The government announced plans Tuesday to find new ways to combat Alzheimer’s disease, increasing research funding more than 25% over the next two years and beefing up caregiver support and public awareness campaigns.

The action, a total of $156 million, sets into motion the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA), signed into law by President Obama last year. Alzheimer’s, which is a form of dementia that causes progressive loss of intellectual and social skills, is the only disease among the top killers for which there is no prevention, cure or treatment that will slow its progression.

The plan calls for $130 million more for research and $26 million for caregiver support and education.

“Today’s announcement reflects the administration’s commitment to confronting Alzheimer’s, a disease that takes a devastating toll on millions of Americans,” said Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services. “It’s a very important health issue. The time for bold action is right now.”

The additional $130 million for research increases spending levels through 2013 to about $606 million. The No. 1 goal stated in January in the early draft of NAPA — now called National Alzheimer’s Disease Plan — is to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s by 2025.

The National Institutes of Health is funding the initial $50 million for 2012 from its budget to identify genes that increase the risk of the disease and testing therapies in individuals at the highest risk.

The government spent about $450 million in 2011 on research for Alzheimer’s and related dementias.

By comparison, approximately $521 million was spent on complementary and alternative medicine and $823 million on obesity. Cancer drew a $6 billion check in 2011 for starters, with additional funding allocated for breast, brain and lung cancers.

Continue reading from usatoday.com…

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Aging parents and their children sometimes disagree over the issues of safety versus independent living. Here are steps you can take to make your parents’ home safer.

Your parents say they couldn’t bear to lose their independence. Their hearts are set on staying in their own home for the rest of their days. And you understand. It’s what you’d like for them too. But they’re not as young as they used to be. Not as strong and on top of things. And you can’t help wondering if their plan is really wise, or even feasible. So you worry.

The question of what’s best for mom and/or dad is one that bedevils many children with aging parents, says Dr. David Reuben, chief of the geriatrics division in UCLA’s Department of Medicine. “One of the things older people want most is to stay in their own homes. But there’s always a tension between autonomy and safety. Children may want to err on the side of safety, but parents may want to err on the side of autonomy.”

Of course, the time may come when physical or cognitive limitations make independent living impossible. But until then, there are steps you can take to make your parents’ home safer, their lives in it easier — and your concerns about them a little less daunting.

Continue reading from www.latimes.com…

For senior home care in the Sacramento, Lodi or Stockton areas of California, visit All For You Home Care.

Grumpy Care Receivers
5 ways to sweeten a sourpuss

Having a chronic disease can turn even easygoing personalities into Eeyores who are chronically negative and glum. When a loved one’s dark clouds rain on your ability to get things done (or to simply make it through the day cheerfully yourself), try these strategies:

1. Give the grump a little acknowledgment.

Sometimes you can find an opening to turn a bad outlook around by pausing to acknowledge the hurt behind the scowl. Kneel down and look your loved one in the eye. Give a hug or pat a hand and say, “I know you’re having a rough day.” Ask if he or she is scared, or lonely. You might be pooh-poohed, but this small act of understanding gives tacit permission to your loved one to have hard feelings. And that acknowledgment can be a breakthrough to, if not a sunnier side, at least a more pleasantly shaded side.

2. Shake up the status quo.

To change the mood, sometimes it helps to change the scene. If you’ve been indoors all day, go outside (weather permitting) or take a short drive together. If you’ve been sitting, walk around the house together. Change rooms. If you’ve fallen into a routine of boring lunches, make fresh cookies for dessert. If your loved one is still in pajamas at 3 p.m., suggest getting bathed and dressed up. Unfortunately, yes, this approach can require extra effort on your part. But the payoff of an improved atmosphere may well be worth it. Sometimes a shift as simple as doing your daily routine out of order (dessert first! afternoon bath!) can do the trick.

3. Tease or flirt away a challenging moment.

React in a lighthearted way: “Oh, come on, Mr. Sourpuss, let’s see if you still hate me after breakfast.” Or, “Did you join the seven dwarves while you were asleep? I swear I’m sitting here with Grumpy.” Or, “You’re so cute when you get cranky!” Make a joke about a difficult nurse. Obviously you know your loved one best, and what kind of humor he or she might respond to. But a little cajoling can sometimes help the person see his or her mood for what it is.

4. Tune out a bad mood with music.

Continue reading from www.caring.com…

Senior Moment or Something Worse? Yes/No Test May Tell
Test Can Help Identify People at High Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease

When are “senior moments” just a normal part of healthy aging, and when are they a sign of something more serious such as Alzheimer’s disease?

