Alzheimer’s diagnosis

What is it?

Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common form of dementia and makes up about 60% to 80% of dementia cases.  However, many researchers believe this number is too high and that other forms of dementia may be under diagnosed. On average, a person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s will live with the disease for 4-8 years depending on the person’s health and age.  The majority of cases are people aged 65 and older.

In some cases, individuals with this disease aren’t diagnosed until they have had the disease for a few years because the symptoms come on gradually and can be confused with normal aging.

A healthy brain versus a brain affected by Alzheimer’s Disease.

What causes Alzheimer’s Disease?

Although there are ongoing studies, Alzheimer’s Disease is believed to be caused by protein build-up in the brain. These abnormal protein particles are called tangles and plaques and as these tangles and plaques start to attach to nerve cells in the brain, they block communication between the cells and also keep the cells from getting nutrients and oxygen to survive. When a nerve cell dies, that part of the brain shrinks causing the disease to gradually worsen over time. Subsequently, this begins to affect memory, thinking, and behavior as the brain’s “file system” is progressively removed.

Symptoms include:

  • Forgetting how to use common, everyday items
  • Forgetting how to do common activities, such as cooking and driving
  • Misplacing things and not being able to problem solve to find them
  • Becoming fearful or jealous of people
  • Unable to find the right words to speak or write
  • Repeating the same question over and over
  • Poor judgment about appropriate behavior
  • Confusion about time and place
  • Mood and personality changes
We Are People Who Have Alzheimer’s. We Are Not Alzheimer’s.

We Are People Who Have Alzheimer’s. We Are Not Alzheimer’s.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, there are different stages of the disease which will progressively worsen over time, although the disease will affect each individual differently. Initially, early-stage Alzheimer’s Disease will result in mild memory loss but as it progresses towards late-stage, the disease removes functionality and the ability to make conversation or respond to what is happening around one’s environment.  

Unfortunately, medication does not slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease.  However, there are both drug and non-drug treatments which can help neurons in the brain to fire, aiding in cognitive and behavioral symptoms. 

 

To learn more about Alzheimer’s Disease and other Dementia related topics, visit our blog or the following websites:

Alzheimer’s Association  (24/7 Helpline: 1-800-272-3900 and Find Your Local Chapter)

NIH –  National Institute on Aging

Mayo Clinic

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Learn about different types of dementia in our other blog posts!

Understanding Dementia

What is Vascular Dementia?

What is Lewy Body Dementia?

What is Frontotemporal Dementia?

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At Aspen Senior Day Center in Provo, we provide adult day care services (fun activities and personal care) for seniors with all types of dementia.

Aspen Senior Care provides in-home care for seniors with all types of health challenges, including all forms of dementia.

Contact Karen Rodgers, Family Caregiver Coach, for a free assessment to help you navigate the challenges of caregiving. You can reach her at 801-224-5910.

Visit aspenseniorcare.com or call our office at 801-224-5910 for more information.

 

 

Aspen Senior Care is excited to share some great on-line dementia care help for family caregivers!

With all of the information about dementia care out there, it can be an overwhelming task to sort through and figure out just what information is best and how it applies to your situation.

At Aspen, we understand the difficulties family members face while caring for loved ones with dementia and our goal is to be a source of support, education, and information to which family members may turn as they cope with the daily challenges of caregiving.

Learning from the best and looking for the positive

Because there is so much material on dementia care out there, we have looked long and hard to find up-to-date, quality information that is both useful and practical for families to implement, and we believe we have found this resource in Teepa Snow, a dementia care education specialist with over 30 years of experience in this field.

 

Teepa Snow,
Dementia Care Specialist

She has developed The Positive Approach to Care training series to help professional and family caregivers better understand the physical changes that happen with dementia, and develop skills to understand and care for people with dementia

Our professional caregivers use Teepa Snow’s Positive Approach to Care training series to better understand memory loss and how using this approach improves the quality of life for both the caregiver and the person receiving care.

The positive approach focuses on what individuals with dementia CAN do at each stage of the disease instead of focusing on the skills they have lost.

 

Online Caregiving Tips

With this in mind, we have put together a list of short video clips taken from Teepa Snow’s training DVDs. More can be found at Teepa’s YouTube channel and The Pines of Sarasota YouTube channel.

These are just a few of the on-line dementia care help available for family caregivers.  Aspen Senior Care has some of the full-length DVDs from which the above clips are taken. Family caregivers are welcome to come and watch the entire DVD if they would like. Just give us a call at 801-224-5910 to check on availability and schedule a time to come in.

Aspen Senior Care is here to help families meet the caregiving challenges they face. We want families to feel they aren’t alone, that there is hope and help available. Please visit our website at aspenseniorcare.com and call us at 801-224-5910 for more information. We’re here to help.

Learning that a loved one has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia can be overwhelming and telling the loved about it can be overwhelming.  The Alzheimer’s Association has some suggestions on how to go about telling the person who has received the diagnosis. Continue reading “Learning of an Alzheimer’s Diagnosis” »