Elder Abuse Frighteningly Common, Study Suggests
Thursday, January 22, 2009
From The Daily Mail:
"Half of family members who look after someone with dementia admit they behave abusively towards them, say researchers.
And a third own up to 'significant' levels of abuse, according to the first study of its kind.
Those with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia are frequently the butt of swearing and shouting, and may even be hit by members of their own family, the study says."
Labels: Alzheimer's Disease, crime, Daily Mail, disease, health, Sobriquet 50
When Forgetfulness Equals Wisdom
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
From the New York Times:
"Some brains do deteriorate with age. Alzheimer’s disease, for example, strikes 13 percent of Americans 65 and older. But for most aging adults, the authors say, much of what occurs is a gradually widening focus of attention that makes it more difficult to latch onto just one fact, like a name or a telephone number. Although that can be frustrating, it is often useful."
"For example, in studies where subjects are asked to read passages that are interrupted with unexpected words or phrases, adults 60 and older work much more slowly than college students. Although the students plow through the texts at a consistent speed regardless of what the out-of-place words mean, older people slow down even more when the words are related to the topic at hand. That indicates that they are not just stumbling over the extra information, but are taking it in and processing it."
"Such tendencies can yield big advantages in the real world, where it is not always clear what information is important, or will become important. A seemingly irrelevant point or suggestion in a memo can take on new meaning if the original plan changes. Or extra details that stole your attention, like others’ yawning and fidgeting, may help you assess the speaker’s real impact."
Labels: Alzheimer's Disease, health, New York Times, old age, Sobriquet 42
Monday, May 5, 2008
From the Associated Press:
"Doctors know some patients needing lifesaving care won't get it in a flu pandemic or other disaster. The gut-wrenching dilemma will be deciding who to let die.
Now, an influential group of physicians has drafted a grimly specific list of recommendations for which patients wouldn't be treated. They include the very elderly, seriously hurt trauma victims, severely burned patients and those with severe dementia."
"To prepare, hospitals should designate a triage team with the Godlike task of deciding who will and who won't get lifesaving care, the task force wrote. Those out of luck are the people at high risk of death and a slim chance of long-term survival. But the recommendations get much more specific, and include:
-People older than 85.
-Those with severe trauma, which could include critical injuries from car crashes and shootings.
-Severely burned patients older than 60.
-Those with severe mental impairment, which could include advanced Alzheimer's disease.
-Those with a severe chronic disease, such as advanced heart failure, lung disease or poorly controlled diabetes."
"If followed to a tee, such rules could exclude care for the poorest, most disadvantaged citizens who suffer disproportionately from chronic disease and disability, he said. While health care rationing will be necessary in a mass disaster, 'there are some real ethical concerns here.'"
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Scary. Real damn scary.
Labels: Alzheimer's Disease, Associated Press, death, disease, health, illness, old age, politics, Sobriquet 42
Alzheimer's Research Still Lagging
Monday, April 7, 2008
From the New York Times:The new approach to dealing with Alzheimer's Disease:"If Dad wants to polish off the duck sauce in a Chinese restaurant like it's a bowl of soup, why not? If Grandma wants to help out by washing the dishes but makes a mess of it, leave her to it and just rewash them later when she's not looking. Pull out old family pictures to give the patient something to talk about. Learn the art of fragmented, irrational conversation and follow the patient's lead instead of trying to control the dialogue.
Basically, just tango on. And hope somebody will do the same for you when your time comes. Unless the big breakthrough happens first."
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Harrowing.
Labels: Alzheimer's Disease, health, illness, New York Times, Sobriquet 41
