“Senior Moments” Unrelated to Dementia, University of Virginia Study Shows

Barbara Penn, 78, retired from social services for the County of San Diego, takes three aqua-exercise classes weekly at the MissionValley YMCA. Barbara is a friendly lady who talks to everyone she meets, and she knows a lot of people. One day, while at the class, a woman with whom she had worked waved to her, “Hi, Barbara,” the lady said cheerfully. Barbara smiled and waved back, but then she thought, “What is that woman’s name? I just can’t think of it!”

Rather than embarrass herself, Barbara discreetly asked another class member, “What is the name of that woman in the pink bathing suit?” The other class member obliged and Barbara felt much better.

What happened to Barbara−often known as a “senior moment”− is fairly common. Although frustrating, such scenarios are, fortunately, not related to dementia, according to a recent University of Virginia study.

From the study:

Anecdotal evidence has suggested that tip-of-the-tongue experiences occur more frequently as people get older, but the relationship between these cognitive stumbles and actual memory problems remains unclear, according to University of Virginia psychology professor Timothy Salthouse, the lead researcher.

“We wondered whether these self-reports are valid and, if they are, do they truly indicate age-related failures of the type of memory used in the diagnosis of dementia?,” he said.

To find out, Salthouse and University of Virginia undergraduate researcher Arielle Mandell, who was working on her senior thesis, were able to elicit tip-of-the-tongue moments in the laboratory by asking more than 700 participants, ranging in age from 18 to 99, to give the names of famous places, common nouns or famous people based on brief descriptions or pictures.

Throughout the study, participants indicated which answers they knew, which they did not and which made them have a “tip-of-the-tongue experience,” in which they felt they knew the answer, but could not recall it specifically.

Overall, older participants experienced more of these frustrating moments than did their younger counterparts, confirming previous self-report data. But after the researchers accounted for various factors, including participants’ general knowledge, they found no association between frequency of tip-of-the-tongue moments and participants’ performance on the types of memory tests often used in the detection of dementia.

Here is a link to the study.

Since her retirement, Barbara Penn has kept her mind active with meaningful volunteer work. For eight years, she served on the City of San Diego’s Citizens Review Board. “We worked in teams of three to review investigations for clarity and other issues,” she recalled. “Then, we would present our findings to the whole board for possible corrective action. Working on this panel was stimulating and interesting.”

As for her occasional memory blips, Barbara has adopted a healthy philosophy. “Is it so bad if you forget the name of a movie or a celebrity?” she asks with a grin. “It’s no big deal. You can just look it up on the Internet.”

 

Speaking Two Languages Deters Dementia by Nearly 5 Years, Scotland Study Shows

By Pat Rarus

¿como estás?
comment allez-vous?
wie geht es dir?
kamusta ka?

If you can speak just one other language besides English, your chances of delaying or perhaps never getting dementia are greatly enhanced. Those are the results of a recent study by the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. As a plus, it doesn’t even matter how fluent you are or how authentic your accent is.

Tracy Miller, a reporter for the New York Daily News, wrote about the Scottish study last November. From the article:

“Those who speak more than one language may enjoy built-in protection against the devastating effects of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study.
People who were bilingual or multilingual developed dementia an average of 4.5 years later than those who spoke only one language, researchers wrote in the journal Neurology.

Dementia refers to symptoms such as memory and attention loss, communication difficulty, and decreased visual perception that result from damage to brain cells. Alzheimer’s, the most common type of dementia, is the fifth leading cause of death for Americans over 65 and is thought to affect 5.2 million people.

This study is the largest to examine the effects of bilingualism on dementia and the first to demonstrate the effects not just for Alzheimer’s but other types of dementia, including vascular and frontotemporal, study author Dr. Thomas Bak of Scotland’s University of Edinburgh told the Daily News.”

The abstract of the study is available here.

Monica Garcia, 57, an Oceanside counselor, learned to speak Spanish in her early 20s out of necessity. Monica, whose maiden name is Voge, married her husband, Victor—a Mexican native—back in 1977. Although Victor learned English as a teenager, his brothers and sisters could only speak Spanish. When various relatives came to live with Monica and Victor—some for a few months; others for a couple of years−Monica needed to communicate with them in their native language. That’s how she learned Spanish.