This is the million dollar question, and the Alzheimer’s Questionnaire, a set of 21 yes or no questions that can be answered by a loved one or caregiver, may help answer it.

The 21 questions fall into five categories including memory, orientation, ability to function, visuospatial ability, and language. A score of 15 or higher suggests Alzheimer’s disease, while a score between five and 14 suggests mild cognitive impairment (MCI) — a form of early memory loss that may progress to Alzheimer’s. Scores of four or lower suggest the memory is working just fine.

More work is needed to confirm just how useful this screening tool may be, but the new study shows that it can help identify people with MCI rather adeptly. The findings appear in BMC Geriatrics.

Yeses to certain questions count more than others, as they are known to be more strongly predictive of Alzheimer’s disease. These include trouble with date and time, difficulty managing money, and a decreased sense of direction.

Key Questions

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia. Symptoms include serious memory loss, confusion, and mood changes that develop gradually and worsen with time. People with MCI are at greater risk for developing Alzheimer’s, but not all people with MCI do.

Sample questions include:

• Does the patient repeat questions, statements, or stories in the same day?
• Does the patient suspect others of moving, hiding, or stealing items when he or she can’t find them?
• Is the patient having trouble using appliances?
• Does the patient become disoriented in unfamiliar places?
• Does the patient have difficulty recognizing people who are familiar to him or her?

Continue reading from www.webmd.com…

Nearly a quarter of the changes often seen in a person’s intelligence level over the course of a lifetime may be due to genes, a proportion never before estimated, new research shows.

The study suggests that genes may partly explain why some people’s brains age better than others, even though environmental factors likely play a greater role over a lifetime.

Understanding the factors behind healthy mental aging has become an increasingly vital one for societies with large elderly populations. However, it isn’t an easy task.

Traditional methods of estimating the influence of genes and the environment on intelligence have largely been limited to comparisons between people who are related, such as identical or fraternal twins. The shortcoming of such studies is they didn’t clearly apportion the effects of each factor on intelligence.

Modern DNA-based techniques are now helping to refine the search.

The new study, published in the journal Nature, offers one of the first estimates of how much genes and the environment contribute to fluctuations in a person’s intelligence between adolescence and old age. It found that genetic differences account for 24% of the variation.

However, the paper didn’t identify any of the myriad genes or environmental factors that might be involved.

“The nature-nurture controversy is never more contentious than when it concerns the genetics of intelligence,” wrote Robert Plomin, a psychologist at King’s College in London, in a commentary accompanying the study, in which Dr. Plomin wasn’t involved.

The Nature paper, he said, “may mark the beginning of the end of this controversy” because it relies on DNA data from unrelated people, which is harder to dispute.

The scientists behind the Nature paper were able to do their analysis thanks to an unusual database maintained in Scotland: records from 1,940 unrelated individuals whose intelligence was measured first at age 11 and then again at age 65, 70 or 79. It is rare for researchers to have access to intelligence data for a group of people from both childhood and old age. The participants also provided blood for DNA analysis.

With these separate pieces of information, the researchers used a new statistical technique to seek out any associations between genes and how intelligence levels might have shifted over the years.

As a first step, the scientists examined half a million genetic markers in the participants’ DNA. These markers, known as single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs, can together reveal how genetically similar people are, even though they are not conventionally related.

The similarity of the SNPs was then compared with other aspects of the individuals’ similarity—in this case, with their cognitive ability in both youth and old age, and how much that had changed over the years.

One finding of this technique, which is known as genome-wide complex-trait analysis, is that many of the same genetic factors seem to explain why people differ in intelligence in childhood and old age.

Another finding is that people tend to retain a similar “rank order” in intelligence level between childhood and old age. In other words, those who had above-average cognitive ability at age 11 also tended to be above average when much older. Still, not everyone showed this kind of stability.

Continue reading HERE…

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Kristy Bryner worries her 80-year-old mom might slip and fall when she picks up the newspaper, or that she’ll get in an accident when she drives to the grocery store. What if she has a medical emergency and no one’s there to help? What if, like her father, her mother slips into a fog of dementia?

Those questions would be hard enough if Bryner’s aging parent lived across town in Portland, Ore., but she is in Kent, Ohio. The stress of caregiving seems magnified by each of the more than 2,000 miles that separate them.

“I feel like I’m being split in half between coasts,” said Bryner, 54. “I wish I knew what to do, but I don’t.”

As lifespans lengthen and the number of seniors rapidly grows, more Americans find themselves in Bryner’s precarious position, struggling to care for an ailing loved one from hundreds or thousands of miles away.

