Older adults who have too much, too little or restless sleep have an increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease, according to research presented at AAIC. One study found that women who slept too much or too little had brain changes equal to two years of aging; another showed that women with sleep apnea had twice the odds of developing a pre-Alzheimer’s condition.
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‘Adult-onset Brain & Cognitive Disorders’ Posts
Elderly Sleep Pattern Changes May Help to Detect Dementia
July 19th, 2012 by Doris Bersing
Huntington’s sufferer puts a human face on a cruel disease
June 4th, 2012 by Doris Bersing
Huntington Disease (HD) is another neuro-psychiatric disorder of the central nervous system – like Parkinson’s, ALS, or Alzheimer’s- affecting as many as 1/10,000-1/20,000 people in the U.S.A. HD is an autosomal dominantly inherited neurodegenerative disease. The clinical features and age of onset are quite variable, but symptoms are most frequently detectable between 30-50 years of age.
HD is a seriously debilitating progressive disease. It results in cognitive impairment (e.g., loss of sensory-motor function, memory, and judgment), emotional/behavioral disturbance and loss of physical control, often over a period of ten to twenty years. Early physical symptoms may initially involve fidgeting, restlessness, changes in handwriting, or clumsiness. Symptoms will progress into more significant involuntary movements (chorea) of face, body and limbs, myoclonus, dystonia, incoordination, slurred speech (dysarthria) and difficulty with walking and swallowing (dysphagia). Cognitive, emotional and/or behavioral changes may precede, occur simultaneously, or follow the onset of physical symptoms.
A patient and advocate, CHRIS FURBEE is in a race against a disease that killed his mother, his aunt and his grandfather. Like them, the 46-year-old caregiver and part-time musician has Huntington’s disease, a genetic brain disorder so cruel it’s been likened to suffering from cancer, muscular dystrophy and Alzheimer’s at the same time. There is no cure for it, and it’s always fatal.
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View Furbee’s interview on Comcast local edition
View CBS Sunday Morning News story
Explore Chris Furbee’s website
How Music Brings Elders with Dementia Back to Life
April 11th, 2012 by Doris Bersing
Research has shown memory to be affected by many different factors. One of these factors is music, which has been found to stimulate parts of the brain. Many studies have demonstrated that music enhances the memory of Alzheimer`s and dementia patients. Music has also been found to reduce stress, aid relaxation and alleviate depression. Look at how an old man comes to life just using an i-pod!
Keeping Your Brain Healthy: Preventing Alzheimer’s
February 13th, 2012 by Doris Bersing
See Dr. Gary Small’s interview on the Today Show about keeping your brain healthy: preventing Alzheimer’s.
Dr. Small is director of the UCLA Longevity Center at the University’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior and professor of psychiatry at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine. Named one of the world’s leading innovators in science and technology by Scientific American, he appears frequently on Today, Good Morning America, PBS, and CNN. Watch the interview
GUIDE: Managing Psychosis and Behavioral Aspects of Dementia
July 12th, 2011 by Doris Bersing
A lot has been written about dementia symptoms mimicking the symptoms of mental illness. It is important to understand the specific behavioral and mental aspects of most dementias. The American Geriatrics Association (www.americangeriatrics.org) has prepared a guide stressing the most common behavioral and mental problems and some clinical interventions.
This guide has been developed to assist healthcare providers in managing psychotic symptoms and disorders in older adults. It is based on two publications of the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) the 2010 edition of The Geriatrics Review Syllabus and 2011 edition of Geriatrics At Your Fingertips.™
This guide was reviewed by a panel of AGS members representing geriatric medicine, geropsychiatry, and geriatric pharmacy. The guide was then reviewed and approved by the AGS Executive Committee in April 2011.
We encourage readers to consult the publications listed in the References Section at the end of this guide for a more in-depth discussion of the information contained here, including evidence concerning the increased incidence of mortality in the use of antipsychotic medications in the treatment of behavioral and psychotic symptoms associated with dementia.
American Geriatrics Society: Guide to Management of Psychotic Disorders and Neuropsychiatric Symptoms of Dementia in Older Adults
June 29th, 2011 by Doris Bersing
Liivng Well one-stop-shop
The American Geriatrics Society published this guide to help healthcare professionals and caregivers to better understand symptoms, which mimic mental health illness symptoms, people suffering from dementia, including Alzheimer’s exhibit at onset and during the unfolding of the disease. It is based on two publications of the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) – the 2010 edition of The Geriatrics Review Syllabus and 2011 edition of Geriatrics At Your Fingertips™.
Larry King Special Looks into Alzheimer’s Disease
April 28th, 2011 by Doris Bersing
Alzheimer’s Association E News, April 27, 2011
Hosted by Larry King, “Unthinkable: the Alzheimer’s Epidemic,” airing Sunday, May 1, at 8 p.m. EDT, will discuss Alzheimer’s disease, who gets it and why, and the race to find effective treatments and a possible cure. King, in his first CNN special since ending his long-running interview show, will be joined by California’s former First Lady and Alzheimer’s activist Maria Shriver, Alzheimer’s Association Champions actor Seth Rogen and football star Terrell Owens and others touched by the disease. CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta will also explain how Alzheimer’s disease affects the brain.
