Younger Dementia Patients Experience Different problems

While memory loss is thought to be a classical first sign of Alzheimer’s disease, some middle-aged people and younger seniors may initially experience different cognitive problems - such as trouble with language or problem solving, a large U.S. study suggests.

This can be a scary experience as most of us older workers have probably already seen our younger counterparts figure things out faster in the workforce.

In a new study, researchers reviewed data on early symptoms for almost 8,000 Alzheimer’s patients and found one in four people under age 60 had a chief complaint unrelated to memory, although memory was still the common problem overall.

Inside the brain, Alzheimer’s is associated with abnormal clumps known as amyloid plaques and tangled bundles of fibers, often called tau or tangles. Scientists suspect that the damage begins in the hippocampus, a region of the brain involved in memory. 

A new study reviewed neurological test results from a large U.S. database of Alzheimer’s patients to see whether the early symptoms people reported differed by age.

On average, patients were 75 years old when they first sought treatment for Alzheimer’s, though they ranged in age from 36 to 110. Most of them had mild to moderate forms of dementia. 

Among the patients who reported cognitive difficulties as their first symptoms, the proportion citing something other than memory (like confusion, getting lost, or not being able to find the right word) shrank with increasing age. One in five patients in their 60s cited difficulties unrelated to memory, but this dropped to one in 10 for people in their 70s. 

So what does this mean? That at first we're just confused but eventually we just give up and accept that we're useless and old? Perhaps another study will tell.

Understanding how Alzheimer’s or symptoms of dementia might surface in younger patients is crucial for diagnosing them sooner and starting treatment at a point when it can do the most good. Unfortunately,

the best available medicine today can only turn back the clock, reversing symptoms enough to give patients the same abilities they had up to a year earlier.

Right now with the medicines available you can’t slow the clock down, you can just reset it. It would be much better if we could take a pill to dial our memory back to repeat a year in our 60s - rather than in our 80s. Perhaps science will find a way.

You can download a free form for helping you see the warning signs of dementia on:

 http://www.boomer-books.com

Sometimes the worst cognitive decline comes form being alone

There is a general belief that activities that stimulate the mind help to slow its decline in people with dementia. Cognitive stimulation provides older people with activities intended to stimulate thinking, memory and social interaction, in order to delay the worsening of dementia symptoms.
What is "cognitive stimulation"? Basically, small groups of people getting together in a controlled setting and having discussions, playing word games or listening to music and even baking.
All activities should be designed to stimulate thinking and memory. In recent tests, "cognitive stimulation" was compared with "standard care giving" for elderly people. "Standard care giving" usualy includes medicine, day care or visits from community mental health workers, or in some cases alternative activities such as watching TV and physical therapy.
The cognitive stimulation activities left positive effects in each participant, when tested afterwards. Those who received "cognitive stimulation interventions" scored significantly higher in cognitive function tests, which measure improvements in memory and thinking. These benefits were still being seen one to three months after treatment. In addition, positive effects on social interaction, communication and quality of life or well-being were observed in a smaller number of the trials, based on self-reported or carer-reported measures.
This testing showed that social interaction, when based around memory and thinking, has positive effects. So playing cards, mah-jong, or gin rummy really can deliver big benefits amongst the elderly.
So if you know someone old. Don't let them sit in front of the TV alone. Stimulate their mind and they might stay an active participant in this world a while longer!

Dementia in Aging Tracked to High Cholesterol

People as young as 40 with borderline or high cholesterol levels are at increased risk for developing Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia when they grow old and feeble

Researchers tracked nearly 10,000 people for four decades, starting when the participants were between 40 and 45. After controlling for weight, hypertension and diabetes, researchers discovered a significant link between borderline-high cholesterol and dementia, according to the study.

Participants in the study who had high cholesterol, or a value of 240 or more, had a 66 percent greater risk of developing dementia later in life. People with borderline-high cholesterol, between 200 and 239, had a 25 percent spike in risk.

Dementia workers and assisted living homes are preparing now for the influx of Boomers to arrive soon! More than 106 million Americans have borderline-high cholesterol levels, according to the American Heart Association. That’s big business for residential care facilities.

The first step to lowering high cholesterol is to use a three-pronged approach of daily exercise, stress reduction and nutrition – or take the easy way and head to the doctor and get a prescription for statin drugs. A diet rich in olive oil, nuts, whole grains, fiber, fresh fruit, vegetables is best. Limit your red meat intake to almost none. Maybe none is better.