The National Institute on Aging estimates around 7 million Americans are long-distance caregivers. Aside from economic factors that often drive people far from their hometowns, shifting demographics in the country could exacerbate the issue: Over the next four decades, the share of people 65 and older is expected to rapidly expand while the number of people under 20 will roughly hold steady. That means there will be a far smaller share of people between 20 and 64, the age group that most often is faced with caregiving.

“You just want to be in two places at once,” said Kay Branch, who lives in Anchorage, Alaska, but helps coordinate care for her parents in Lakeland, Fla., about 3,800 miles away.

There are no easy answers.

Continue reading from www.washingtonpost.com…

For senior home care in the California areas of Sacramento, Lodi and Stockton, visit us at All For You Home Care.

As your 2012 calendar starts to fill, think about making appointments for health screenings you know family members need this year.

“People get busy, and if they feel well, they go about their business thinking they are healthy,” says Glen Stream, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. “As a country, we have too much focus on illness treatment rather than on wellness and prevention, which leads to people having problems that could be avoided.”

But it’s easy to get confused about what screenings you need, and how often to get them, especially when recommendations change or when different medical groups have conflicting guidelines. Your first step: Find a doctor who can help you sort it all out, suggests Stream. “You really need to have a coordinated plan.”

Miriam Alexander, president of the American College of Preventive Medicine, says the “gold standard” of screening guidelines is set by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of experts in preventive and evidence-based medicine. The group makes its population-wide evaluations solely on the basis of scientific evidence to determine if a screening will be more beneficial than harmful to patients, says Virginia Moyer, the group’s chair.

Apps, journals can help keep your family’s health on track :

It can be a struggle to keep track of the endless trail of your own health-related tasks, not to mention those of your spouse, kids and aging parents. But there are methods to help you stay on top of it all, whether you prefer to write down appointments in a notebook, use an app, or have e-mail reminders sent to your phone.

Other groups, such as the American Cancer Society, may differ with the task force on some guidelines, such as the age at which women should start getting mammograms. (ACS recommends most screenings start at 40; the task force at 50). “The task force looks at the evidence from 30,000 feet,” says Alexander, basing them on the population as a whole, not individuals with unique family histories or situations. Weighing all the recommendations along with your personal needs is important. “Sometimes we have to make decisions that are not based on the best scientific evidence, but on what’s best for us,” says Alexander.

Making those personal evaluations with a doctor is even more crucial in the face of new findings, such as recent research from the National Cancer Institute that showed no benefit, and possible harm, from annual PSA screenings for prostate cancer. “We’re all still absorbing these latest studies,” says preventive health physician Deborah Rhodes of the Mayo Clinic’s Executive Health Program.

Rhodes also cautions that an annual physical doesn’t screen for everything, so getting an all-clear from your doctor doesn’t mean you’re bulletproof. Even if you’ve just had a physical the day before, if you notice something strange or have a nagging pain, don’t ignore it. “You have to be proactive,” she says.

Experts agree that the guidelines below should prompt discussion with your doctor and are important tools to help you take control over your health.

Continue reading from usatoday.com…

For home care in the California areas of Sacramento, Lodi and Stockton, visit us at All For You Home Care.

GPS Devices in Shoes a Growing Solution to Wandering Alzheimer’s Patients
GTC sets goal on worldwide network, ships more miniature GPS devices to Aetrex Shoes

Jan. 18, 2012 – Caregivers are increasingly turning to miniature 2-way GPS embedded in shoes to monitor the location of senior citizens afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, according to GTX Corp. The company announced the second delivery of 1,500 GPS devices to footwear-maker Aetrex Worldwide.

The latest tiny GPS devices from GTX will be embedded in the Aetrex Ambulator collection for shoes for comfort and wellness.

There are over 5.4 million seniors who suffer with Alzheimer’s and over 12 million caregivers that devote their lives to them, with millions more expected as the Boomer population ages, according to the company’s news release.

However, they add, Alzheimer’s represents 60% to 70% of all cognitive disorders, so in reality there are close to 9 million Americans suffering from impairments, like Autism, that can lead to wandering.

Professor Andrew Carle of George Mason University recently discussed this potentially lifesaving technology on the CBS Early Show and said, “These are only U.S. numbers with an estimated 25 million cases of Alzheimer worldwide expected to quadruple to 100 million short of a cure.”

Considering the demand and the growing acceptance of digital products, the company says it has a “roadmap to expand its partner alliance to help deliver GPS Shoes to 9 million adults and children in the U.S. with cognitive disorders and millions more across the globe.”

Continue reading from the Senior Journal…

Alzheimer’s heaps unparalleled stress on caregivers

Alzheimer’s Association president Harry Johns is attending meetings Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington, D.C., where the details of the government’s first national plan to address Alzheimer’s disease will be discussed. In addition to finding a cure for the disease, another goal is finding support for caregivers. Here, Johns discusses stress on families.

