Alzheimers Care and Activities For Quality of Life

The Associated Press just released an article titled, Alzheimer's drugs double death risk in elderly. Whoever wrote the headline for the story did a very poor job. The article is actually about anti-psychotic drugs that are often misused to treat Alzheimer's sufferers. The headline could give the impression that the article is about frequently presecribed Alzheimer's drugs like Aricept and Namenda. The misuse of anti-psychotic drugs to treat Alzheimer's patients is an important issue and I wrote about it some time ago. The issue is important because these medications are missused by physicians and in nursing homes. The Food and Drug Administration warned doctors ... Read Full Story

The hot buzz on the Internet today is about the misuse of anti psychotic drugs to treat Alzheimer's. The use of antipsychotic drugs to "control" difficult behavior, agitation, outbursts and sometimes combative behavior of dementia and Alzheimer's patients is soaring. Sales of newer antipsychotics like Risperdal, Seroquel and Zyprexa have more than tripled to $14 billion, up from $4 billion in 2000, according to currently available statistics. Most of this increase can be traced to prescriptions in nursing homes. Current estimates indicate that about one-third of all nursing home patients have been given antipsychotic drugs. Yikes. There are at least seventeen studies of elderly ... Read Full Story

Alzheimer's Memory Walk When I was a kid, we walked in the MS Walk A Thon, and the Crop Walk for Hunger. Now there is the Alzheimers Memory Walk. The Alzheimers Memory Walk, is just like any other walk for charity cause. You agree to get sponsors, who will pledge you to walk a certain amount of miles. You walk the miles, and the money you raise goes to help fund Alzheimers research, and care for those who suffer from this debilitating disease. As a nurse, for 21 years, and having a great grandmother, that suffered from Alzheimers, I have seen first hand the ... Read Full Story

P. Murali Doraiswamy is co-author of the Alzheimer's Action Plan . If I was going to buy one book on Alzheimer's it would be the Action Plan. I refer to this book often. It sits right on top of my desk. The interview below is concise and answers several of the most frequently asked questions about Alzheimer's disease For more Insight into Alzheimer's Disease Subscribe to The Alzheimer's Reading Room Can Alzheimer's Be Cured? P. Murali Doraiswamy is the head of biological psychiatry at Duke University and is a Senior Fellow at Duke’s Center for the Study of Aging. He’s also the co-author of ... Read Full Story

As a person advances in age, their memory and ability to concentrate naturally deteriorates. It can often be difficult to recognize the signs of Alzheimer’s due to the subjective nature of diagnosing this illness, proper diagnosis requires the aid of a medical professional. There are some simple signs to look for, which indicate that it may be time for you or your loved one to be examined by a medical professional. Generally, those with Alzheimer’s will have a much more difficult time with memory recall than the average aging person. While everyone has senior moments as their age progresses, moments which are frequent and ... Read Full Story