“I took it in high school for three years,” she recalled, “but then I never used it. In school you learn a lot about Spanish grammar, tenses and other formal parts of the language. When the relatives lived with us, though, I learned phrases the natural way, like the way children learn a language—by osmosis. Of course,” she added, “Victor helped a lot as well.” In addition, Monica watched Spanish-language TV shows and movies.

Today, she is as fluent as a Mexican national and her memory skills are formidable —in both English and Spanish. Monica recently took a memory test that ranked her in the 88^th percentile of people in her age group. Even more impressive are her scholastic achievements. At age 53, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude from California State University San Marcos. “All that studying really involved a lot of memory work,” she said with a smile.

Exercise Reduces Risk of Dementia, British Study Shows

By Pat Rarus
What is good for the heart is also good for the head. Numerous studies have shown that aerobic exercise, such as walking or jogging, prevents heart attacks. Similarly, exercise – apparently of any type—is linked to mental health. That’s the conclusion of a 35-year investigation carried out by researchers at Cardiff University School of Medicine in the United Kingdom. A December 10, 2013, article on the BBC News website details the results of the comprehensive study.

From the article:
Taking regular exercise is the most effective single lifestyle choice people can make to reduce their risk of dementia, according to one of the most extensive studies yet into people’s long-term health outcomes.

The 35-year investigation, carried out by researchers at Cardiff University, found that consistently following just four out of five key behaviours could reduce dementia risk by 60 per cent, while also cutting the chance of heart disease and stroke by 70 per cent.

Of the five behaviours – exercise, not smoking, having a low bodyweight, a healthy diet and low alcohol intake – exercise was found to be the most effective at improving long-term physical and mental health.

Although the five factors will be familiar to almost everyone, researchers said they were “really amazed” by quite how beneficial they had proved to be.
“What the research shows is that following a healthy lifestyle confers surprisingly large benefits to health,” said principle investigator Professor Peter Elwood of Cardiff University’s School of Medicine. “Healthy behaviours have a far more beneficial effect than any medical treatment or preventative procedure.”

Professor Elwood said that, unfortunately, the evidence from the study was that very few men actually follow the kind of healthy lifestyle that can prove so beneficial, and that, while smoking rates had gone down since the study began, the number of people living completely healthily had remained unchanged.

Richard Rettig, an active Oceanside man, who admits to being “over the age of 80,” walks on the beach for at least half-an-hour from three to seven days a week. Richard’s memory is excellent, and his engaging lifestyle proves it. After retiring from a stellar career in government service, public relations and other professional endeavors, the Harvard alumnus is involved in a variety of activities. For his alma mater, Richard interviews teenage applicants for the Harvard Club of San Diego. “There is nothing like talking to 17-year-olds to keep you mentally alert,” he said with a grin.

One year ago, Richard started a blog, Organic Food Worldwide, and has posted more than 100 entries to date. His goal is to raise $1 million to fund an online organic food network.

In addition to blogging about the benefits of organic food, Richard is extolling the benefits of joining Toastmasters International, a worldwide non-profit communications and leadership organization. Richard currently serves as the District 5 Public Relations Officer.

Promoting Toastmasters throughout San Diego County requires an active mental and physical regime. Richard attends numerous meetings – some as far away as El Cajon, more than a 100-mile roundtrip from Oceanside. Fortunately, he is in great shape to handle all the activity. “January was really a busy month for me,” Richard recalled, as he prepared for yet another walk on the beach.

Delaying Retirement Might Prevent Alzheimer's and other Types of Dementia

By Pat Rarus

Financial planners often tout the importance of delaying retirement for financial gain. More vital than capital, however, is one’s mental and physical health. These priceless assets transcend a high net worth and the upscale lifestyle it supports.

USA Today cited research from France last year involving nearly half a million people− the largest study to date to analyze work and mental health.  Associated Press writers Marilynn Marchione and Lindsey Tanner wrote the article in July 2013.

From the article:

 Working tends to keep people physically active, socially connected and mentally challenged — all things known to help prevent mental decline.

"For each additional year of work, the risk of getting dementia is reduced by 3.2%," said Carole Dufouil, a scientist at INSERM, the French government's health research agency. She led the study and gave results at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Boston on Monday.