Q: Five million adults age 65 and over have Alzheimer’s. How are most of their families coping with this disease?

A: Many people mistakenly think Medicare will help, and people can go into nursing homes. The truth is, 70% of Alzheimer’s patients live at home and are being cared for by about 15 million unpaid family members and friends. The stress on the caregiver can be very high. No other disease has this kind of impact on the caretaker. Many have depression. It can become around-the-clock care.

Q: Your mother, Rozella Johns, had Alzheimer’s disease. What was that like for you as a caregiver?

A: I know as a son that it is the most heartbreaking experience in the world. The disease is, of course, progressive and degenerative. Problems you experience today only get worse tomorrow.

Q: What is it like watching someone you love as the disease starts to take hold?

A: My brother and I had to watch our mother react to her diagnosis. She hated the diagnosis. Then to see her in the early stages, for instance, not being able to balance her checkbook, was just awful. And that’s the early part.

Q: What is one of hardest things for a caregiver as the disease progresses?

A: My mother started getting lost while driving. I had to have a conversation with her about not driving anymore. It’s the single worst conversation I’ve ever had to have in my life. She wanted to keep her keys for an emergency.

Q: How long did she have the disease?

A: One of the difficulties now is getting an early diagnosis. Our family suspected for a number of years that she had Alzheimer’s but couldn’t convince her to seek a diagnosis from her primary doctor, who had been her doctor for a number of years. When she finally went to another doctor, she was immediately diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She had it a couple years and died in 2007.

Q: What is a common reaction you hear from caregivers?

A: I was talking to someone recently who is experiencing it right now with a parent. This individual said to me, “It’s not my mom anymore.” I understood. I tried to provide comfort.

Article from usatoday.com. Click here for more.

What You Need if You Care for Someone With Alzheimer’s
6 obvious — but often overlooked — helpers when you’re caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or some other form of dementia

Taking care of yourself while you care for someone with Alzheimer’s disease

Most people simply dive in to the responsibility of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease and then take it one day at a time. Fair enough. But before you find yourself combating both his disease and your own emotional strain and battle fatigue, be sure you have these stress-busters on your side.

1. Good self-care

Don’t even think of skimming by this one. You really do need to come first on the priority list, not last. It’s almost too easy to neglect your own needs when you’re juggling caregiving, a job, a marriage, and children.

But just as with tending to a child, caring for a sick person can be depleting. If you fail to keep an eye on your own mental and physical health, you’re vulnerable to everything from colds and other illnesses right up to burnout.

No one can keep up with the round-the-clock demands of Alzheimer’s care — even in the early stages — without periodic relief. Indeed, caregiver burnout is a primary reason Alzheimer’s patients enter nursing homes.

Make time for yourself every single day, even if it’s just a 20-minute walk while a neighbor pays a visit. Don’t abandon all your former interests and hobbies to support someone with Alzheimer’s.

You don’t have to eat the same food as him (especially if he’s down to simple, easy-to-manage foods), but neither do you have to subsist on drive-through fare. Stock up on nutritious, easy-to-grab snacks if time is an issue.

Getting enough sleep is a special concern: To help yourself fall asleep, try incorporating some relaxation exercises or meditation into your nighttime routine. Some people benefit from yoga, tai chi, or deep breathing exercises. A good tension release is progressive muscle relaxation, a technique that calls for tightening and relaxing all of your major muscle groups, one by one.

Your wind-down can be as classic as a warm bath or a good book. Whatever your choice, make it routine — at about the same time each evening, if you can — to help your mind associate the activity with rest. Reorganize your bedroom so that it’s a haven rather than a cluttered workspace.

Get a medical exam yourself, and be sure to tell your doctor about your situation. She may be able to give you some strategies to deal with stress and anxiety, and can help you identify signs of clinical depression and, if needed, treatment options.

2. The ability to ask for help

Alzheimer’s care can be all-consuming, and it’s a common caregiver temptation — and mistake — to take it all on yourself. Having ample help keeps Alzheimer’s caregivers functioning longer and more smoothly.

Of course, asking for help isn’t always easy. You may not want to bother others with what you see as a family matter or your responsibility. Sometimes it seems easier to do it yourself than to get another person involved.

In fact, most people around you are more than happy to pitch in but often have no idea what they can do for you, so they may not volunteer except in a general way. When you do ask, they’re apt to be relieved that they can be of use and have the opportunity to show their affection for you or the person with Alzheimer’s.

Continue reading from caring.com…