Supplements such as plant sterols and red yeast rice are also effective when taken in conjunction with a healthy diet. A recent study showed that red yeast rice decreased the body's production of cholesterol and lowered a person's LDL, or bad, cholesterol by 27 percent over a three-month period.

So if you want to avoid some stranger making wiping your butt and spooning your food in your old age, the time is now to start eating tons of yummy food like red yeast rice, or oat bran, oatmeal and fish oil. hmmm sounds real good huh?.

Click here to find out more about symptoms of dementia.

Dementia in an Aging Parent

Realizing and actually internalizing that your aging parent is exhibiting symptoms of dementia may be hard. But if they've forgotten to pay their bills, or taken their money out of the bank and hidden it, or if you've heard about their strange behavior from another person, then it is usually time for you to take action and at least find out if they have dementia, or a chemical imbalance that's causing their bizarre behavior.

The first step you can take is to accompany them to a doctor and have them go a complete physical examination. Before you go, check their medicine cabinet and night stand and make a complete list of all their prescriptions. Sometimes side effects from prescription drugs can create dementia-like effects.

Normally, the doctor will take a blood test. One of the things he checks for is potassium level. Low potassium can affect memory and cognitive ability and make people act a little strange.

The blood test will also check for syphilis. I realize it seems absolutely ludicrous to think your elderly parent would have a venereal disease such as syphilis. But it must be completely ruled out before the doctor can go on to test for the next possible cause. The affects of syphilis on the brain over time can result in dementia-like symptoms. Giving approval for the syphilis test is the start of the little indignities that will occur when your parent is suspected of having dementia. These indignities are the way older people with dementia symptoms are often treated by the medical community and the general public at large. You may find that it's difficult for anyone to show genuine compassion for your aging parent and their frail mental condition. This inability of showing compassion from others may make you aware that your own role in looking after your aging parent's well-being is increasing, and this increase in responsibility may be scary, at least it was for me.

Memory Field Test

To test for dementia a doctor can perform a memory field test. The doctor will explain to your parent how he will make the test. During a casual conversation, he will list three items that your parent should try to remember. In my mom's case, it was a red Cadillac, Elvis, and a birthday cake. Then he'll engage your parent in some other conversation and ask them a few difficult questions such as "Who is the current President of the U.S.A?" or "Who is the Vice-President?" After this distraction, he'll ask your parent to repeat those three key items (red Cadillac, Elvis, and a birthday cake) he mentioned earlier. If your parent fails to remember two of the three, the doctor will probably recommend further testing at a hospital that tests geriatric patients for memory and mental problems. If he doesn't recommend further testing, be sure to ask him why he doesn't.

CAT Scan

Sometimes, if your parent fails the field test, the doctor may recommend a CAT scan to find any undetected strokes or tumors that may be causing the abnormalities in their behavior. If your doctor doesn't recommend this, ask about it. A CAT scan can see through layers in your parent's brain and search for an undetected stroke. Recent studies have found that silent, small strokes may be present in as many as 80% of people with dementia. If your parent has high blood pressure, this is especially applicable, as their arteries may harden with age and small pieces may break off and cause tiny clots in the vein. These micro strokes in the brain are called infractions. They can short-circuit the brain's wiring, causing dementia. This form of dementia is known as multi-infarct dementia. While you can't undo the damage of these strokes, you can see that your parent takes the correct drugs to help prevent future strokes - and, hopefully, slow your parent's mental decline.

The doctor visit is the beginning of many steps you can take in a proactive approach to determine if your parent is suffering from chronic dementia, or if an imbalance of drugs or minerals is adversely affecting their internal chemistry. From my experience it is you that will have to take the lead role, as your aging parent may be unable to, and from my experience, the doctor may be unwilling to.

The doctor may be able to isolate the problem, or he may recommend a geriatric evaluation, or, as happened in my case, he may just put his hands out as if to say "What do we do now?" If this happens, I recommend that you line up your own geriatric evaluation at a local hospital. If your aging parent is on Medicare, a geriatric evaluation is usually paid for.

Click here if you want to learn more about dementia in an aging parent. You'll also find free forms and checklists for taking care of an aging parent at www.boomer-books.com