About 35 million people worldwide have dementia, and Alzheimer's is the most common type. In the U.S., about 5 million have Alzheimer's — 1 in 9 people aged 65 and over. What causes the mind-robbing disease isn't known and there is no cure or any treatments that slow its progression.

France has had some of the best Alzheimer's research in the world, partly because its former president, Nicolas Sarkozy, made it a priority. The country also has detailed health records on self-employed people who pay into a Medicare-like health system.

Researchers used these records on more than 429,000 workers, most of whom were shopkeepers or craftsmen such as bakers and woodworkers. They were 74 on average and had been retired for an average of 12 years.

Nearly 3% had developed dementia but the risk of this was lower for each year of age at retirement. Someone who retired at 65 had about a 15% lower risk of developing dementia compared to someone retiring at 60, after other factors that affect those odds were taken into account, Dufouil said.

To rule out the possibility that mental decline may have led people to retire earlier, researchers did analyses that eliminated people who developed dementia within 5 years of retirement, and within 10 years of it.

"The trend is exactly the same," suggesting that work was having an effect on cognition, not the other way around, Dufouil said.

France mandates retirement in various jobs — civil servants must retire by 65, she said. The new study suggests "people should work as long as they want" because it may have health benefits, she said.

You can read the article here

 

Peggy Sigler, 87, a longtime San Diego (Point Loma) resident, worked about 50 hours a week at a start-up company until age 70. After retiring from her paid position, Peggy volunteered for a variety of causes. Currently, she serves as president of the GA Retirees Organization.

Recently, Peggy− a lifelong expert at planning special events− volunteered to help with an event to honor San Diego teachers aboard the Maritime Museum of San Diego. http://www.sdmaritime.org/

“Working in either a paid or voluntary position keeps your mind active and engaged,” Peggy said, as she prepared for yet another meeting. “I love being busy and helping others.”

The SAGE Test

The big news this week on the brain front is the release of a medical doctor's in-home mental test to help determine if someone over the age of 50 may be cognitively impaired.

The Self-Administered Gerocognitive Exam (SAGE) is designed to detect early signs of cognitive, memory or thinking impairments. Those who miss 6 or more questions on one of four forms of the test are instructed to bring the results into their primary care physician.

One reason this test is being given so much media attention is because it originates with Ohio State Univeristy Medical Center's director of cognitive neurology division, Douglas Scharre, M.D.

"What we found was the SAGE self-administered test correlated very well with detailed cognitive testing," he said in a prepared statement. "If we can catch this cognitive change really early, then we can start potential treatments much earlier than without having this test."

Surely among the pluses is the test itself - requiring just pen and paper (and the Internet if you wish to download it from online). You then bring the results to your health care provider for evaluation. There is no answer sheet provided. The 22 questions range from "What is today's date?" to "How many nickels are in 60 cents?" and involved different forms of thought. By not knowing if you passed or failed, more people may make an appointment with their doctor on this subject instead of tacking it on to another scheduled appointment.

According to the Web site: "It is normal to experience some memory loss and to take longer to recall events as you age. But if the changes you are experiencing are worrying you or others around you, SAGE can be a helpful tool to assess if further evaluation is necessary.

Unfortunately, many people do not seek help for these kinds of symptoms until they have experienced them for several years. There are many treatable causes of cognitive and thinking loss, and in some cases, medications or other treatments can be very effective-especially if provided when symptoms first begin."

That may be one of the biggest benefits of SAGE and other self-administered tests to follow. Most people wait years - until someone else urges them to see a doctor about their forgetfulness or behavior - to seek help for a memory impairment. By then the damage may be irreversable (depending, of course, on the cause).

Just as the "cure" for cancers will not be a pill or a procedure but a permanent change in lifestyle to reduce risks and detect cellular mutatiions and tumors earlier, so too with brain health does it make a big difference if you do things in your everyday life to improve your odds of a brain healthy, long life.

Remember to eat well, exercise daily, not watching too much television (and instead read! read! read! either by book or by CDs), socialize and adopt healthy strategies for dealing with serious stress and depression.

You can also dowload the test.  

