Alzheimer’s is a degenerative disease which progressively assaults the brain and hinders memory capabilities. The acts of thinking and reasoning are also affected by Alzheimer’s disease which is the most common form of dementia.
]]>Alzheimer’s is a degenerative disease which progressively assaults the brain and hinders memory capabilities. The acts of thinking and reasoning are also affected by Alzheimer’s disease which is the most common form of dementia.
Discovered by Alois Azheimer in 1906 while studying the brain of a woman having suffered from dementia before her death.
His main discovery was similar to plaque mixed in the neurons of her brain. These plaques were later called amyloid plaques which are still known as the main origin of Alzheimer’s disease.
Beta-amyloid are proteins which are of the abnormal type and which attack the brain’s nerve cells by poisoning them, thus resulting in Alzheimer’s disease and institutionalization in an Alzheimer’s Facility. Science still only has theories about how these proteins are created by the body.
Age is the Greatest Risk Factor in Alzheimer’s Disease.
The main factor in developing Alzheimer’s disease is your age. Though Alzheimer’s disease can be developed at any age, sometimes as early as in the late thirties, the risk grows expodentially after your sixty-fifth birthday. In fact, your chances of developing Alzheimer’s is up to 50% when you reach 80 years old. Risks of accidents are greatly reduced by moving the patient to an Alzheimer’s facility.
The Other Risk Factors of Developing Alzheimer’s Disease.
Your genetics, stress, injury, poor physical activity level and inadequate diet are all factors which increase your risk of being a victim of Alzheimer’s disease.
Race Factors of Alzheimer’s Disease.
In 1998, the Alzheimer’s Association reported a study which was conducted on one thousand people in New York demonstrated that African Americans and Hispanics were more likely to get hit by Alzheimer’s than were Caucasians. This explains why we find only around 30% of Caucasians in Alzheimer’s facilities.
Diagnosing Alzheimer’s.
So far, the only way to get a 100% positive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is through an autopsy the brain tissue. There are, however, less drastic ways of establishing a relatively accurate diagnosis, partly by identifying Alzheimer’s most obvious symptoms and partly by eliminating all other causes for dementia. Observation by specialists in an Alzheimer’s facility also helps.
Research into Alzheimer’s.
Since babyboomers are aging, the actual number of Azheimer’s cases being treated in Alzheimer’s facilities will be increasing rapidly in Southern California. This has a major impact in all media coverage which leads to research subventions and advancements.
Research is advancing both through drugs to slow down the brain’s deterioration and to alleviate Alzheimer’s symptoms. The already diagnosed, often being treated in Alzheimer’s facilities, can also hope for better days as they are also going to take advantage of scientific advancements.
Funding for Alzheimer’s Disease Research.
Research into Alzheimer’s disease and it’s effects on people living in Alzheimer’s facilities is mostly financed through the federal government, the National Institutes of Health and the Alzheimer’s Association (private donations).
The Alzheimer’s Association is the largest voluntary health organization in the US and helps Alzheimer’s sufferers through it’s local chapters by giving support services, information and referral services to the families of the 75% of sufferers who still live at home as well as to those living in an Alzheimer’s facility.
When Alzheimer’s hits close to home.
All families react differently when faced with the fact that a loved one was hit by the disease.
For a couple, it might be noticing that their spouse is behaving in a different or weird way, has a hard time performing simple usual tasks or has frequent memory lapses.
Symptoms are often noticed in the same manner by extended family members who see that their loved one has lost some of their mental abilities since the last time they met.
The situation is different for elderly who live on their own and don’t have many visitors. In this case, the first symptoms can go unnoticed and it can take larger, more traumatic occurrences, such as forgetting one’s address for the Alzheimer’s disease diagnostic to be made.
Not all cases need to be transferred to an Alzheimer’s facility.
The 10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s.
Knowing how to recognize the early signs of Alzheimer’s can help both the victim and it’s family deal with the situation earlier in order to guaranty security and better treatments to their loved one. Here they are according to the Alzheimer’s Association Fact Sheet on Alzheimer’s disease:
For more info about Alzheimer's
]]>Falling is the number one
reason why seniors enter Nursing Homes for rehabilitation, extended stay or
worst of all, long term stay. The rehab
process lasts weeks, if not months, with much often painstaking or monotonous physical
therapy.
As we get older, our bones
become brittle due to both age and possible calcium deficiencies. The most routine movements or slips and falls
can bring on a broken hip, a fractured wrist breaking a fall, or a broken leg. It is best to have a friend or family member
walk through one’s home and add some safety measures to reduce this risk. Installing some grab bars in the shower and
near the toilet will increase your senior loved one’s safety and confidence.
Maybe Aunt Jenny has managed
just fine all her life in her one level home, but now with her shuffle, Aunt
Jenny runs the risk of tripping over a mat or rug. Uncle Fred has never needed a rail down his
three steps but because he has to worry about his diminishing sight, it would
be a very effective precautionary measure to install a rail on the wall.
Taking the time now may save
you countless hours of anguish, despair and guilt later. Too many times actions are taken only after an accident of some kind has
occurred.
