Read this article at The Senior Reading Room:

Huperzine A in Alzheimer's Disease-The Clinical Trial

"The Huperzine A in Alzheimer's Disease clinical trial is currently open and recruiting patients. This is a Phase II clinical trial."

Read about the study including requirements and available locations at The Alzheimer's Reading Room: Huperzine A in Alzheimer's Disease-The Clinical Trial.

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