Cholesterol May be Bellwether for Alzheimer's

Now you have even more incentive to get that high cholesterol down to a healthy level: It may be contributing to Alzheimer's later in life.

Researchers have for years known of a connection between vascular disease and Alzheimer's. Vascular dementia, in fact, is among the most common forms of age-related brain disease resulting in a loss of memory and cognitive skills.

But this week a recently released study showed cholesterol may actually be a contributing factor to the build up of the beta amyloid protein that is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, which is responsible for the majority of all age-related dementia.

"Amyloid deposition is important because it is widely believed by scientists to be a key event that initiates a chain of events that eventually, years later, results in the dementia of Alzheimer's disease," Professor Bruce Reed of the UC Davis Alzheimer's Research Center told a Reuters reporter.

Using cholesterol tests and PET brain scans of 74 elderly people with normal functionality or mild cognitive impairment, the reserachers discovered those with higher levels of the "bad" LDL cholesterol and lower levels of "good" HDL cholesterol also had higher levels of amyloid in the brain.

"Cholesterol in blood and cholesterol in brain are separate 'pools,' walled off from one another by the blood brain barrier. We measured cholesterol in blood. So that is one question that needs to be answered - how do cholesterol levels in blood and in brain influence each other," Reed said.

"And in the brain, it is not entirely understood how changing cholesterol levels might reduce amyloid deposition. We are very interested in the idea that higher HDL ('good') cholesterol levels may help the brain more efficiently clear the toxic amyloid at an early stage," Reed said.

"If those questions were understood we could begin to think about how to change cholesterol levels so as to prevent the buildup of amyloid," he added.

Adult Financial Planning - More Tips for Caregivers

This is part of a monthly series of financial advice on eldercare issues by Deborah Higgins, president of Higgins Capital Management in La Jolla.
By Deborah M. Higgins/President/Higgins Capital

As we end 2013, I thought I’d touch on insurance plan cancellation notices that have been flooding many mailboxes. The notices are due to current insurance plans that don’t meet the minimum requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that goes into effect on Jan. 1^st. The President has announced that insurers could elect to allow consumers to keep noncompliant policies through 2014.

I got that call from our insurer and was able to renew through 2014 at the same pricing. I have included a write-up about grandfathered plans in case you are dealing with insurance needs of the adult under your care, as well as your own policy situation.

I wish you all a happy holiday and a 2014 that brings joy.

Others in the series:
Tips for Caregivers
U.S. Government Shutdown Explained
Coordinating Long-Term Care with Government Benefits
Protecting Property
Incapacity Documents
Caring for an Aging Parent Checklist

Could Dementia Be Peaking?

An article in the peer-reviewed New England Journal of Medicine is doing something few pieces have done in recent years: showing a possible positive trend in Alzheimer's Disease.

According to researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School, five recent studies suggest that dementia is actually decreasing - this despite an aging population putting more people at risk - because of education and lifestyle changes.

"The growing number of older adults in the U.S. and around the world means we will undoubtedly see a signficant growth in the number of people with dementia; however, the good news is they appear to be living longer without experiencing it," said Dr. Kenneth Langa, a Michigan professor and research investigator at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.

Lange, along with fellow authors and medical doctors Eric B. Larson and Kristine Yaffe, concluded that advice on how to maintain a brain healthy lifestyle may start to pay off. They cite two main factors for the possible decrease in dementia cases.

The first is that Baby Boomers tend to be better educated than their parents, many of whom had plans of finishing high school or college dashed during and after the Great Depression and subsequent wars. The second is more awareness of heart disease and cardiovascular health, which has been linked to types of dementia. By eating a more heart-friendly diet and exercising regularly, people are not only staving off Type II diabetes and high blood pressure but, apparently, also dementia.

"We are seeing a positive trend that suggested that improving our physical and menthal health go hand in hand with fighting off this devastaing condition," Langa said in a prepared statement.