It is very useful to share
these types of stories with our elderly loved ones when suggesting these
measures since most suggestions of “change” are met with opposition from the
elderly. There are decorative ways to
install rails so one does not exchange their feeling of home for an
institutional feeling. By getting the
input of your loved one, they will feel like this change to their home was
their idea as well.
Whether one is young and just beginning life or elderly and living in an Assisted Living community, a strong diet and good nutrition will positively affect the quality of life now and in the future. As we age, we need every defense on the frontlines to assist our bodies in confronting the natural aging process.
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On the other hand, people use a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care to appoint someone to make all healthcare decisions, limited by certain elections regarding deathbed issues.
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On the other hand, people use a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care to appoint someone to make all healthcare decisions, limited by certain elections regarding deathbed issues.
Sadly, such monumental decisions go unprepared when our elderly loved ones pass away before finishing a Living Will or Power of Attorney of any kind.
The client must be at least 18 years old and mentally competent at the time he/she executes either document but incompetent to participate in the decision-making process when either is implemented. It is worth noting that both documents are only applicable if the client is incompetent.
Under the a Living Will, a client declares that if he/she is certified to have an incurable, terminal injury/illness and/or to be permanently unconscious by two examining physicians (including the client's attending physician), that artificial life-support systems be withheld or disconnected. The client may also elect to discontinue artificial nutrition and hydration (intravenous feeding) by so designating on the form. When an elderly person is at this stage their chart in the hospital or Nursing Home will reference the acronym “DNR” meaning Do Not Resuscitate. This advanced directive can save many seniors and their families much unneeded anguish and allow everyone to emotionally prepare for one’s passing away instead of taking care of legal details.
Under the Health Care Power of Attorney, the client makes three separate and independent elections authorizing the agent:
1. to direct disconnection of artificial life-support systems in the event of terminal illness;
2. To direct disconnection of artificial life-support systems in the event of irreversible coma; and
3. to direct discontinuation of artificial nutrition and hydration.
In addition, the Health Care Power of Attorney form provides a space for the client to set forth any specific medical, religious or other desires concerning his/her health care. The client may also use this section as a backup source for organ donation.
Both documents are signed in front of two witnesses and a notary public or a justice of the peace who acknowledges the client's signature. The witnesses to a Living Will are sworn by the notary public/justice of the peace and indicate that the client is at least 18 years of age and signed the instrument as a free and voluntary act.
The Living Will witnesses may not be the client's spouse, attending physician, heirs-at-law or person with claims against the client's estate.
The Health Care Power of Attorney witnesses may not be the designated agent, the client, spouse or heir or person entitled to any portion of the client's estate upon death under Will, Trust or operation of law.
Many times people are frequently confused as to why both a Living Will and Health Care Power of Attorney are necessary or appropriate. The Living Will is helpful as a backup document: In the event that the client enters an irreversible coma and the health care agents designated in the Health Care Power of Attorney are deceased or unloadable, the Living Will sets forth the desires of the client concerning his/her death-bed treatment which may be followed by attending physicians. The law provides that to the extent that a Durable Power of Attorney conflicts with a Living Will, the Health Care Power of Attorney controls. Copies of both the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care and the Living Will are forwarded to the client's primary care physician for inclusion in medical records.
Both documents are revocable through normal revocation procedures.
Upon entering a Nursing Home a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare will be asked for to then be included in the chart of the patient. This document, along with a Living Will are documents that are not asked for upon entering an Assisted Living community.
Preparation is the underlying thread here and families are much better off facing these difficult decisions now then attempting to make these decisions later.
For more information about assisted living, contact us or visit our website: http://www.alzheimer-faci-assisted-living-board-care-southern-california...
]]>Dementia Definition
Dementia is defined as the loss of mental processing ability, including communication, abstract thinking, judgment and physical abilities, such that it interferes with daily living. Symptoms include:
]]>Dementia Definition
Dementia is defined as the loss of mental processing ability, including communication, abstract thinking, judgment and physical abilities, such that it interferes with daily living. Symptoms include:
ALZHEIMER’S
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of Dementia.
As many as 5.2 million peoplein the United States are living with Alzheimer’s disease. that number is expected to grow to as many as 14 million by the middle of the twenty-first century as the population as a whole ages. Alzheimer's is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States, recently surpassing diabetes.
Not only is the person diagnosed with a memory impairment disease affected, but their surrounding network of family and friends is indeed impacted. Often times, the loved one and their family and friends have been living with dementia for years and trying to make sense of odd behaviours long before the disease has been diagnosed.
Lean on us, benefit from our experience and expertise working with families dealing with Dementia and Alzheimer’s … you’ll be relieved you did!
We can offer guidance in choosing a dedicated Alzheimer’s/Memory Impairment community, an Assisted Living community that offers a secured side if/when wandering becomes an issue, or a memory impairment dedicated Board and Care home throughout Los Angeles and Southern California. We’ll provide you details about the different choices as well as rates and openings. We can assist with transition strategies to successfully move your loved one. Remember, it is very important for people with dementia/Alzheimer’s to get a lot of mental stimulation. New friends, warm caregivers, and plenty of activities will do a world of good!
See more information about Alzheimer's or about assisted living on Anita and Jennifer's website: http://www.alzheimer-faci-assisted-living-board-care-southern-california...
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