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For the most honest, objective opinion, HealthScouter provides a patient’s view of the most common medical problems. Including hundreds of quotes, questions, and answers from patients themselves, this guide provides comprehensive information about a single condition for from perspective that matters: the patient’s perspective. Understand how current patients approach their medical challenges, and help overcome your own. This reference will help you see through obscu… More >>
Best scene in Scrubs
Lionel Miller was sentenced to death Friday for the murder of a 72-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s. Miller stabbed Jerry Smith in her Delaney Park home on Easter Sunday of 2006. The prosecution called the murder heinous, atrocious and cruel. Authorities said Miller targeted Smith because he knew she had Alzheimer’s and thought she’d be an easy target. Miller’s defense attorney called it a burglary that went horribly wrong.
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Six million people in the United States are now Alzheimer caregivers, but their ranks could double in coming years as the number of older people at risk for developing Alzheimer’s Disease rises drastically. While more research is being done on this disease, new caregivers remain in desperate need of helpful suggestions and emotional support. “Caring for the Alzheimer Patient” received broad critical acclaim as an important contribution to the limited literature on t… More >>
www.kpbs.org Don Hayen is a retired doctor and former medical director of an HMO. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2005, at age 71. Over the past two years, Don has coped well with the disease — so well he’s been unable to meet the requirements to take part in clinical trials of experimental Alzheimer’s drugs. But his wife, Jane, notices his decline. For more on this story visit www.kpbs.org
What is happening in the brain of an Alzheimer’s patient to cause all of the unpleasant cognitive and behavioral symptoms of the sickness? Alois Alzheimer was the first to find the strange plaques and tangles characteristic of the sickness in the brain of one of his patients during an autopsy.
He gave his name to the sickness despite the contribution his associate Emil Kraepelin made by isolating and identifying the symptoms of the disease. For years, Alzheimer’s disease could only be diagnosed with a high degree of accuracy post-mortem. Now researchers are learning more about what exactly is happening in the brain to cause the sickness and why those strange plaques and tangles develop in the first place.
Neurofibrillary tangles are one characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease. Brain damage occurs as a result of neurons being clogged with microscopic filaments, which are made up of an abnormal type of Tau protein. Normally functioning Tau protein sends chemical messages from neuron to neuron by bonding to microtubules, while the type of Tau protein found in an Alzheimer’s disease brain bonds with itself and goes nowhere.
Clogged neurons are no longer able to do their job and pass along the impulses they receive from the environment; therefore, disabled neurons are one cause of the cognitive impairment associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Brain damage due to neurofibrillary tangles is also found in associated diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease. Scientists aren’t sure why the Tau protein malfunctions and causes the tangles.
Some researchers believe that Tau malfunctions as a result of beta amyloid protein, which is what causes the second form of damage in an Alzheimer’s disease brain-plaques between neurons.
Senile plaque, which is considered to be the more detrimental of the two abnormalities in an Alzheimer’s disease brain, consists of large, abnormal, sticky patches containing beta amyloid protein. These patches block communication between neurons, causing the learning and memory problems consistent with the cognitive impairment associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
The more plaque there is in the brain, the worse the impairment becomes because plaque is thought to interfere with the functioning of acetylcholine, which transmits nerve impulses in the brain and body. The only FDA-approved medications used to treat Alzheimer’s are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, which block the enzymes that eat away at acetylcholine. These medications work best, however, in the earliest stages of the disease before the amount of plaque in an Alzheimer’s disease brain has caused considerable damage.
Recent research has begun to clarify the possible cause-and-effect connection between plaques and tangles. A study that used proteins from the immune system of mice to get rid of the beta amyloid that causes plaque discovered that the proteins ate away at the tangles as well. Other medications used to lower levels of beta amyloid also worked on the tangles. Some researchers believe that plaques and tangles may themselves be the result of some other disease process in the brain, such as swollen axons.
In research done on mice that were genetically engineered to have a disease similar to Alzheimer’s, the swollen axons, which are important in communicating between neurons, caused a “traffic” jam of sorts that may, over time, lead to the neuronal degeneration, plaques and tangles apparent in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Researchers hope that, by focusing on the disease process in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients, they can one day find a cause and, ultimately, a cure for the sickness.
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Bob Blackwell discusses his battle with Alzheimer’s disease with friends over breakfast. Video by Joshua T. Hatch
A moving story of an 85 year-old man caring for his 75 year-old wife, who is an Alzheimer’s patient.
During my grandfather’s last few days at home before his admission into an assisted living home geared towards Alzheimer’s patients, I made a short documentary. The video shows the dementia in a humorous, factual, and heart-touching way. Symptoms of dementia are listed throughout the video along with examples from my grandfather. My grandfather has since passed.
It is said that a dog is a man’s best friend. And today, with the implementation of animal assisted therapy in hospitals, there is no better example for this saying. Therapists, doctors and mental health professionals are making use of dogs to help in the recovery of patients in one way or another.
Usually, the brain injury patients, senior citizens, those who are physically impaired, and patients in hospitals and treatment centers are the ones who benefit the most from animal assisted therapy. With this kind of therapy, both the patient and dog will experience loyalty, love and joy together, and they will develop a bond that is quite extraordinary.
Dogs are used in different settings in different countries
In some countries, dogs are used to help in fine motor control where patients are advised to move their arms and fingers so that they can pet and brush the dogs. This will help patients develop their sense of touch as part of the therapy process. Another form of therapy is the large muscle therapy where patients take the dogs for a walk or an outing in a park or recreational area.
Basically, there is no scientific evidence that support the fact that dog therapy actually works on patients. The only reasoning provided by therapists is that the unconditional love that the dog displays towards patients will help them gain self confidence. It is this self-confidence that helps them recover from whatever health problems they may be suffering from.
There is another logical reason for the success of dog therapy. Caring for the dogs and spending quality time with them will remind patients of their childhood or other positive moments of their life when they were hearty and enjoying life to the maximum. By reminiscing on the good times they had, patients will develop a renewed interest in life, and they will have a new reason to get well and carry on with their lives.
Whatever the reason, or even if there is no particular reason for the use of dogs in therapy, the main point is that dog therapy is effective in treating patients.
The elderly see a friend in a dog
Besides helping in muscle coordination, dogs are also used as companions for many patients. Usually, the elderly and isolated patients are the ones who will find great comfort and consolation in the company of therapy dogs. Having a dog as a companion gives them the opportunity to interact with another living thing, and this will certainly add some meaning to their lives.
Dogs make good companions because they are not judgmental and they are always happy to see the patients. This creates a positive feeling in the patients to help them improve both emotionally and socially. This is not always achieved with the visit of a nurse or a therapist.
Any dog of any age can help patients
There is no specific breed, age or size requirement for therapy dogs. Usually, medium to large sized dogs are used as therapy dogs. However, some small dogs can be excellent therapy dogs as well.
Some hospitals have their own therapy dogs, while others depend on volunteer dog owners who are willing to offer their dogs for therapy purposes. Usually, the dog owners will bring their dogs to the hospitals whenever health care professionals and trained therapists require their assistance.
In order that a dog can be an effective therapy dog, it has to be calm and well behaved, without any history of aggression or disobedience. It should be well socialized and not prone to barking and whining as this will only disturb the patients.
Therapists require that the dogs undergo special obedience training before they start working with patients and clients. In fact, special insurance on therapy dogs are also available as protection against possible accidents.
Providing top quality in-home dog obedience training for all dog breeds across many cities in Canada including dog training Richmond BC