Some other factors culled from various studies that seemed to reduce the risk of dementia:
--early and ongoing education
--physical activity
--retiring later
--educated parents (especially an educated mother)
--maintaining social activities
--professional treatment for depression

"Recent attention and resources have been directed at identifying preclinical dementia, especially Alzheimer's disease, and at preventive-drug trials that enroll the very few persons who are at extremely high risk for the disease, such as those with dominantly inherited mutations (which account for <1 according="" article.="" cases="" nejm="" of="" p="" the="" to="">
"Although this strategy is important for the development of effective treatments, the recent studies ... illustrate the potential for deriving widespread public health benefits from such lifestyle interventions as improving educational opportunities in both early and later life, reducing vascular risk factors, and promoting greater physical activity. These studies also remind us that dementia is a syndrome — a complex of symptoms with multiple causes — making it similar to most late-life chronic diseases. In fact, population-based studies have convincingly demonstrated that the vast majority of dementia cases, especially those occurring very late in life, tend to involve a mixture of Alzheimer's disease, vascular disease, and other degenerative factors."

Free Screening for Huntington's Disease Documentary

The Alive & Well documentary will be screening tonight here in San Diego at 7:30pm at the Gaslamp 15 (701 5th Ave San Diego).There currently are 62 tickets available. All proceeds go to the HDSA!! Tickets will not be sold at the door. If you need assistance or have questions please call Misty at 760-845-2610.

ALIVE & WELL is a powerful documentary film about the human condition, which follows seven resilient people coming to terms with the profound reality of living with the hereditary chronic illness known as Huntington’s Disease (HD).

Subjects in the film range from a young woman hoping to start a family to a mother taking care of her symptomatic 6 year-old son and ailing husband; the drummer of a major country music band; a former NBC News journalist turned HD advocate, as well as a renowned scientist relentlessly searching for a cure.

Far from giving us a hopeless glimpse into life with terminal illness, ALIVE & WELL reminds us all of our ability to persevere with strength, despite life’s most difficult challenges.

7 Holiday Stress Tips for Caregivers

The week we couldn't wait for months ago is now finally here, and now that it is we're maybe feeling overwhelmed (already!) and maybe sad as the holidays arrive, starting with Hannukah on Wednesday and Thanksgiving the following day.

The other week the Alzheimer's Association held a caregiver conference, and coping with holiday stress was among the main topics. We pulled together some of those tips to present here.

1. First and foremost, take care of yourself -- because if you don't, then you can't take care of others as you'd wish. That means trying to get enough sleep (instead of staying up in the wee hours doing holiday-related baking, wrapping, writing, etc.) Stick to a healthful diet (at least as much as you can with all those sweets being set out before you) and do not feel guilty if you need to decline an invitation because your loved one isn't up to a party.

2. Embed "rest periods" into each day. These are the sacred times when you do not let others interfere and so you both can relax. Be flexible in when these times occur.

3. Include the person with dementia in your holiday activities - let them help wrap or bag gifts, open cards together, let them help you bake cookies or turn up the holiday music and sing to your hearts' content.

4. Try to stick to a routine. Routines are important to someone with dementia, and the holidays are a great disrupter. Try to minimize that by scheduling visits when you would normally be most active and not when you typically are not -- like afternoons when a loved one is prone to sundowners.

5. Go easy on the decor. Just like small children and pets, be sure to keep decorations, especially those that mimic food, out of arm's reach. Be especially careful with candles and items on the floor. Know too that blinking lights can cause disorientation. And keep the dinner table as simple as possible.

6. Wear nametags. It might seem silly or even insulting to wear nametags at a traditional family gathering, but if you make a game of it - like everyone personalizing their tags and then discussing the personalization at the dinner table - then it's fun and helps your loved one remember who is seated with them.

7. Make sure everyone understands it's ok to tell a white lie if no one is hurt by it. Guests and long-distance relatives may start to argue with your loved one over a detail from the past or even present, like the number of rolls someone just consumed at the dinner table. Talk to them ahead of time about letting the little things go and the power of redirection to steer a conversation or behavior in a better direction.

Sing...Sing a Song -- It's Great for the Brain

Gus Mezza and A.J. sing during music therapy at Glenner South Bay

And don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear, but it is still good for your brain.

Turns out, according to a new study, that singing show tunes in particular has been shown to benefit those experiencing dementia, and particularly Alzheimer's disease. At an East Coast senior living facility, residents spent four months in singalongs and those that sang their favorite songs  showed a marked improvement in brain function compared to those who just listened.

