Alzheimers Dementia

In the fall of 2008, I wrote a screenplay I intended to film entirely in an Alzheimer's unit. After many weeks of rehearsals, I arrived at a troubling realization: I was not just making a challenging film -- I was making the wrong film.

What if a preeminent global health authority declared there's a public health "time bomb" among us? What if he were the person most responsible for leading the coalition that turned HIV/AIDS from a certain death sentence into a manageable illness?

There are four activities that can typically reach persons at all stages of Alzheimer's disease. Being visited by a child is one of them, as young Max discovered. Others include having a visit from a pet, listening to or playing music and observing or creating artwork.

There has been enormous attention of late to the grim and genuinely frightening problem of Alzheimer's disease. The problem is grim by its very nature -- there is little we contemplate with greater dread than the loss of our minds, our very selves.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has begun to develop a long-term plan regarding dementia. The planning advisory committee for this project includes a representative of the Substance Abuse and Services Administration and representatives of other federal agencies.

It might very well be the case that adequate adiponectin activity may help reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's. However, resistance to the hormone may prevent the body from benefitting from the those effects. Further research is needed to resolve this new puzzle.

My wife's 103-year-old grandmother lived in a third floor walk-up apartment in New York City. The exercise she got on those stairs and errands may not only have protected her heart so she could live past 100, it may also have protected her brain.

Today, too many families face President Reagan's "long goodbye" -- and too many Alzheimers' victims know, even as the disease begins to rob them of their memories, of the pain their families will face.

The common bacteria, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), has recently come into focus as a contributing factor in a variety of human health problems. Over the last few years, research has suggested H. pylori infection might also be a risk factor in the development of Alzheimer's.

Many things remain to be determined before PQQ can conclusively be said to be a vitamin in human biology and nutrition.

There is no need to completely stop our search for the "magic bullet" to cure Alzheimer's disease. We may yet come upon a way to stop Alzheimer's in its tracks.

By Paula Span The New York Times Wendy Miller first became alarmed when her mother began complaining during their phone conversations. "I'm spending ...

Family caregivers are truly heroic, but they are regular people with limits. Everyone needs and deserves breaks from stresses in their life.

Did I mistake his waning passion for mellowing, instead of recognizing the black hole where there was no one there? I have no question about one thing: Alzheimer's sucks.

Understandably, visits with loved ones who have memory loss can be stressful and intimidating. Some friends and family members fear that their loved one won't remember them, worry about saying the wrong thing.

The age wave of seniors at risk for Alzheimer's disease isn't a U.S. phenomenon. A considerable economic burden augments the emotional and practical challenges we face worldwide.

If we all do everything we can to save our own brains from Alzheimer's, we may one day actually be celebrating World Alzheimer's Day as a victory over this human tragedy.

Western medicine seems short of effective interventions with many terminal illnesses. Until there is a better way, be kind and deal with the decision-making process as early as possible.

Detecting Alzheimer's is not easy, even for doctors. If your memory challenges symptoms begin to interfere with your everyday life, it may be time to discuss it with your doctor.

Providing care for a loved one can be the most rewarding work you'll ever do. Yet, we know that not everyone is prepared for the many challenges that caregivers confront.