The Healthy Aging Show » Memory

Just Because Mom Hasn’t Wandered YET – Doesn’t Mean She Won’t! – Memory Impairment and Wandering – Mary Underwood

admin — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 22:19:12 +0000

Familiar surroundings don’t always stay that way for those with cognitive issues. Recognizing ones home, neighborhood and family may have been replaced with memories of ones childhood or at least some long ago time. Every year, adults with memory impairment wander away from home and their caregivers. The statistics are frightening if not found with 24 hours. There are more than 50,000 open cases of missing seniors who wandered away.

Recognizing the warning signs and accepting the reality that just because it hasn’t happened does not mean it won’t. Mary Underwood, Life Guidance Program Director at Atria in Stratford, CT has over 22 years of experience in dementia care. Her recent presentation on this topic prompted us to have her share her knowledge with yet a larger audience. 2/20/11

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READING, RESEARCH & LINKS

More With Dementia Wander From Home

The Mysteries of Dementia-Driven Wandering

Wandering – Alzheimers Association

01/16/11 Smoking Cessation – 10 Tips to Stop Driving

admin — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 18:32:40 +0000

Smoking Cessation – It’s like burning money, yet to many it’s so hard to quit. One of the cardinal rules is to do it for yourself. Although everyone around you will appreciate it. With so many options available, which is the best way to go? Cold Turkey, Hypnosis, the Patch, behaviour modification? We discuss stopping smoking with Mary Judge a nurse educator from Stamford Hospital in Stamford CT. Mary operates a smoking cessation program and discusses what it takes to stop successfully.

10 Signs That It’s Time To Give Up the Keys Deciding when an older adult is no longer fit to drive is a challenging issue with no clear answer. When it comes to dementia, the decision can be especially tricky. A recent study in the journal Neurology found that as many as 76 percent of people with mild dementia are still able to pass an on-road test and drive appropriately.

LISTEN
1/16/11 Smoking Cessation with Mary Judge – Part 1
1/16/11 Smoking Cessation with Mary Judge – Part 2
1/16/11 Smoking Cessation with Mary Judge – Part 3
1/16/11 10 Signs That it’s Time to Give Up the Keys
READ
Smoking Cessation
Tobacco Cessation – You Can Quit Smoking Now!
Smoking & Tobacco Use
10 Signs That It’s Time To Give Up the Keys

What Broke My Father’s Heart

dennis — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 17:55:54 +0000

How putting in a pacemaker wrecked a family’s life. When (the doctor) suggested the pacemaker for the second time, my father was too stroke-damaged to discuss, and perhaps even to weigh, his tradeoffs. The decision fell to my mother — anxious to relieve my father’s pain, exhausted with caregiving, deferential to doctors and no expert on high-tech medicine. She said yes. One of the most important medical decisions of my father’s life was over in minutes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/magazine/20pacemaker-t.html

When Both Parents Suffer Dementia, Children Suspect It Is Also in Their Future

dennis — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 00:05:28 +0000

“I’ve seen a number of adult children that have not one but two parents with dementia,” “It’s like the perfect storm of dementia care.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/26/health/26double.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Alcohol Induced Dementia

dennis — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 04:18:03 +0000

Alcohol-induced dementia is the third or fourth most common type of intellectual loss in older persons. Alcoholic dementia is produced by long term heavy drinking that directly damages brain cells or causes health problems that produce brain damage

http://www.alzbrain.org/pdf/handouts/6001.ALCOHOL%20INDUCED%20DEMENTIA.pdf

A Brain Disorder Easily Missed

dennis — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 04:13:16 +0000

Mr. Ferguson, now 74, thought he would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, incontinent and struggling with dementia. Ten doctors were unable to tell him what was wrong, but an Internet search by his daughter found a condition that seemed to match his symptoms: normal pressure hydrocephalus, or N.P.H.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/26/health/26brod.html?ref=health

One in 10 had "silent strokes": study

dennis — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:03:20 +0000

Routine brain scans in a group of middle-aged people showed that 10 percent of them had suffered a stroke without knowing it, raising their risk for further strokes and memory loss

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN2633948620080627

Eating Fish Shown to Reduce Chance of Dementia

dennis — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 03:38:01 +0000

Eating Fish Shown to Reduce Chance of Dementia – A large scale study shows that as part of a regular diet, fish has positive effects on reducing the incidence of dementia

80909_brainbenefitsoffish-topic

Rising Blood Sugar May Harm the Aging Brain

dennis — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 20:03:15 +0000

Rising Blood Sugar May Harm the Aging Brain- A research study from Columbia University, published in December in Annals of Neurology shows the effect on a part of the brain critical to learning and memory and yes, exercise can help.

011809risingbloodsugar

Tuned into Rehabilitation

dennis — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:51:50 +0000

Tuned into Rehabilitation – LA Times reported a Finnish study that showed one hour of music exposure resulted in a 60% boosted verbal memory.

030908music&rehab