"Even when people are in the fairly advanced stages of dementia, when it is so advanced they are in a secure ward, singing sessions were still helpful," Janet Flinn, one of the researchers at George Mason University, said in a published report. "The message is: don't give up on these people. You need to be doing things that engage them, and singing is cheap, easy and engaging."

We at Glenner know the power of music very well and especially the joy and cognitive benefits of signing old standards as a group. Some of our family caregivers are amazed at how their spouse or parent comes alive when singing along to "Paper Moon" or "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

In the Virginia university study, the songs included tunes from Oklahoma, The Sound of Music and The Wizard of Oz -- songs that typically young and old can sing together. The two groups included in the study were residents of an assisted living with moderate dementia and those in a memory care unit with more severe symptoms.

Each participant took cognitive tests given before and after the four months of singing classes. Those who joined in the singing also did better at drawing the hands on a clock face to show a particular time. And despite the memory loss associated with dementia, the patients typically remembered the lyrics to songs from their past. Flinn said at a recent gathering in San Diego that singing sessions involve numerous sensations that activitate different parts of the brain on both the left and right sides. 

Glenner CEO Talks About Dementia Experience on U-T TV

Glenner Memory Care Centers CEO Anette Asher discussed what life is like for people with dementia today during a segment on the U-T TV program “Spotlight San Diego.”

Anette Asher spoke at length with show host Scott Kaplan about the organization and the importance of understanding what life is like for someone with memory loss as we are struck by the first wave of a “silver tsunami” due to an aging society.

“Thirty years ago people didn’t really understand what Alzheimer’s is,” Asher said. She then compared the stigma of dementia to alcoholism in the 1970s before Alcoholics Anonymous educated the public on alcoholism as a disease. “Millions are turning 65 each year … and if a heart attack or cancer or another illness doesn’t get them, they are likely to develop dementia as they age,” she said.

During the segment Kaplan was put through a brief version of the Virtual Dementia Tour conducted by staff at Silverado Senior Living in Escondido. He wore goggles to impair his vision, special gloves that limit dexterity and a device to impede his hearing. “I think if people had more sensitivity to what these folks were feeling and experiencing . . . I had no idea,” he said at the end of the segment.

You can view the archived video here.

Digging Deep: A Video Showing the Power of Words and Music

Our Community Relations Director, Marshall Stanek, sent us this video that validates the power of music therapy even for those in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's. Dare you to not be moved by this one.

Want to Experience Dementia Firsthand?

This Wednesday you can literally walk in the shoes of someone who is aging with dementia during a Virtual Dementia Tour that we're conducting at our Corporate Office in Hillcrest (3702 Fourth Avenue, San Diego 92103) on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013.

We have 15-minute slots available between 1 and 2:30 p.m. During that time, specially trained staff from Silverado Senior Living Escondido will take you on a "tour" and complete several simple tasks while artificially impaired. Refreshments will be provided too. Everyone who took part in a previous tour walked away saying it was a powerful experience, tranformational even.

So, if you want a sneak peak at what may lie ahead or you currently are living with or helping to support someone with dementia, please call us at (619) 543-4700 to register TODAY.

Does Chronic Stress in Middle Age Later Lead to Alzheimer's?

We now know that while there isn't a cure for Alzheimer's, but there are certain risk factors that raise the chances -- and brain-healthy lifestyles that reduce the risk. They include exercising regularly and moderately, eating well, keeping the brain active and staying socially connected.

If a new Swedish study is any indication, we may want to add reduce your daily stress level to that list.

The study followed 800 women ages 30s through 50s for almost four decades and discovered those that who dealt (perhaps poorly, perhaps long-term) with severe or chronic stress from, say,a divorce, a longterm job loss, a spouse's death, a child with substance abuse were more likely to show symptoms of dementia (particularly Alzheimer's disease) in their later years. In fact, those who underwent stressful periods or learned to live with an elevated level of stress

"That doesn't prove that a stressful life is to blame, said Dr. Marc Gordon, chief of neurology at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, N.Y.  But, he noted, the researchers did account for a number of other explanations for the link -- including whether the women had high blood pressure or diabetes, were overweight or had low incomes."

