Living Well Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Alzheimer’s’

Larry King Special Looks into Alzheimer’s Disease

Thursday, April 28th, 2011

Alzheimer's Association E News April 27, 2011

Alzheimer’s Association E News, April 27, 2011

Hosted by Larry King, “Unthinkable: the Alzheimer’s Epidemic,” airing Sunday, May 1, at 8 p.m. EDT, will discuss Alzheimer’s disease, who gets it and why, and the race to find effective treatments and a possible cure. King, in his first CNN special since ending his long-running interview show, will be joined by California’s former First Lady and Alzheimer’s activist Maria Shriver, Alzheimer’s Association Champions actor Seth Rogen and football star Terrell Owens and others touched by the disease. CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta will also explain how Alzheimer’s disease affects the brain.

Read more

Alzheimer’s in California: A 2-part package (with video) on Alzheimer’s in California

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

By Paul Kleyman (Director Ethnic Elders Newsbeat/New America Media)

Living Well with ALzheimer'sALZHEIMER’S SERIES PART 1 — “California Budget Cuts at Odds With State’s New Alzheimer’s Plan,” New America Media, News Report, Paul Kleyman, Posted: Mar 28, 2011
Some 1.1 million Californians serving as caregivers for loved ones with Alzheimer’s face severe cuts in state assistance, even as the number of people with the disease is expected to explode. Read more

PART 2 — Latino Family Joins Forces in Alzheimer’s Care to Make Memories,” New America Media, Video, Story: Paul Kleyman // Video: Josue Rojas, Posted: Apr 11, 2011.
The Garcias, like many Latino families, initially hid their “Papa’s” Alzheimer’s, but they eventually got educated and stopped fearing the unknown. See the video.

From Norman McNamara: Alzheimer’s from inside!

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

Watch what Norm says about being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s He is now 53 yrs. old and he has every intention of beating it. His videos and interview try to help us understand what its like being an Alzheimer’s sufferer and how it feels to be diagnosed with such an awful disease.

This is another video he had made about his BBC radio interview:

If you have Alzheimer’s you can have wahtever you want: GIVING ALZHEIMER’S PATIENTS THEIR WAY, EVEN CHOCOLATE!

Sunday, January 2nd, 2011

Individualized care for patients with Alzheimer's -Living Well

Even Chocolate

There are some caregivers -in family settings- or in nursing homes that have found that allowing people with dementia practically anything that brings comfort to them, improves the mood, decreases agitation, and soothes them in a higher rate that psychotropics medications that usually creates undesirable side effects in the elder. In a recent article by Pam Belluck for the New York Times, she interviewed Tina Alonzo, director of a nursing home, who states that “… Research suggests that creating positive emotional experiences for Alzheimer’s patients diminishes distress and behavior problems…” . The article also suggests that one-on-one activities instead of big “bingo-groups’ along with individualized menus help to improve people’s mood: “…Comforting food improves behavior and mood because it “sends messages they can still understand: ‘it feels good, therefore I must be in a place where I’m loved…”

Read more

Improving function and safety through Environmental Geriatrics

Monday, December 13th, 2010

© Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Environmental Geriatrics is the study and application of design principles to interiors and products to optimize the health, function, and well-being of older adults.
Cornell University’s Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology offers resources on Alzheimer’s friendly home, fall and fire prevention, hoarding and cluttering. Learn more.

The Aging Brain

Friday, September 3rd, 2010
Aging brain

Living Well with memory loss and Alzheimer's

On Episode Six of the Charlie Rose Brain Series, a discussion of the Aging Brain with Brenda Milner of McGill University, Larry Squire of the University of California San Diego, John Hardy of University College London, and Scott Small of Columbia University. Co-hosted by Eric Kandel of Columbia University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, we find easy information for the laymen about what occurs in the aging memory related to memory loss and the developing of Alzheimer’s

See the program

Brain Wellness À la Wii

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

Living Well at HomeThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As of August 2010, the Wii leads the generation over the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in worldwide sales and in December 2009 broke the record for best-selling console in a single month in the United States.

Nintendo hoped to target a wider demographic with its console. The productions are Nintendo’s first broad-based advertising strategy and include a two-minute video clip showing a varied assortment of people enjoying the Wii system, such as urban apartment-dwellers, country ranchers, grandparents, and parents with their children.The marketing campaign has proved to be successful: pensioners,  as old as 103 have been reported to be playing the Wii in the United Kingdom.. A report by the British newspaper The People also stated that Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain has played using the Wii console!

Now,  we have data that the Wii games have brought back feelings of being young again as the participants flex their mental muscles and improve their physical fitness. The Wii is improving the quality of life of many aging seniors.

Diane Carbo, in an article written for Senior Advice, states that “…Healthy aging and a brain fitness program along with the Wii promotes the development of new skills, and helps aging seniors learn from their mistakes. The best part of using the Wii as part of a healthy aging program is the laughter and excitement you see in the faces of the participants. The environment is electric as the aging seniors enjoy familiar interests in a new format. For many seniors it feels like old times again…”

Read More