The idea of a link between stress and dementia is not a stretch. When we're stressed, our body chemistry changes and that impacts our diets, our sleeping patterns, our relationships with others, etc. In other words, it circles back to the lifestyle choices we mentioned earlier - eating well, exercising and staying connected to your friends. Caregiving is stressful in general, and elder caregiving particularly so.

What the study does suggest is that even those who live with chronic stress may be at higher risk if they don't treat the stress (and possible depression) that comes with sudden life changes or chronic conditions.

"These are the kinds of stressors that grate on people day to day," Wilson noted. And this study, he said, suggests that these issues should not "just be brushed off." He agreed, though, that the question remains: Could stress reduction make a difference in people's Alzheimer's risk?
 

The jury's still out on that, but in the meantime, the best way to handle life's lumps is to change what you can and accept what you cannot. If you find you are not eating properly, sleeping properly or maintaining important relationships because you're always stressed, it may be time to get professional help now to improve your prospects in the future.

Teaching Your Children About Dementia

By Marcela De Vivo, Freelance Writer
Dementia affects every member of the family, whether you choose to care for your aging parent at home, or have them in hospice care. Stressful and confusing for the patient, and the caregiver, the children in the family are also very much affected by an elderly relative’s dementia. The lack of stability in the home environment, increased tension, volatile moods, and decreased awareness and attention coming from both the parents and from the relative with impaired cognitive abilities can be very upsetting to a child. In order to help your child understand the situation, you’ll have to spend time teaching him or her about the disease and how it is affecting the family and the loved one with dementia. A better understanding of the situation can go a long way in making interactions and transitions smoother and less stressful for all parties involved (especially if you plan on moving your elderly relative into your home). When discussing dementia with your children, make sure you talk about the following points:

• Dementia is a disease that affects the brain, and causes the person with the disease to think and behave differently that before. However, this person still loves you.
•  While dementia is an illness, it is not contagious. Nor is it the result of anyone’s actions.
• Talking to the relative with dementia can be confusing, because the disease is creating gaps in the connections in the brain. So sometimes sentences and words get lost—much like a derailed train that can’t get to its destination.
• The relative with dementia may forget a lot of things, for the same reason they may have difficulty communicating. They might forget basic things, like names, faces, or how to tie a shoelace. Don’t get upset if they call you by the wrong name—instead tell them who you are, or play along like you’re role-playing.
• The person with dementia will be happy to have visitors and to see people who love him/her.

Review the points a few times before you visit, or well before the elderly relative moves in with you.
Be honest when answering questions and be available for questions. While the talking points are a solid guideline, they probably will generate more questions. Be open and available to your children when they ask questions before, during and after a visit. Try to answer as simply and honestly as possible—sugarcoating the situation may lead to more stress and confusion for the child than a direct answer.

Allow them to work through their feelings. Ideally, the honest discussions about dementia should help your children understand the situation from a logical standpoint. However, emotions will still come into play, and your children will react differently to seeing a loved one with dementia. Don’t shame them or scold them for feeling uncomfortable, confused, left out, frustrated and fearful after a visit with the relative with dementia. Let them know that their feelings are normal. Be supportive as they try to find solid footing on which to interact with their changed relative.

Seek outside support. There are organizations and resources dedicated to helping young children to young adults understand and cope with dementia in the family. Encourage them to join groups, read the books or sign up for meetings that allows them to talk to peers about their fears, questions, and concerns.



Celebrate the good times. Encourage your children to remember their “happy” times with their loved one and to develop new ones. Celebrate it by taking pictures of particularly happy moments between your elderly relative and child, or going over existing photos and scrapbooks with your children to help them remember how much your relative with dementia loved them. Find ways for the children to spend time with the relative that is fun and playful for all parties involved. Don’t be afraid or hesitant to talk to your children about the realities of dementia. The more they understand, the better they will be able to handle uncomfortable or awkward situations. Constant interaction will also help them build empathy and compassion, while reminding them of care and love this relative once brought—and still brings—into their life.

Marcela De Vivo is a freelance writer from Los Angeles whose writing covers a variety of subjects from health to technology. As a mother of three young children, one of whom has cerebral palsy, she knows how important it is to be open and honest with any question they may have about health. She encourages parents to speak with their own children about common ailments such as dementia.

10 Signs It Might Be Alzheimer's

Son OK With Father Killing His Family

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Much has been made of this segment in a series Maria Shriver is conducting for NBC News on "The Age of Alzheimer's." Shriver's father died of the disease at age 95, and according to a news report, her daughter now lives in fear of her mother suffering from the same disease.

No one who has been a primary caregiver of someone with Alzheimer's Disease, or any other form of advanced dementia, can not understand on some level the pain and anguish Jim Crabtree and his family went through as Alzheimer's and other diseases of aging took their toll.

His mother was wheelchair-bound with severe joint pain and arthritis. His wife, 62, had been living with early-onset Alzheimer's for six years. And his father had recently been diagnosed with dementia.

We at Glenner today discussed informally the number of our family caregivers who said they could relate to Mr. Crabtree.

“My father shot my mother and then he shot my wife and then he shot himself,” Crabtree told NBC’s Maria Shriver. “It sounds like a horrible violent end, but in actuality it was an euthanasia that my father did. It was a great gift that my father was able to give me. He ended my Alzheimer’s and elder care issues at once.”

Like many Alzheimer’s caregivers, Crabtree felt stretched to the breaking point.

“It’s the kind of stretch you get living your life on a treadmill,” he said. “Just when you think you got things in order, something else comes up and you have to run a little bit farther and a little bit faster, but you never get ahead. You’re just scrambling around trying to figure out how you’re going to solve all these problems.”

Do you agree that the killings were a "gift"?

Early Research Shows Age-Related Memory Loss May be Reversible

Working in the field we do, we often have friends, family members and total strangers say they know someone with Alzheimer’s Disease. As the conversation progresses, however, we start to realize it isn’t Alzheimer’s Disease but more likely a different form of memory loss that comes with an aging brain.

This week the Associated Press helped make that distinction more clear in an article showing early research into age-related memory loss and what may be happening in the brain – particularly the hippocampus – to cause the phenomenon.

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center examined brains of body donors who died without signs of neurologic disease. They found a gene in the brain’s memory center that stopped working well in the older donors by producing les of a protein called RbAp48. This is a different protein than the one associated with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Next, the scientists cut the levels of that protein in healthy young rodents and discovered they performed poorly on memory tasks, much like the older mice members naturally.

“More intriguing, the memory loss was reversible: Boosting the protein made forgetful old mice as sharp as the youngsters again, the researchers reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine,” according to the AP article.

“’As we want to live longer and stay engaged in a cognitively complex world, I think even mild age-related memory decline is meaningful,’ added Columbia neurologist Dr. Scott Small, a senior author of the study. ‘It opens up a whole avenue of investigation to now try to identify interventions.’”

In the meantime, there continues to be a stronger link between regular exercise and sound nutrition and brain functionality as we age. This study also confirmed that keeping the circulatory system healthy also keeps up the RbAp48 protein levels in that part of the hippocampus that reserves memories.

The Artist's Life

We recently were at Glenner Center South Bay during the South Bay Arts Council's weekly art lesson. The council of professional arts are helping our participants find themselves through various art media.

Ofelia Alvarado is the visiting artist and if you are familiar with downtown Chula Vista then you've seen her work on a big mural off 3rd street, just past E street. She had to use a ladder to paint to scale, which is pretty amazing given how petite she is.

Learning to paint well takes a lot of practice, Ofelia said.

"You don't learn to play a guitar in one session. It takes years," she said. "You start with the basics and the more you paint, the better your skills. It's like any other sport or any other art. Don't expect the first one to be a masterpiece."

We recently were at Glenner Center South Bay during the South Bay Arts Council's weekly art lesson. The council of professional arts are helping our participants find themselves through various art media.
Ofelia Alvarado is the visiting artist and if you are familiar with downtown Chula Vista then you've seen her work on a big mural off 3rd street, just past E street. She had to use a ladder to paint to scale, which is pretty amazing given how petite she is.

Learning to paint well takes a lot of practice, Ofelia said.

"You don't learn to play a guitar in one session. It takes years," she said. "You start with the basics and the more you paint, the better your skills. It's like any other sport or any other art. Don't expect the first one to be a masterpiece."